A Heartfelt Hopkins in ‘Atlantis’ DVD

After eating people’s brains in “Hannibal,” Anthony Hop- kins plays a much more benevolent character who may possess unique powers in the nostalgic drama “Hearts in Atlantis,” which arrived this week on DVD (Warner, $25).

Based on a story by Stephen King, the intimate drama directed by Scott Hicks (“Shine”) finds Hopkins as a sweet stranger who befriends a fatherless 11-year-old boy (Anton Yelchin).

The DVD includes a nice wide-screen transfer of the film, a stills gallery and a fascinating interview with Hopkins conducted by the soft-spoken Hicks. Dressed in a leather jacket and a white T-shirt, Hopkins talks about his difficulties fitting in as a child in Wales, especially the problems he encountered learning in school. He talks about working with young Yelchin and how he never talks down to children because he has always felt uncomfortable around them--even his now-grown daughter. Hopkins tells Hicks about how he got involved in acting and that, though he reads a script several times, he really doesn’t prepare for a role. He just shows up and says his lines, a lesson Katharine Hepburn taught him on his first film, “A Lion in Winter” (1968).

Also included on the disc is Hicks’ low-key but thoughtful commentary.

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James Earl Jones is the perfect host for “Disney’s American Legends” (Disney, $20 for VHS; $30 for DVD), a collection of three classic animated shorts and a brand-new one that bring to life the legendary stories of Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed and the Brave Engineer, Casey Jones. However, the sets used for Jones’ introductions are pretty cheesy.

The tales of Bunyan, Appleseed and Casey Jones all previously aired on “The Wonderful World of Disney,” but “John Henry,” about the African American who helped build America’s railroads in the 19th century, will be seen before the new Disney feature “Return to Neverland.” Alfre Woodard narrates this inspiring short film.

The DVD features a trivia game for the kids and Walt Disney’s introduction to the TV airing of “Johnny Appleseed.”

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Jones also is the star of the entertaining 1976 baseball comedy-drama “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings,” which chronicles the exploits of a barnstorming baseball team of African American players in 1939 who are frustrated with the dominance and bad business practices of the Negro National League. Jones, who was about 10 years too old for the part, plays a character modeled on famed Negro League slugger Josh Gibson. Billy Dee Williams plays a pitcher who is based on Satchel Paige. And keep watching Jones’ waistline throughout the film--he lost about 30 pounds during the production.

The DVD (Universal, $20) includes a wide-screen version of the film that is serviceable, production notes and breezy commentary from John Badham, who made his directorial debut with the hit.

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Noted theater director Gregory Mosher (David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross”) made his feature film directorial debut with “The Prime Gig,” an uneven but watchable thriller about scam artists. The DVD (New Line, $25) of the film that saw very limited release includes the option of wide-screen or full-screen but no commentary from Mosher.

Vince Vaughn stars as a small-time scam artist who teams up with a legendary con man (Ed Harris) to sell shares in a gold mine. Julia Ormond plays Harris’ sexy associate who recruits Vaughn, seduces him and then cons him. The acting is top-notch with Wallace Shawn, Stephen Tobolowsky and George Wendt fine in support. The film, though, loses steam when it shifts to the very R-rated love affair between Vaughn and Ormond. Though it aspires to be a “Glengarry Glen Ross”--which looked at crooked real estate agents--it lacks the bite and dark humor of the Mamet play.

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Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine received best actor Academy Award nominations for their delightful performances in the entertaining 1972 mystery comedy “Sleuth,” which has just arrived on DVD thanks to Anchor Bay ($15).

Adapted by Anthony Shaffer from his Tony Award-winning play, “Sleuth” finds Olivier, who did receive the New York Film Critics Circle honor for best actor, having a field day as a mystery writer obsessed with games. He invites his wife’s lover, a hairdresser named Milo (Caine), over to his mansion for a little fun and games. “Sleuth” was the last film directed by the great Joseph L. Mankiewicz (“All About Eve”).

The DVD includes a decent wide-screen transfer of the film, though the sound quality is a bit uneven. There are two trailers and a wonderful interview with Shaffer (who died last year at age 75). It was composer Stephen Sondheim’s love of games that inspired Shaffer to write “Sleuth.” He acknowledges that Olivier and Caine were not his first choice for the roles and that Olivier, then 65, had a horrible time remembering his lines.

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Over the past two years, the New York-based Broadway Theatre Archives has been releasing on video restored vintage theater pieces that aired on PBS and the three major networks. Now Image is releasing several of the titles on DVD, including Sidney Lumet’s extraordinary version of Eugene O’Neill’s 1939 masterwork “The Iceman Cometh” ($25).

Originally telecast in two parts in 1960 on what was public television at the time, the 31/2-hour “Iceman Cometh” looks at the pipe dreams and failed lives of a group of down-and-outers at a seedy saloon.

Jason Robards, who took New York by storm in the 1956 Circle-in-the-Square revival, is at the height of his acting powers as the salesman Hickey. Myron McCormick, James Broderick, Tom Pedi and Roland Winters also star. This production also introduced a baby-faced 22-year-old Robert Redford to audiences. Redford turns in a star-making performance as the weak-willed son of a convicted revolutionary.

Steve Oedekerk, who is currently starring in “Kung Pow: Enter the Fist,” is the writer and producer of “The Blair Thumb Project” (Image, $10), the second in his Thumbnation series--movie spoofs starring thumbs as the character. Last year, Image released the DVD of “Thumb Wars.” In this more silly than funny takeoff of “The Blair Witch Project,” three student filmmaker thumbs go into the woods without a tripod to film a documentary about an urban legend.

The disc includes trailers for “Thumbtanic” and “BatThumb,” storyboards, outtakes and two different audio commentaries: “Sane,” featuring Oedekerk and other crew members talking about the film, and “Insane,” which has to be heard to be believed.