Protecting the life of a U.S. president has to be a pretty intense job -- a fact we are reminded of again by the video bow of the February theatrical release "Vantage Point" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, $24.95). Dennis Quaid is the man in the pressure-cooker profession here, and he's a good enough actor to show us the strain in his restless gaze and the iron in the bear-trap set of his jaw.

Quaid's character has already taken one bullet for the fictional President Ashton, played by William Hurt; now he has mended -- at least physically -- and a colleague has pulled strings to get him back on duty covering Ashton on what turns out to be the worst possible day to return to work. An assassination is planned to take down the American commander-in-chief during his "global summit" on terrorism in Salamanca, Spain.

If the instability of Quaid's character and the dreaded approach of that act of violence were the main elements in Barry L. Levy's screenplay, "Vantage Point" might already have a place among 2008's most suspenseful films. Instead, it squanders much of its suspense by shifting the emphasis to a half-dozen or so bystanders, none of them central to solving the mystery of what is about to occur.

After the shots ring out, there's a small explosion and then a larger one. The script insists on replaying those same critical incidents from each witness's viewpoint as Quaid runs around trying to fit the pieces together. By the third or fourth time events are rewound to start again, viewers may feel like they've stepped into some nightmare hybrid of "Groundhog Day" and the Zapruder film. One expects Kevin Costner to jump out at any second with an easel and a pointer.

The style of the story's telling has very little connection to its substance. This is not a plot about the tricks played by human memory or about the impossibility of ever knowing reality. The fragmenting of the point of view feels like a delaying tactic as the eyewitnesses -- co-star Sigourney Weaver among them -- have their two or three scenes and then are jettisoned from the movie set as Quaid dashes off to pursue some new hunch.

Happily for action fans, it all culminates with a commando-like assault, a kidnapping, and an exciting car chase through the narrow Mexican streets where it was filmed. At that point, you can put your mind in neutral and enjoy the ride.

"Vantage Point" is also making a simultaneous bow on high-definition video. The new Blu-ray Disc ($34.95) is uniquely able to put viewers in that crowded Spanish square with its hundreds of colorfully waving flags and banners. The explosions will rattle your wall hangings via lossless "True HD" Dolby audio, and visually the format is ideal for defining the blur of excitement in that cross-city car chase. I wouldn't say Blu-ray makes it a better movie, but it definitely gives the thrills a digital goosing.

An altogether more meaningful film about secret service protection and assassination attempts is also new to high definition: Clint Eastwood's 1993 nail-biter "In the Line of Fire" makes a first-rate library addition on Blu-ray Disc (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, $34.95).

Wolfgang Petersen of "Das Boot" fame made a stunning transition to Hollywood with this modern classic about a crazy gunman (John Malkovich) looking to use agent Eastwood's lingering guilt over the Kennedy assassination as a way of getting a shot at a new U.S. president. Both director and star seized on the human frailty of the Eastwood character to extol the whole secret service calling.

Besides the added sharpness and all-around smoothness of the new disc's 1080p resolution, the Blu-ray version also has Dolby "True HD" audio, a director's commentary, a documentary on the secret service department, deleted scenes and three featurettes on the logistics of making the film.

Now, when will video step up and release the 1951 Anthony Mann suspense classic "The Tall Target," starring Dick Powell as an early breed of secret service agent trying to stop conspirators on a speeding train from shooting President Abraham Lincoln?

Also new and notable

"City of Men" (Buena Vista Home Entertainment/Miramax Films, rated R, $29.99). Sins of fathers cast a long shadow across the terraced steps of a violence-plagued section of Rio de Janeiro known as "The Hill" in this long-awaited sequel to "City of God." Four years after events of that Oscar-nominated first film, the two young friends (played by Douglas Silva and Darlen Cunha) find themselves on opposite sides of a brewing drug war while searching for answers to the fates of their missing fathers. Whether or not you've seen the first film, this is a powerful drama in its own right, shot with digital cameras in a naturalistic manner that takes you inside a forboding world. The vision is anything but comforting, but there's a raw truth and compassion in that human soup that will stick with you for days afterward.

"The Muppet Show: The Complete Third Season" (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated TV-G, $39.99). The late Gilda Radner turns in just one of the priceless visits in this four-disc collection of 24 more episodes from the landmark variety series. Also singing songs and doing comedy bits with the likes of Fonzie, Kermit and Miss Piggy are Danny Kaye, Alice Cooper, Liberace, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Pearl Bailey and Roger Miller. Most of the shows date back to 1978 and 1979, but the picture and sound transfers are impeccable. The set includes Muppet commercials, backstage peeks and a one-hour program from 1969 hosted by Jim Henson about the birth of the furry Muppet clan.

"Natural Born Killers" Blu-ray Disc Edition (Warner Home Video, rated R, $34.95). Oliver Stone's undying 1994 satire of our exploitative media culture has finally secured a niche among violent movies. Now it's on track for a high-definition cult following with this kaleidoscopic, rock'n'roll horror show of a Blu-ray Disc. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis make the most of their career-defining roles as a pair of lovebird sociopaths on a homicidal honeymoon. The delirious, Veg-o-matic editing and Stone's visual free associations make it a sort of psychedelic lava lamp of human blood and misery. Extras include an Oliver Stone introduction and commentary, the controversial alternate ending, and a 42-page booklet of photos and ephemera.

"The Sword in the Stone" 45th Anniversary Edition (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated G, $29.99). Walt Disney optioned T.S. White's novel of the legend of King Arthur, "The Once and Future King," way back in 1939, though the animation team didn't seriously embark on the project until the early 1960s. After the master's death, Wolfgang Reitherman took over the directorial reins and made a princely if not valiant effort. The story of young Arthur and his wizardly mentor, Merlin, gets bogged down in animal transformations and dialogue-heavy scenes. The animation is crisp and detailed, though, and looks especially bright and appealing in the new DVD transfer. The single-disc also contains a couple of thematically linked cartoons featuring Goofy and Mickey Mouse, as well as film trivia and the all-new "Merlin's Magical Academy Game," which tests viewers' knowledge of the natural world.

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