Criterion Discs Spotlight Singleton, Welles Films

John Singleton, who at 24 is the youngest director to be nominated for an Academy Award, is also the youngest to get the Criterion Collection special-laser-edition treatment.

The Criterion release of “Boyz N the Hood” (extended-play (CLV) format, 113 minutes, one disc, 36 chapter stops, $50) also marks the Voyager Co.’s first attempt to offer a popular, current release with letterboxing, deleted scenes, director’s commentary and other additional material at a competitive price (Columbia’s non-letterboxed laser disc, with no additional material, lists for $35).

The “Boyz” release coincides with Criterion’s release of a special edition of Orson Welles’ 1941 landmark “Citizen Kane” (full-feature (CAV) format, 119 minutes, three discs, $100). Until Singleton, Welles, at 26, was the youngest director nominated for an Oscar.

Although “Boyz N the Hood” will never achieve the status of “Citizen Kane,” it nevertheless signals the arrival of a young writer-director whose impact will continue to reverberate. It’s clear from the well-edited analog audio track that this is an intelligent director who knows where he’s heading and who has confidence in the perspective he brings to film. He has something to say--both as a black filmmaker who grew up in South Central Los Angeles and as a student of film.

“South Central doesn’t look like a ghetto,” he says. “It’s about a ghetto mentality.” Throughout the film, he points out corners and sites that were important parts of his boyhood, and it underscores the reality of the film.

The disc offers the screen tests of Ice Cube, Tyra Ferrell, Morris Chestnut and Angela Bassett on a four-way split screen; they can be heard by selecting from among the disc’s four audio channels.

Three deleted scenes are offered at the end of the film as “supplementary chapters” and can be reinserted into their original film sequence using the laser machine’s interactive features. Seeing them underlines Singleton’s self-assurance as a director.

We haven’t heard the last of Singleton: “Just wait till I get my speed up . . .” he warns.

Too bad Orson Welles never had the opportunity to narrate an analog director’s commentary track to “Citizen Kane.” The next-best thing may be the Criterion Collection’s latest edition of the film featuring not only a pristine print and digital sound but also a collection of interviews with prominent directors and supplementary materials on the making and marketing of the film.

The interviews, grouped in 13 segments on Side 6, are arranged topically with three speakers pictured on a split screen simultaneously; their comments can be played individually. Those offering their opinions include Martin Scorsese, Costa Gavras, John Frankenheimer, Penelope Spheeris, Robert Wise and Ridley Scott.

Side 5 offers a visual essay by Robert L. Carringer on “The Making of a Film Classic,” broken down into more than 20 chapter stops.

And film buffs can dissect “Kane” itself via 29 chapter stops, which pinpoint key scenes that by now are part of film vocabulary.

All of it is rather overwhelming to the novice. For some, it would have been enough to simply listen to a film historian’s enlightened analog track as a means of understanding the film more fully.

New in Video

Here are some recent video releases:

* “101 Dalmatians” (Disney, $25): This 1961 film, arguably the most homey and heartwarming of all the Disney feature-length cartoons, details the adventures of Pongo and Perdita, two dogs who battle villainous Cruella De Vil, a fur fancier who steals their puppies to get fur for a coat.

* “Shattered” (MGM/UA, $95): An absorbing thriller burdened with a far-fetched finale, it stars Tom Berenger as a rich amnesiac trying to uncover his past with the help of a detective (Bob Hoskins), while dealing with a devious wife (Greta Scacchi).

* “Necessary Roughness” (Paramount, no retail price): Sporadically funny, low-brow college football comedy about a Texas university, on probation for violations, rebuilding its team with a clean-cut coach (Hector Elizondo) and non-scholarship recruits, including a chemistry prof (Sinbad) and a thirtysomething quarterback (Scott Bakula).

* “Richochet” (HBO, $95): A police thriller, trashed by most critics, about a serial killer (John Lithgow) out for revenge against the man (Denzel Washington) who put him in jail. Ice-T co-stars.