Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection. British actress Helen Mirren
changed the rules of the TV detective genre with her indelible
performance as Detective Jane Tennison in writer-producer Lynda La
Plante's Prime Suspect, which premiered in 1991 and ran for seven
seasons on Britain's ITV. Noted for its complex plotting, high
production values, and incredible insight into human psychology, the
series is collected in full in a nine-disc box set from Acorn Media. (www.acornmedia.com/; $124.99)
Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection. With his rugged, if not ragged, looks and receding hairline, he was anything but a pretty boy. But Humphrey Bogart has come to represent the ultimate on-screen American hero. This 13-disc set from Warner Home Video features 24 of Bogie's greatest movies, from his 1936 breakout film, Petrified Forest, to his signature work in the 1940s including Casablanca and The Big Sleep. Extras include commentaries on 14 films, a documentary, and a 48-page booklet. (www.wbshop.com/; $99.98) Bogie's 1952 classic, The African Queen, not included in the Fox set, is available in a newly restored edition from Paramount Home Entertainment. (www.paramount.com/dvd; $25.99)
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story. Sure, they were responsible for creating the prefab TV band the Monkees, but film pioneers Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider, and Steve Blauner used their earnings to produce a series of phenomenal films between 1968 and 1972 directed by such visionaries as Dennis Hopper, Henry Jaglom, Jack Nicholson, and Peter Bogdanovich. The Criterion Collection's beautiful box set features seven BBS flicks - Head; Easy Rider; Five Easy Pieces; Drive, He Said; The Last Picture Show; The King of Marvin Gardens; and A Safe Place. (www.criterion.com/; $99.95 DVD, $124.95 Blu-ray)
The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete Series. It doesn't get funnier than stand-up comic Garry Shandling's postmodern, show-within-a-show sitcom, The Larry Sanders Show, which appeared from 1992 to 1998 on HBO. The show-business satire featured Shandling as a hyper-neurotic, vain, but endearing late-night talk show host. Rip Torn is brilliant as the show's sarcastic producer. Shout! Factory's box set includes all 89 episodes and a wealth of extras, including a 60-page booklet. (www.shoutfactory.com/; $149.99)
Twentieth Century Fox 75th Anniversary Gift Set. Not sure what film to give your favorite cinephile? Give them every film ever made. Well, almost. This mega-set from Fox Home Entertainment features 75 of its films, from the 1940s classics The Grapes of Wrath and Laura to Vietnam-era antiwar masterpieces M*A*S*H and Patton through to James Cameron's mind-blowing 2009 release, Avatar. (www.foxconnect.com/ or www.foxmovies.com/; $499.98)
