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5 stars
Manhattan/Annie Hall: Blu-ray
MGM
Available now
   
Thanks to the surprise success of last year’s Midnight in Paris and an in-depth PBS documentary about the prolific director, Woody Allen is back in the spotlight.
   
And now, at long last, two of his most acclaimed films are making their hi-def debut.
     
Annie Hall — 1977’s Best Picture winner — is a uproariously funny look at a relationship where two people grown apart despite being in love. Woody stars as Alvy Singer, a stand-up and comedy writer not unlike Allen himself. Diane Keaton, in an Oscar-winning turn, is the spunky, titular object of his affection. Mirroring real life and the frayed instances when a relationship starts to implode, Annie Hall stands up as a truly invigorating work and bridges the gap between those "early funny ones" and his forays into Bergman-esque drama.
   
Manhattan (1979) mines New York City intellectuals and troubled relationships for similar comedic effect, but with stark black-and-white cinematography by Gordon Willis in a true 2:35 widescreen format, it’s far more beautiful to look at.  And even though he died nearly 40 years before the film was even made, George Gershwin’s songs used as a score could have been specifically written for this film.

2.5 stars
Father Dowling Mysteries: The First Season
Paramount
Available now
   
When you sit down to watch one of the multitudes of detective TV shows today, you’ll undoubtedly be exposed to mutilated corpses, graphic descriptions of how said corpses came to be, and the occasional curse word. Back in the ’80s, when Ben Matlock and Jessica Fletcher were responsible for solving crimes, things were much more family friendly. And no other show came cleaner than Father Dowling Mysteries starring Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson as a mystery-solving priest and nun team.  All eight episodes of the first season are included as well as the original 1987 two hour TV movie that first found the Chicago clergyman solving the murder of a parishioner.
   
To spice things up once in a while, Father Dowling is given an identical twin Blaine (also played by Bosley) who is the very opposite of his holy brother: a degenerate thief who shows up to cause trouble by stealing diamonds and dancing with floozies at a cheap bar.
    
Since this series doesn;t have much of a fanbase, there hasn’t been much effort to clean up the picture for this release. The colours are muted and cloudy, and the only extras to be found are episodic promos, but the show’s simple nature is appealing on its own.

Upcoming Releases
   
Feb. 21 —  J. Edgar; Tower Heist; Martha Marcy May Marlene; The Son of No One; Fort Apache Blu-ray.

   
Amanda Stefaniuk is a freelance writer who literally grew up in a video store.