John Wayne returns to the role that won him an Oscar with Katharine Hepburn as co-star in this Western which gets a well-rounded DVD release. Rooster Cogburn...and the Lady has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and has also been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono; in addition to the original English-language soundtrack, dubbed tracks in Spanish and French are also included, as well as optional subtitles in English and Spanish. Bonus materials include notes on the making of the movie; text biographies of Wayne, Hepburn, and director Stuart Millar; and the film's original theatrical trailer.

After years of waiting, one of the most anticipated DVD sets is finally here -- The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection, a grand release for one of the most beloved and successful film trilogies in history. Packaged in a classy Lucasfilm/Paramount box, all three of the first films are included, with an exclusive bonus disc delving into the behind-the-scenes meat long sought after by fans throughout the years. While it might not be the definitive, end-all-be-all release (that now-fabled set would have probably included the scrapped fourth entry in the series, still in pre-production at the time of this release), though be sure, this collection is simply jaw-dropping at times and worth the wait in the end. In this set, each film is presented in its original glorious 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, with an incredible Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track, all digitally remastered by THX -- and boy, does it show! With lush hues and deep blacks, the series feels new all over again, with Raiders especially benefiting from its new brilliant picture and sound quality. Thankfully, there hasn't been too much digital tinkering on the images, with the subtle reflection during the snake pit scene still intact -- though a few matting issues in the Last Crusade seem to have been corrected. While having the trilogy finally hit the DVD market is truly something to rejoice about, the party really starts to heat up with the Bonus Material disc, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage never seen outside of the Lucasfilm archives. First off, there are the three feature-length documentaries on the trilogy, which can be viewed separately or all together, clocking in at a whopping two-hour-plus running time. Covering each film throughout their story lines, while focusing in at each setup to break down various action pieces, casting decisions, and filming locations, the specials give you full access to most every major player in the production and completely justifies the non-inclusion of any audio commentaries. Classic stories are shared from everyone ranging from Spielberg to Lucas, Harrison Ford to every leading lady he fell for, to the beloved supporting cast including John Rhys-Davis, and yes, even Short Round (Quan Ke Huy) makes an appearance. Whether viewed back to back or each individually, these documentaries are at the core perfect studies of the trilogy, and with exclusive footage like bits from the infamous Tom Selleck screen test, they're the most exciting extras to hit the DVD market in a long time. Also on the disc are collections of featurettes that fill in the filmmaking gaps that the documentary glossed over. Clocking in a little above ten minutes each, the four sections represent the traditional (i.e. non-CG) technical sides of the film -- Stunts, Sounds, Music, and the Light and Magic. From the origins of the trilogy's sound effect library with Ben Burtt to footage of John Williams' original scoring sessions, the featurettes manage to affectively capture how the series was truly a joint effort with the very best people of their craft putting their all into the three films. Finally on the bonus disc, there's a massive Trailers section, which includes three trailers for Raiders (teaser, theatrical, and re-release), just the theatrical for Temple of Doom, and both the teaser and theatrical for The Last Crusade. As usual with long-awaited discs, there are still a few things missing. Where, in fact, are the deleted scenes? Also perplexing is the exclusion of the Temple of Doom teaser, included on one of the first video releases of Raiders. Of course, these are small gripes, and ones which only the eventual box set down the road will answer as to whether they'll see the light of day or not. Still, with the astounding transfers and engrossing extras, this box set should prove that the wait was well worth it -- for you can finally have pristine copies of the Indiana Jones trilogy among your collection, and that is truly a beautiful thing.

The two-disc special edition of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was a long-awaited item, but should keep both serious and casual Star Wars fans happy for a while, thanks to a slightly expanded version of the film and a plethora of extras. Disc one contains the film, transferred from a new print (as made clear by producer Rick McCallum some time ago). The transfer is anamorphic, at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is quite simply gorgeous to look at. The image is crisp and clean throughout, with vivid and subtle colors both, and deep, detailed blacks. There is no sign of edge enhancement and no indication of compression artifacts. The original soundtrack was recorded in Dolby Digital Surround 6.1 EX, but has been downmixed to 5.1 EX for this release. Again, the soundtrack is flawless, with excellent surround effects, excellent separation, and beautiful mixing work. The directional effects alone are worth hearing. The standard Dolby Surround downmix sounds quite good, though it does lose the directional definition of the 5.1 EX mix. The disc also includes a Spanish Surround mix which deserves notice for a combination of an excellent voice cast and perfect matching. Disc one also includes an audio commentary by George Lucas and Rick McCallum, along with other crew members. This commentary is highly entertaining, informative, and helped tremendously by supertitles above the image that identify the current speaker. Disc two is simply packed. There are seven deleted scenes to start with, completed especially for this DVD release. Some are hardly worth looking at, but the expanded pod race is quite an eye-opener. The scenes can be viewed separately, or as part of a documentary. Other documentary pieces include "The Beginning," which is a new one-hour documentary, the 12 web documentaries originally carried on www.starwars.com, and five featurettes covering aspects of the production. Another section includes the teaser and theatrical trailers, TV spots (including the "Tone Poems" spots), and the "Duel of the Fates" video. There is also a section of animatics, and a further section of stills and graphic images. A featurette about the making of the Starfighter game completes the disc. All told, disc two alone takes hours to work through. Additional content is available through the www.starwars.com DVD section, which is accessible via the Interactual player/browser utility included on the disc. The feature has 50 chapter stops. Menus and transitions are animated, with some cute and funny moments to be found. Both discs are single-sided, dual-layered, and come in a slimline dual disc case.