It’s a wrap

Manohla Dargis

Film Critic

A study guide to Quentin Tarantino’s pop pastiche, “Kill Bill -- Vol. 1.”

Beyond the cinephile there is that class of human known as the film geek -- pasty, puffy, in love with Harry Knowles -- and for whom you may want to consider this. Some of the B and Z movies that influenced Tarantino’s demi-epic are not widely available in this country, although the oeuvre of “Kill Bill” co-star Sonny Chiba is generally at hand. But if you’re interested in skimming the more rarefied surface of Tarantino’s imagination there’s no better place to start than with Seijun Suzuki. Love “Kill Bill’s” big nightclub blowout? Then you’ll love Suzuki’s 1960s yakuza classics “Kanto Wanderer,” “Tokyo Drifter” and “Branded to Kill.” Still pining for the cutie with the mace? Drop your jaw at Kinji Fukasaku’s controversial and entertainingly perverse social commentary, “Battle Royale,” about teenagers -- including “Bill” mace-swinger Chiaki Kuriyama -- forced to fight to the death. Can’t get over that final showdown between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu? Then meditate on Nagisa Oshima’s “Gohatto” as you wait for next year’s study guide to “Kill Bill -- Vol. 2.”

* “Kanto Wanderer,” available on DVD in January, Home Vision Entertainment, $19.95; “Tokyo Drifter” and “Branded to Kill” DVDs from the Criterion Collection, $29.95; “Battle Royale,” Region 2 DVD format from www.AznFilms.com for as low as $9.99; “Gohatto,” Region 2 DVD from Momentum Pictures, about $28 from British online retailers.

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Carina Chocano

Television Critic

“The Office,” the complete first season on DVD

The complete Wernham-Hogg experience, in all its cringe-inducing glory. The DVD includes all six episodes and the documentary “How I Made the Office,” plus deleted scenes from the series. The scripts are accompanied by 500 color photos. Lasting uplift at the expense of others, perfect for anyone who really hates his or her job.

* “The Office,” the complete first season on DVD ($20.99); “The Office: The Scripts, Series 1 ($10.47); and “The Office: The Scripts, Series 2” ($14.95). All available through Amazon.com.

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Christopher Knight

Art Critic

“Joseph Cornell: Shadowplay ... Eterniday”

The glamour book of the season has been issued on the centennial of the birth of eccentric assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972). Copiously illustrated and nicely designed, it includes insightful commentaries by assorted scholars. What sets the book apart, though, is the image-packed DVD-ROM slipped into a sleeve inside the back cover, which includes an encyclopedic compendium of works and sources, Cornell’s experimental films and more. Be forewarned that the disk is packed so tightly into the sleeve that getting it out intact is no mean feat; still, it should set a standard for art book illustrations.

* “Joseph Cornell: Shadowplay ... Eterniday,” Thames & Hudson, 256 pp., cloth, $60.

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Nicolai Ouroussoff

Architecture Critic

I.Q. Lamp

Created by the Danish designer Holgar Strom, this lamp has the retro appeal of a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. The lamp comes in 30 individual pieces and can be pieced together to create a perfect sphere or a variety of other, more creative shapes. For the mathematically inclined architect or engineer. Helpful hint: Don’t plug in before assembly.

* I.Q. Lamp, available at Yolk, 1626 Silver Lake Blvd., (323) 660-4315. $150.

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Lewis Segal

Dance Critic

La Scala Autographs

Autographed photos of favorite stars and choreographers belong in every dance collection and make thoughtful gifts. La Scala Autographs in Pennington, N.J., offers a number of seductive possibilities. For instance, how about signed 8-by-10s of Gene Kelly hanging from that dripping lamppost in “Singin’ in the Rain” ($200)? Or Jerome Robbins in a sailor suit dancing his seminal “Fancy Free” ($350)?

* La Scala Autographs catalogs are available online at www.musicautographs.com.

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Mark Swed

Music Critic

Feldman: String Quartet II

(FLUX Quartet)

Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! Morton Feldman’s second string quartet, written 20 years ago, lasts six hours, seven minutes and seven seconds in this epic performance. For those with the stamina, this delicate, exquisitely patterned music is a cheap ticket to heaven. Get the DVD -- the sound is better (you don’t need a special player), and it’s all on one disc.

* Feldman: String Quartet II. FLUX Quartet (Mode) five-CD set ($59.98), DVD (39.98).

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Robert Hilburn

Pop Music Critic

A Mike Stinson concert

For anyone who loves the music of Gram Parsons, John Prine or Ron Sexsmith. Not only are Stinson’s shows around town a bargain (sometimes $7, rarely more than $10), but you also don’t have to buy them in advance. He plays smaller rooms, such as the Cinema Bar and the Silverlake Lounge, offering songs that range from the honky-tonk spunk of “Jack of All Heartache” to the wistful social observation of “Late, Great Golden State.” He’s one of Los Angeles’ best-kept musical secrets. You can learn about his upcoming shows by checking www.mikestinson.net.

* A Mike Stinson concert, about $25 for 2 tickets. Schedule at www.mikestinson.net.

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Kenneth Turan

Film Critic

“Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer”

It’s not easy to shock and awe the international authorities who attend Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, the annual silent film festival in Pordenone, Italy, but it happened in 1989 as it never has before or since when the films of this Russian director were screened. Unexpectedly sophisticated works that had not been seen outside their country of origin since 1917, Bauer’s productions were characterized by technical innovations (including a three-minute tracking shot), a subtle, Chekhovian sense of character, and the dramatic use of light and shadow. The three films on this just-issued DVD, “Twilight of a Woman’s Soul,” “After Death” and “The Dying Swan,” were restored by the Russian state archive Gosfilmofond and feature new scores commissioned by the British Film Institute. Distinctly Russian in their brooding mood yet universal in their remarkable psychological sophistication, Bauer’s films have been justly called the work of the greatest director you’ve never heard of. Making the story even more tragic, Bauer’s film career, only four years long, was cut short when he died of pneumonia in 1917.

* “Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer” (Milestone Film & Video, $29.99, [800] 603-1104).

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Carina Chocano

Television Critic

“The Pythons”

The ideal gift for anyone prone to lengthy, subpar dead parrot dialogue recitations, the history of the legendary comedy team told through personal accounts and more than 1,000 photographs. At 368 pages, it should keep the home Michael Palin impressions to a minimum, at least for a while.

* “The Pythons” by Graham Chapman, et al. (Hardcover, Thomas Dunne Books; $36.00).

Gum boots

Ugg boots are dead. Long live gum boots ... you know, those things Paris and Nicole wore on Danny’s dairy farm in “The Simple Life.”

* Wellington Hunter Classic lightweight field boot is $110, including delivery. These and other stylers available at https://www.hunter-boots.com

“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab 5’s Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better”

Nothing says “help is on the way” like a pre-ordered copy of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab 5’s Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better.” Sure, the needy recipient will have to wait, but the built-in anticipation should underscore the urgency of the situation.

* “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab 5’s Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better” (Hardcover, Feb. 10). Available through Amazon.com.

A three-day stay at Covert Ops

The big-ticket gift of a lifetime for hard-core “Alias” fans: A three-day stay at Covert Ops, spy camp for grown-ups in Tucson. Wannabe undercover agents learn to drive like James Bond, acquire self-defense techniques from Green Berets and Navy SEALs, and learn how to escape from ambush in a fast attack vehicle. These programs are held monthly, usually on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

* Covert Ops next mission dates: Feb. 20-22, $3,795, (800) 644-7382 or www.covertops.com.

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Manohla Dargis

Film Critic

Universal DVD player

Want to make your favorite cinephile yelp for joy and stick it to the monopolistic movie companies at the same time? The answer is a code-free DVD player that lets you watch discs that can’t played on U.S. (Region 1) machines, from Jacques Rivette’s “La Belle Noiseuse” (available only in Region 2, i.e., for Europe and other areas) to Kinji Fukasaku’s “Yakuza Graveyard” (ditto). You can purchase code-free players online although some require low-level hacking, and do make sure your code-free player has a built-in signal converter so you can watch PAL discs. Here in Los Angeles, you can buy players out of the box at Cinefile Video. Tucked next door to the Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles, Cinefile also rents and sells DVDs from all regions, and frowns on boors who talk on their cell phones while renting or buying.* Universal DVD player, $84.99 and up, Cinefile, 11280 Santa Monica Blvd., or www.cinefilevideo.com. (310) 312-8836.

“The Decalogue”

For years, the only way you could watch the late Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “The Decalogue” at home was to go online or abroad. But you still would have needed a code-free video player to enjoy this sublime exploration of the Ten Commandments, which Kieslowski shot for Polish television in 1988-89 and is recognized as one of the crowning achievements of 20th century cinema. A couple of years ago, Chicago-based Facets Video released Kieslowski’s masterpiece on DVD, but only for a short window of time. In August, the company released a souped-up DVD edition, struck from a newly restored master and featuring loads of extras, finally making the title widely available to U.S. audiences. You can buy “The Decalogue” DVD at some video stores, such as Cinefile, and from the Facets website, www.facets.org. While you’re there, make sure to check out the company’s comprehensive catalog of new, old, familiar and seriously obscure titles.

* “The Decalogue,” $79.95, from Facets Video and specialty film video stores.

Film Comment, Sight and Sound

Nothing warms a cinephile’s heart or at least inflames her ire as easily as the infuriatingly well-reasoned if generally misguided opinions of other cinephiles. Some of the smartest, most internationally savvy and intellectually expansive film criticism going can be read in two of the best English-language movie magazines out there: the bimonthly Film Comment, published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and the monthly Sight and Sound, published by the British Film Institute. Single issues of the magazines are available at better newsstands and bookstores, including Book Soup in West Hollywood.

* You can snap up a one-year subscription to Film Comment at www.filmlinc.com for $24.95; the hideously overinflated pound means you need to spend about $96 for a one-year run of Sight and Sound (log on to www.bfi.org), but of course you also receive twice as many magazines.

Essential reading

For the last two decades, Village Voice senior film critic J. Hoberman has been inflaming passions with his super-smart, bitingly funny reviews, essays and miscellaneous outrages. The 24-karat standard for American movie critics, Hoberman has published a number of essential books, including a scholarly work on Yiddish Cinema (“Bridge of Light”) and a gloss on aesthetically disreputable cinema, “Midnight Movies,” written with Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum. In September, Hoberman published his ninth book, “The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties,” a typically audacious exploration of 1960s cinema as “fantasy and social myth.” Rosenbaum also has a must-read new book out this year, “Movie Mutations: The Changing Face of World Cinephilia,” a compendium of discussions on world cinema -- a road map to the new international film culture -- which he co-edited with Adrian Martin.

* “The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties,” by J. Hoberman, $29.95. “Movie Mutations: The Changing Face of World Cinephilia,” edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum and Adrian Martin, $22.50. Both available at Book Soup and at online bookstores.

American Cinematheque

Yes, Virginia, some of the world’s greatest movies really can be found in Hollywood -- specifically at 6712 Hollywood Blvd., home of the American Cinematheque and some of the best programming in the country. Memberships range from $40 (for students and seniors) to $1,200 (for rich people), and bring benefits from discounted tickets to seats at the Cinematheque’s annual swank-fest, the Moving Picture Ball. If you can’t spring for a membership, consider buying your favorite cinephile a ticket or two for some of the movies playing during the holidays. On Friday, the first night of Hanukkah, the Cinematheque spreads the ecumenical good vibes with a screening of “Wheel of Time,” Werner Herzog’s documentary about His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Although the theater goes dark on Christmas, it reopens on Dec. 26, the first day of Kwanzaa, with Blake Edwards’ comedy classics “The Pink Panther” and “A Shot in the Dark.”

* American Cinemateque memberships $40-$1,200, single ticket prices $9. (323) 466-3456 or www.americancinematheque.com.

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Robert Hilburn

Pop Music Critic

“Bob Dylan -- The Limited Edition CD Box Set”

One of Dylan’s greatest pupils, Bruce Springsteen, once wrote that we can learn more from a three-minute song than we ever did in school, and there are enough songs in this 15-album set to educate and inspire you in high school, college and beyond. Even grandparents are still pondering Dylan lines such as “There’s no success like failure and failure’s no success at all.” Nothing fuels the imagination like great art, and these classic discs -- from “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Blonde on Blonde” through “Love and Theft” --are landmarks in pop culture. For smart teenagers.

* “Bob Dylan -- The Limited Edition CD Box Set” (Columbia Records), $230.

“The Essential Johnny Cash (1955-1983)”

The next time a kid asks who’s that old man singing the Trent Reznor song “Hurt,” in the year’s most memorable video, answer with this splendid three-disc package. Cash had a remarkable run late in life with producer Rick Rubin, but the heart of his legacy rests in the music he made decades ago on Sun and Columbia Records. You can hear in this set the best of everything from the rockabilly song Cash wrote for Elvis Presley (“Get Rhythm”) to daring protest numbers (“The Ballad of Ira Hayes”). The man’s voice conveyed the character and conscience of a nation.

* “The Essential Johnny Cash (1955-1983)” (Columbia), around $30.

“Heavier Than Heaven”

As irate readers frequently remind pop critics, it’s more fun to listen to music than to read about it, but this book is an exception. In “Heavier Than Heaven,” Charles R. Cross digs deeper into the psyche of a major pop figure than we’ve previously seen. Even for those who thought of Kurt Cobain and other grunge rockers as whiners and losers, this penetrating book will make readers feel compassion for a lost soul who succumbed to his own despair.

* “Heavier Than Heaven,” $25 hardcover, $15 softcover, available at most bookstores.

“24 Hour Party People”

For someone who likes to laugh at pop absurdities, director Michael Winterbottom’s film about the ‘80s Manchester, England, music scene is a wonderfully entertaining tale about how sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll can lead to chaos. Everything in the movie (now on DVD with lots of nice extras) is a bit exaggerated, but it still rings true. When I went to Manchester to interview some of the city’s musicians, I spent a whole day trying to track down a particular singer. When I finally found him at the Hacienda dance club, he was so high that his glazed eyes rolled back in his head and he fell face forward onto a table. Thank goodness he was seated at the time.

* “24 Hour Party People,” DVD, $25.

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Christopher Knight

Art Critic

“Foul Perfection: Essays and Criticism by Mike Kelley” and “Please Pay Attention Please: Bruce Nauman’s Words”

Writing by artists is always illuminating, whether the subject is their own work, other art or society in general. Nauman and Kelley are two of the most potent and influential artists to emerge in Los Angeles in the last 40 years. Nauman is famously silent about his performance and video-based sculptures and environments, which often pivot around wordplay, but he’s given enough interviews and written enough texts for installations that the book offers a bushel of insights. Kelley, by contrast, is famously noisy about his sculptures and installations, and his writings on art and culture are among the savviest by any artist working today.

* “Foul Perfection: Essays and Criticism by Mike Kelley” (MIT Press, edited by John Welchman, 238 pp., paper, $24.95) and “Please Pay Attention Please: Bruce Nauman’s Words” (MIT Press, edited by Janet Kraynak, 410 pp., cloth, $39.95).

Art museum memberships.

Most art museums offer memberships at levels that range from basic to elaborate, and those that do rely on members to form a core constituency for their programs. (Like voting, membership also gives you license to complain.) Given the expansive sweep of specialization that area art museums encompass, there’s likely a gift membership at the right price for the right person--especially someone who might not already be an art enthusiast.

* Most art museums have online sales options, use a search engine such as google.com for the site address.

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Nicolai Ouroussoff

Architecture Critic

Lego Bionicles

This set takes diaper-clad builders to new imaginative heights. The basic building blocks now include new anthropomorphic forms, which could inspire a whole new generation of blob designers -- craft for the computer age set.

* Lego Bionicles, available at most toy stores. $7.99.

A Wing at LACMA

For the ultimate vanity gift, consider buying a new wing for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and name it after yourself. Estimated price: $50 million.

* The “your name here” building for “your choice here” art. Around $50 million.

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Lewis Segal

Dance Critic

“Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World”

In the American dance community, Christmas is synonymous with “The Nutcracker,” and Jennifer Fisher’s new book, “Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World” supplies the lowdown on how the star-spangled USA became addicted to giant mice, dancing snowflakes and sugarplum fairies.

* “Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World,” Yale University Press, available at most bookstores for $27.

“The Nutcracker”

Though this ballet is widely available in VHS and DVD editions, the latest Facets Multi-Media catalog boasts radically different versions by American Ballet Theatre, the Australian Ballet, Bejart Ballet Lausanne, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Mark Morris Dance Group, New York City Ballet, the Royal Ballet (two different productions), the Russian State Theatre Academy, plus an adaptation for ice skaters and an animated documentary.

* “The Nutcracker” $16.95 and up, from www.facets.org.

“Taken by Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader”

The best choice for serious modernists on your list would be this wide-ranging new collection of essays on a technique and philosophy of movement that’s had an incalculable effect on how contemporary choreography evolves.

* “Taken by Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader,” edited by Ann Cooper Albright and David Gere, it’s published in hardcover ($70) and paperback ($24.95) by Wesleyan University Press.

Vintage, one-of-a-kind autographed letters, cards and photographs

For balletomanes who think they have everything: a collection of 14 vintage, original, one-of-a-kind autographed letters, cards and photographs from American first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to British prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn. A sample from Jackie O. after a 1965 dinner party: “Please tell Rudi -- I can’t call him Mr. Nureyev after stepping on his feet for an hour -- that he is the sweetest most tolerant dancing partner and I just love him for being so nice.” There are even hand-written thank-you notes from little Caroline and John-John.

* 14 vintage, original, one-of-a-kind autographed letters, cards and photographs -- a steal at $35,000 from the Golden Legend in Beverly Hills, (310) 385-1903.

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Mark Swed

Music Critic

The Gergiev Opera Collection

Here are the three seminal 19th-century Russian operas -- “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” “Boris Godunov” and “Prince Igor” -- in generally very fine productions filmed at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in the 1990s. All are excitingly conducted by Valery Gergiev, and “Boris,” directed by the late Russian filmmaker, Andrei Tarkovsky, is one of the great opera productions of the last decade.

* The Gergiev Opera Collection (Universal Classics) six-DVD set, $109.98.

The Harvard Dictionary of Music

The essential one-stop reference has been newly updated, making it even more essential. After all, how else are you going to find out what euouae are (the vowels of the words “seculorum Amen” sung in Gregorian chant) or that you just missed Berlioz’s 200th birthday?

* Don Michael Randel. The Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th Edition. Harvard University Press, $39.95.

Minnesota Orchestra Centennial CD Box

Eugene Ormandy and Antal Dorati were a lot feistier conductors in their Minnesota days than later on when they got better known. This set includes many of their exciting early performances, along with much else from the orchestra’s archives and broadcasts over the years. One favorite is composer Ernst von Dohnanyi’s rhapsodically idiosyncratic performance of Mozart’s 25th Piano Concerto with Dorati.

* Minnesota Orchestra Centennial CD Box, 12 CDs, $195 (available at minnesotaorchestra.org).

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, “Nutcracker” Suite

There have been klezmer “Nutcrackers,” jazz “Nutcrackers” and every sort of nutty novelty “Nutcracker.” But here is what Tchaikovsky’s ballet sounded like before it became an ubiquitous Christmas soundtrack. Comparing the tart clarinets and flutes, the buzzy brass and the snappish strings of Tchaikovsky’s day to the more homogenized timbre of a modern orchestra can be like comparing a strong raw goat cheese to Velveeta. Performances are infectious.

* Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, “Nutcracker” Suite. Anima Eterna; Jos van Immerseel, conductor. (Zig-Zag Territories). $18.98.

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Kenneth Turan

Film Critic

“75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards”

When you’re gold-plated and bald, you don’t really show your age, but Oscar is three-quarters of a century old, and this, the Academy Awards book by which all others are judged, has been handsomely brought up to date to mark the occasion. Its strength is its balancing of thoroughness (every nominee and every award for every year is listed, even the technical ones) with marvelous photographs, many from the Academy’s archives, and lively texts and captions by a man who knows this history as well as anyone. Photographs of the poster of each best picture winner from “Wings” to “Chicago” is an added bonus.

* “75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards,” by Robert Osborne, Abbeville Press, $75.

Lon Chaney Collection

A pair of splendid reissues that should give the Man of a Thousand Faces the kind of modern recognition that is overdue. The two-disc “Phantom” includes both the 1925 and the 1929 versions of Chaney’s silent horror classic, with an unmasking scene that is one of the most terrifying in film history. The Chaney Collection includes Kevin Brownlow’s biographical documentary, Rick Schmidlin’s reconstruction of “London After Midnight,” and a trio of Chaney’s most distinctive films: “The Ace of Hearts,” “Laugh, Clown, Laugh” and the indefinable “The Unknown,” with Chaney as an armless circus performer and Joan Crawford as the ingenue who likes him that way. The key to Chaney’s huge success as an actor was that he brought exceptional emotional force and believability to his unnerving collection of grotesques. These characters were not monsters to him, they were people worthy of all the pathos and humanity he was able to bring to bear.

* “Lon Chaney Collection,” Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies, $39.98, and “The Phantom of the Opera Ultimate Edition,” Milestone Film & Video, $24.99, (800) 603-1104.

Lash LaRue, King of the Bullwhip

At last, a hardcover book that tells you all you need to know about that most euphoniously named of B western heroes, the original man in black who was the acknowledged inspiration for both Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, the 18-foot-bullwhip-wielding Lash LaRue. Put together by a pair of longtime Lashophiles, this volume includes a complete illustrated filmography of the 20-something westerns Lash made in the 1940s and ‘50s for Poverty Row studios such as PRC and Eagle Lion. Included are posters for some of the choicer titles, like “Law of the Lash,” “Return of the Lash” (“His Whip Brings Justice to the Feud-Ravaged Plains”) and “Cheyenne Takes Over” (“Prairie Plunderers Feel the Sting of the Lash.”) There is also information on Lash’s little discussed (he called it “bad jazz”) personal life, the possibility that he’d had 10 wives, and how he became a born-again Christian. There’s also a fascinating compilation of Lash’s answers to fan’s questions, including the story of how one Al LaRue, a bullwhip beginner, turned himself into the king.

* “Lash LaRue, King of the Bullwhip,” by Chuck Thornton and David Rothel. Empire Publishing Inc., $25, (336) 427-5850.

“Dashiell Hammett’s ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ A Documentary Volume”

This exceptional compilation, Vol. 280 in Gale’s ongoing Dictionary of Literary Biography and priced for libraries, not ordinary mortals, is nevertheless a treasure beyond price for fans of both the classic Hammett novel and the three (that’s right, three) film versions of the doomed quest for a black bird. An incredible amalgam of photos, memos, letters, reviews, whatever, this will make fans of the book or film gasp as one unexpected delight succeeds another. Included are information about the cases Hammett worked on as a Pinkerton operative, early pulp appearances of characters who later appeared in the novel, a close comparison of the novel to the earlier Black Mask version, a complaint from publisher Alfred A. Knopf that no one knew how to pronounce “falcon,” three pages of lines and situations Hollywood censor Joseph I. Breen found objectionable in the John Huston film version, and, perhaps most fascinating of all, a Warner Bros. list of cast choices for that same film. Who knew that Rita Hayworth was under serious consideration for the Mary Astor role? With this book, wonders really do never cease.

* “Dashiell Hammett’s ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ A Documentary Volume,” edited by Richard Layman, with George Parker Anderson, the Gale Group, $190, (800) 877-GALE.

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Don Shirley

Theater Writer

“The Stephen Sondheim Collection”

DVD versions of “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Into the Woods” and “Passion,” with the original Broadway casts, and three concert DVDs: “Follies in Concert” from Lincoln Center in 1985, “Sweeney Todd” with George Hearn and Patti LuPone and “Sondheim -- A Celebration at Carnegie Hall.” The “Sunday” and “Passion” DVDs include commentaries from Sondheim and others. Ideal for Sondhei- maniacs and for anyone who cares about musicals.

* “The Stephen Sondheim Collection,” $119.99, Image Entertainment or $92.55 at www.deepdiscountdvd.com.

“The Theatre Quotation Book”

Gift books shouldn’t require the recipient to slog through hundreds of pages that may or may not be of interest. This one is full of pithy, stimulating comments from Socrates to Kushner, collected and organized into interesting patterns by Russell Vandenbroucke in a compact 244 pages. For anyone who might enjoy tossing a few quotes into a conversation or an essay about theater.

* “The Theatre Quotation Book,” $14.95 at Samuel French Theatre & Film Bookshops in Hollywood and Studio City. $10.47 plus shipping on www.amazon.com.

“How to Watch a Play”

For four Wednesdays beginning Jan. 21, at South Coast Repertory’s Nicholas Studio, Jerry Patch, South Coast’s veteran , dramaturge will conduct these seminars. Discussions, supplemented by video, will focus on the choices that confront the creators of a theatrical production. For any adult who wants to be a better informed and more attentive theatergoer -- and who can manage to be in Costa Mesa for four Wednesday evenings in a row.

* “How to Watch a Play,” $125, $115 if enrolled by Jan. 8. Jan. 21, 28, Feb. 4 and 11, 7-10 p.m., South Coast Repertory’s Nicholas Studio, Costa Mesa.

“Shakespearean Insults.”

At this time of year, it may seem Scroogelike to give someone a mug or T-shirt that features a long list of epithets from the Bard, such as “anointed sovereign of sighs and groans” and “idol of idiot-worshippers.” Picture Don Rickles wearing a codpiece. Still, anyone who enjoys Shakespearean rants is likely to get a big laugh out of all that foaming at the mouth -- an activity that makes the mug especially convenient.

* “Shakespearean Insults,” mug $12, T-shirt $20 from www.drschnapper.com. The shirts sell for $18 at the Old Globe in San Diego.

Theater tickets

Prices vary. Theater is an experience, not a thing, so tickets to that experience theoretically make the best gift for a theater lover.

But be careful -- the recipient of your gift may not share your own exquisite taste. If you’re not certain about a match between a particular person and a particular show, you could make your own gift certificate, for a show of the recipient’s choosing. If it doesn’t work out, you won’t get the blame.

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Kevin Thomas

Film Writer

“Kate Remembered”

For anyone who cares about movies and hasn’t caught up with Scott Berg’s “Kate Remembered,” it is an excellent choice. Drawing from his 20-year friendship with Katharine Hepburn, Berg has created a compulsively readable, affectionate yet authentic portrait of an indomitable American icon and her world, and along with it a sketch of her friend, Broadway producer Irene Mayer Selznick, first wife of David O. Selznick and younger daughter of Louis B. Mayer -- plus an amusing glimpse of Warren Beatty.

Berg, the distinguished biographer of Maxwell Perkins, Samuel Goldwyn and Charles Lindbergh, has been criticized for publishing so swiftly following Hepburn’s death, but it’s most likely this shrewd, most private of celebrities would have viewed this loving but clear-eyed account from a trusted confidant as the best defense against whatever might be written about her in the future.

* “Kate Remembered,” by A. Scott Berg, Putnam Publishing Group, $25.95.

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Pete Metzger

Video Game Writer

“Super Mario Advance 4, Super Mario Bros. 3”

It’s the game that started it all! The best-selling title of all time is back in miniature, portable form, and hasn’t lost a step. They’ve even added new levels and powerups to keep things exciting, and included the even older school “Mario Bros.” in the deal. For any Generation Xer longing for a little nostalgia.

* Super Mario Advance 4, Super Mario Bros. 3, Game Boy Advance platform, $29.99.

“Game Boy Advance SP”

Gaming to go. This new, compacted model features a lighted screen and built-in rechargeable battery and comes in three different colors. All kinds of games are available, handy for those with short attention spans. For anyone needing to spice up that boring board meeting or dreary opera.

* Game Boy Advance SP, $99.99.

“Tony Hawk Underground”

Why: Skate or die! The latest version of the skateboard adventurer features improved graphics and gameplay and adds new vehicles to drive. And you can also pull off a wicked front-nose grind, whatever that means. For that teenage punk in your family with a chip on his shoulder.

* “Tony Hawk Underground,” all platforms, $49.99

“Simpsons Hit and Run”

It’s “Grand Theft Auto” meets “The Simpsons,” but without all the blood and hookers. The missions are fun, the original dialogue is snappy, and it’s a game parents can feel decent about planting their kids in front of.

* “Simpsons Hit and Run,” all platforms, $49.99