Golden Globe-Nominated 'Hangover' Takes A Swig, 'Inglourious' Storms Shelves And More, In The DVD Report For Dec. 15

Getting some of the funniest guys in show business and dropping them in Vegas for a bachelor party sounds like a winning formula, but nobody expected "The Hangover" to gross a whopping $450 million dollars worldwide. Now the film is hitting DVD and Blu-ray, and is our lead film for this week's DVD Report.

Todd Phillips already had hits like "Old School" and "Road Trip" in the bank at the time he was begged to director "The Hangover," and the veteran comedy helmer pulled together a cast of unproven but fan-favorite stars. Headlining the zany misadventure romp would be Bradley Cooper (best known as the quintessential a-hole in "Wedding Crashers), Ed Helms ("Daily Show" and "The Office" alum) and underground comedy icon Zach Galifianakis. While all three shared a level of success, none had ever held a film together on their own, making this a considerable experiment for all involved.

What resulted, of course, was one of the funniest films of the year, as popular for its dark brand of comedy as it was for its sharply memorable scenes featuring Mike Tyson and a tiger. The home video release continues the laughs by giving us a feature-length picture-in-picture commentary track with Phillips, Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis. While dry at times when it comes to the production nitty-gritty, having all four guys in a room together is a hoot for fans. We also get a gag reel and deleted/alternate scenes, along with dozens of photos from the film's now-legendary "missing camera" (for an exclusive look at the bonus features, click here).

The other big release this week is "Inglourious Basterds," Quentin Tarantino's World War II fantasy war adventure following a group of battle-hardened Jewish soldiers taking on the Nazis in ruthless fashion. Hailed by many as one of the director's finest works, the DVD and Blu-ray arrives as a two-disc special edition that is "special" for its considerable bonus features, and not for any new "director's cut" (Tarantino recently stated in an MTV News interview that the finished film was his final vision). Fans of both the helmer and the film will find plenty to like here, including a roundtable chat with Tarantino, Brad Pitt and film historian Elvis Mitchell, the Nazi-produced film-within-the-film "Nation's Pride" along with a making-of of the fictional flick, behind-the-scene looks at the making of "Inglourious" as a whole, extended and alternate scenes and a gag reel.

"Taking Woodstock," director Ang Lee's ode to the iconic music festival by way of the motel-owning family who helped facilitate it, also arrives, coming with it a mini doc on the story behind the film, deleted scenes and filmmaker commentary.

"The Mel Brooks Collection" hits as well, giving us Blu-ray releases of "Blazing Saddles, "High Anxiety, "History of the World Part 1, "Robin Hood: Men with Tights, "Silent Movie," "Spaceballs, "To Be or Not to Be, "Twelve Chairs, "Young Frankenstein" (some of which are repackaged like "Blazing Saddles," and some which are new).

Another Blu-ray offering of note is the third and final season of "Star Trek: The Original Series," and a new edition of Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights."

DVD & BLU-RAY NEWS:

"Saw VI" scares up thrilled on January 26, and comedy hit "Zombieland" arrives February 2, the same day Hilary Swank and Richard Gere take to the sky in "Amelia" and Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart" find romance in "Love Happens." One week later, Chris Rock's follicle-friendly doc "Good Hair" arrives February 9. But the big news comes on April 6 when "Lord of the Rings" will hit Blu-ray as a nine-disc box set.

NEXT WEEK:

Smash sci-fi hit "District 9," the second "Family Guy: Star Wars" offering "Something Something Something Dark Side," Mike Judge's "Extract," quirky rom-com "(500) Days of Summer" and other rom-com "All About Steve."

Tags Boogie Nights, inglourious basterds, Mel Brooks, quentin tarantino, taking woodstock, the hangover