The year in DVDs

We're not such cutting-edge technophiles that we particularly care how distributors fit extras onto their DVDs -- multidisc sets, flip discs, slightly lower-definition visuals, whatever. Just give us supplemental materials of substance, and the more, the better. Some of our favorite discs of 2006 even made room for complete alternative versions of their main attractions. As we call it a wrap on another year's worth of DVD viewing, it's time to show some extra love to the discs with the best extras.

SUPERMAN ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S EDITION

As with "Batman" last year, Warner Brothers faced a thorny marketing question with "Superman" in 2006: What sort of DVD treatment to give the franchise when it had just relaunched with "Superman Returns," but hadn't always flown high in the past? Satisfyingly, this heavily loaded 14-disc set acknowledges it all. Christopher Reeve's triumphant work in the first two movies is front and center, of course, along with director Bryan Singer's new installment. But the set also makes room for "Superman III" and "IV" -- with commentaries, no less. Other extras include the franchise's first feature, released in 1951 and starring George Reeves; the classic Fleischer animated shorts from the '40s; and even a scrapped "Superpup" TV pilot. The collection's standout offering is "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut," which cleverly pieces together the movie the veteran director had intended to deliver before being fired partway through production. The end result is so rousing, it's a wonder it was put together strictly for DVD -- but Donner, naturally, supplies commentary on the various other hows and whys.

REDS

The DVD debut of Warren Beatty's epic portrait of leftist activist John Reed takes a less-is-more approach to bonus materials: There's no commentary, simply an hour-plus collection of production featurettes. But what an hour it is. The highlight is unedited footage of the film's documentary-style testimonials, with a clearly fascinated Beatty (heard, but not seen) asking the questions that drew those wonderfully frank, witty responses from Henry Miller, Rebecca West, and others. Beatty's own retrospective interview material touches on everything from his affinity for Reed as a politically minded artist to showing the movie to his kids. Diane Keaton, who was romantically involved with Beatty around the time of production, is conspicuously absent. But Jack Nicholson has plenty to say about playing Eugene O'Neill for his old Hollywood pal -- who, as a director, could be maddeningly exacting.

KING KONG DELUXE EXTENDED EDITION Peter Jackson probably would have squeaked onto this list even with the two-disc "Kong" package that hit stores early in the year, shortly after the movie's theatrical run. But the three-disc version that arrived for the holidays includes filmmaker commentary -- previously missing, confoundingly -- plus the sort of behind-the-scenes overload we've come to expect from Jackson since "The Lord of the Rings." Particularly intriguing are script and preproduction materials from a version of the project scrapped in 1996 -- a move seemingly validated when Roland Emmerich's 1998 remake of "Godzilla" went bust, then reversed when Jackson became "Ring"-master. The 13 minutes of new footage incorporated into the dazzling but already overlong feature attraction are almost beside the point.

APOCALYPSE NOW : THE COMPLETE DOSSIER

Sure, we've seen "Hearts of Darkness," but can Francis Coppola ever really explain himself enough regarding what went down in the Philippines in making his mad, masterful war epic? Here, he supplies commentary on both the original 1979 version and the extended "Redux" cut released in 2001. The "Redux" track is particularly revealing in breaking down the reinserted "French plantation" sequence, a 15-minute chunk of material in which Martin Sheen meets some time-lost European soldiers, lending the proceedings added historical context. Other bonuses range from intellectual to visceral: uncut footage of Marlon Brando reciting T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" -- for 17 minutes -- and an eerie deleted scene featuring a river sampan outfitted with slain monkeys. The horror, indeed.

THE COMEBACK : THE COMPLETE ONLY SEASON

When it came to ordering up more of Lisa Kudrow's faded, desperate sitcom star Valerie Cherish, apparently HBO's feeling was that they didn't need to see that (to swipe Valerie's own catchphrase). But it's sure not a feeling we shared. The show's portrayal of a Hollywood lingerer's self-absorbed highs and lows was addictively excruciating -- a half-hour of discomfort on a level with the BBC's version of "The Office." So it was a pleasure to find that the DVD offered commentary not only from Kudrow, but also Kudrow in character as Valerie. A couple of update segments taped after the series' cancellation were even more cuttingly freewheeling than the legit episodes. There's our Val, backstage at "Dancing With the Stars," lamenting that she hadn't had a chance to make her voice heard in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Perfect.

POLICE SQUAD! : THE COMPLETE SERIES

It's still hard to believe that Leslie Nielsen's first headlining spoof lasted only six episodes -- the "complete series" tag almost sounds like another Zucker-Abrahams goof -- but here they are, on a disc packed with hilarity and then some. Extras include a five-minute faux freeze frame; a checklist of celebrities who make opening-credit cameos, only to be killed; and real production memos showing that network execs obviously didn't get the joke. For the straighter-minded, the creators supply commentary, while Nielsen gives an interview offering some smart insights on the show's premature cancellation. Surely, fans couldn't ask for more. (And don't call him "Shirley.")

HARD CANDY

Teen actress Ellen Page justifies all the festival buzz about her performance as a 14-year-old who turns the tables, frighteningly, on a chatroom-trolling photographer she meets. And good luck recognizing her target, Patrick Wilson, from roles in "Little Children" and "Angels in America." It's squirm-inducing material, all right, and it's accompanied here by cast commentary that's equally so, as Page and Wilson have to revisit the film's depictions of pedophilia, castration, and other light-and-breezy subject matter. "For the love of God! " an embarrassed Wilson says at one point. You might, too.

THE COMPLETE MR. ARKADIN A.K.A. CONFIDENTIAL REPORT

Where Richard Donner is around and available to satisfy fan curiosity about his vision for a " Superman " sequel, there's no Orson Welles to do the same for his European-made film about, true to form, an enigmatic billionaire with a twisty past. Thanks to the director's clash with his producer and the disowned edits that followed -- two different theatrical cuts are included here -- it's a mystery. But it's one that a group of Welles scholars do their best to unravel with the Criterion package's standout third disc, a comprehensive version of the film assembled from the original footage. A documentary on the reconstruction effort ably makes their case.

DISTRICT B13

The behind-the-scenes material on this French action import actually goes on at unjustified length, given that the movie is mostly just a rehash of dystopian John Carpenter scenarios. The stunt work, though, is thoroughly deserving. The sort of spring-loaded urban playground acrobatics showcased here are now being copied everywhere from Madonna's "Jump" video to "Casino Royale" -- shamelessly, in the latter case. The DVD's look at the trial and painful error involved in choreographing it all is a mind-boggling must-see.

DR. KATZ: PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST SEASONS ONE AND TWO

If it seems like "The Simpsons" could go on forever because Bart and Lisa never age, then why not Jonathan Katz's sorely missed, locally produced 'toon? As if the animated shrink ever would've run out of neurotic comedians to occupy his couch. Happily, his sessions finally hit DVD, at least -- and Katz's wry commentaries with Ray Romano, Dave Attell, and others so amusingly recall their original voice work, it's as if the show goes on after all.