A priest falls in love; aboriginal girls go on the run

The Crime of Padre Amaro

Gael Garcia Bernal,

Ana Claudia Talancon

Columbia TriStar, $25

Mexican heartthrob Bernal, of “Amores Perros” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” gives another searing, sexy performance as a young, ambitious priest assigned to a parish in a small country town. Upon arrival, Amaro finds the town and the church awash in hypocrisy and corruption. Then Amaro finds himself in hot water when he falls for a beautiful young woman.

The digital edition of this controversial Oscar-nominated drama directed by Carlos Carrera includes the trailer, a poster and photo gallery, a “making of” featurette and breezy, chatty commentary -- with English subtitles -- between the director and his charismatic young star.

*

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Kenneth Branagh

Miramax, $30

After spending 12 years in the U.S. directing such action films as “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger” with Harrison Ford, Phillip Noyce returned to his native Australia for this intimate, emotional and moving true story. Set in 1931 in the isolated farmlands of western Australia, the film focuses on three aboriginal girls, all of whom had white fathers and were separated from their mothers and sent to a strict school. There, they are trained to assimilate into white society.

Gracie, Daisy and Molly, part of Australia’s “stolen generations,” escaped from the school and used the rabbit-proof fence -- a 1,500 mile fence that separates the Outback desert from farmlands -- to find their way home. Kenneth Branagh plays a racist administrator obsessed with recapturing the girls.

The lovely DVD includes a candid documentary on the production of the film. Noyce discusses how he cast the three young unknowns in the lead roles and what it took to turn them into actresses.

The intelligent audio commentary features Noyce, screenwriter Christine Olsen and Doris Pilkington Garimara, the real-life Molly’s daughter, who penned the book on which the film is based. Be prepared to shed tears listening to Pilkington Garimara recount the story of her mother’s tribulations and how she and her mother were separated for 21 years.

*

Standing in the Shadows

of Motown

The Funk Brothers

Artisan, $23

Did you ever wonder who created that unique, incredible sound for all those Motown hits of the 1960s sung by Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes and so many others? If the answer is yes, you’ll want to check out this groovy documentary about the Funk Brothers, the swinging studio musicians behind the Motown sound. The documentary combines anecdotes from the musicians, reenactments and clips from a recent concert featuring the men as well as such artists as Joan Osborne and Chaka Khan.

The two-disc set features audio commentary from producer-director Paul Justman and producer-author Allan Slutsky (who spent more than a decade attempting to get the film made), a trivia track, a multi-angle jam session on three numbers, a music video montage, clips from a dinner with the musicians, a touching tribute to members of the Funk Brothers who have died, a featurette on the group’s comeback and video biographies.

*

Citizen Ruth

Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place

Miramax, $20

The first feature by “Election” and “About Schmidt” writer-director Alexander Payne is a scathingly funny but uneven social satire, which, like Payne’s subsequent films, are set in his hometown of Omaha.

Dern gives one of her best performances in this 1996 film as a dumb, stoned, manipulative young woman who discovers she’s pregnant and ends up, through a series of funny circumstances, a spokeswoman for both sides of the abortion issue.

The digital edition features wryly amusing commentary from Payne, co-writer Jim Taylor, production designer Jane Ann Stewart and Dern.