Bringing Up Baby (1942) — PICK
The Secret World of Arrietty (2012) — PICK
Notable new home-video editions include a classic screwball comedy and an ultra-gentle animated gem.
The Criterion Collection offers a posh new release of Howard Hawks’ Bringing Up Baby featuring a new, restored 4K digital transfer and a lavish array of bonus features.
Katharine Hepburn is at her effervescent best and Cary Grant modulates his usual debonair charm in a marvelous performance combining stuffiness and injured dignity in the zaniest, most delightful screwball comedy of them all.
Extras include a new video essay on Grant by author Scott Eyman, a documentary on Hawks, a commentary track by Peter Bogdanovich, and an essay by critic Sheila O’Malley.
The Secret World of Arrietty, Ghibli’s enchanting adaptation of Mary Norton’s The Borrowers, is newly available in a limited edition steelbook from Shout! Factory.
Written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Arrietty explores the hidden wonders of an ordinary house seen through the wide eyes of a heroine who is only 4 inches tall.
Extras include feature-length storyboards and interviews with Miyazaki and Yonebayashi.
Caveat Spectator: Bringing Up Baby: Mild comic menace; a fleeting jocular reference to cross-dressing. The Secret World of Arrietty: A couple of mildly frightening moments. Both are fine family viewing.