Worthy of an admiring gaze

Three from the Criterion Collection

$30-$40

THE latest discs from Criterion include two classics from the 1930s and a charming 1990 comedy of manners.

Young Mr. Lincoln

In the realm of cinema, 1939 has taken on almost mythical status. That year has been considered by some to be a pinnacle of filmmaking in the 20th century, 12 months in which the stars at all of the major studios aligned to create enduring classics such as “Gone With the Wind,” “Stagecoach” and “The Wizard of Oz,” to name just a few. And 1939 was a big year for director John Ford.

Not only did he helm “Stagecoach,” he also directed the Technicolor historical epic “Drums Along the Mohawk” with Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda, and this sturdy biographical drama with Fonda perfectly cast as the young Abe Lincoln.

The film portrays the man who would be president as a struggling young Illinois lawyer who finds himself defending two brothers accused of murdering the town’s deputy. “Mr. Lincoln” also marks the last screen appearance of Alice Brady, who plays the defendants’ mother. Winner of the best supporting actress Oscar for 1937’s “In Old Chicago,” Brady died of cancer at age 46 in 1939.

Extras: Director Lindsay Anderson’s affectionate 1992 BBC profile of Ford; a 1975 episode of the British talk show “Parkinson” that features a charming interview with Fonda; archival audio interviews with Fonda and Ford conducted by the director’s grandson, Dan Ford; and the “Academy Award Theater” radio production of “Mr. Lincoln,” with Fonda reprising his film role.

*

La Bete Humaine

French director Jean Renoir scored his greatest commercial success with this riveting 1938 adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel. It was the film’s legendary star, Jean Gabin, who asked Renoir to direct this haunting film noir. The two had collaborated on such films as “The Lower Depths” and the 1937 classic “Grand Illusion.” And Renoir elicits a heartbreaking performance from Gabin as a tormented train engineer who is driven to murder and madness when he falls in love with a married femme fatale (Simone Simon).

Extras: A crisp, restored high-definition digital transfer of the original uncut version, a lively and funny 1967 introduction to the film by Renoir, a 2004 interview with Peter Bogdanovich about the film, an archival TV interview with Renoir, and a 1957 TV appearance by Renoir recreating a scene from “Humaine” with Simon and a gallery of photographs and posters.

*

Metropolitan

Writer-director Whit Stillman made his feature debut with this stylish 1990 comedy -- he received an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay -- about a middle-class young man who accidentally finds himself amid New York City’s debutante society. Deft, intelligent and well acted by such Stillman favorites as Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols.

Extras: Outtakes and deleted scenes, a look at the original casting of two roles and disappointingly bland commentary from Stillman, editor Christopher Tellefsen, Eigeman and Nichols.

-- Susan King