This week's top DVD releases include two visually mesmerizing offerings from Japan: Takeshi Kitano's "Dolls" and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Bright Future."
1. Dolls
Frame for frame, Takeshi Kitano's oddly moving "Dolls" will blow you away with its gorgeous imagery.
2. Stage Beauty
The press made such a fuss about the scandalous pairing of Claire Danes and Billy Crudup after the release of "Stage Beauty" that their tremendous performances in this period film were overlooked. Billy Crudup especially is terrific as a conflicted thespian who only takes on the women's roles.
3. Bright Future
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's hypnotic film tells the story of enigmatic Mamoru, who lives alone with his poisonous but hauntingly luminous jellyfish. The DVD includes the feature-length documentary "Ambivalent Future," which provides a look not just at the film but at Kurosawa's career, and the trailer.
4. Lightning in a Bottle
BB King, Buddy Guy, Solomon Burke, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Steven Tyler, John Fogerty, Mos Def, India.Arie, and Macy Gray are just a few of the performers who gathered for a one-night-only celebration of the blues in a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall on February 7, 2003. Antoine Fuqua's documentary captures the event, plus offering revealing backstage footage.5. The Hidden Fuhrer: Hitler's Sexuality
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato sure know how to pick their subjects. "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" was a cult hit, and "Inside Deep Throat" is currently playing in theaters. This controverial documentary, inspired by German historian Lothar Machtan's controversial book, proposes that Adolph Hitler was a closeted homosexual.