DVD Releases

Cary Grant stands along an utterly exposed stretch of prairie highway, only slowly realizing why a distant crop duster seems to be taking such a curious flight path. There’s no image more thrillingly suspenseful in “North by Northwest’’ (1959), or in any of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, really. Part of the fun is that the developing situation is clear to audiences several beats before Grant’s Roger Thornhill understands. And it’s that much clearer in high-definition, as this becomes the first Hitchcock film to be reissued on Blu-ray. The location images of Mount Rushmore are crisper than ever, and the plane sequence’s climax looks great, dated effects or no. Grant’s turn as a suave ad man whose very identity is suddenly in flux couldn’t feel more timely, given Don Draper’s hold on the culture’s imagination. The re-release recycles writer commentary and a retrospective hosted by Eva Marie Saint, but 80 minutes of new featurette material analyzes the film and Hitchcock’s tension-ratcheting style. The segments include efficient interviews with Martin Scorsese, John Carpenter, and others, but clips with Hitchcock are the highlight. He boils down suspense to the image of two people sitting around talking baseball. If a bomb goes off, audiences will be momentarily rattled. If we’re first shown the bomb, and then the sports talk goes on for several minutes. . . . Also available this week from the same distributor: a “TCM Greatest Classic Films’’ economy set bundling Hitchcock’s “Suspicion,’’ “Strangers on a Train,’’ “I Confess,’’ and “The Wrong Man.’’ (Warner, $34.99; standard DVD, $24.98)

ACTION

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 (2009)

Director Tony Scott delivers his best ride since “Crimson Tide’’ with this supercharged remake, as transit wonk Denzel Washington and subway hijacker John Travolta square off - by phone, on the train, and in a climactic chase that’s standard stuff next to the taut exchanges. We get mostly sketchy details about Travolta’s motives, and even less info on the hostages - but whether that’s deliberate or just story shortcutting, it’s a good thing, keeping the urgent tone smartly on track. Extras: In commentary, the director swears he didn’t Scott-ify the sets. “The MTA control room [really] looks like NASA.’’ (Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $39.95)

FOREIGN

WINGS OF DESIRE (1987)

Finally, a scholarly presentation for Wim Wenders’s lyrical, spiritual look at heavenly empathy, the incessant worries of man, and the yearning of angel Damiel (Bruno Ganz) to be more than just a witness to human struggles and joys. The two-disc set includes commentary by Wenders and angel-come-to-earth Peter Falk, as well as a 2003 documentary also featuring Ganz and castmate Otto Sander. Liner notes contain material from Wenders’s initial prose treatment - “an attempted description of an indescribable film’’ - and underscore how important it was to him to explore the inherent contradictions of life in Berlin. (Criterion, $39.95; Blu-ray, $39.95)

DVD TO ORDER

ELEVENTH HOUR: THE COMPLETE SERIES (2008-09)

Can’t say that Rufus Sewell’s case-cracking scientist drama was on our must-watch list last season; we were partial to the alt-sleuthing in “Lie to Me,’’ as others were to “The Mentalist.’’ Still, in terms of creative worth, it was all a bit of a toss-up - and that’s precisely why Warner’s recently launched manufacturing-on-demand service for less requested TV and film titles is such a beautiful thing. Now, even fans of shows that don’t catch on can grab a DVD set, rather than simply having to keep their fingers crossed that their canceled faves will see the light of disc. (www.wbshop.com, $34.95; available now)

I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER (2009)

In a change of pace from director Chris Columbus (“Harry Potter’’), high schooler Paul Rust appealingly spills his heart to cheerleader Hayden Panettiere in his valedictory speech, then stumbles through the fallout. Extras: featurette on source novelist Larry Doyle. (Fox, $27.98; Blu-ray, $39.99)

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (2009)

Dennis Quaid and company play real American heroes - you know, in a mindlessly toyetic sort of way. Extras: commentary by director Stephen Sommers (“The Mummy’’); production featurettes. (Paramount, $24.99; single-disc edition, $19.99; Blu-ray, $29.99)

HOWARDS END (1992)

Merchant Ivory’s masterwork makes its Blu-ray debut, with Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Hopkins, and Helena Bonham Carter vividly playing E.M. Forster’s Edwardian social study. (Criterion, $39.95)

COLUMBIA PICTURES FILM NOIR CLASSICS I (1952-58)

This selection of DVD-debuting crime stories includes Eli Wallach’s “The Lineup,’’ a dual narrative tracking both drug smugglers and the cops on their trail - and a film moody enough to merit bonus appreciation from “Dark Knight’’ director Christopher Nolan. (Sony, $59.95)

ALIENS IN THE ATTIC (2009)

It’s kids vs. aliens, with mind-control gags driving the action. Extras: animated short. (Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99)

ZORRO: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (1957-58)

Guy Williams swashbuckles again in this 39-episode set. Season two available separately. Extras: film historian intros. (Disney, $59.99)

Titles are in stores Tuesday unless otherwise specified.