Factual features trump the films

Two major critical disappointments -- “Premonition” and “Factory Girl” -- arrive on DVD today. In both cases, the digital extras far outweigh the merits of the films.

Critics universally panned “Premonition” (Sony, $29), a psychological thriller starring Sandra Bullock as a wife and mother who doesn’t know if her husband is really dead.

The DVD has a few goodies, including an unsettling mini-documentary about real premonitions (such as an interview with a man who dreamed of a fatal plane crash but couldn’t get anyone to believe him); the alternate ending, which is far creepier than the one that was used; a truly funny gag reel; and affectionate commentary by Bullock and director Mennan Yapo.

“Factory Girl” (Weinstein, $29), George Hickenlooper’s film about Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller), the ill-fated ‘60s “It” girl and her muse, Andy Warhol, was being bandied about last winter as a potential Academy Award candidate. But that talk ended after the film opened to a thumbs-down critical response. The DVD, though, features a compelling documentary, “The Real Edie,” that includes interviews with her older brother and people who knew her; Miller’s audition tape; a better-thanaverage “making of” documentary; and informative commentary from Hickenlooper.

The DVD features the unrated version of the film, which includes several scenes not in the theatrical version. One such reinstated sequence features Mary-Kate Olsen in her first role without twin sister Ashley.

Also new:

“The Hills Have Eyes II” (Fox, $30): The blood flows freely in this poorly received horror film, which finds a group of clueless National Guard troops encountering hungry cannibalistic mutants. It was penned by Wes Craven, who directed the original “The Hills Have Eyes,” and his son Jonathan. Extras include deleted scenes, the alternate ending, a wan gag reel, a standard “making of” documentary and a look at the graphic novel based on the movie.

“Avenue Montaigne” (ThinkFilm, $28): Director and co-writer Daniele Thompson’s charming French film about a young woman (Cecile de France) who leaves her small-town life for Paris and lands a job as a waitress at a bistro on the avenue known for its theater, music, fashion and art. Also on the disc is a smart behind-the-scenes featurette.

“The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg” (New Yorker Films, 35): Jerry Aronson’s 1994 documentary on the famed Beat poet arrives in a two-disc set in honor of the 10th anniversary of Ginsberg’s death. Extras include interviews with Johnny Depp, Beck, Bono, William S. Burroughs, Abbie Hoffman, Andy Warhol and Hunter S. Thompson about Ginsberg, a “making of” documentary, footage from his memorial at St. John the Divine in New York, clips of Ginsberg and Neal Cassady at the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco in 1965, and Burroughs and Ginsberg chatting at Naropa University in Boulder, Colo., in 1984.

“Raymond Bernard” (Eclipse, $40): The three-disc set features two landmark films by French filmmaker Bernard, considered one of the greatest but least-known directors of the 20th century. “Wooden Crosses” is a haunting 1933 drama -- France’s version of “All Quiet on the Western Front” -- that follows the lives of members of a French regiment during World War I.

In his engrossing, nearly five-hour 1934 adaptation of Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables,” Harry Baur gives an extraordinary performance as the tragic Jean Valjean and Charles Vanel is equally effective as Inspector Javert. Baur died tragically in 1943 after the Gestapo tortured him.

“The Esther Williams Collection, Vol. 1” (Warner, $50): The leggy swimming champ headlined numerous popular musicals during the 1940s and 1950s. Not only could Williams swim, dive and excel at water ballets, she also proved to be a fine comedian and dancer.

This five-disc set includes her first starring role in 1944’s frothy Technicolor extravaganza “Bathing Beauty,” opposite Red Skelton and Basil Rathbone; “Easy to Wed,” the peppy 1946 musical remake of the 1936 screwball comedy “Libeled Lady,” with Van Johnson, Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball; the enjoyable 1948 “On an Island With You,” in which she costars with Peter Lawford and Ricardo Montalban; the breezy 1949 “Neptune’s Daughter,” in which Williams, Skelton, Montalban and Betty Garrett introduce the Oscar-winning song “Baby It’s Cold Outside”; and the lightweight 1953 “Dangerous When Wet,” which paired her with Fernando Lamas, whom she later married. The collection features vintage shorts, cartoons, outtakes and a “Private Screenings” interview with Williams conducted by TCM host Robert Osborne.

susan.king@latimes.com