‘Road to Perdition’ is a rewarding route

“Road to Perdition”

Tom Hanks, Paul Newman

DreamWorks, $27

Although this melancholy period drama failed to receive Academy Award nominations for best film or director, it’s definitely worth catching. Tom Hanks gives one of his strongest performances as a taciturn hit man for the Irish American mob in Chicago, circa 1930s. Paul Newman, who did receive an Oscar nomination for supporting actor, also excels as the head of the mob and Hanks’ surrogate father. Sam Mendes, an Oscar winner for “American Beauty,” directed with great skill, and the late Conrad L. Hall supplied the evocative, Oscar-nominated cinematography. The DVD includes several intriguing deleted scenes and perceptive, intelligent commentary from Mendes.

*

Tuck Everlasting

Alexis Bledel, Jonathan Jackson

Disney, $30 for DVD: $23 for VHS

This is a haunting, exquisite adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s acclaimed children’s book about a young girl who encounters a family that is both blessed and cursed with immortality after drinking from a magical spring in the woods. Adults should enjoy it as much as kids.

The digital edition doesn’t disappoint, either. There’s a compelling “A Visit With Natalie Babbitt” featurette and a “Lessons of Tuck” viewing mode that features cast members and kids discussing the film’s complex themes. Also included are terrific commentary from gregarious director Jay Russell and screenwriter James Hart; and another compelling track with Russell interviewing cast members Bledel, Jackson and Scott Bairstow.

*

Stargate

Kurt Russell, James Spader

Artisan, $20

Artisan describes its two-disc set of the 1994 sci-fi adventure as the “ultimate” edition. It’s anything but.

The discs are perfectly serviceable, but there are plenty of DVD sets on the market that feature a lot more extras. What this set does offer is both the director’s cut and the theatrical cut of the fantasy (directed by Roland Emmerichand co-written and produced by Dean Devlin); breezy commentary from Emmerich and Devlin; a passable documentary; an intriguing and somewhat creepy featurette, “Is There a Stargate?,” which focuses on Erich Von Daniken, author of “Chariot of the Gods”; production notes; cast and crew information; and trailers.