The DVD Filter

Umbrellas of Cherbourg on DVD

By Logan Hill

Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The ultimate apartment date: Order in, uncork a bottle, and cuddle up with the young Catherine Deneuve in the breathlessly romantic musical role that made her a star. NR; $24.98.

The Matrix Revolutions
The disappointing conclusion, with predictable behind-the-scenes add-ons. R; $29.95.

Popeye
Celebrating the spinach-muncher’s 75th anniversary, this three-disc set collects 85 episodes of the cartoons all of those steroid-injecting athletes grew up watching. NR; $29.98.

Cheaper by the Dozen
Steve Martin’s irritating family comedy. PG; $29.98.

Charade
Stanley Donen’s comic spy thriller has an absurd plot, patchy dialogue, and a preposterous romance. Yet somehow the sight of two glamorous stars—Cary Grant (in his “drip-dry suit”) and Audrey Hepburn (draped in Givenchy)—swapping bons mots on the banks of the Seine is irresistible. A film buff’s guilty pleasure. NR; $39.95.

Passionada
This slight, romantic film about a Portuguese family in Massachusetts features a strong performance by up-and-comer Emmy Rossum. PG-13; $24.96.

Our Pick
Scads of impassioned fan letters, and even a full-page fan-funded Daily Variety ad, couldn’t keep Paul Feig’s short-lived series Freaks and Geeks on NBC. (Apparently, Feig’s cringe-inducing tales about high-school losers lurching through 1980 Michigan just couldn’t compete with, say, the cringe-inducing bosoms of NBC’s Fear Factor.) But when 39,000 viewers signed an Internet petition demanding a DVD box set, the show’s producers, at the very least, sensed a viable market. The resulting assemblage stays true to the spirit of the show’s underdog devotees. Loaded with a bevy of extra features—from behind-the-scenes playfulness to the director’s cut of the show’s depressing pilot—it’s a fan’s fantasy. The 29 audio commentaries include testimonials from cast and crew and, most important, hilarious riffs direct from the hardworking, geek-loving fans themselves. Six discs; NR; $69.98.