Michael Dwyerand Donald Clarkereview a selection of this week's new DVD releases.

THE JOSEPH LOSEY COLLECTION *****
The recent obituaries of Harold Pinter rightly emphasised his achievements as a playwright but tended to overlook his gifts as a screenwriter. Three of Pinter's outstanding screenplays were for films directed by Joseph Losey, and all three are featured in this excellent box set.

The films are The Servant(1963), starring Dirk Bogarde's riveting study in malevolence; the enthralling Oxford-set drama Accident(1967), with Bogarde and Michael York; and the superb film of LP Hartley's class-conflict drama The Go-Between(1971), starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates.

The set features five more films directed by Losey (1909-84), an accomplished director who fled the US during the 1950s Communist witch hunts for self-imposed exile in Britain. They include The Big Night(1951), a US revenge drama; The Sleeping Tiger(1954), a thriller starring Bogarde and directed under a pseudonym ; and two early 1960s dramas with the underrated Stanley Baker, The Criminaland Eva.

Completing this fine set is the French Mr Klein(1976), a compelling wartime story set in German-occupied Paris and featuring Alain Delon and Jeanne Moreau. MD

KINGS ****
Directed by Tom Collins. Starring Colm Meaney, Donal O'Kelly, Brendan Conroy, Barry Barnes, Donncha Crowley, Sean O Tarpaigh, Peadar O Treasaigh 15 cert
The actors are flawless in this moving, melancholy picture of failed ambitions and wrecked lives. It charts the experiences of six Connemara men who moved to London in 1977 and are reunited for a wake 30 years later when one of them dies. MD

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE ****
Directed by Errol Morris 15 cert
Morris turns his attention to the Abu Ghraib abuses and delivers yet another fascinating artefact. The pounding music and tricky effects are a bit intrusive, but the interviews with the soldiers who took those
famous photographs are consistently revealing. Ultimately, Morris succeeds in his aim of directing blame up the chain of command. DC

SOMERS TOWN ****
Directed by Shane Meadows. Starring Thomas Turgoose, Kate Dickie, Piotr Jagiello 12 cert
It's only 70 minutes long, it's almost entirely in black and white, and it's a kind of upscale promo for Eurostar. Yet, in Meadows's deft hands this unlikely film emerges as one of the finest of the season. Detailing an uncomplicated friendship between Midlands runaway Turgoose and Polish immigrant Jagiello, the film has the shape of a beautifully neat contemporary fable. DC

STEP BROTHERS ***
Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen 16 cert
Two creepily childlike men are thrown together when their respective parents marry. Long used to playing childlike men, Ferrell boils his stock personality down to its gibbering essence. Meanwhile, Reilly knocks together a character that conveys the coiled violence that lurks within many kids. Funny, dumb stuff. DC

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS **
Directed by David Gordon Green. Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny R McBride 16 cert
Oddly underpowered stoner comedy from the Judd Apatow team in which Rogen (lazy slacker) and Franco (hairy dealer) fall foul of villains after witnessing a murder. Though the picture does feature guns and loud music, it feels closer to a soothing chillout movie than a rollicking Cheech and Chong flick. DC

YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN **
Directed by Dennis Dugan. Starring Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Schneider 15 cert
This big, dumb film finds Sandler as an Israeli agent, who, to the dismay of his conservative parents, harbours a desire to become a hairdresser in New York. Huh? The attempts to address the middle-eastern conflict are almost as pathetic as the jokes. Still, it means well. Lunatics will be pleased to hear that the Blu-ray features an extended cut. DC