‘Gandhi’ and ‘Gump’

Two Oscar-winning best films--1982’s “Gandhi” and 1994’s “Forrest Gump”--make their DVD debuts this week with mixed results.

“Gandhi” (Columbia TriStar, $25), which was directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, is a lengthy, literate and traditional biopic about the famed Indian leader. Winner of numerous Academy Awards, the film is brilliantly acted by best actor winner Ben Kingsley as the pacifist.

The digital edition, though, is a disappointment. Sorely missing is any commentary from Attenborough or even a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the epic. Kingsley, though, is featured in a thoughtful interview. He talks passionately about how he got the part and his extensive preparation for the role. But, the interview must have been done a while back, because Kingsley talks about how wonderful it is that “Gandhi” costar John Gielgud is still alive, when he, in fact, died last year.

The disc also includes production notes, a wide-screen version of the film, the trailer, a making-of-”Gandhi” photo montage, quotes from Mahatma Gandhi and four vintage newsreel clips featuring the real Gandhi: “Gandhi Goes to England,” “Gandhi’s Farewell Talk to Europe,” “Mahatma Gandhi Begins Death Fast” and “Gandhi Talks: First Talking Picture Ever Made by India’s Famous Leader.”

Far more gratifying is the double-DVD edition of “Forrest Gump” (Paramount, $30), which includes documentaries and two commentary tracks. Tom Hanks received his second Oscar in a row for best actor for his memorable turn as a shy, simple Southern boy who somehow finds himself in the middle of many of the pivotal historical events of the 20th century.

The digital edition includes the oft-seen documentary “Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump” and three new featurettes. “Through the Ears of Forrest Gump” explores the intricate sound design of the film; “Building the World of Gump” examines the production design; and “Seeing is Believing” looks at the film’s special effects.

Equally entertaining are screen tests for the film, including one with Robin Wright, who played Forrest’s lifelong love, Jenny, and another with a very tiny Haley Joel Osment, who played Forrest Jr. What is fascinating about the screen tests is that Hanks plays a more sophisticated Gump and has no accent.

Besides the wide-screen version of the film, the special edition includes commentary from producer Wendy Finerman, who bought the property in 1985 after reading Winston Groom’s book, and inspired commentary from director Zemeckis, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick Carter.

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MGM is releasing two of Brian De Palma’s best thrillers on DVD this week: “Carrie” ($20) and “Dressed to Kill” ($20).

Though neither features commentary from De Palma, both DVDs have extensive documentaries and other goodies.

Released in 1976, “Carrie” was De Palma’s first commercial hit. Sissy Spacek received her first Oscar nomination for this horror film based on Stephen King’s novel, playing Carrie White, a sad, troubled young woman with telekinetic powers and a religious zealot (Piper Laurie) for a mother.

Taunted and tormented by her high school classmates, Carrie’s rage unleashes the full force of her telekinetic powers. John Travolta, Amy Irving, William Katt, Betty Buckley and Nancy Allen also star.

The DVD includes a nice wide-screen transfer of the box-office hit, the trailer, a photo gallery, notes on King’s inspiration for writing “Carrie” and on the changes between the book and the movie, a short featurette on the ill-fated Broadway musical version of “Carrie” and two terrific documentaries: “Acting Carrie,” which features candid interviews with De Palma, Laurie, Spacek and her husband, production designer Jack Fisk and other cast members.

Because De Palma was casting “Carrie” at the same time that George Lucas was casting “Star Wars,” the two directors held joint casting sessions. Several of the actors who appear in “Carrie,” including Katt and Irving, actually had auditioned for “Star Wars.” De Palma, though, was sitting in the corner of the room during the sessions and kept a mental note on who would be good for his movie.

De Palma and members of the creative team are featured in the equally compelling “Visualizing Carrie,” a documentary that explores the making of the film.

Four years after “Carrie,” De Palma made the chilling erotic thriller “Dressed to Kill,” about a man dressing himself up as a woman and then slashing the throats of attractive women. Angie Dickinson stars as the sexually unsatisfied first victim of the killer and Michael Caine is her shrink.The digital edition features a wide-screen version of the film; a production photo gallery; an advertising photo gallery; trailers; a fun look at the X-and R-rated and TV versions of three scenes from the film; and a featurette “Slashing Dressed to Kill,” in which De Palma vents his anger over having to edit several scenes to get an R rating; and a short appreciation of De Palma by Gordon, who is now a successful director himself.

Rounding out the disc is a comprehensive “making of” documentary featuring interviews with De Palma; Dickinson, who is very self-effacing; Gordon; and Allen, who was then married to the director.

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Unless you are a big fan of David Spade, it’s best to avoid the digital edition of his comedy “Joe Dirt” (Columbia TriStar, $25).

Spade, who co-wrote this crass farce, plays an orphan searching for the parents who dumped him at the Grand Canyon years before.

The digital edition includes deleted scenes with commentary by director Dennie Gordon, the trailer, commentary from Gordon and commentary from Spade, who laughs one too many times at his own jokes.

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The 1966 movie based on the TV series “Batman” (Fox, $20) has arrived on DVD.

Adam West and Burt Ward star in this fun and silly adventure as the intrepid caped crusaders Batman and Robin. In this outing, the crime duo must battle an alliance of four of Gotham City’s most heinous villains: the Joker (Cesar Romero), the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith) and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether).

The DVD includes the trailer, a behind-the-scenes still gallery, an enjoyable tour of the infamous Batmobile, a new featurette on the making of the film and very funny, double entendre commentary from Ward and West.

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New from Universal Home Video is the DVD of the 1955 comedy “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy” ($25). The last film Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made for Universal is a cut above some of the vehicles from the ‘50s, but the comics seem tired and bored. The DVD includes production notes, a trailer and talent file.

For the first time, Universal is presenting classic monster DVD double features ($30 each). Each film has a nice new transfer, production notes and trailers.

The vastly entertaining double bills are “Dracula’s Daughter” and “Son of Dracula”; “Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman” and “House of Frankenstein”; “The Mummy’s Ghost” and “The Mummy’s Curse”; “The Mummy’s Hand” and “The Mummy’s Tomb”; “Son of Frankenstein” and “Ghost of Frankenstein”; and “The Werewolf of London” and “The She-Wolf of London.”

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Columbia TriStar is offering “Dizzy Doctors” ($25), another new collection of vintage Three Stooges shorts--two with Curly and four with Shemp.

The transfers are crisp and clear, and one can also listen to these knuckleheads dubbed in Spanish and Portuguese.