This week we start in Japan:

Nikkatsu Noir — Not rated, 442 minutes. Released Aug. 25 on DVD.

The Criterion Collection has again come up with a novel offering for its Eclipse label: the ongoing series of self-described “lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics.”

Here, the five-disc collection examines some genre films from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s from Nikkatsu, Japan’s oldest film studio. The series of gritty crime films found their genesis in and inspiration from the post-World War II proliferation of Hollywood’s noir films.

The makers of these low-budget black-and-white productions, like their American counterparts, freely bathed their characters in darkness and deep shadows, while also throwing in the requisite femme fatales and complex stories. The collection also offers a telling portrait of post-WWII Japan, as it struggled to find societal order in the 1950s before becoming an industrial giant in the next decade.

The five supplement-free films come individually wrapped in a boxed set with invaluable notes on the film’s production, stars and its place in both Japan cinema and in Nikkatsu’s oeuvre:

* I Am Waiting (1957, 91 minutes) — What begins as mystery turns into a revenge saga, as a young couple (Yujiro Ishihara and Mie Kitahara, who starred in more than 25 films in the next four years for Nikkatsu), both mysterious and with hidden pasts, seek to find the murderer of the man’s brother.

* Rusty Knife (1958, 90 minutes) — A gang threatens to take over a city unless a reformed criminal does the right thing and testifies against his old boss.

* Take Aim at the Police Van (1960, 79 minutes) — Convoluted and murky, this taut thriller sees a prison guard, responsible for an attack on a police van, who gets caught between two syndicated crime gangs involved in sex-trafficking.

* Cruel Gun Story (1964, 91 minutes) — An ex-con joins a gang to heist an armored truck and things go awry in this obvious homage to The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing.

* A Colt Is My Passport (1967, 85 minutes) — A hit man assassinates a crime boss and then goes on the run from the man’s gang. 

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Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (**) Antonio Sabato Jr. plays serial killer Lucas, who as a young man hooks up with Ottis Toole (Kostas Sommer) for a murderous crime spree. Toole’s niece Becky (Kelly Curran) joins them in this lurid, murky tale.

Rated R, 81 minutes.

The DVD contains commentary from Sabato and director Michael Feifer.

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Disney promises a rich week, with several offerings of note:

The Disney Channel

Disney Channel favorite Demi Lovato stars in Sonny With a Chance, coming to DVD on Tuesday.

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Sonny With a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break As seen on the Disney Channel, Demi Lovato plays Sonny, a Midwestern girl who moves to Los Angeles to join the cast of a popular teen show. But turmoil erupts behind the scenes, both with fellow performers (Tiffany Thornton, Brandon Smith, Doug Brochu) and with the hunky star (Sterling Knight) of another show.

Rated TV-G, 90 minutes.

The DVD contains a bonus episode and a “backstage” featurette.

The Suite Life on Deck: Anchors Away! In this Disney Channel Original, twins Zack and Cody Martin (Dylan and Cole Sprouse) and hotel heiress London Tipton (Brenda Song) enroll in a semester-at-sea program on the SS Tipton. Hotel manager Mr. Moseby (Phill Lewis) chaperones.

Rated TV-G, 90 minutes.

The DVD contains two bonus The Suite Life of Zack and Cody episodes, and two separate featurettes.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition In this much-loved 1971 Disney classic, Angela Lansbury plays apprentice witch Miss Price, the caretaker for three children in a small English village during World War II. Together, they journey to a magical land.

Rated G, 117 minutes.

The DVD comes with deleted songs and three featurettes — on the special effects, the legendary Sherman brothers and a recording session.

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams Special Edition The popular princesses Jasmine and Aurora experience their latest adventure.

Rated G, 56 minutes.

This double-disc edition contains three new featurettes, with two music videos on disc one and three more on the second.

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The fall TV season approaches as we play catch-up on last season’s highlights:

One Way Out In this Discovery Channel series, Jonathan Goodwin stars as a modern-day Houdini. In all 10 episodes plus the extended-length pilot on two discs, Goodwin and his enablers think up seemingly impossible situations for him to escape.

Not rated, 220 minutes.

Man vs. Wild: Season Three The aptly named Bear Grylls returns in the series that finds him in constant danger in rainforests, deserts, lakes and elsewhere. Ten episodes come on three discs, along with deleted scenes and highlights from past seasons.

Not rated, 430 minutes.

Ghost Adventures: Season One The Travel Channel played host to this highly rated new series about the travels of Zak Bagans and his team as they conduct paranormal investigations that often become surprisingly intense and emotional.

Eight episodes come on two discs along with deleted scenes and two featurettes.

Not rated. Discs run 348 and 376 minutes.

Heroes: Season Three In six discs containing 25 episodes, the suspense and mystery continue in this season, which is filled with twists and surprises.

Not rated, 1,072 minutes.

The collection, also on Blu-ray, offers abundant supplements, including alternate stories, deleted scenes, and featurettes on the stunts, the series’ visual style, the props, and a special “Genetics of a Scene,” in which four separate scenes withstand scrutiny. The Blu-ray version offers commentaries and several other features.

The Office: Season Five In these 26 episodes on five discs,  Michael Scott (Steve Carell) leaves Dunder Mifflin, and Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fisher) edge closer to marriage.

Not rated, 604 minutes.

The DVD set, also available on Blu-ray, contains commentaries, a gag reel, more than three hours of deleted scenes, four webisodes and several other featurettes.

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Also coming to DVD this week: Homicide, That Hamilton Woman, The Human Condition, Crank 2: High Voltage.

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