Bidding ‘Good Night’ with some humor

George Clooney infuses his audio commentary on “Good Night, and Good Luck” (Warner, $29) with the same self-deprecating humor and commitment to his craft he demonstrated last week on the Academy Awards when he received a supporting actor Oscar for “Syriana.”

It’s not hard to enjoy a track -- in his commentary Clooney is joined by Grant Heslov, his longtime friend who is co-writer and producer of “Good Night” -- that discusses not only Sen. Joseph McCarthy but also “Joanie Loves Chachi.”

“Good Night, and Good Luck,” which received six Oscar nominations including best film, director, original screenplay and actor (David Strathairn), re-creates the very public conflict in the early 1950s between McCarthy and CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow.

There’s also a behind-the-scenes featurette with some of the actual people depicted in the film -- unfortunately none are identified.

Veteran director David Cronenberg is at the top of his craft in “A History of Violence” (New Line, $29), which received Oscar nominations for adapted screenplay and for William Hurt as supporting actor, as well as numerous critics awards.

Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke, “Violence” revolves around a mild-mannered family man (Viggo Mortensen) who operates a cafe in a small Indiana town. His life is turned upside down when he kills two savage criminals who want to rob his diner. Maria Bello plays his wife; Ed Harris is a terrifying thug; and Hurt an outrageous gangster kingpin.

Extras are uniformly terrific from the hour-long “Acts of Violence,” which offers a compelling glimpse into Cronenberg’s working style; a deleted fantasy scene; both versions of a bloody sequence that was more graphic in the international theatrical release; a diary of Cronenberg screening the film at Cannes; and sharp commentary from the director.

Also new this week

“The Agatha Christie Miss Marple Collection” (Warner, $50): In the early 1960s, the career of British character actress Margaret Rutherford, then in her 70s, flourished on the big screen. Not only did she win a supporting actress Oscar for 1963’s “The V.I.P.s,” she starred as Christie’s amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple in four delightful mysteries: “Murder, She Said” (1962), in which she witnesses a murder on a passing train (Joan Hickson, who played Miss Marple years later on TV, appears as a housekeeper); “Murder at the Gallop” (1963), in which she doubts a wealthy old man died of a heart attack; “Murder Most Foul” (1964), in which she’s the sole juror who believes the accused is innocent of murder; and “Murder Ahoy!,” also from 1964, which finds the sleuth discovering who poisoned a man’s snuff box.

“Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered” (New Video, $20): Decent documentary about the infamous porn flick of the late 1970s. Extras include a seamy 40-minute British documentary “Diary of a Porn Virgin,” about two women who decide to become adult film stars.

“The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio” (DreamWorks, $30): Drama adapted and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jane Anderson (“Normal”) based on the memoir by Terry Ryan about her mother (played by Julianne Moore), who helped raise her 10 children in the 1950s and early ‘60s by winning jingle contests. Woody Harrelson plays the alcoholic husband. The digital edition features two lovely commentary tracks: one with Anderson and the other with Moore.

“Sleeper Cell” (Showtime, $35): Golden Globe-nominated 10-hour miniseries that premiered in 2005 on Showtime focuses on a black FBI agent (Michael Ealy), a practicing Muslim who goes deep undercover in Los Angeles to infiltrate a terrorist group. The three-disc DVD set includes informative commentary on the pilot episode with creators and executive producers Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, deleted scenes, a slick behind-the-scenes featurette and a production diary of the show’s two-hour finale.

“I Dream of Jeannie -- The Complete First Season” (Sony, $40): Sidney Sheldon was the creator of this goofy 1965-70 NBC comedy starring Larry Hagman as a handsome astronaut who finds a bottle on the beach after an aborted mission. When he opens the bottle, a 2,000-year-old genie (Barbara Eden) named Jeannie pops out and declares him her master. Bill Daily also starred as Hagman’s girl-crazy friend. The DVD set is offered in the original black-and-white and a colorized version. The disc includes a retrospective and nostalgic commentary with the three stars.

“Townes Van Zandt -- Be Here to Love Me” (Palm Pictures, $25): Fascinating documentary on the late songwriter-singer (“Pancho and Lefty”) of the 1960s and into the ‘90s who never achieved superstar success but had lasting influence on folk singers and composers. Extras include interviews with artists who appear in the film and commentary from director Margaret Brown, cinematographer Lee Daniel and musician Joe Ely, a friend of Van Zandt’s.

What’s coming

March 21: “Capote,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Chicken Little,” “Dreamer,” “Paradise Now”

March 28: “King Kong,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ”