DVD Releases

Despite the finality of the title, last fall’s theatrical release of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It’’ (2009) wasn’t quite it, of course - not with DVD to keep the remembrances going a little while longer. For something that you might have heard or assumed was cobbled together, this record of Jackson’s comeback rehearsals in LA is actually a fairly complete experience, although numbers like “Billie Jean’’ do feel a little unplugged. The lack of close-ups also might leave you missing a big-screen presentation. The disc plays more like a repeat performance than an extended or enhanced one; when the entire feature is in essence a behind-the-scenes production documentary, there’s inevitable redundancy with the extras included here. (You’d guess that Jackson’s planned 50-date stand in London would have resulted in a polished concert film - in 3-D, no doubt - and all the content included here would have instead filled a bonus disc.) Blu-ray offers a look at videos intended to segue into live versions of “Smooth Criminal’’ and “Thriller,’’ but these are already included in near-final form in the feature. A segment on the auditions for Jackson’s dance troupe offers more of the entertainingly energetic (if overly misty-eyed) hopefuls from the movie’s opening. Curiously, though, and maybe tellingly, there remains a disconnect between all their testimonials about Jackson’s ability to inspire and his downtime presence in the film, which is generally more wispy than front-and-center charismatic. (Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $39.95; available now)

COMEDY

ZOMBIELAND (2009)

Part of the fun of this gleefully gory road movie is watching our heroes goof on their familiar images. Woody Harrelson does his zombie killin’ in an environmentally oblivious Hummer and snakeskin jacket, while Jesse Eisenberg has more reason than usual to be his nerdishly fidgety self. Director Ruben Fleischer pitched the movie as an American “Shaun of the Dead,’’ but Harrelson and Eisenberg’s screen rapport - and that Bill Murray cameo you’ve heard about - give it an identity of its own. Extras: In commentary (visual on Blu-ray), Fleischer, Harrelson, Eisenberg, and the writers chuckle at the devastation. (Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $39.95)

BIOPIC

AMELIA (2009)

Hilary Swank and director Mira Nair (“Vanity Fair’’) offer a take on Amelia Earhart much like one of the film’s re-created pioneering flights: far slower than it should be to get off the ground, but ultimately able to stay aloft. Swank and Richard Gere, as Earhart’s publisher/promoter/husband, are initially stylized to a fault, delivering clunkers like “I want to be [a] vagabond of the air’’ in Movietone diction. The movie picks up in exploring Earhart’s complex personal life and perceived reckless streak - not exactly a “Hurt Locker’’ portrait of risk addiction, but one that’s arrestingly tragic. Extras: production featurettes; deleted scenes. (Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99)

DRAMA

ADAM (2009)

Hugh Dancy (“Confessions of a Shopaholic’’) is the title character, a 29-year-old New Yorker with Asperger’s syndrome whose struggles are alternately eased and aggravated by his cute romance with a new neighbor (Rose Byrne, “Damages’’). Writer-director Max Mayer crafts some sweet scenes, such as the ice-breaker the pair share under the planetarium display that astronomy-fixated Adam has set up in his apartment. But just as often you’ll be distracted by the fools-rush-in sunniness that Mayer demands from Byrne - one quick read of a book on Asperger’s, and she’s down for love. Extras: commentary by Mayer; alternate ending. (Fox, $27.98; Blu-ray, $39.99)

NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU (2009)

The hipster anthology model of 2007’s “Paris, je t’aime’’ gets Americanized in a collection of a dozen vignettes about love in NYC. With Julie Christie and Shia LaBeouf (above), Bradley Cooper, Drea De Matteo, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, and many others. Extras: Scarlett Johansson’s directing debut, a segment left on the cutting room floor. (Vivendi, $24.93; Blu-ray, $27.99)

MYSTIC RIVER (2003)

Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane hits Blu-ray (albeit without a CD of Eastwood’s solemn score, as the standard DVD featured). (Warner, $28.99)

THE GODFATHER (1972) / THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola’s 2008 restorations of both films get overdue hi-def treatment. Extras: director’s commentary. (Paramount, $39.99 each)

CHANTAL AKERMAN IN THE SEVENTIES (1972-78)

Criterion’s budget compilation of the Belgian experimentalist’s early work includes Akerman’s New York films - “Hotel Monterey,’’ “News From Home,’’ and her short “La Chambre’’ - as well as “Je Tu Il Elle’’ and “Les Rendez-vous d’Anna.’’ (Criterion, $44.95; available now)

LITTLE ASHES (2009)

Robert Pattinson’s Salvador Dali meets Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltrán) and Luis Buñuel (Matthew McNulty) in director Paul Morrison’s period piece. (E1 Entertainment, $26.98)

PALE FORCE (2009)

You can kill a little of the time until Conan O’Brien’s return with this collection of animated “Superfriend’’-ly shorts starring O’Brien and Jim Gaffigan. (New Video NYC, $14.95; available now)

Titles are in stores Tuesday unless specified.