DVD Releases

It may have taken 70 years, but now, finally, you can see exactly how “Gone With the Wind’’ (1939) must have looked and sounded on the night it premiered - or should have, had the VIP crowd at Atlanta’s Loew’s Grand Theater had the benefit of catching Gable and Leigh in high definition. A first-time Blu-ray remastering is the biggest selling point of the MGM classic’s new re-release, the latest in an almost absurdly long list of fresh spotlight grabs for the film that invented the event reissue. Watching Vivien Leigh (right, with Leslie Howard) utter Scarlett’s vow never to be hungry again, you’ll find all the value you’d hope in the vividness of the fiery dawn skies behind her, and the swell of Max Steiner’s unforgettable theme. As for extras, this handsomely packaged edition goes light on new materials. The set’s red velvet box is filled with the sort of tchotchkes - production art postcards, slim photo hardcover, etc. - that seem better aimed at, say, buyers of last month’s Blu-ray reissue of “The Wizard of Oz.’’ A new half-hour retrospective attempts to cover everything from the film’s attitudes toward women and race to David O. Selznick’s legacy as director-superseding producer. A Camille Paglia observation here, a Ted Turner sound bite there, and it’s over. Better to check out historian Rudy Behlmer’s scripted audio commentary, a reminiscence segment with Olivia de Havilland, or the hourlong documentary “1939: Hollywood’s Greatest Year.’’ There’s also worthwhile viewing in the footnote telefilm “Moviola: The Scarlett O’Hara War,’’ with Tony Curtis as Selznick. (Warner, $84.99; standard DVD edition, $69.92)

SCIENCE FICTION

STAR TREK (2009)

Franchise inheritor J.J. Abrams and his writer-producer pals from “Lost’’ and “Alias’’ take a well-deserved victory lap (or would that be orbit?) with the one big summer movie that really delivered. In commentary, they toss around phrases like “canon divergence’’ in demonstrating how carefully they considered their alternate-timeline approach, and they point out where one starship set was economically made over into another. (The more things change. . . .) In branching Blu-ray featurettes, they rehash William Shatner’s exclusion from the project. Deleted scenes include Spock as a newborn and Chris Pine’s Kirk getting in trouble with that green-skinned girl. (Paramount, $29.99; Blu-ray, $39.99)

DRAMA

DOWNHILL RACER (1969)

Robert Redford makes an early display of his affinity for indie-minded projects - not to mention skiing - with director Michael Ritchie’s portrait of a self-absorbed, adrenaline-addicted Olympic hopeful. The alpine action footage is spectacular, filled with skier POV shots that approach IMAX’s queasy rush, and brisk edits that could pass for contemporary. The understated drama is also a draw, from Redford’s deliberate lack of a transformative character arc to coach Gene Hackman’s Francona-esque personality wrangling. Extras: Speaking of contemporary - in an interview, Redford says the film sought to comment on how American athletes’ behavior is irrelevant as long as they win. (Criterion, $29.95)

COMEDY

BRÜNO (2009)

Laugh and/or cringe with Sacha Baron Cohen’s phony fashionista some more, as 45 minutes of alternate and deleted scenes include Brüno visiting a gun show (cue “concealed weapon’’ joke) and pulling his human furniture gag on Pete Rose and La Toya Jackson. (She actually takes some of the sushi!) In Blu-ray video commentary with director Larry Charles, Baron Cohen recalls how Britain’s ratings board freaked at the film’s notoriously raw miming-with-Milli scene, threatening the equivalent of an NC-17 as a consequence. Baron Cohen’s scoffing protest: “You will be the first [censorship] body that has ever censored a mime.’’ (Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98)

THIRST (2009)

Boundary-testing Korean director Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy’’) reteams with Song Kang-ho (“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance’’) to give a characteristically skewed take on the vampire genre: the story of an infected priest as conflicted by his lusting for married Kim Ok-vin as by his bloodlust. (Universal, $29.98)

MY SISTER’S KEEPER (2009)

Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin star in the adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s weeper about a young girl at odds with her parents because they conceived her to be a donor for her cancer-stricken sister (Sofia Vassilieva, “Medium’’). Extras: additional scenes. (Warner, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99)

HUMPDAY (2009)

Hetero pals Mark Duplass (“The Puffy Chair’’) and Joshua Leonard (“The Blair Witch Project’’) kick around an idle thought that it might be a cool, artsy idea to hook up in an adult film. “Zack and Zack Make a Porno’’? Extras: commentary by filmmaker Lynn Shelton and another by Duplass and Leonard. (Magnolia, $26.98)

ANDY BARKER, P.I.: THE COMPLETE SERIES (2007)

Andy Richter is a CPA turned unlikely private eye in the show that came between his controlling the universe and channeling Ed McMahon on “The Tonight Show.’’ Not as sharp as his initial sitcom work, but likable. Extras: commentaries by Richter, producer Conan O’Brien, and crew. (Shout! Factory, $24.99)

IS ANYBODY THERE? (2009)

Morbidly curious kid Bill Millner (“Son of Rambow’’) leads an odd, lonely existence around his family-run old age home, until he swaps some life lessons with retired magician Michael Caine. Extras: deleted scenes. (Magnolia, $26.98)

Titles are in stores Tuesday.