This week, we start in Elsinore:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Derek Jacobi plays Claudius in Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version of Hamlet. The movie, officially titled William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is now available as a Blu-ray/book package.

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Hamlet (*****) “I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul.” So says the ghost of Hamlet’s father, setting in motion literature’s crowning achievement. Writer-director Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 full-text film about Shakespeare’s melancholy Dane seeking revenge and redemption returns with a sparkling new Blu-ray/book treatment. And, of the countless film versions of this most challenging work, Branagh’s version ranks at the top.

It may suffer somewhat from gimmicky casting (Jack Lemmon as Marcellus, Robin Williams as Osric, Billy Crystal as a gravedigger), but it also slots in quality when needed, including Branagh as Hamlet, Brian Blessed as the ghost of Hamlet’s father, Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Julie Christie as Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, and other such notables as John Gielgud and John Mills. Aided by Tim Harvey’s production designs, Neil Farrell’s editing and Alex Thomson’s cinematography — filmed on 65mm and exhibited on Panavision Super 70 — Branagh rendered a colorful, fast-moving production.

Rated PG-13, 242 minutes. Coming Tuesday to DVD.

This new Blu-ray version includes an introduction as well as commentary from Branagh, a “History with Hamlet” featurette, a promo and trailer, and a 36-page booklet on the film.

*

Triage (***) In this intense drama from writer-director Danis Tanovic (the Oscar-winning No Man’s Land), Colin Farrell plays Mark, a war photographer who travels with colleague and friend David (Jamie Sives) to the Kurdish region of Iraq in 1988 to document a rebel uprising. Mark returns to his Dublin home wounded, both physically and, as evidenced by his growing unrest, mentally. His wife, Elena (Paz Vega), requests help from her psychiatrist grandfather (Christopher Lee) to counsel Mark about his growing post-traumatic stress. The painful process plays out, while Tanovic examines the unexpected consequences of war.

Rated R, 99 minutes.

The DVD, also on Blu-ray, includes seven interviews with cast and crew totaling 27 minutes, as well as a 20-minute “making of” featurette and 10 minutes of “B” roll footage.

*

After.Life (*1/2) What should or could be eerie, and maybe even insightful, turns laughable in this odd but pointless otherworldly creepfest from co-writer and director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo. Liam Neeson was somehow roped into starring as Eliot Deacon, a funeral director who has the gift of talking to dead people. When they land in his care, they are not alive but not dead, setting him up to argue with them about their true status. When Anna (Christina Ricci) dies in an auto accident, her boyfriend, Paul (Justin Long), denies her death. So Eliot and Anna chat away — discussing her status, his “gift” and how life is unfair. Get used to it.

Rated R, 103 minutes.

The DVD offers director commentary and an eight-minute “making of” featurette.

*

Multiple Sarcasms (*1/2) In this pretentious, angst-ridden drama with only a dash of humor, Timothy Hutton plays Gabriel Richmond, a frustrated author who constantly alienates his wife (Dana Delany) and his best friend (Mira Sorvino). But his agent (Stockard Channing) believes in him. So, he continues acting like a jerk, spouting inane dialogue and acting out the artificial situations contrived from director Brooks Branch’s script. A final epiphany from the unlikable Gabriel cannot justify an hour and a half of his insufferable arrogance and interminable whining.

Rated R, 97 minutes.

The DVD includes cast and crew interviews and a “making of” featurette.

*

Skellig: The Owl Man (**) This strange film attempts — with obscure intentions — to mix genres to render various effects. It aspires to heightened family drama, but it also makes a plea for tolerance for the “other.” Young Davey (John Simm) awaits with his parents (Bill Milner and Kelly Macdonald) the birth of his new sibling. Meanwhile, the family moves into a new house — with a decaying shed out back. There, Davey finds Skellig (Tim Roth), a slovenly, seemingly homeless man. Davey begins feeding Skellig on the sly, building some friendship and trust. The otherworldly looking Skellig harbors some secrets of his own — enough to take the narrative into fantastical territory and shed any pretensions of authentic revelations. With touches of fantasy, not to mention horror, Skellig never settles on anything and simply ends up as an unsettling lump.

NBC

Kyle Chandler plays football coach Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights. In the show’s fourth season, which will be released Tuesday on DVD, Taylor coaches the startup East Dillon Lions in the fictional Texas town of Dillon.

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Not rated, 104 minutes.

*

Friday Night Lights — The Fourth Season This gritty drama that succeeded after it almost went extinct returns in these 13 episodes on three discs. In Dillon, Texas, football coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) faces dilemmas with his new team of East Dillon Lions, including a forfeited game, and he even witnesses a crime. Meanwhile, his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), the principal of rival Dillon High School, confronts her own problems during the fall. The football season and Thanksgiving provide dramatic backgrounds.

Not rated, 557 minutes.

The collection includes commentary, introductions from creator/director/writer/producer Peter Berg, deleted scenes and three “making of” featurettes.

*

One Tree Hill — The Complete Seventh Season In the latest episodes of this popular teen series, Nathan (James Lafferty) sees his NBA career disrupted, Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) has a family dilemma, and Brooke (Sophia Bush) and Julian (Austin Nichols) might be headed for true romance. Meanwhile, new characters breathe some fresh life into the proceedings, such as Quinn (Shantel VanSanten) and Clay (Robert Buckley). Twenty-two episodes come on five discs.

Not rated, 924 minutes.

The collection holds ample extras, including commentaries, three featurettes, unaired scenes and a gag reel.

*

Also this week: Black Orpheus; L’Enfance Nue; Dexter — The Fourth Season; Cougar Town — The Complete First Season

DR. BOO ALLEN is an award-winning film critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.