From Ivana Redwine,
Your Guide to DVD.
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The new DVD releases include American Gangster, Lust, Caution, Michael Clayton and Rendition. In addition, we'll take a sneak peek at next week's movies on video/DVD.

February 19, 2008 - New DVD Releases:

American Gangster DVD

Tagline: "There are two sides to the American dream."

Length: 157 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality (An extended, urated version of this movie is also available on DVD.)

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in this crime drama directed by Ridley Scott. Washington portrays a fictional version of Frank Lucas, a real-life Harlem drug lord circa 1970. Lucas becomes a highly successful businessman by getting heroin from Southeast Asia and selling a high-quality product in New York. Crowe plays incorruptible Jersey cop Richie Roberts, who switches over to the feds in a dogged attempt to stem the flood of narcotics. Lucas's and Roberts' stories unfold in parallel, and meanwhile there's trouble from a corrupt NYPD cop (Josh Brolin).

Selected DVD Special Features:

• DVD Set
• Also Available: HD DVD/DVD Combo

Find out more about this DVD release.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD. Check with your video store/online rental service for availability in other formats, including streaming video/digital download.

Lust, Caution DVD

Tagline: "The truth can be adjusted."

Length: 157 minutes (NC-17 version of the film); 148 minutes (R-rated version of the film) minutes
MPAA Rating: 157 minutes (NC-17 version of the film); 148 minutes (R-rated version of the film)

Ang Lee directed this Chinese-language period drama based on a short story by Eileen Chang. The film takes place during World War II, primarily in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, where Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is head of the secret service of the collaborationist Chinese government. The resistance targets Yee for assassination, and an attractive, patriotic young woman going by the name Mrs. Mak (newcomer Tang Wei) takes on the mission of seducing Yee to set him up. The heart of the tale is the complex relationship that develops between Mak and Yee.

Selected DVD Special Features:

• Widescreen

Find out more about this DVD release.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD. Check with your video store/online rental service for availability in other formats, including streaming video/digital download.

Michael Clayton DVD

Tagline: "The truth can be adjusted."

Length: 119 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for language including some sexual dialogue

George Clooney stars as the title character in this legal thriller. An attorney at a prestigious New York law firm, Clayton is talented at handling messy situations. After Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), the firm's lawyer representing agrichemical giant U/North in a class action suit, has a nervous breakdown, Clayton gets involved in the case. A major problem he faces is that U/North's chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) will stop at nothing to protect her company. Even though Clayton is used to working in gray areas, he is soon plunged into a crisis of conscience.

Selected DVD Special Features:

• Widescreen

Find out more about this DVD release.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD. Check with your video store/online rental service for availability in other formats, including streaming video/digital download.

Rendition DVD
Length: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for torture/violence and language

Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon star in this drama about the U.S. practice of having people tortured in other countries. Egyptian-born Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) moved to America as a teen and became an engineer. He goes on a business trip to Cape Town and when he doesn't return, his wife (Witherspoon) begins to make inquiries. It turns out he is suspected of a terrorist act and is being tortured in an unnamed North African country. Gyllenhaal plays a CIA analyst involved in the interrogation, and Meryl Streep portrays a key CIA terrorism official.

Selected DVD Special Features:

• Commentary

Find out more about this DVD release.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD. Check with your video store/online rental service for availability in other formats, including streaming video/digital download.

Next Page - Additional Video/DVD Releases of Interest This Week