(Enlarge) The new "Jack Lemmon Film Collection" is out on DVD.

Once upon a time, American movies reflected the idealized, middle-class existence all fathers seemed to aspire to. You commuted each morning to a nice job from a tidy suburban cul de sac, where milk was left at your porch by a uniformed man in a truck and mail was brought to your door by another uniformed man wheeling a bulky leather pouch down the block.

Chances were good that your mail contained more letters than bills then, because credit was hard to earn, and there was no junk mail since advertisers had lots of billboards and newspapers and a choice of three TV networks by which to pipe their jingles into every home.

In that dream world, the movie star of choice was Jack Lemmon, because he was like all of us, as healthy and well-trimmed as our front lawns -- even if privately just as susceptible to the human equivalent of dandelions and root fungus.

Behind his innocent demeanor raged a quiet struggle between a confident Everyman up to the challenge of battling down temptations and a bewildered loner always on the brink of catastrophe. It was a screen dynamic that spoke to our times and to our humanity.

Jack Lemmon left us in 2001, but the fantasies he helped feed live on in "The Jack Lemmon Film Collection" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, not rated, $59.95). Five of his early Columbia films are making an overdue video bow here, ranging from the post-war service comedy "Operation Mad Ball" to his signature domestic sex farces of the 1960s, such as "Under the Yum Yum Tree" and "Good Neighbor Sam."

The only clinker in the group for me is "The Notorious Landlady," a contrived romantic mishmash about Lemmon becoming smitten with a beautiful widow (Kim Novak) suspected of murdering her spouse. None of the titles rank with the classic films he made with Billy Wilder or Blake Edwards -- although 1954's "Phffft!," about a divorce gone bad, is blessed with a similar droll sense of humor.

All five films are flawlessly transferred to DVD in their intended screen ratios. A sixth disc offers a salute to the star by his actor-son, Chris Lemmon. Testimonials from colleagues and friends abound, though the program spends too much time with Lemmon on the golf course and not enough looking at the fuller course of his career.

Thrills with Dad in mind

Did your father go to Woodstock in 1969? Even if he couldn't be there, if he's a music fan he should be pleased with the new four-hour director's cut of Michael Wadleigh's 1970 documentary "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music" (Warner Home Video, rated R, two-disc DVD $24.98).

More interview footage, more behind-the-scenes merriment, and even more on-stage performances are included in this long-anticipated 40th anniversary edition. Remastered from original elements and scanned at exacting high-definition standards, the 16mm news-style footage has never appeared quite so presentable to one's parents before.

A multi-disc "Ultimate Collector's Edition" with unseen concert numbers and filmmaker memories, plus booklets and other memorabilia, is also available for $59.98 on DVD and $69.99 on Blu-ray Disc. Never has the concert come off this fully alive and enveloping at home. All that's missing is the mud.

And speaking of "killer cuts": How many generations of Dads have grown up with the menace of hockey-masked teen slayer Jason Voorhees? This year's new, er, rehashing of the 1980 original comes smashing through Maryland windows this week as the "Friday the 13th" Killer Cut (New Line Home Entertainment, rated R, DVD $28.95; Blu-ray $35.99).

This isn't so much a remake as a "legend retold," treating the vengeful killer as a sort of projected rampaging libido. It racks up its own body count in a professional manner, although genre fans will have to turn to the extras menu to find the more graphic, excised slaughters.

Since Dads are usually up to speed on technology, many will be happy to receive the latest high-definition upgrades on Blu-ray Disc. Paramount Home Entertainment has just added the 1981 and 1982 Jason franchise follow-ups, "Friday the 13th Part 2" and "Friday the 13th Part 3," to its high-def product line at a list price of $29.95 each.

Both R-rated flicks fill up your senses "like a night in the forest," to quote John Denver in another context. "Part 3" was shot with the best 3-D process that Paramount could buy, and it's the first 3-D movie I've seen at home that conveys full dimensionality without sacrificing clarity or color. It comes with two pairs of cardboard glasses so Dad can invite a loved one along for the ride. Maybe you.

Also new and recommended on Blu-ray Disc are some time-tested favorites for fathers everywhere:

*"Air Force One" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, Blu-ray Disc $28.95). Wolfgang Petersen crafted this oversized, corny and preposterous popcorn thriller back in 1997, and Dads will love every minute of it again on Blu-ray. Harrison Ford plays a conservative U.S. president fighting for honor and family values as a stowaway aboard his own hijacked jet. Amazing sound and a forceful picture put you there in the hold as the bullets fly. Or opt for the unusually chatty director's commentary.

*"Dr. Strangelove" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG, Blu-ray Disc $38.95). Stanley Kubrick proved himself a master of satire in 1963 via this riveting Cold War look at humankind's flirtation with Armageddon. Here at long last in high-definition, his beautiful black-and-white compositions are just as sharply etched as the dialogue and its withering reflections on human failings. Extras are skimpy but welcome.

*"Fatal Attraction" (Paramount Home Entertainment, rated R, Blu-ray Disc $29.99). A dark film in more ways than one, Adrian Lyne's 1987 cautionary horror tale is still on the top-10 list of arguments against casual one-night stands. Blu-ray manages to bring out more embedded subtleties in the shadows of Michael Douglas's extramarital meltdown over temptress Glenn Close. A 2002 retrospective and the unused alternate ending are included on this shiny new Blu-ray.

Also new on DVD

"Gran Torino" (Warner Home Video, rated R for language and violence, DVD $27.95; Blu-ray Disc $34.99). Clint Eastwood directs and stars here, but don't expect another "Unforgiven." There's nothing subtle or smart in this creaky "social problem" melodrama relocated to racially divided Detroit. Clint plays a crusty Korean War vet who grudgingly passes along his American values to some newly arrived Hmong neighbors. Sadly, the film surrounds him with amateur actors and ensures that getting to the end is going to be something less than half the fun. Supplements revolve around "our love affair with cars," whatever that is.

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