It’s ‘Bewitched,’ every which way

With the feature film version of the long-running sitcom “Bewitched” starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell opening Friday, Sony Home Entertainment is releasing the first season of the series on DVD ($40) as well as the ill-fated 1977 spinoff “Tabitha” ($30).

“The Complete First Season” of the 1964-65 ABC series is being offered in the original black-and-white and -- horrors! -- a colorized version. Elizabeth Montgomery, the daughter of actor-director Robert Montgomery, had been working in Hollywood since the early ‘50s, but she became a star on “Bewitched.” She was perfectly cast -- her then-husband, William Asher, was a producer and frequent director on the show -- as Samantha, a vibrant, intelligent and beautiful young woman who just happens to be a witch, a fact she springs on her mortal husband, Darrin (Dick York), on their wedding night.

The series featured Oscar-nominated actress Agnes Moorehead as her colorful mother, Endora; legendary British actor Maurice Evans as her warlock father; Alice Pearce and George Tobias as Samantha and Darrin’s neighbors, the nosy Gladys and Abner Kravitz; and the delightful Marion Lorne as the dotty Aunt Clara.

Though the show is still funny, it’s amazing how chauvinistic Darrin could be. Samantha spends her days cooking and cleaning and, in one episode, Darrin asks her to “get my dinner” without even a thank-you.

The four-disc set includes a retrospective featurette “The Magic Unveiled,” as well as the tongue-in-cheek “Magic and Mishaps,” which looks at the various goofs in the episodes.

Five years after “Bewitched” flew off ABC for rerun heaven, ABC premiered the unfunny “Tabitha,” starring Lisa Hartman as Samantha and Darrin’s grown-up daughter now working at a local TV news program. Robert Urich also stars as the egotistical host. The series lasted 12 episodes.

Also new

“Coach Carter” (Paramount, $30): Samuel L. Jackson stars in this true story of Ken Carter, a high school basketball coach who takes a ragtag squad of players at a Richmond, Calif., school and turns them into champions.

The digital edition won’t win any championships (where’s the audio commentary with director Thomas Carter?). There’s a decent profile of the real Ken Carter and a standard mini-documentary on the movie’s basketball sequences, a music video and some deleted scenes.

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“Miss Congeniality 2 -- Armed and Fabulous” (Warner Home Video, $28): Neither critics nor audiences embraced this sequel to the hit 2000 Sandra Bullock comedy about an FBI operative who goes undercover at a beauty pageant. A deleted scene is the puny extra.

“Hostage” (Miramax, $30): Bruce Willis goes the action-thriller route once more in this underrated release that finds the actor giving one of his better performances. As a former Los Angeles hostage negotiator now working as a small town police chief, he finds himself involved in two hostage crises -- one involving his estranged wife and teenage daughter (real-life offspring Rumer).

The extras include deleted and extended scenes with commentary from director Florent Siri, a behind-the-scenes documentary and astute commentary from French filmmaker Siri -- Willis had seen his previous film, “The Nest,” and invited him to direct “Hostage.”

“Cursed” (Miramax, $29): “Cursed” is an apt title for Wes Craven’s werewolf movie. The horror flick was plagued with reshoots, recasting and rewrites. And then before it was finally released, Dimension cut the R-rated movie to get a broader audience with a PG-13 rating. The DVD is offering the “unrated” version of the film, and though it doesn’t measure up to Craven and writer Kevin Williamson’s “Scream” trilogy, it’s still entertaining fun. And so are some of the extras, especially those covering the special effects and editing. There’s also enjoyable scene-select commentary with the effects makeup supervisor and actor Derek Mears, who plays one of the werewolves.

“The Jacket” (Warner, $25): Creepy psychological thriller starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley directed by avant-garde British filmmaker John Maybury. The disc doesn’t include any commentary from Maybury, but he’s interviewed extensively for the two stylish featurettes: “Project history and deleted scenes” and “The Look of the Jacket.”

“Hustle” (Paramount, $15): A year after they did “The Longest Yard” together, Burt Reynolds and director Robert Aldrich teamed for this brutal, seamy 1975 detective thriller. Catherine Deneuve, Eddie Albert and Ben Johnson also star.

“Starting Over” (Paramount, $15): Reynolds shows his softer side in this 1979 romantic comedy penned by James L. Brooks and directed by Alan J. Pakula. Jill Clayburgh and Candice Bergen received Oscar nominations as the women in Reynolds’ life.

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Coming

June 28: “The Pacifier,” “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” “The Keys to the House” and “Man of the House.”

July 5: “Hide and Seek,” “Bride and Prejudice” and “In My Country.”

July 12: “A Very Long Engagement.”

July 19: “Constantine” and “Ice Princess.”

July 26: “The Upside of Anger,” “King’s Ransom” and “Hotel.”

July 12: “Million Dollar Baby.”

July 26: “XXX: State of the Union” and “Steamboy.”

August: “Guess Who,” “Alexander,” “Downfall,” “The Wedding Date,” “Kung Fu Hustle,” “Because of Winn-Dixie,” “Look at Me,” “Sin City,” “Ring Two.”

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DVD sales

Here are the 10 top-selling DVDs for the week ending June 12. Rankings are compiled from a variety of major retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Blockbuster and Circuit City.

1. “Be Cool”

2. “The Sopranos: Fifth Season”

3. “Chappelle’s Show: Second Season”

4. “Seed of Chucky”

5. “Bogeyman: Special Edition”

6. “The Aviator”

7. “Team America: World Police”

8. “Beyond the Sea”

9. “Are We There Yet?”

10. “National Treasure”

Source: DVDExclusive.com