Kenneth Turan’s DVD picks of the week: It’s cool inside

It’s been awfully hot these last few weeks in Los Angeles, which has made me especially grateful for these two new DVDs set in cooler climes.

“Eskimo,” directed in 1933 by the veteran W.S. Van Dyke, tells the story of an intrepid hunter who runs afoul of evil white people. It was the first feature shot in Alaska and the first shot in a Native American tongue, and it’s available now through Warner Home Video.

“The Epic of Everest” is a stunning 1924 documentary about the celebrated Mt. Everest expedition that led to the death of the great climber Thomas Mallory. The film, distributed by Kino-Lorber, has beautiful vistas, and it all looks really, really cool.