'Snow White,' Other Classics on DVD

Oct. 15 -- Did you know there was almost a blond Snow White and a blond Don Corleone? Several new DVD releases give movie lovers great insights and priceless trivia about some film favorites.

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The Godfather DVD Collection

The Movie: I used to think Godfather 2 was the best American film since Citizen Kane. A re-viewing on DVD changed my mind; I now think Godfather 1 is the best American film since Citizen Kane. The transfer is excellent. You'll enjoy it even more with a glass or two of Frances Ford Coppola's fine California wines. His Rubicon '94 is delicious.

The Extras: Three hours of behind-the-scenes history, most of which has been available in other venues. But the access is easy and Coppola is as charming a storyteller on camera as he is a riveting storyteller on film. One example: The studio wanted Robert Redford or Ryan O'Neal to play Michael Corleone. Blond dons? Make 'em northern Italian, Coppola sarcastically told the studio. We see screen tests of Martin Sheen, James Caan, Robert De Niro, and Marlon Brando's grinning makeup test.

Citizen Kane

The Movie: A gorgeous print from an original nitrate print (the original negative was lost in a fire). DVDs handle hues brilliantly — especially if your video equipment has been calibrated — so this great film has never looked better.

The Extras: The Oscar-nominated documentary, The Battle for Citizen Kane, is fun but not perfectly accurate (read Pauline Kael's great essay, "Raising Kane"; you can find it on the Internet). Audio commentary by Peter Bogdanovich, who knew Orson Welles, and Roger Ebert, who teaches a frame-by-frame course on Kane, are both enlightening.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Movie: One of the greatest films ever and the first full-length animated feature. When it was re-released in the '80s, it was so good I saw it twice in one afternoon to make sure it wasn't just nostalgia. It's not. It's great storytelling, great filmmaking.