Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban By far, the best of the three films. Y Tu Mamá También director Alfonso Cuarón imbues the series with a more human sensibility—and even a wand-wiggling sensuality—that his glossy predecessor, Chris Columbus, couldn’t muster. PG; $29.95.

L’Age d’Or Perverse and surreal: Luis Buñuel’s avant-garde classic. NR; $24.95. Gozu Perverse and garish: Takashi Miike’s bizarre yakuza horror movie. NR; $24.98.

Radley Metzger Collection: Volume 1 Perverse and kitschy: Metzger’s Eurotrash skin flicks. NR; $49.95.

The Terminal Kind of like Cast Away, except Tom Hanks is stranded in an airport instead of on an island. Spielberg’s hokey we-are-the-world film nevertheless allows the adventurous actor to strut his stuff. PG-13; $29.98.

The Golden Girls: Season One Those brassy gals! NR; $49.99.

Home Improvement: Season One Those boring burbs! NR; $49.99.

Strayed French director André Téchiné’s period drama pulls terrific performances from Emmanuelle Béart, as a widow who flees Paris during the German occupation, and Gaspard Ulliel, as the teen she meets on the run. NR; $29.98.

(Photo: Courtesy of Palm Pictures)

Our Pick
MTV may not show many smart videos anymore— but two landmark new packages do. The two-disc Play collects 23 clips from the pop-polyglot Peter Gabriel, whose “Shock the Monkey” and “Sledgehammer” videos raised the bar in the eighties. And in the Directors Label Series Box Set, we get the works he inspired: the complete video portfolio of art-school faves Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, and Chris Cunningham, plus another disc of shorts, including Spike Jonze’s breakneck skate video “Invisible Boards,” a Paul Pfeiffer–like prank in which guys pull fakies and nosegrinds on boards that Jonze has digitally erased. Play: 2 discs; NR; $19.99. Directors Label: 4 discs; NR; $59.98.

Related:

• Archive: “The DVD Filter”
• Articles by Logan Hill
• Table of Contents: Nov 29, 2004 issue of New York | Subscribe!