(Enlarge) Volume one of the new, two-volume set "Icons of Screwball Comedy," which brings eight vintage films to DVD.

In the dark years leading to World War II, the essence of screwball comedy was distilled into the purest strain of movie escapism. A daffy dame, a whimsical gent and a torrent of banter about nothing much in particular made for a winning formula in a world threatened by economic ruin, joblessness and a rising tide of fascism.

Don't read too much into this, but screwball comedy is back. It's looking pretty good again, too -- at least in the two-volume collection "Icons of Screwball Comedy" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, not rated, $24.96 each).

All eight of the new-to-DVD titles here originated at Columbia Pictures, which embraced the genre in a big way. They were a perfect fit for a studio without huge budgets and a whole circuit of movie houses to feed.

Columbia also had the talent to pull them off -- proven comedy leads like Jean Arthur, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland and Herbert Marshall -- as well as some serious actors who surprise us with their knack for timing, like Loretta Young, doing doubletakes and looking quite adorable when a corpse pops up at her Greenwich Village apartment in 1943's "A Night to Remember."

Often there's a twist to the gender roles, as when a city mayor played by Irene Dunne hires bohemian artist Charles Boyer to sculpt her town a new statue in 1940's "Together Again." Jean Arthur asks a park bench bum played by Herbert Marshall to pose as her husband in order to find work in 1935's "If You Could Only Cook," not realizing he's really a rich industrialist.

Not all of the movies are about nothing. The highlight of volume two is "Theodora Goes Wild," about a small-town pillar of her community (Dunne) leading a secret life as a notorious author of steamy romances. Released in 1936, it has much to say about the restrictions of the Hollywood production code and the futility of one generation trying to foist its standards of behavior upon the next.

All of the films are in black-and-white, and the transfers come from good prints tweaked for optimal focus and contrast. I don't suppose this would do as a standard diet, but those with a taste for vintage Hollywood sophistication are certain to find them irresistible.

New 'Tap' is a turn-on

Comedy doesn't come more "screwball" nowadays than in Rob Reiner's 1984 "mockumentary" about a fictional, heavy-metal band, "This Is Spinal Tap," at last re-mastered in high-definition and back on video shelves from MGM Home Entertainment (rated R, Blu-ray Disc $34.95).

This one's also full of daffy characters whose gender roles and identity mix-ups are a continual source of confusion -- mainly to themselves. For 'Tap' virgins, the indie release masquerades as a documentary about one ill-fated American tour. But it amounts to a satirical journey through modern pop musicology.

Blu-ray can't "cure" all the ills of grainy, low-light cinematography, but it works wonders within the technical limits. Resolution of color and detail is so pronounced that it's easy to make out the comings and goings of every cold sore on the musicians' lips. And you'll clearly spot the critical dimensional error on that napkin sketch for "Stonehenge."

The 5.1 DTS-HD audio puts us in the audience for every live performance by Spinal Tap, and hours of extras include a priceless running commentary by the actors in full character, as well as new follow-up interviews and a 2007 reunion performance of "Stonehenge" by the boys at the Live Earth Concert.

Also new and notable

"Daffy Duck's Quackbusters" (Warner Home Video, rated G, DVD $14.98). This 1988 feature-length pastiche of Looney Tunes cartoons opens with Daffy crooning (in Mel Torme's velvety tones) "Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives" to a nightclub full of movie mo-ghouls. A tenuous narrative about Daffy's paranormal pest business links fanciful episodes from old Chuck Jones classics for a thematic succotash starring Tweety and Sylvester, Bugs Bunny and even Porky Pig. The single disc also sports bonus cartoons starring Daffy in the return of "Duck Dodgers," and Wile E. Coyote still cruising the highway for "fast food." Beep beep.

"Green Lantern: First Flight" (Warner Home Video, rated PG-13, DVD $19.98; Blu-ray Disc $29.99). Not a bad first stab at introducing another color to the DC Comics lineup of cartoon superheroes, this 77-minute DVD original is a step above Saturday morning animation. We meet test pilot Hal Jordan as he is given a magical ring then invited to join an intergalactic police force called the Guardians. Even as Jordan stands up against evil and corruption within the ranks of those Outer Space elites, the script by Emmy-winner Alan Burnett voices an adolescent's knee-jerk disdain for the human race. Such illogical misanthropy aside, it does deliver plenty of man-versus-alien action. A two-disc edition ($24.98) also includes a digital copy, "making of" features, sci-fi themed cartoon shorts and a constellation of previews for more superhero sagas to come.

"Race to Witch Mountain" (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated PG, DVD $35.99; Blu-ray Disc $51.99). Not likely to be confused with the 1975 family favorite "Escape to Witch Mountain," this 2009 theatrical release depends less on mystery than on sci-fi thrills as it keeps its supernatural siblings one step ahead of a "Predator"-like stalker on their mission to Earth. Helping the youngsters outwit the bad E.T. is Dwayne ("The Rock") Johnson as a Las Vegas cabbie who keeps his comedy meter running between noisy action sequences. A two-DVD edition ($44.99) contains a digital copy of the film, outtakes and bloopers, and the three-disc Blu-ray set includes all that plus a "D-Box" access and a "Backstage Disney" feature contrasting the film with its predecessor.

"The Tigger Movie" 10th Anniversary Edition (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated G, two-disc DVD $29.99). Tigger, Tigger, burning bright. ... Well, maybe not in the way William Blake meant. Still, the Disney animators have a good track record when it comes to framing the "fearful symmetry" of A.A. Milnes' Hundred Acres Wood. This 2000 release has long been a best-selling DVD for preschoolers. When the irrepressible Tigger finds his mates a rather downcast lot, off he goes in search of family roots and connection. The tale treads gently upon issues of loneliness and depression, but kids and parents pulled along via new songs by the Sherman Brothers ("Mary Poppins") will be delighted by Tigger's Golden Rules for bouncing, starting with "Always bounce in a well-lit area." Besides the 77-minute feature and a digital copy for on-the-go toddlers, the DVD set packs two bonus Tigger shorts from "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," games and activities, music videos and a look at making your own family tree.

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