New on DVD: Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’

“Midnight in Paris”

Sony, $30.99; Blu-ray, $35.99

“Midnight in Paris” isn’t as funny as Woody Allen’s classic ‘70s comedies or as thoughtful as his ‘80s masterpieces, but there’s a good reason why it’s become the biggest hit of Allen’s career. It’s such an enchanting little movie, starring Owen Wilson as a successful Hollywood screenwriter who visits Paris with his fiancée and finds himself transported through time to the ‘20s, where he rubs elbows with the likes of Fitzgerald, Picasso, Hemingway, Dalí and Stein. The legendary artists and writers help the hero with his romantic and career crises, while he uses his knowledge of their work to help them understand themselves and their time. The movie is pure fantasy — sweetly trifling — and features one of Wilson’s best performances. The DVD and Blu-ray contain a five-minute featurette — a rarity for an Allen home-video release.

“Dolphin Tale”

Warner Bros., $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99/$44.95

Based on a true story, the moving family film “Dolphin Tale” stars Morgan Freeman as a surgeon who comes to the aid of some Florida kids who ask him to design a prosthetic tail for a dolphin named Winter that they’ve rescued. All this may sound super-corny, but the presence of Freeman — alongside such other veteran performers as Kris Kristofferson, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr. — lends “Dolphin Tale” a comfortable professionalism, and the comparison of Winter’s struggle with the despair of human beings who’ve lost limbs is both noble and inspiring. The DVD and Blu-ray fills in more of the real-life saga of Winter, via featurettes and deleted scenes.

“Margin Call”

Lionsgate, $19.98; Blu-ray, $29.99

An all-star cast takes on the financial crisis in first-time writer-director J.C. Chandor’s exciting, masterfully acted “Margin Call.” Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons and about a dozen other well-known actors dramatize one day in the life of an investment bank as its executives suddenly realize they need to sell off all their toxic assets before the market catches on, lest the firm go down in flames (and potentially take the world economy with it). Chandor doesn’t bother much with the specifics of how this disaster came to be — this isn’t a documentary — but “Margin Call” is very smart about how people knee-deep in this mess react to what they’ve done, while debating the ethics of their own extraction. The DVD and Blu-ray come with a Chandor commentary, plus deleted scenes and featurettes.

“Warrior”

Lionsgate, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.99

One of 2011’s real sleepers, Gavin O’Connor’s “Warrior” stars Nick Nolte as a recovering alcoholic whose two estranged sons — played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton — take very different routes to the same mixed martial arts tournament. “Warrior” is a touch too ponderous as it introduces the characters and their troubled pasts, but the three leads are all terrific, and the deliberate groundwork yields rewards in the second hour, when the heroes step into the ring. The movie didn’t get much attention when it was released earlier this year, but word-of-mouth should make it a hit on video. The DVD and Blu-ray add a commentary track, along with multiple featurettes that get into how difficult it is to stage and shoot a realistic fight.

And…

“Blackthorn”

Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98

“Catch .44”

Starz/Anchor Bay, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.99

“Colombiana”

Sony, $30.99; Blu-ray, $35.99

“Glee: The 3D Concert Movie”

20th Century Fox, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99

“Straw Dogs”

Sony, $30.99; Blu-ray, $35.99

“Underworld: The Essential Collection”

Sony Blu-ray, $45.99