Teen Pep in ‘Bring It On’

Did you know that the current Universal Studios logo was unveiled with 1997’s “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”?

That’s just one of the kicky fun facts revealed in the DVD edition of the box-office hit, “Bring It On” (Universal, $27).

Directed by Peyton Reed, the cotton candy of a comedy that stars Kirsten Dunst focuses on the peppy, athletic Toros cheerleading squad from an affluent San Diego high school. After Dunst’s character is made leader of the award-winning team, she discovers that their snappy routines were actually stolen by the former leader from an inner-city school’s squad.

The jammed-packed digital edition of the teen comedy features commentary from director Reed, who made his feature debut with “Bring It On”; several deleted scenes with commentary by Reed--including an alternate ending; extended scenes with commentary from Reed; home movies of the car-wash scene; wardrobe and makeup tests; trailers; cast and crew bios, and a behind-the-scenes documentary.

And then there’s that entertaining “Did You Know That? Universal’s Animated Anecdotes” track. Just click “on” in the menu and all sorts of fab trivia will pop up on screen during the movie.

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Director Robert Altman envisions his latest ensemble comedy, “Dr. T and the Women” (Artisan, $25), as a modern-day take on the biblical story of Job. Richard Gere plays a handsome Dallas gynecologist trying to keep all the women in his life happy. Farrah Fawcett plays his mentally troubled wife; Helen Hunt is a golf pro with whom he falls in love; Kate Hudson and Tara Reid are his daughters; Laura Dern is his scatter-brained sister-in-law; and Shelley Long plays his long-suffering nurse who secretly loves him.

The DVD features a nice wide-screen transfer of the film, production notes, cast and crew bios and the theatrical trailers. There’s also a short but informative interview with Altman. The director points out that long before he began filming “Dr. T,” he and his crew spent time in Dallas to soak up the atmosphere. Altman also talks about how his films are always judged against his two masterpieces, “MASH” and “Nashville,” and says that because films cost so much to make, there is more pressure for them to do well at the box office.

The audio track features inventive commentary from Altman and his cast. Fawcett talks about the fact that she didn’t want to do the scene in which her character strips naked in the fountain of a shopping center until Altman told her that it was a nonsexual, childlike act. Dern discusses how the costume and production design helped define the characters, and Long chats about the improvisational nature of doing an Altman film.

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“Michael Jordan to the Max” (Fox) was released last year in the Imax format. Though this glossy, 45-minute documentary loses a lot of its power going from an 80-foot screen to TV, it’s still wonderful watching the basketball legend work his magic on the court. The DVD ($20) includes a crisp wide-screen transfer of the film that follows Jordan during his final playoffs with the Chicago Bulls. There are also reviews of the movie, Jordan’s stats, nice commentary from co-directors and producers James D. Stern and Don Kemp and producer Steve Kempf, a better-than-average behind-the-scenes documentary, a music video and a neat mini-documentary on how the bullet-time “Slam-Dunk” scene that opens the film was accomplished using the technology from “The Matrix.”

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A few years ago, Kino released three volumes of vintage music and comedy shorts produced by Paramount in the late ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. Kino has now brought the creme of these shorts to DVD: “The Best of Jazz & Blues: Hollywood Rhythm, Vol. 1” and “The Best of Big Bands & Swing: Hollywood Rhythm, Vol. 2” ($30 each).

The first volume casts its spotlight on such jazz legends as Louis Armstrong (“A Rhapsody in Black and Blue”), Bessie Smith (“St. Louis Blues”), Fats Waller (“Ain’t Misbehavin”) and Cab Calloway (“Hi-De-Ho”). The DVD includes the bonus short, “Jazz a la Cuba,” from 1933, starring Don Aspiazu and His Famous Orchestra.

The second disc features shorts starring such popular singers from the day as Ruth Etting (“Favorite Melodies”) and Bing Crosby (“Blues of the Night” and “Dream House”). There’s also a 1931 short called “Singapore Sue” featuring a very young Cary Grant. The bonus tracks include songs performed by such greats as Ginger Rogers & Jack Oakie, Tallulah Bankhead, Kate Smith, Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier.

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Emilio Estevez and his brother Charlie Sheen star in “Rated X” (Showtime, $25), a Showtime cable production about the infamous Mitchell brothers--Artie (Sheen) and Jim (Estevez)--who produced such porn films as “Behind the Green Door.” Artie was eventually shot to death by Jim. The digital edition includes the unrated version of the film--so make sure the kiddies are asleep--an entertaining interview with Marilyn Chambers, who starred in “Behind the Green Door,” and funny if at times rather X-rated commentary from Estevez and Sheen. Estevez points out that the actor who was supposed to play Jim as a teenager bowed out of the production at the last minute, so he enlisted his 16-year-old son, Taylor, to play his younger self.

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A&E; celebrates the 25th anniversary of the syndicated sci-fi series “Space: 1999” with two collector’s VHS ($30) and DVD ($40) boxed sets. Martin Landau and then-wife Barbara Bain star in this British-made thriller, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson of “The Thunderbirds” fame. Each set includes six episodes from the series that are uncut and digitally remastered. The DVD sets include the original trailers and a photo gallery.