New Endings, If Not All of the Answers

Ever leave a movie wishing for a different ending? Many DVDs these days provide them--if they were shot, that is. They are among extra features that are included on the discs, along with other deleted or extended scenes, often with commentary from the director about why those segments didn’t make the final cut.

Two DVDs out this week--”Training Day” (Warner, $27) and “Zoolander” (Paramount, $30)--offer a chance to see epilogues that might have been.

In the action-thriller “Training Day,” which stars Oscar nominees Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, the unused ending is a scene that comes after the one moviegoers saw detailing the fate of Washington’s crooked, brutal L.A. narcotics cop. What was cut--and can now be seen--is Hawke’s young policeman returning home and confronting three of Washington’s cronies (Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin and Raymond J. Barry).

But while the movie itself contains provocative commentary by director Antoine Fuqua, there isn’t a track to go with the unused ending and other deleted scenes (including one where Washington’s character tries to pick up some women on the street and another in which Hawke’s character reveals that he is part Latino), so viewers will only be able to speculate about why Fuqua chose to end the film as he did.

Ben Stiller is more forthcoming on the digital edition of his comedy “Zoolander,” which, in addition to an alternate ending credit sequence, includes four other deleted scenes and five extended scenes. All come with explanatory commentary by director-star Stiller. One of the extended sequences was scheduled to appear in the film’s final sequence and featured David Duchovny, playing a hand model who believes in government conspiracies. Stiller says he cut the scene because Duchovny looked different than he did in the rest of the movie.

Stiller and writer Drake Sather created the character of the dimwitted model Derek Zoolander as a sketch for the 1996 VH1 Fashion Awards. The character is very funny as a five-minute bit but wears thin over 90 minutes. The film also stars Owen Wilson (as Derek’s rival, Hansel), Will Ferrell and Stiller’s parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.

The disc also features numerous outtakes, trailers and TV spots, the two original Zoolander VH1 Fashion Awards skits, photo galleries--including Derek and Hansel’s outrageous portfolios--animated menus hosted by Derek and enjoyable commentary from Stiller and his co-writers, Sather and John Hamburg.

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And if you really enjoy seeing deleted and extended scenes, grab the DVD of writer-director Richard Kelly’s eerie but sweet psychological drama “Donnie Darko” (Fox, $30): It has 20 of them, with optional commentary by Kelly. Most of the scenes were cut for time, he says, though one very violent sequence that was to have appeared near the film’s conclusion was dropped because it was deemed too bloody and disturbing.

Another deleted scene has Donnie watching the girl of his dreams, Christina Applegate of TV’s “Married ... With Children.” Kelly says that, originally, Donnie was to be obsessed with Alyssa Milano of “Who’s the Boss?” But Milano’s mother threatened to sue if they used a clip in the movie, he says, so Applegate was substituted.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the title role in the independent feature--a brainy but troubled high school student who is visited at night by a strange, large rabbit named Frank. Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Drew Barrymore (who was also a producer), Noah Wyle and Patrick Swayze also appear.

The digital edition includes several of the infomercials featuring Swayze’s character, a music video, trailers and TV spots, a still gallery, crew bios and two audio commentaries: one with Kelly and Gyllenhaal and another with Kelly and several of the film’s costars.

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Just a few weeks after the release of “Cinderella II: Dreams Come True,” Disney is back with another made-for-video sequel to one of its feature animated films, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II” ($25 for VHS; $30 for DVD). Victor Hugo undoubtedly never imagined that his tragic hero, Quasimodo, would turn into a fun-loving guy nicknamed Quasi.

The animation on the new film is uneven, as are the five original songs. But what this film has going for it are inspired vocal performances. Just as he did in the 1996 theatrical original, Tom Hulce brings a real humanity and pathos to the role of Quasimodo. Also returning from the feature are Kevin Kline as Phoebus, the captain of the guard, and Demi Moore as Esmeralda. It’s Michael McKean, though, who nearly steals the show as the villain--the very vain and vile circus master Sarousch, who absconds with Notre Dame’s beautiful bell. Jennifer Love Hewitt is also on hand as Sarousch’s assistant, who falls in love with Quasi.

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If you loved Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge,” you’ll definitely want to check out his first film, 1992’s “Strictly Ballroom,” which arrived this week on DVD (Miramax, $30). It’s a unique, colorful and delightful Australian romance about a championship ballroom dancer (the dashing Paul Mercurio) who, in dire need of a new partner, teams up with an ugly duckling (Tara Morice). Under his guidance, she transforms into a swan.

The lovely digital edition includes the quirky documentary on ballroom dancing in Australia that inspired the film, “Samba to Slow Fox”; several deleted scenes; a still gallery and a commentary track with Luhrmann, his production designer wife, Catherine Martin, and the film’s choreographer, John “Cha Cha” O’Connell.

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During the height of the Depression in the 1930s, mop-top Shirley Temple sang and danced everyone’s troubles away in such movies as “Curly Top,” “Poor Little Rich Girl” and “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.”

Fox is commemorating the 70th anniversary of Temple’s show business debut with the DVD release of three of her vintage films ($20 each): 1934’s “Bright Eyes,” in which she introduced the song “On the Good Ship Lollipop”; 1936’s “Dimples”; and 1937’s “Heidi.” All the films have been digitally restored, and viewers have the option of seeing the film in the original black-and-white or the inferior colorized version. The “Heidi” disc includes the original trailer.