Rack Focus

Comments (0) By Joshua Land Tuesday, May 31 2005

The Agronomist
(New Line)
Unjustly lost among last year's glut of documentaries, Jonathan Demme's affectionate portrait of the late Haitian radio host/political activist Jean Dominique gets a second chance on disc.

The Complete James Dean Collection
(Warner Bros.)
Can't make it to this week's Film Forum retro? This set packages all three Dean films in two-disc editions laden with extras: commentaries, new and vintage documentaries, screen tests, additional scenes, and more.

The Essential Steve McQueen Collection
(Warner Bros.)
The second McQueen box to drop in the past month, this six-film set is highlighted by a two-disc release of Bullitt (1968), its famous car chase complemented by a pair of new feature-length documentaries. Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway comes with double-barreled commentary action, including a "virtual" track with the director, McQueen, and co-star Ali McGraw. Released on DVD just in time to cash in on the poker craze, The Cincinnati Kid pairs McQueen with screen legend Edward G. Robinson—the two commentaries are courtesy of director Norman Jewison and Celebrity Poker Showdown hosts Phil Gordon and David Foley. Also included: the great-escape drama Papillon with Dustin Hoffman, the elegiac western Tom Horn, and the WW II-set Never So Few, which gave the laconic star his first big break.