Considered by many to be one of the truly great (and peculiar) silent films ever, Häxan is part documentary, part horror film, part social commentary, and always fascinating. Originally directed by Benjamin Christensen, the film regained a whole new audience in 1967 when British filmmaker Antony Balch recut the film and had beat novelist William Burroughs record narration (voiced in Burroughs' typically droll and ironic manner) and included a new avant-garde jazz score. The Criterion Collection has made both versions available on this DVD, which is great considering the many strengths of either cut. Christensen's longer 104-minute version has been beautifully restored by the Swedish Film Institute, utilizing a fine-grain master print taken from the original camera negative. New Swedish intertitles with optional English subtitles have been added, as well as a fantastic new orchestral score (available in robust 5.1 surround) that replicates the film's original music when it premiered in 1922. A wide variety of different scores (some orchestral, some using an organ) have been used for the film for its various video incarnations over the years, so it is a great delight to have the original music cues reinstated. The film, which is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (full screen), has also been re-tinted to its former glory. The film is also equipped with an optional commentary track by noted Danish silent film historian Casper Tybjerg. The track is informative (giving detailed accounts of the director's career, as well as the peculiar originality of the film itself and how it incorporates many disparate film styles into a cohesive whole), but the track occasionally grows turgid in spots. Overall, the track is worthwhile and Tybjerg's obvious enthusiasm for the film is commendable. Also available on the disc is the 76-minute version of the film called Witchcraft Through the Ages. This version is most notable for its acerbic narration and its sometimes inappropriate jazz soundtrack (featuring violinist Jean-Luc Ponty). An interesting version (and one useful for comparisons with the original), but an inferior cut of the film nonetheless. The black-and-white image is acceptable, though it does not compare to the beautiful appearance of the longer version. The disc also contains a very brief selection of outtakes, an optional introduction to Haxan by the director himself (taken from the 1941 re-release of the film), an excellent overview of many of the historical sources which Christensen used for the film, a great stills gallery, and useful liner notes. An overall excellent disc for a film which continues to cast a strange cinematic spell upon its viewers even after all these years.

Ethnically indistinct and intellectually underwhelming hip-hopper Ali G (created and played by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen) stumbled into British politics in this comedy, which gets some extra bling for its release on DVD. Ali G Indahouse has been given a letterboxed transfer to disc in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1, which has also been enhanced for anamorphic play on 16 x 9 monitors. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. The dialogue is in English with optional subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese. Bonus materials include a commentary track from Cohen performed in character as Ali G, a short feature on the making of the movie, a collection of outtakes and deleted scenes, a gallery of production stills, the original trailer, and a guide to recreating Ali G's distinctive (and often baffling) speech patterns.