This Week on DVD and Blu-ray - December 9, 2008

Really, all you need to know is the nearly $1 billion international grossing "The Dark Knight" arrives on disc this week. With enough exclusives and permutations to go along with every single box office dollar, too, let me add. The DVD editions come as separate single disc fullscreen and widescreen affairs, as well as a 2-Disc Special Edition (Digital Copy included). Blu-ray sees a three disc edition (the third disc is Digital Copy), along with a Limited Edition featuring a replica of the Batpod. And with that, we're going to call this week a wrap early. Go grab the new Batman movie, revel in its glory and come on back next week.

Wait...what? You want more? Alright, fine. Twist my arm. Just know nothing else can remotely come close to what I just mentioned.

The other summer flick debuting on disc this week alongside Batman is "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" This one comes in just as many iterations: standard single disc DVD, Digital Copy Special Edition, Gift Set (2-Disc movie plus plush doll) and a Blu-ray Digital Copy Special Edition. While we're talking about releases on both formats, the fourth season of "LOST" hits the shelf in preparation for the January debut of the fifth season. This season is dubbed "The Expanded Experience." Ya know, by the time the sixth and final season rolls around, the subtitle is going to be "Thank God We're Off This Damned Island! Edition." Or something like that.

Warner releases another in a long line of box sets for the holiday season with the Ultimate Collector's Edition of Will Smith's "I am Legend" on DVD and BD. I won't bother to run down every single extra on both sets (the DVD specs and BD specs); suffice to say there's a bunch of stuff.

Over on the high def-only side, Fox brings a couple catalog titles to market. There's Ben Stiller in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," followed by "Super Troopers." Warner gets into the act with "Dumb and Dumber: More Dumber Than Evur" (yes, that is correct spelling) and "The Mask." Lastly, Universal streets "Jet Li's Fearless," already available on DVD.

A minor note on a couple supposed DVD titles being released this week: several sources list "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," "It Happened One Night" and "You Can't Take It With You" as getting standalone discs today. The usual e-tailers don't have cover art for these titles and there is not a listing for any of them on Sony press site. If you find them, more power to you. If you don't, go watch "The Dark Knight."

Paramount gets into the Digital Copy re-release game this week "Jackass: The Movie" (rated edition...don't ask me why), "Nacho Libre," "School of Rock" and "Zoolander." As if the endless versions of "Sex and the City" weren't enough a mere few weeks back, Warner now has "The Wedding Edition Ultimate Collector's Edition" for sale. Way to go, guys! The freaking movie hit disc September 23. This has got to be the quickest double dip in history. Ahead of their foray next week in the Blu-ray waters, Criterion has "Europa" on deck.

A collection of the three "Resident Evil" flicks comes to DVD from Sony (each of progressively worse quality, in my humble opinion). A potentially riveting doc comes to disc from Magnolia titled "Man on Wire." And yes, it's exactly what you think it is: a man on a tight wire. A box set celebrating "Murnau, Borzage and Fox" hits the street. Why is it important? On the 12 discs, there are...twelve films (shocking!), featuring the first-and only-film to win Best Artistic Film at the Oscars. That would be "Sunrise," already available on DVD from Fox. A director I've just recently come to admire, Werner Herzog, is featured in "Three Short Films by Werner Herzog." Those films would be "The Dark Glow of the Mountains," "Ballad of the Little Soldier" and "Precautions Against Fanatics." If you haven't already given either the DVD or BD version of "Encounters at the End of the World" a spin, please do. It's a fantastic love letter to the South Pole.

Mom and Dad, send the kids to bed for these next two titles. TLA Releasing hits us with sequel to "Another Gay Movie" called, appropriately, "Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild." And as a nightcap, "Passion & Power: The Technology of Orgasm."

Onto television: "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 2," "Happy Days: The Fourth Season" (alongside a four season pack), "Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series Collector's Edition" and the first season of "Swingtown." Paramount/CBS is using this week to drop a two classic western volumes on the shelf. "Gunsmoke: The Third Season Volume One" and "Rawhide: The Third Season Volume Two" (and a three season pack) debut alongside "McLeod's Daughters: The Complete 7th Season" from Koch. Undoubtedly, these releases tie in with the debut of "Deadwood: The Complete Series" from HBO. Also from the cable station is the critically acclaimed "The Wire: The Complete Series."

Blu-ray recap: "The Dark Knight," "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," "Dumb and Dumber: More dumber Than Evur," "Dr. Seuess' Horton Hears a Who!" "I am Legend: Ultimate Collector's Edition," "Jet Li's Fearless," "Lost: The Complete Fourth Season-The Expanded Experience," "The Mask," "Super Troopers."

DVD recap: "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Volume 2," "Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild," "The Dark Knight," "Deadwood: The Complete Series," "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" "Europa," "Gunsmoke: The Third Season Volume One," "Happy Days: The Fourth Season" (and a four season pack), "I am Legend: Ultimate Collector's Edition," "It Happened One Night," "Jackass: The Movie" (Digital Copy re-release), "Lost: The Complete Fourth Season-The Expanded Experience," "Man on Wire," "McLeod's Daughters: The Complete 7th Season," "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Murnau, Borzage and Fox," "Nacho Libre" (Digital Copy re-release), "Passion & Power: The Technology of Orgasm," "Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series Collector's Edition," "Rawhide: The Third Season Volume Two" (and a three season pack), "Resident Evil" (three movie pack), "School of Rock" (Digital Copy re-release), "Sex and the City: The Movie-The Wedding Edition Ultimate Collector's Edition," "Swingtown: The Complete First Season," "Three Shorts Films by Werner Herzog," "The Wire: The Complete Series," "You Can't Take It With You," "Zoolander" (Digital Copy re-release).