I've been trying to figure out why A&E Home Video bothered to release yet another "Collector's Edition" of the Horatio Hornblower movies only three years after the last "Collector's Edition," when the only thing that differs between this brand-new set and the older one, as far I can tell, is some very slightly updated packaging. Single-disc DVD cases in a slipcase are out. Now we get a fold-out album-style case that, when closed up, kinda looks like a book. Which is neat, seeing as how these flicks are based on the classic seafaring novels by C.S. Forester, but hardly cause to put out a new set.

But then I hit on it. Since 2005, when the previous "Collector's Edition" was released, one of the stars of the first six of these eight films has since gone on to some pretty frakkin' major stardom. And it's not, surprisingly enough, the thoroughly delightful and utterly charming Ioan Gruffudd, who plays Horatio. Oh, he's been doing just fine for himself, what with getting to star in those Fantastic Four movies and as Lancelot in King Arthur, and now appearing in Oliver Stone's W. as British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Nope: it's Jamie Bamber, who plays Horatio's pal Archie Kennedy, who is of course currently super hot as Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama on Battlestar Galactica. Bamber is eminently worth cashing in on.

If you haven't seen the 2005 set -- or if you haven't seen any of these movies at all -- then you simply must pick up this one. There are eight rollicking adventures here: 1999's The Duel, The Fire Ships, The Duchess and the Devil, and The Wrong War, which collectively won a well-deserved Emmy for that year's best miniseries; 2001's The Mutiny and Retribution; and 2003's Loyalty and Duty. Together, this is 12 hours of pure escapism, tales of the British navy in the Napoleonic era -- and the titular character, who grows from callow boyhood to honorable manhood along the way -- boys' own adventures (as the English would say) that girls can love, too, replete with secret missions and true love, mostly of the bromance sort, and sword-fighting and Hornblower being Captain Kirk-a-licious.

The bonuses, too, present a perfect balance between the two groups of fans who'll enjoy this set: the war-and-naval buffs who appreciate the historical and military angle -- which is all exquisitely presented with gorgeous attention to detail -- and those of us who are simply into all the cute boys with accents in smashing uniforms. (In the interview with Gruffudd on Disc 8, he explains his take on Hornblower's tumultuous relationships with women. The character thinks "that they were nuisances, as much as he loved them." But we gals know that if only Horatio had met us, things would have been quite different for him.)

Disc 3 contains an A&E making-of featurette dating from the time of the 1999 mini that feels very "promo," but the commentary tracks on Loyalty, by director Andrew Grieve and producer Andrew Benson, and Duty, on which Grieve and Benson are joined by costume designer and historical adviser John Mollo, are full of all sorts of luscious details on the huge difficulties they faced and overcame to bring the films to the screen. (You try making it look like a snowy winter's day at sea when you're landlocked in England on a blistering August day).

The maritime aficionados will appreciate the featurette on England's royal warships, iintroduced by Prince Edward Windsor, Prince Charles's little brother, as well as the compilations of naval terms, a 3D tour of an 18th-century cannon, and more.

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MaryAnn Johanson (email me)
film reviews and TV blogging at FlickFilosopher.com

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