‘Titans’ Rule, ‘Tao’s’ Still Cool

Disney’s “Remember the Titans,” an uplifting family film starring Denzel Washington, scored high marks with critics and audiences last fall. The DVD ($30) won’t disappoint the film’s fans.

The digital edition of this movie, based on a true story about a racially integrated high school football team in Alexandria, Va., features a wide-screen edition of the drama, the trailer, production notes and cast and crew bios.

The three featurettes are all above average. Former NFL star Lynn Swann hosts “Remember the Titans: An Inspirational Journey Behind the Scenes,” which offers clips from the movie and interviews with Washington, co-star Will Patton, director Boaz Yakin and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. “Denzel Becomes Boone” looks at how the Oscar-winning Washington became involved in the project and features interviews with Herman Boone, the real-life coach Washington plays in the movie. “Beating the Odds” focuses on the difficult path “Titans” took to get to the screen.

The disc also includes two audio commentaries: one with Yakin, Bruckheimer and screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard, the other with coaches Boone and Bill Yost, who is played in the film by Patton.

The coaches’ commentary is terrific. Boone talks about how he was first approached by Howard in the mid-’90s about doing a film about the Titans and his relationship with Yost. Yost notes that his young daughter wasn’t as aggressive or as feisty as she is depicted in the film, but she did attend all the games and practices. Sadly, he reports, his daughter never got a chance to see “Titans” become a reality because she died in 1996.

Boone and Yost also discuss sequences that didn’t happen exactly as depicted on screen, such as the one in which Boone wakes up the team in the middle of the night to jog to the Gettysburg battlefield (the team was training at Gettysburg College). In reality, team members began to bond when they received a tour of the battlefield led by an inspirational guide.

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“The Tao of Steve” (Columbia, $25) was one of the most charming films released last year. Donal Logue won best actor at the Sundance Film Festival for his endearing turn as a fat, 32-year-old man-child whose heroes are all named Steve--as in Steve McQueen and the “Six Million Dollar Man” Steve Austin.

The DVD includes the wide-screen edition of the comedy, the trailer and freewheeling commentary from Logue, director/co-writer Jenniphr Goodman, her sister Greer, who co-wrote and co-stars in the comedy, and Duncan North, another co-writer who is the real-life counterpart of Logue’s carefree Dex.

The commentary isn’t particularly insightful but the four display great senses of humor. Logue points out that he had to put peanut butter in his beard so the dog, Astro, would lick his face in one scene. And in a sequence filmed in Jenniphr Goodman’s kitchen, the director’s cat, Rembrandt, can be seen sitting serenely on the counter watching the proceedings.

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Rutlemania lives! Rhino Home Video has just released the delightful DVD edition of Eric Idle’s riotous 1978 “mockumentary,” “The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash” ($20). This dead-on spoof of the Beatles features Idle, who created and co-directed the piece, playing the documentary’s narrator, as well as the group’s Paul McCartney-esque singer.

The disc includes a nice transfer of the restored version of the film. The audio has also been restored and Neil Innes’ marvelous Beatle parody tunes, like “Piggy in the Middle” and “Ouch!,” sound better now than they did originally.

The disc features Idle’s enjoyable commentary track and several deleted scenes, including amusing, extended interviews with Mick Jagger and Paul Simon.

Idle also appears as the hapless narrator in a new introduction. Rounding out the disc are a photo gallery and Idle’s memoir on making the film.

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“Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2” (Artisan, $27) is the gory, misguided sequel to the 1999 scare-a-thon, “The Blair Witch Project.” The big calling card of the DVD is that the movie is on one side of the disc and the CD soundtrack on the other.

The digital edition also includes the movie in its wide-screen format, a scene breakdown from composer Carter Burwell and serviceable commentary from director Joe Berlinger.

One bizarre feature is called “The Secret of Esrever.” Play it in reverse to supposedly find clues dealing with mysterious and ghostlike images hidden within the film.

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Despite the winning comedic presence of Brendan Fraser, “Bedazzled” (Fox, $27), Harold Ramis’ remake of the classic 1967 British comedy starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, is a pretty limp affair. Fraser plays the ultimate nerd and Elizabeth Hurley is a very curvy devil who agrees to give him seven wishes if he sells his soul to her.

The digital edition includes the wide-screen edition of the film, an HBO “Making Of” documentary, an extended version of the basketball sequence, a look at the scoring of the film and a mini-doc featuring costume designer Deena Appel. Also featured are the theatrical trailer, three TV spots and a still gallery of concept and set designs.

The disc includes two audio commentaries: one from director Ramis (who admits he aimed this comedy for the teen crowd) and the other with Hurley and producer Trevor Albert.

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The best reason to check out the DVD of the 1988 comedy “Tapeheads” (Anchor Bay, $25) is to see the early work of John Cusack and Tim Robbins, who play two hapless friends who lose their jobs as security guards and try their luck at music-video production. The film is unmemorable, but the two stars are fun to watch.

The DVD includes the wide-screen version of the film and engaging audio commentary from director Bill Fishman, executive producer Michael Nesmith of Monkees fame (who makes a cameo as a water deliveryman) and production designer Catherine Hardwicke.

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VCI Home Video has released two collections of episodes of the ‘50s sitcom “My Little Margie” ($30 each) on DVD. Gale Storm and Charles Farrell star in this comedy that aired on CBS and NBC from 1952-55.

Farrell played a handsome widower; Storm played his plucky 21-year-old daughter. Fans of the show will probably adore these DVDs, but others will find it creaky and not up to par with other ‘50s sitcoms like “I Love Lucy.”

The discs also include bios of the stars.