We're a big tent here at Film.com. Classics fans, horror fans, action fans, romance fans, "chick flick" fans, "guy movie" fans, "B" monster fans, European art-house fans, Coen Brothers fans, Farrelly Brothers fans, chase-'em-down-and-blow-'em-up-good fans.... Everybody's welcome.

In fact, a guiding philosophy here under the DVD tab is that there's a big crossover between, say, aficionados of the revered cinema classics and the audience that enjoys last year's Bruce-Willis-fast-cars-and-hot-lead actioner. These days there's so little difference between someone who, on Friday night, is in the mood for some arty Euro stylings, and someone who, on Saturday night, wants a good "Feeling lucky, punk?" American popcorn movie that they are, as often as not, likely to be the same person. Knock down the cubicle walls between "high-," "low-," and "middle-" brow movie-lovin' and you'll see that we're all pretty much socializing quite well together in the same big multiplex lobby. (There's a free bar and all the wait staff are the cast from Casablanca, but that's just my version of the metaphor.)

So it feels just right that our top picks from this week's new discs include a fine pair of "red wine" releases (one with Samuel L. Jackson, the other kicking off a cinematic movement) side by side with a big set of "whiskey, straight up" actioners featuring Clint Eastwood in one of his most iconic roles.

First up are the two DVDs inaugurating Lionsgate's new label dedicated to acclaimed and influential films from around the world, the Meridian Collection. The Collection officially launches this week with two lush and memorable movies about obsession, violence, and music. The first is The Red Violin, with Samuel L. Jackson in a role that's a world away from the "bad mofo" persona he's been coasting on since Pulp Fiction. The second is Diva, a slick, French "cult classic" thriller that mixes urban crime drama, opera, and good-looking young protagonists looking down the wrong end of several guns.

The Meridian Collection gives both of these first-rate films a red-carpet treatment, with newly remastered transfers and a fluff-free selection of extras. Our complete coverage of Meridian's The Red Violin and Diva is just a click away.

Also out this week on DVD and Blu-ray is Warner Home Video's Dirty Harry - Ultimate Collector's Edition. This big box of magnum-force movie-making pays homage to Clint Eastwood and his signature non-Western role. Redefining the genre of police films, the renegade anti-hero Harry Callahan comes armed with his ubiquitous sidearm of choice -- the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum -- and the famous lines that made being quotable a prerequisite for the American action movie.

The seven-disc DVD (five-disc Blu-ray) set makes our day with new digitally remastered discs of Dirty Harry: Special Edition, Magnum Force: Deluxe Edition, The Enforcer: Deluxe Edition, Sudden Impact: Deluxe Edition, and The Dead Pool: Deluxe Edition. (All five are also available separately in new standard-def DVD editions. Dirty Harry: Special Edition is the only title from the set available separately in a Blu-ray edition.)

Besides all five Dirty Harry films, we get new commentaries for each film with luminaries such as filmmaker/critic and Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel (check out his sharp insights into Sudden Impact, which was directed by Eastwood himself), writer John Milius, and director James Fargo (who discusses the day Eastwood nonchalantly let him know he had the job directing Magnum Force); interviews with Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Urich, Patricia Clarkson, and others; new featurettes -- three of the titles are "The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry" (an examination of the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry), "A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry" (filmmakers, social scientists, and authors dig into the politics and ethics of the Dirty Harry films), and "The Business End: Violence in Cinema (a look at the ongoing debate on violence in the movies); and a feature-length documentary, Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows.

The box also holds memorabilia such as a 40-plus page hardcover book, a wallet with a metal badge and removable laminated Inspector Harry Callahan I.D. card., five 5”x 7” reproduction lobby poster cards, never-before-seen production correspondence, and "Scorpio: Portrait of a Killer" -- a poster-sized (19” x 27”) map of San Francisco detailing Harry's hunt for the killer. Oh, and a one-page personal note from Clint.

Check back here later this week for more on Dirty Harry - Ultimate Collector's Edition. Also visit us for more on some of these other titles out this week:

Boarding Gate

Control

The Eye

Flawless

The Furies

Houdini

Mama's Boy

Meet the Spartans

Noise

Patton (Blu-ray)

Semi-Pro

Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show

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