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Context, comment and, yes, cash

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Times Staff Writer

Introducing the extended edition of his 2000 Oscar-winning epic “Gladiator” (DreamWorks, $27), director Ridley Scott says this new version isn’t his director’s cut -- that was the one released in theaters five years ago. But he thinks the 17 additional minutes woven into the box office hit should please the movie’s legions of fans.

Of course, this three-disc set is also a way to add a few more dollars to the coffers -- the original “Gladiator” DVD, released in fall 2000, was a big moneymaker and is still one of the top 15 bestselling DVDs of all time.

A lot of the new material is quite good. Though some are just short extended scenes, a few sequences really stand out, including one in which Commodus visits the burial crypt of his father, Marcus Aurelius. At first he brutally attacks his father’s bust with a dagger but then breaks into a flood of tears as he hugs the bust. Joaquin Phoenix, who received an Oscar nomination, is particularly strong in this deleted sequence.

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The high point of the set -- which also includes the theatrical version -- is the disarming, informative commentary of Scott and Russell Crowe, who received the best actor Oscar for his memorable turn as the gladiator Maximus. Adding to the viewing experience of the extended edition is an informative trivia track, “Are You Not Entertained?” The trivia box turns red every time there is new footage.

The second disc features the lengthy documentary “Strength and Honor: Creating the World of Gladiator” and the third disc explores the image and design of the film.

Although Australian director Peter Weir doesn’t supply commentary tracks on special editions of two of his most successful films, 1985’s “Witness” and 1998’s “The Truman Show” (Paramount, $20 each), he is front and center on the comprehensive documentary retrospectives on both discs. Erudite and passionate, Weir is a wonderful guide through the entire production process for both films.

The “Witness” disc is the better of the two -- the five-part documentary features interviews with producer Edward S. Feldman, Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas and even Viggo Mortensen who made his film debut as an Amish farmer in the Oscar-winning murder-mystery-romance set in Amish country outside Lancaster, Pa.

Jim Carrey is conspicuous by his absence from the “Truman Show” documentary. Carrey, who won a Golden Globe for best dramatic actor for his performance as a young man who doesn’t know his entire life has been a TV show, is seen only in interviews from 1998. The “Truman Show” disc also includes a few deleted scenes and a look at the special effects.

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Also new:

“Layer Cake” (Sony, $27): Frenetic, darkly comedic British gangster thriller starring Daniel Craig, who has been suggested as a possible candidate for the new James Bond. The digital edition includes a standard “making of” documentary, a snooze of a Q&A; with Craig and director Matthew Vaughn, two intriguing alternate endings and commentary by Vaughn.

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“A Lot Like Love” (Touchstone, $30): Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet play well off of each other in this underrated romantic comedy. The extras are surprisingly entertaining -- the gag reel is funny without feeling forced and the commentary with director Nigel Cole (“Calendar Girls”) and producers Armyan Bernstein and Kevin J. Messick is self-deprecating.

“New Jack City” (Warner Home Video, $27): Two-disc set of Mario Van Peebles’ popular 1991 gangster melodrama, which prompted riots in certain areas including Westwood, is a cautionary tale about the crack epidemic in New York City in the 1980s. Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Judd Nelson and Chris Rock star. The set includes commentary from Van Peebles, a retrospective documentary, a look at the film’s influence on the music world and a tour with Van Peebles and his children of Harlem.

“Beauty Shop” (Sony, $29): Queen Latifah reprises the role of the sassy hairdresser, Gina, which she originated in “Barbershop 2.” Extras include a gag reel and dull audio commentary on selected scenes with director Bille Woodruff.

“Adam-12: Season One” (Universal, $40): Martin Milner plays tough patrol officer Pete Molloy; Kent McCord is his rookie partner, Jim Reed, in this Jack Webb-produced detective series set in Los Angeles. The series ran from 1968 to 1975.

“Emergency! Season One” (Universal, $40): In 1972, “Adam-12” was spun off into this hourlong, no-nonsense medical series about the heroic paramedics of Squad 51 and the emergency staff at Rampart Hospital. Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe head the cast.

Coming soon:

September: “Crash,” “Fever Pitch,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “Rock School,” “The Longest Yard,” “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D,” “Born Into Brothels,” “Inside Deep Throat,” “Robots” and “Lords of Dogtown.”

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October: “Kingdom of Heaven,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” “Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession” and “Tell Them Who You Are.”

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