The Battle to Cast ‘Here to Eternity’

Although Montgomery Clift gave one of his greatest performances in the Oscar-winning 1953 classic “From Here to Eternity,” it is revealed on the new DVD (Columbia TriStar, $25) that he was not the first choice for the role of the tragic hero, Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt. Columbia studio chief Harry Cohn told director Fred Zinnemann that he wanted contract player Aldo Ray to play the Army private whose life is made miserable after he refuses his captain’s request to represent the division in a boxing match.

Cohn told Zinnemann that Ray hadn’t worked in 10 weeks, was adored by women and looked more like a boxer than the slightly built Clift. Zinnemann told Cohn that unless he could use Clift, the studio would have to get another director for the adaptation of James Jones’ sensational novel, set in Hawaii just before Pearl Harbor. Cohn relented.

The digital edition of the film, which also stars Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra, features a very short featurette, “The Making of ‘From Here to Eternity,”’ which includes some of Zinnemann’s color home movies, excerpts from the documentary “Fred Zinnemann--As I See It,” production notes, talent files, the theatrical trailer, digitally mastered audio and commentary from the director’s son, Tim Zinnemann, and Alvin Sargent, who was a featured player in the movie and also wrote the screenplay for Fred Zinnemann’s acclaimed 1977 drama, “Julia.”

The commentary is quite informative, with both men talking about the problems in bringing the then-very adult novel to the screen.

Zinnemann wasn’t happy when Cohn asked him to cast Donna Reed in what turned to be her Oscar-winning role as the social club femme fatale , Lorene. She, like Ray, was under contract to Columbia and had never really tackled a role like Lorene. Zinnemann agreed to put her in the movie because Cohn had let him cast Clift. This time, though, Cohn’s casting idea turned out to be a wonderful addition to the film.

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The digital edition of the summer comedy hit “Dr. Dolittle 2” (Fox, $27) is quite entertaining. In the sequel to the 1998 comedy, Eddie Murphy’s offbeat doctor comes to the aid of a group of animals whose forest is about to be decimated by a greedy developer.

The real star of this comedy is Tank the bear, who steals the show as Archie, a coddled performing bear Dr. Dolittle is trying to reintroduce to nature.

The DVD features the wide-screen edition of the film, trailers, TV spots, music video, talent files and a lengthy behind-the-scenes documentary that spends a bit too much time recapping Murphy’s career. “Movie Magic With Rhythm & Hues” focuses on how the special-effects company was able to make the four-legged cast members talk in the film, and “Bear Necessities: A Kid’s Guide to Grizzlies” is a short but sweet look at grizzly bears. Director Steve Carr and producer Heidi Santelli provide the amusing commentary

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“Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” is the first film to star a cast of photo-realistic, computer-generated characters. But the sci-fi action film, directed by “Final Fantasy” game series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, laid an egg at the box office this summer. Although the computer-generated characters are impressive, the end effect is a little creepy.

The two-disc DVD (Columbia TriStar, $27) is strictly for fans of the genre. The first disc includes very technical commentary from co-director Motonori Sakakibara, sequence supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, animation director Andy Jones, editor Chris C. Capp and staging director Tanki Kunitake, and a separate commentary track with composer Elliott Goldenthal. There are also storyboards with optional filmmaker commentary or subtitled facts. Disc 2 includes a better-than-average making-of documentary, in-depth character files, matte art exploration, sets and props, and some very funny “outtakes.”

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A must for all baseball fans is the digital edition of the documentary “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” (Fox, $30).

Director Aviva Kempner supplies passionate commentary for her film about baseball’s first Jewish star, who in 1938 came just two home runs shy of breaking Babe Ruth’s record for home runs in a season. Filled to the brim with wonderful archival footage, the documentary includes interviews with the late Greenberg and his teammates, plus Walter Matthau, Alan Dershowtiz, players Bob Feller, Charlie Gehringer and Ralph Kiner, sports journalists Ira Berkow, Joe Falls and Dick Schaap and broadcaster Ernie Harwell.

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Move over “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” and make way for “Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle” (Image, $10 on VHS and DVD). This crazy “Star Wars” spoof is the first release in a planned series of parodies, created by Steve Oedekerk, of famous motion pictures. The cast of the film are thumbs costumed and made up to resemble human counterparts. “The Phantom Cuticle” tales the story of hero Loke Groundrunner and his companion, Princess Bunhead, trying to stop Black Helmet Man and the Evil Thumbpire from doing really awful things.