Oscar contenders past and present

Oscar fever is hitting its peak this week with the Academy Awards’ ceremony just a scant five days away.

Four DVD releases arriving today offer a look at Oscar then and now, with Warner Home Video presenting two Sidney Lumet films ($27 each) from the 1970s -- “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network” -- and Fox and Universal each unveiling a contender for 2005.

Based on a true story, 1975’s “Dog Day Afternoon” tells the tragically comic tale of a hapless young man (a bravura Al Pacino) who attempts to rob a bank to pay for his male lover’s (Chris Sarandon) sex change operation. The late John Cazale also turns in a memorable performance as Pacino’s clueless partner in crime.

Nominated for Oscars in the major categories, the film was overshadowed by “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Only Frank Pierson won the Academy Award for his deft screenplay. The DVD includes a comprehensive retrospective documentary on the film -- Pacino admits he originally turned down the part -- a vintage featurette and entertaining commentary from the 81-year-old Lumet.

A year after “Dog Day Afternoon,” Lumet teamed with legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky for “Network,” a brilliantly mad satire on TV news that has become even more relevant with the passage of time. Though “Network” lost to “Rocky” for best picture Oscar honors, it won several major awards, including best actor for Peter Finch as the insane veteran newscaster Howard Beale -- “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” -- best actress for Faye Dunaway as a ratings-mad producer and supporting actress for Beatrice Straight as the long-suffering wife of a news producer (William Holden). Extras include an inspired retrospective documentary and clear-eyed commentary from Lumet.

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are nominated for the top Oscar acting prizes for their strong performances as country legends Johnny Cash and June Carter in the biopic “Walk the Line” (Fox, $30 for one disc; $40 for the two-disc set). The two-disc special edition includes three extended performances, sturdy featurettes on Cash’s comeback performance at Folsom Prison, his relationship with Carter and a behind-the-scenes look at the production. The 10 deleted scenes include a lengthy sequence in which Cash was working as a salesman. Director/co-writer James Mangold provides passionate commentary.

Competing with Witherspoon for best actress is Keira Knightley for her engaging turn as the plucky Elizabeth Bennet in the romantic comedy “Pride & Prejudice” (Universal, $30), the lauded adaptation of Jane Austen’s 19th century classic. The digital edition includes lively commentary from director Joe Wright, who made his feature debut with “Pride,” and several above-average featurettes, including one on Austen.

Also out this week

“Lady and the Tramp” (Disney, $30): The 50th anniversary edition -- 350th in dog years -- of the Walt Disney classic animated tale about the romance between a pampered cocker spaniel named Lady and a rough-and-tumble rake of a mutt named Tramp. Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke supplied the catchy tunes, including “Bella Notte” and “He’s a Tramp.”

The special two-disc edition features a lovely all-new digital restoration of the film, which actually celebrates its 51st anniversary in June, and numerous extras include a newly discovered alternate storyboard version of the film from 1943 -- no wonder it was scrapped -- a lengthy, fascinating look at the making of the film, excerpts from Disney’s 1950s TV series, “Disneyland,” which promoted “Lady and the Tramp,” and activities for kids, including adopting your own puppy via the DVD-ROM.

“Kind Hearts and Coronets” (Criterion, $40): The underrated British filmmaker Robert Hamer directed this deliciously dark 1949 comedy from the scrappy Ealing Studios starring Dennis Price as a commoner whose titled mother was disowned by her family after she married beneath her. After his mother’s death, he decides to ascend to the dukedom by eliminating eight family members (all brought to life by Alec Guinness). The two-disc DVD features a vintage documentary on Ealing, a charming TV interview from 1977 with Guinness and the film’s American ending.

“Love Me Tender: Special Edition” (Fox, $20): Elvis Presley made his film debut in this tepid 1956 drama set in the South at the end of the Civil War. It’s not much of a movie, save for Presley. Extras include a documentary on Elvis’ journey to Hollywood, a fascinating featurette on Col. Tom Parker and informative commentary from Elvis’ friend and historian Jerry Schilling.

“The Avengers -- The Complete Emma Peel Megaset” (A&E;, $180): A 17-set special edition features all the episodes of the popular 1960s British spy series that featured Diana Rigg as super-cool agent Emma Peel. All these episodes had previously been released on DVD. The set does include a bonus disc that features a 1992 retrospective, a three-minute promotional film starring Rigg and Patrick Macnee, who played the dapper agent John Steed, and an alternate opening for the show. High points are “lost” episodes from the first season in which Steed was just a supporting character.

What’s coming

March 7: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Jarhead,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Prime,” “Just Friends,” “Paper Clips”

March 14: “Chicken Little,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “A History of Violence,” “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” “The Year of Yao”

March 21: “Capote,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Dreamer,” “Paradise Now,” “Everything Is Illuminated”