Untitled -- Almost Famous: The Bootleg Cut (DreamWorks Home Entertainment)

Only in this Bootleg Cut of Almost Famous can you get 35 minutes of extra footage, two versions of the film, a CD with six songs by the group portrayed, and engrossing features you can’t get in other versions. This nice package looks as if it’s lived through life on the road with a rock band of late 1960s and early ’70s. The flick and this package are extraordinary documents of an era. If Cameron Crowe were a chick, I’d kiss him on the lips for giving us this movie and DVD set.

Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (Warner Home Video)

I can’t help myself. I’ve been hooked on this movie since it was released, and have bought it three times in different forms and formats. If it comes out on a high-definition disc, I’ll undoubtedly buy it again. This Director’s Cut is, so far, the best audio and video version of Blade Runner, but it’s not as spectacular as it could and should be. Don’t buy this disc for the extras -- there’s almost nothing. The good news is that it’s often available for less than $8.

Brazil (The Criterion Collection)

Brazil is the only film I’ve purchased four times in different forms and formats. This collection of three single-disc DVD cases comes in a cool, translucent blue slipcase. The first disc is devoted to the worst and shortest version of Brazil ever created -- a Frankenstein monster created by Harry and Lloyd of Dumb and Dumberer against director Terry Gilliam’s wishes. On the second disc is Gilliam’s own cut of his masterpiece of silliness, irreverence, and inscrutability. The third disc has almost 90 minutes of special features that try to explain Brazil and the politics behind the scenes. This extraordinary package documents an extraordinary film. Don’t expect demo-quality video or sound and you won’t be disappointed.

Contact (Warner Home Video)

This disc has become a reference disc for me. I’ve watched it so many times I can instantly spot differences in the reproduction of Jody Foster’s herringbone jacket, the conference-room table, and the features on the building façade across the street. There’s not a lot to say about the DVD itself; image and sound are good but not exceptional. For me, this one’s all about the movie -- humankind’s first contact with an alien intelligence is a compelling subject that is well treated here. The extras are okay but not especially noteworthy.

The Fifth Element (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Strip away everything but the best possible sound and the best possible video quality and you end up with this 100% certified reference-quality DVD. Luc Besson’s story and visuals provide some amazing moments in home-theater entertainment. And on a video display that can do great blacks, this Superbit edition looks spectacular. The no-holds-barred DTS soundtrack is frequently used to demonstrate home-theater audio systems, and for good reason. There are no special features at all.

Jurassic Park III (Universal)

This Collector’s Edition has more crammed onto it than any other single-DVD release I’ve encountered -- it’s loaded with extra features for dinosaur fans. Jurassic Park III is also one of the two movies I use to hook visitors who ask for a demonstration. (The other is Terminator 2; see below.) There are several ten-minute segments that never fail to cause groans of protest when I press Stop. "But you said you could stay for only a short sample," I smile. "That was it!" There are enough demonstration-quality segments in this movie to make it a home-theater all-star.

Harry Potter Trilogy: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner Home Video)

Simply magic, and some of the best-integrated special features you’ll find on DVD. The Sorcerer’s Stone suffered from an inadequate special-effects budget, but the second and third installments of this ongoing series are pretty impressive. The packaging is inviting. Everything about these sets is true to J.K. Rowling’s novels, and make them great companions to the books. The menus add to the ambience, as do most of the special features. If I had to pick just one, it would be the third, The Prisoner of Azkaban . . . but the first two films set up Azkaban so perfectly that it’s hard to imagine not having all three. Warner’s trilogy box makes that an easy task.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Special Extended DVD Editions): The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King (New Line Home Video)

This is another case of can’t pick just one. In terms of packaging, content, and overall quality of the films, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is the best DVD set ever assembled. Long as the original theatrical releases were, the Special Extended DVD Editions are each 30 to 50 minutes longer, fleshing out the stories in subtle but important ways. Not one of these additional sequences is a throwaway clip; they all deserve to be seen. The size and scope of this collection of movies and special features, on 12 DVDs, is without peer. Reference-quality sound and video are thrown in for good measure.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Artisan Home Entertainment)

This is my second surefire demo disc that always has people groaning for more. The scene that begins with John Conner being chased by the bad Terminator driving the cab-over semi has to be experienced -- people hate when it’s over. Listen for the bicycle horn that honks when the Terminator whacks an abandoned car hulk in the cement culvert. Great special features and creative menus expand the T2 experience. This Ultimate Edition DVD has one of the best Easter eggs ever found on a DVD -- something that, left to his own devices, no mere mortal would ever find. (Find the instructions at any of several Internet sites.)

Titan A.E. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)

This is one of the best cel-animation features available on DVD, with many visually remarkable scenes. Some are all reds and yellows, others all shades of blue -- quite a workout for a video display. There are many reference- and demo-quality sequences that bear viewing over and over and over again. The great video quality and excellent DTS soundtrack make this a natural reference disc, and there are a fair number of extra features, but the star of this single-disc release is Titan A.E. itself.