Should It Be ‘Ocean’s 10’?

Where is George Clooney?

Although the heartthrob has the title role in “Ocean’s Eleven” and was one of the executive producers of the remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper flick, his participation on the entertaining DVD (Warner, $27) is limited. Clooney appears in interviews and clowns around on the set in the “HBO First Look” documentary, but he doesn’t offer his opinions on either of the two commentary tracks.

Thankfully, his fellow stars Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia step up to offer funny and often perceptive commentary--and to joke about Clooney. Pitt, who previously has mumbled on several DVD commentaries, is much more animated and understandable this time around; Damon is chatty and articulate; and Garcia has a good sense of humor.

The other commentary track features director-executive producer Steven Soderbergh and writer Ted Griffin, who, like the movie, keep it light and funny.

Available in both wide-screen and full-screen editions, “Ocean’s Eleven” also features a nifty little documentary, “The Look of the Con,” which outlines the film’s lush and overtly stylized production and costume design.

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Before landing the star-making role of Dr. Doug Ross in “ER” in 1994, Clooney appeared in numerous TV series, including “The Facts of Life” and “Roseanne,” and several very forgettable movies. Anchor Bay Entertainment has unearthed a few of these turkeys and released them on DVD ($15).

Clooney is killed off pretty quickly in 1987’s “Return to Horror High,” a dreadful exploitation film about a movie company that makes a film about a real-life serial killer at the actual high school the murders took place. The murderer is still lurking in the halls of the now-abandoned high school, and one by one, the cast and the crew disappear. Vince Edwards and Alex Rocco also star.

Gary Condit--yes, that Gary Condit--and Rick Rockwell of “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?” fame pop up in 1988’s “Return of the Killer Tomatoes,” the lame sequel to the camp classic “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.” In this flick, a mullet-haired Clooney plays a pizza chef. Condit has an unbilled cameo as a pizzeria customer.

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“The Last Waltz” is an exceptional concert film and an equally exceptional DVD (MGM, $25). This 1978 film, masterfully directed by Martin Scorsese, captures the Thanksgiving Day 1976 concert at the Winterland in San Francisco when the Band--Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel--took the stage for the last time.

Produced by concert promoter Bill Graham, the five-hour show included performances by such Band contemporaries as Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton, Bobby Charles and Muddy Waters. Using seven 35-millimeter cameras to capture the event, Scorsese spent two years editing the 160,000 feet of film.

The special-edition DVD features the wide-screen version of the beautiful, crisp new digital transfer with the original remastered stereo mix. A new documentary, “Revisiting the Last Waltz,” features interviews with Robertson and Scorsese. They talk lovingly about the inception of the project, Scorsese’s intricate planning, and production designer Boris Leven’s magical transformation of the Winterland.

Another highlight is never-before-seen “jam footage” that took place at the end of the concert, featuring the Band grooving with the likes of Dr. John, Ringo Starr, Clapton, Ron Wood, Young and Paul Butterfield. After six hours of running, though, the cameras gave out during the jam session.

Robertson and Scorsese supply the intelligent, informative commentary, though they do repeat a lot of the stories they discuss in the documentary. The second commentary track features, among others, screenwriter and former critic Jay Cocks; the film’s producer, Jonathan Taplin; the associate producer, Steven Prince, who does an uncanny impersonation of Scorsese; and Ronnie Hawkins, Hudson and Helm.

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Jon Voight and Bruce Dern offer very emotional commentary on the digital edition of the 1978 Oscar-winning drama “Coming Home” (MGM, $20). Jane Fonda and Voight won Academy Awards for their touching performances in this drama about the relationship between an embittered paraplegic Vietnam vet and a married VA hospital volunteer. Dern received an Oscar nomination as Fonda’s conservative, gung-ho Marine husband, who returns from Vietnam psychologically disabled. Hal Ashby directed.

The digital edition features two terrific new documentaries: one on the making of the film, complete with interviews with Voight, Dern and cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and another on the career of the late Ashby.

Fonda is notably missing in action from the DVD. Considering that the project began with her, it would have been more enriching to have her participate in the disc.

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Three vintage “Winnie the Pooh” shorts make up the delightful 1977 film “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” which makes its DVD bow this week (Disney, $30).

Digitally remastered and restored, these shorts are based on the beloved stories of A.A. Milne and feature Sterling Holloway as the voice of Pooh.

The digital edition includes the animated short “A Day for Eeyore”; a “Story Behind the Masterpiece” documentary on how Walt Disney brought the famous tales to animated life; a “Pooh’s Pop-Up Fun Facts” extra that offers tidbits about the production while the movie is playing; a Disney storybook; a video art gallery; “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers” sing-along song; Carly Simon’s performance of the “Winnie-the-Pooh Theme Song”; and a very shameless plug for the upcoming made-for-video “Winnie the Pooh: Happy Holidays to You” and the 2003 theatrical, “Piglet’s BIG Movie.”

A VHS version ($25) includes the documentary, the Simon music video, the “Eeyore” short and the sneak previews.