Director Peter Weir's high-seas adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World stars Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey. Along with his loyal crew, Aubrey engages in a grand game of cat-and-mouse with a renegade French frigate from Napoleon's army. Adapted from the series of novels by Patrick O'Brian, the film is presented on DVD in widescreen with a wealth of audio options. Not only can viewers choose either DTS 5.1 Surround Sound or Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound versions of the original English soundtrack, there are also Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks dubbed in French and Spanish. Along with English and Spanish subtitles, the disc is rounded out by a handful of theatrical trailers. Fans interested in additional supplemental features should check out the two-disc edition that was released simultaneously with this disc. A full-screen version is also available.

Some have criticized this two-disc special edition of the mega box-office smash Spider-Man, but those pans are way off base. In reality, there is little, if anything, wrong with this DVD. To begin with, the visual presentation, framed at 1.85:1 and anamorphic (yes, there is a full-frame edition out there to confuse consumers), is near perfect. Detail is solid and colors are vivid. In addition, the darker scenes, a crucial element of the film, are stable, with no signs of breakdown. The auditory part of this set, presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital (in both English and French) is both aggressive and crisp. Dialogue is never washed out by sound effects, while at the same time, the use of those effects with the surround speakers is generous. The real marvel of this disc though are the special features, and they are plentiful. The first disc, with the movie, not only contains subtitled facts about the production and the history of Spider-Man, numerous television spots and theatrical trailers (for this and other Columbia/TriStar films), and bibliographies for the main cast, but also two full-length, scene-specific commentaries, one from director Sam Raimi, co-producers Grant Curtis and Laura Ziskin, and star Kirsten Dunst and the second from visual effects producer John Dykstra and his team. The second disc continues the supplements. Divided into two sections, "The Web of Spider-Man -- The Comic" and "The Goblin's Lair -- The Movie." As you might have figured, the first section covers the history and mythology of the comic book series. There is a documentary from the comic book artists over the years, a comic book archive of Spidey over the years, galleries for the villains and the girlfriends, and more. The second section covers the film, with a nice documentary on the making of the film, with plenty of behind-the-scene footage, and an even longer E! Entertainment television special called "Spider-mania." In addition are a couple of very short screen tests, profiles on director Raimi and composer Danny Elfman, a gag reel, and plenty of conceptual art and production paintings. If this all weren't enough, also included are a number of DVD-ROM features for each disc, including the ability to create your own commentary. There is plenty here to please any fan of this film, from those that grew up with this classic comic book character, to those that are newly introduced.

This three-disc set contains all 22 episodes from the Emmy Award-winning first season of the situation comedy Arrested Development. Each is presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer that preserves the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1. English soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include three commentary tracks recorded by series creator Mitchell Hurwitz. He is joined by many of the cast members on one of those commentary tracks. Deleted scenes, original songs by David Schwartz, and footage from a panel discussion on the show held at the Museum of Television & Radio round out this excellent collection from 20th Century Fox.

The wacky Zucker brothers are at it again with their '80s cold war spoof Top Secret! Paramount's work on this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is only mildly passable at best. There is an overabundance of dirt, grain, and other defects in the transfer, and some of the colors and black levels aren't nearly as sharp as one might hope. While the image is decent, Paramount could have done a much better job at cleaning up this print. The soundtrack is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English and Dolby 2.0 Stereo in French. The 5.1 soundtrack on this disc is evenly mixed with a few directional effects sprinkled throughout the movie. All aspects of the mix are free and clear of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English subtitles and closed captions. Fans of this nutty comedy will be happy to see the inclusion of four deleted scenes from the film. The scenes are in very poor condition, but are quite amusing. A very funny commentary track by director Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker; producers Jon Davidson and Hunt Lowry; and moderator Fred Rubin provide a belly full of laughs and chuckles all the way though. Sure, there are a few stories about the production and history of the film, though mostly this is just a goofily entertaining commentary full of funny asides. Finally, there are three storyboard sequences and a theatrical trailer for the film.