Drink deep, it’s a vintage crop

It’s another rich week for vintage movie buffs with the DVD releases today of three Yuletide classics, several films starring a screen legend and two masterpieces of international cinema.

The “Warner Bros. Classic Holiday Collection” (Warner, $30 for the set; $20 each) features 1938’s “A Christmas Carol” and “Boys Town” and 1945’s “Christmas in Connecticut.”

“A Christmas Carol,” which was produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, may not be the definitive adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ tale, but it’s a moving experience thanks to the performances of Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit. Franz Waxman’s lush score is another plus. Extras include the surreal short “A Christmas Party” starring child actor Jackie Cooper and several MGM stars, a clip of Judy Garland singing “Silent Night” and a Technicolor cartoon.

Spencer Tracy received his second best actor Oscar in “Boys Town,” for his warm performance as Father Flanagan, the benevolent Omaha-based priest who, believing there were no bad boys in the world, began a facility that housed orphans and delinquents. It’s pretty sappy, but worth watching for Tracy. Mickey Rooney also stars. The disc also includes the wan 1941 sequel “Men of Boys Town” and a vintage short with the real Flanagan.

Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan make a charming couple in “Christmas in Connecticut,” a zippy romantic comedy about a food writer who can’t cook and a war veteran. The DVD includes the touching, clever 1945 Oscar-winning short, “Star in the Night,” which marked Don Siegel’s (“Dirty Harry”) directorial debut.

New from MGM are four Marlon Brando flicks ($15 each): 1959’s “The Fugitive Kind,” 1969’s “Burn!,” 1976’s “The Missouri Breaks” and 1989’s “A Dry White Season.”

Brando is a bit too long in the tooth as a guitar-playing drifter in “Fugitive Kind,” which is based on Tennessee Williams’ Southern gothic melodrama, “Orpheus Descending.” Joanne Woodward and Anna Magnani also star; Sidney Lumet directed.

Brando gives one of his best performances of the 1960s in Gillo Pontecorvo’s “Burn!” as William Walker, a British agent sent to a Caribbean island in the mid-1800s to help incite slaves working on the Portuguese sugar plantations to revolt. Unfortunately, MGM is presenting the U.S.-release version, which is 20 minutes shorter than the original cut.

Brando and Jack Nicholson teamed up with director Arthur Penn for “The Missouri Breaks,” but the result is an overstuffed, violent Western. He received his final Oscar nomination -- his only one for best supporting actor -- for 1989’s riveting “A Dry White Season,” as a South African prosecutor. Donald Sutherland also stars.

The haunting 1953 Japanese fantasy-drama “Ugetsu” (Criterion, $40) is considered the crowning achievement in the career of director Kenji Mizoguchi.

The themes of greed, lust and the folly of war are explored in this tale of an ambitious potter who falls under the spell of a beautiful ghost and a poor farmer who is obsessed with becoming a samurai. Extras include effete commentary with filmmaker and critic Tony Rayns, a feature-length documentary on Mizoguchi, an appreciation of the filmmaker by director Masahiro Shinoda, an interview with “Ugetsu” assistant director Tokuzo Tanaka and a vintage chat with the late cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa.

Just a few years after releasing a two-disc set of the 1960 Federico Fellini classic “La Dolce Vita,” Koch Lorber Films has brought out a “Deluxe Collector’s Edition” ($80). The first two discs of the set are the same, but the new edition includes an extra disc with a documentary on composer Nino Rota, a frank 2004 interview with star Anita Ekberg, a 1960 TV interview with Fellini, an interview conducted in French with star Marcello Mastroianni also from 1960 and an excerpt of an interview with actor Donald Sutherland about Fellini.

Also new this week:

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (Warner, $29): Roald Dahl’s popular fantasy about a little boy who wins a tour through a famous candy factory operated by an eccentric owner named Willie Wonka gets the Tim Burton spin. Burton favorite Johnny Depp stars as Wonka. Extras on the two-disc set include a cheeky documentary on training the squirrels, a sweet look at the life of Dahl featuring interviews with his grandchildren, several interactive games and activities -- “The Oompa-Loompa Dance Machine,” “Search for the Golden Ticket” -- five featurettes and an intriguing look at Deep Roy’s task in playing all the Oompa-Loompas.

Shortly after parting company with the Supremes, Diana Ross made her film debut as the legendary singer Billie Holiday in the glossy 1972 bio-pic “Lady Sings the Blues” (Paramount, $15). The film, which also stars Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor, plays fast and loose with the facts, but there’s no denying Ross’ powerful turn as the troubled singer -- she received a best actress Oscar nomination. This edition includes some deleted scenes, a retrospective and frank commentary with director Sidney J. Furie and executive producer Berry Gordy, who had numerous disagreements, and artist manager Shelly Berger.

“The White Shadow -- Season 1” (Fox, $40): Premiere season of the Emmy Award-winning 1978-81 CBS dramatic series. Created by the late Bruce Paltrow -- Gwyneth’s dad -- the show revolved around a pro basketball player (Ken Howard) who, after suffering a career ending injury, becomes the coach of an inner-city high school team. Included on the set are a retrospective and breezy commentary between the pilot’s director, former child star Jackie Cooper, and producer Mark Tinker.

“Beavis & Butt-head, Vol 1. -- The Mike Judge Collection” (Paramount, $38): The three-disc set features 44 episodes -- 23 of which feature censored material -- from MTV’s often controversial animated series created by Mike Judge about two brainless 14-year-old boys obsessed with heavy metal music and sex. Extras include a retrospective, the boys’ appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards, clips from their Thanksgiving special with Kurt Loder and 11 music videos with Beavis & Butt-head’s stream-of-conscious commentary.