Forbidden Planet + The Invisible Boy (1956-57, Arrow Films, 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray or 2 Blu-rays, NR, 98 + 89 min.). In this classic science fiction film, which is an outer space adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” a starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony. They find only two survivors, a powerful robot and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.

For the 4K Ultra HD version, the film has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.55:1 with restored original mono, original Perspecta stereo and DTS HD-MA 5.1. In the UHD presentation, the film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision. This is the first time the film has been presented in its original CinemaScope aspect ratio, including for the Blu-ray version. In both sets, the second Blu-ray contains the extras, including “The Invisible Boy,” which was Robby the Robot’s second feature film.

The crew of the starship include many familiar faces, including Leslie Nielsen (3 “The Naked Gun” films, 2 “Scary Movie” films, “Airplane!”) as Commander Adams. Richard Anderson (“Paths of Glory,” TV’s “The Six Million Dollar Man”) plays Chief Quinn, Earl Holliman (“Giant,” “The Sons of Katie Elder,” TV’s “Delta”) is Cookie, and James Drury (“Ride the High Country,” TV’s “The Virginian”) is Crewman Strong. There are 12 in the crew, but not all survive.

The inhabitants of planet Altair-4 are Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon of “How Green Was My Valley,” “Funny Girl”) and his miniskirt-wearing daughter Altaira “Alta” (Anne Francis of “Bad Day at Black Rock,” “Funny Girl,” “The Satan Bug”), who is seeing men other than her father for the first time. A couple of those men -- Commander Adams and Lt. Jerry Farman (Jack Kelly of TV’s “Maverick”) – are more than willing to introduce Alta to kissing.

Dr. Morbius and Alta live above the remains of the Krell civilization. It is a vast pocket of machinery, spanning 7,800 underground levels. With the machinery’s help, Dr. Morbius has created the robot Robby, who does cooking, housework and provides security. Robby is subject to Isacc Asimov’s three laws of robotics, including never able to harm a human. Cookie gets Robby to sample some alcohol, then Robby makes 60 gallons of bourbon for him.

Eventually, the starship crew is threatened by an invisible monster – superbly done by underneath technicians pulling down foot molds and partial animated rendering by borrowed Disney animators – that turns out to be the Freudian id come to life.

The film, which was directed by Fred M. Wilcox (“Lassie Come Home”) and was nominated for the Best Special Effects Academy Award, comes with a new audio commentary by film historians Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw.

The bonus disc includes Robby the Robot’s second feature film, “The Invisible Boy” (1957, NR, 89 min.). There also is a super computer that has been secretly suggesting changes over the years to give itself independent intelligence (like today’s current artificial intelligence worries).

The boy is Timmie (Richard Eyer of “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “The Desperate Hours,” “Johnny Rocco”), the 10-year-old son of Dr. Tom Merrinoe (Philip Abbott of “Sweet Bird of Youth,” TV’s “The F.B.I.”) and Mary (Diane Brewster of 2 “Leave It to Beaver” series). Dr. Merrinoe is in charge of the super computer, as well as Robby, whom Timmie befriends. In the OK film, which would be more fun for children, Timmie has Robby build him a mechanical kite he can fly on and a drink that turns him invisible – and Timmie does go invisible in the plot for a large section of the last half hour. Robby sneaks invisible Timmie on the rocket that is going to launch several satellites in orbit. The computer has substituted its own satellite hardware so it can dominate mankind.

Another extra is Robby’s appearance in “The Robot Client,” an episode of TV’s “The Thin Man” (1958, NR, 25:36), starring Peter Lawford (“Ocean’s Eleven,” “Exodus”) and Phyllis Kirk (“Crime Wave”) as detectives Nick and Nora Charles in the spinoff of the successful film series. Robby is suspected of killing his maker, but the way he would carry a body does not fit through the door.

Robby also appeared “The Gale Sorm Show,” three episodes of “Lost in Space,” “Columbo,” “Space Academy,” “Mork and Mindy” and even “The Love Boat,” among his 32 credits. Most recently he had cameos in the film “Marty Supreme” and HBO’s “Euphoria.”

Other “Forbidden Planet” extras include a look at the groundbreaking “electronic tonalities” created for the film’s score and sounds by Louis and Bebe Barron – as no musicians were involved, they could not be called music composers -- by historian/composer Neil Brand (23:29); the excellent 2005 “Watch the Skies!” documentary, with filmmakers Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and James Cameron discussing science fiction films of the 1950s, including how they affected them as youngsters and influenced their future creations (55:31); and from 2006, a making-of featurette that includes cast members Nielsen, Francis and Anderson, as well as Robby co-designer Robert Kinoshita (26:37); a look at engineering Robby (13:45); 13 deleted scenes from a workprint (13:15); and eight bits of lost footage from tests (9:23).

There also are two promotional shorts with Pidgeon from the TV series of “Captains Courageous” (6:14); the original screenplay; and galleries of poster and lobby cards, as well as black-and-white and color stills. Additionally, there are a two-sided foldout poster and a collector’s booklet with new writing by critics Frank Collins and Johnny Mains, plus select archival material. Grades: Forbidden Planet 3.5 stars; The Invisible Boy 3 stars; The Robot Client 2.5 stars; extras 4 stars

Rating guide: 5 stars = classic; 4 stars = excellent; 3 stars = good; 2 stars = fair; dog = skip it

Purchase link for some titles: https://moviezyng.com?bg_ref=ApLKdWV51k

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016, Warner Bros., 3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray, R/PG-13/182/151 min.). This is a review of the 3-hour director's cut. Reportedly, director Zack Snyder's first cut of the film last four hours, but it was cut to 151 minutes for theatrical release, which many found unsatisfying. This longer edition puts in many moments of characterization, and the film's idea of being a starting point for the DC Comics Cinematic Universe seems less jammed into the film. Overall, I enjoyed the film much more than I expected. The 3D disc has only the theatrical version, while the 2D has both versions.

First impressions are that Ben Affleck is perfect as an aging, very angry Batman; Henry Cavill looks more and more comfortable as Superman; Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) looks wonderful; and Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, while still off-putting, is not as annoying throughout as he is in the preview moment when he introduces Clark Kent (Cavill) to Bruce Wayne (Affleck). Snyder and the technical crew also have done a good job in bringing Doomsday to life. I also like that the film, despite its superheroes, is set in a real-world context, in which the media becomes a central character as it questions how much should Superman be allowed to do.

Superman is viewed as an alien with god-like powers that nobody can really stop, while Kent/Superman looks upon Batman/Wayne as a vigilante whose methods are overly crude because Batman acts as judge, jury and executioner. In this film, Batman even brands the criminals he catches with a bat symbol. Superman is presented as a brooding, very conflicted character, while Batman has no hesitations that what he is doing is right.

Not faring as well this time are Amy Adams as Lois Lane, despite her getting involved in some of the action, and Michael Cassidy as Jimmy Olsen, who, I swear, they kill off just as soon as he is introduced to Lane for the first time. Holly Hunter as Senator Finch, who is investigating Superman and, more specifically, the deadly rescue of Lane in Africa, seems a little too easily led around. On the other hand, Jeremy Irons' Alfred is constantly standing up to his boss, Wayne, even if it seems his cautions are mostly ignored.

During the opening credits, we see Wayne's parents get ambushed and killed, then the film jumps to the closing moments of the Superman-General Zod battle that ended the previous film, "Man of Steel" (2013). This film adds the destruction of a Wayne Enterprises building as part of that struggle. Then comes Luthor's efforts to acquire some Kryptonite that was found in the Indian Ocean. However, Wayne intends to hijack the shipment so he can develop his own weapons against Superman. This leads to a chase sequence involving a next-generation Batmobile, which proves to be quite destructive in its own right. The Batman vs. Superman conflict is engineered by Luthor, although he has to kidnap Superman's Earth mother (Diane Lane as Martha Kent) in order to motivate that half of the conflict. Wonder Woman, who is sneakily introduced as an unknown female who thwarts Wayne, appears in costume to help battle Doomsday in the end.

Overall, the film is a mash-up of the graphic novels, "The Dark Knight Returns" and "The Death of Superman."

There are more than two hours of bonus features -- although there is no audio commentary -- on the 2D Blu-ray disc. The first (15:05) previews the then-emerging DC Cinematic Universe, with looks at "Wonder Woman" (2017) and "Suicide Squad," as well as the brief moments of Aquaman (Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) in this film. A look at this first live-action cinema meeting of Batman and Superman (12:28) outlines how Superman is by the book and Batman is whatever it takes. The history of Wonder Woman (21:16) is a good look at the character and how she changed in comics through the decades, while always championing women's rights. Another feature looks at the design and creation of the new Batmobile (22:46). There also is a look at the three main superheroes, including their costumes and stunt work -- 7:08 on Superman, 8:15 on Batman and 6:48 on Wonder Woman. Another solid feature (7:12) looks at the design and construction of the Batcave. A look at just the Superman-Batman battle (5:15) is filled with statistics, while another feature (12:33) looks at the modernization of Luthor. A final feature is a call for help to save endangered real-life bats (4:37). Grade: film 3.25 stars; extras 3.5 stars

Boys Town (1938, Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray, NR, 93 min.). This excellent, feel-good film is about the true Father Edward J. Flanagan, who established Boys Town on 200-plus acres in Nebraska as a sanctuary for homeless youths, one with self-governance. The film’s plot, though, is mostly fiction.

Father Flanagan is played with compassion and the belief “there is no such thing as a bad boy” by Spencer Tracy, who earned his second Best Leading Actor Oscar, the year after he won for “Captains Courageous.” Tracy had nine Oscar nominations in all. The film also won an Oscar for Best Writing, Original Story (Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary), and was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Norman Taurog of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” “Room for One More”) and Best Writing, Screenplay (John Meehan and Dore Schary).

The film starts with a death row prisoner telling Father Flanagan he would not have led a life of crime if only he had had one friend as a child. This leads Father Flanagan to start a home for young boys, especially after three are arrested for stealing salami and breaking a store window. With the help of storekeeper Dave Morris (Henry Hull of “Lifeboat,” “High Sierra,” “Werewolf of London”), who loans him $100 and sells him furniture, Father Flanagan starts with five boys, but after a year he has 50 and decides to buy the 220 acres of farmland and construct Boys Town to handle 250 boys.

The story then shifts to when Boys Town is established and defiant newcomer Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney of “Babes in Arms,” “Strike Up the Band” and the “Andy Hardy” films) arrives. Whitey has a tough time fitting in with the other boys as he is a hyper-aggressive street tough, who is out to break every rule at Boys Town.

Other memorable boys are lame Tony Ponessa (Gene Reynolds, who went on to produce TV’s “Lou Grant,” “M*A*S*H,” “Room 222”), who wants to do everything himself without pity, and little Pee Wee (Bobs Watson of “On Borrowed Time,” “In Old Chicago”), who latches onto Whitey.

A dramatic turn occurs when Whitey’s older brother Joe (Edward Norris of “Decoy,” “Man with Two Lives,” “Jungle Queen”) is involved in a bank robbery and Whitey was incidentally near the bank at the time.

The film is affecting emotionally. The extras are the promotional pieces about Boys Town with the real Father Flanagan (10:56) and about Girls and Boys Town (2:07); and an audio excerpt of “Good News of 1938” featuring Father Flanagan (16:42). Grade: film 4 stars; extras 2 stars

Dear Heart (1964, Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray, NR, 114 min.). Bubbly, middle-aged Evie Jackson (Geraldine Page of “Sweet Bird of Youth,” “Hondo”) has been single and alone for quite some time. When she attends a postmasters' convention at a New York City hotel, she meets rakish greeting-card salesman Harry Mork (Glenn Ford of “Superman,” “Pocketful of Miracles”) and falls in love.

Harry has just got a promotion to marketing. He recently got engaged to Phyllis (Angela Lansbury of “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Death on the Nile” and TV’s “Murder, She Wrote”), who has a son Patrick (Michael Anderson Jr. of “Logan’s Run,” “The Sons of Katie Elder,” “The Sundowners”), whom Harry thought was 13, but is actually 18 and has shown up at the hotel, along with girlfriend Zola, to meet Harry. Harry’s proposal to Phyllis was whether she would marry him if he could recite the greetings inside the 28 cards she was buying for various relatives. By the way, Phyllis does not show up until the 97-minute mark.

Earlier at the hotel, Harry arranges a sex date with the magazine counter salesgirl June Loveland (Barbara Nichols of “Sweet Smell of Success,” “Where the Boys Are”).

The main problem with the film is there is no one to root for, except maybe Patrick. Evie tries too hard and Harry is a cheater. When she shows up, Phyliss is a bit of a cold fish, who wants everything her way, the lazy way. Even Harry Mancini’s score is muted until the closing title song, which received an Oscar nomination and has lyrics by Jay Livingston and a contribution by Ray Evans.

The extras are two cartoons: Bugs Bunny in “The Iceman Ducketh,” in which he is hunted by a duck (6:16); and Tweety in “Hawaiian Aye Aye” (6:07). Grade: film 2.5 stars; extras 1.5 stars

The Lost Patrol (1934, Warner Archive Collection, Blu-ray, NR, 72 min.). In the film, a dozen British soldiers are lost in a Mesopotamian desert during World War I, after their captain is shot dead, having never given anyone word of what their mission was. The remaining men, now led by The Sergeant (Victor McLaglen of “The Quiet Man,” Oscar winner in 1935 for “The Informer”), are menaced by unseen Arab enemies.

Both this film and “The Informer” were directed by John Ford. It is one of Ford’s “men films.” However, the men in this film are not very bright as they are killed off one-by-one until only one is left. The men do reach an oasis, where they hole up, especially after losing all their horses the first night there. One soldier climbs up a tree to scout and, expectedly, is quickly shot down.

Among the soldiers are Boris Karloff (5 “Frankenstein” films, “The Mummy”) as the religious Sanders, Wallace Ford (“Freaks,” “Shadow of a Doubt,” “Harvey”) as Morelli, Reginald Denny (“Rebecca,” “Anna Karenina,” “Cat Ballou”) as Brown and Alan Hale (“The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “The Sea Hawk,” “It Happened One Night”) as Cook.

The extras are two Popeye cartoons: “Axe Me Another” (7:05); and “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” (6:47). Grade: film and extras 2 stars

Happy’s Place: Season Two (2025-26, Universal Studios, 2 Blu-rays, NR, 378 min.). In the first season, Bobbie (Reba McEntire of “Tremors,” TV’s “Reba”), after inheriting her late father’s tavern in Knoxville, Tennessee, which she has run for 10 years, is shocked to learn that she has a new co-owner in Isabella (Belissa Escobedo of “Blue Beetle,” “Hocus Pocus 2”), the half-sister she never knew existed.

This season, Happy’s Place reopens its doors and a long-buried secret comes to light that tests loyalties and shakes things up inside the tavern.

The series also stars Melissa Peterson as needy barkeep Gabby, Pablo Castelblanco as germophobic obsessive-compulsive Hispanic accountant Steve, Tokala Black Elk as Native American waiter Takoda and Rex Linn as isolationist, soft-spoken cook Emmett.

During the season, Bobbie and Emmett get closer; a mouse is found on health inspection day; Steve tries his hand at acting; Gabby becomes pregnant; a killed spider turns spooky; and Gabby’s mom Val (Jane Lynch of TV’s “Glee”) arrives unexpectedly. Grade:season 3 stars

Bridget Loves Bernie: The Complete Series (1972-73, Sony Pictures, 3 Blu-rays, NR, 613 min.). The series tells the daily struggles of two newlyweds: rich Catholic Bridget (Meredith Baxter of “All the President’s Men,” TV’s “Family Ties,” “Family”) and Jewish cabbie Bernie Steinberg (David Birney of “Someone’s Watching Me!”), who also is a struggling writer.

Other Steinbergs include parents Sam (Harold J. Stone of “Spartacus,” “Somebody Up There Likes Me”) and Sophie (Bibi Osterwald of “As Good as It Gets,” “The World of Henry orient”). Other Fitzgeralds include parents Walter (David Doyle of “Capricorn One,” TV’s “Charlie’s Angels”) and Amy (Audra Lindley of TV’s “Three’s Company”), and Father Mike Fitzgerald (Robert Sampson of “Re-Animator”).

The set contains all 24 episodes of the single season, ending with Bernie getting a reporting job offer at an out-of-state newspaper. During the season, Bridget’s Aunt Theresa (Harriet E. MacGibbon) and Bernie’s Uncle Moe Plotnick (Ned Glass) start dating. Also of note, Nancy Walker (TV’s “Rhoda,” “McMillan & Wife”) plays Aunt Ruthie in one episode. Grade: series 3 stars