The best DVDs (so far) for 2008

For DVD fans, August is a cruel month.

The big summer movies won't start arriving on DVD until September. The same goes for all the special collector's editions and fancy box sets the studios roll out in time for the holiday shopping season.

So for now, all we have to do is endure more heat and humidity and fantasize about upcoming releases.

Well, don't worry. A lot of nice DVDs hit shelves this year, and August is a good time to catch up on one or two you might have missed.

To help you along, I've put together a list of the best DVDs I've seen so far in 2008.

• "Zodiac: Director's Cut" (Paramount) - The year got off to a great start with this January release, a two-disc presentation of David Fincher's terrifying and exquisitely crafted film about the search for the Zodiac killer in 1970s San Francisco. The set included loads of behind-the-scenes material and a commentary with crime novelist James Ellroy.

• "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" (New Line) - This documentary about competing masters of the 1980s video game "Donkey Kong" was one of the funniest and most dramatic movies of 2007, and this year it got a great DVD release complete with commentaries, additional interviews and a side-by-side comparison of the two players' "Donkey Kong" styles.

• "Across the Universe" (Sony) - Some thought Julie Taymor's romantic musical, whose story unfolds via songs by the Beatles, was a disaster. I thought it rocked. The two-disc DVD plunges you deep into Taymor's brilliant, beautiful ode to love and rebellion and rock 'n' roll. Once you're in this world, you'll hate to leave.

• "The Mist" (Genius Products) - Director Frank Darabont evokes the best aspects of low-budget, 1950s creature-features in his adaptation of Stephen King's short story, then sucker-punches the audience with a devastating, pitch-black ending. The two-disc DVD package boasts a Darabont commentary and featurettes that cover just about every aspect of the making of the film. The real treat, though, is a second presentation of the entire movie in black and white, which is how Darabont originally wanted to make it. I can't think if a better use of the DVD format.

• "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax) - "Diving Bell" tells the true story of a French magazine editor who writes a best-selling memoir after being paralyzed from head to toe by a stroke. Only his left eye can move, and he learns to "write," and interact with the world, by blinking. Director Julian Schnabel's film is a visual marvel, with images both horrifying and heartbreakingly beautiful. It's one of the best movies I've seen. The DVD does justice to Schnabel's innovative visual style and sound design, while offering solid bonus features.

• "Mad Men: Season One" (Lionsgate) - Two things set this DVD set apart: First, "Mad Men" is one of the coolest shows ever, and second, the four discs included here come loaded with extra material, a rarity for a TV show DVD. The show revolves around the men and women who work in a Manhattan advertising agency in 1960. The DVD offers commentaries on all 13 episodes, featurettes about the show's music and costumes and a look at the state of advertising in the 1960s. Even the packaging is cool; the discs come in a container that looks like a Zippo lighter.

• "High and Low" (The Criterion Collection) - Criterion maintains its standard of excellence with this superb two-disc set of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 thriller based on a pulpy American crime novel. The movie is a gem, full of great acting (led by the legendary Toshiro Mifune) and Kurosawa's brilliant visual storytelling. The DVD comes with an excellent commentary and a weekend's worth of intelligent, though-provoking supplements.

I hope that list will keep you busy until the next crop of blockbuster DVD releases starts coming out. My regular reviews will return next week. Happy movie-watching!