NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY

“OF GODS AND MEN (DES HOMES ET DES DIEUX),” starring Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale. Engrossing and profoundly moving, this fact-based drama from director Xavier Beauvois (“Le petit lieutenant”) mainly focuses on Brother Christian (Wilson, “Sahara”) and Brother Luc (Lonsdale, “The Trial”), a pair of Trappist monks who have elected to leave their homeland of France to treat the sick and promote harmony in an unnamed Muslim community. When Islamic terrorists invade their peaceful domain with disagreeable orders, the monks’ determination and morals are put to the ultimate test. Winner of the Cesar award for best film of 2010, this surprise hit casts a spell that stays with the viewer long after the credits have rolled. Rated PG-13. Running time: 2:02.

Suggested retail price: DVD $45.99; Blu-ray $47.99.

“13 ASSASSINS,” starring Koji Yakusho and Takayuki Yamada. For many viewers, “Takashi Miike” is all they have to see to rent this epic, ultraviolent adventure. For those not in the know, Miike is the twisted genius behind such watch-through-your-fingers works of art as “Visitor Q” and “Ichi the Killer,” movies that have won legions of fans for their audacious creativity and jaw-dropping scenes of violence. To date, Miike has been known more for his risk-taking than for his ability to tell a coherent story. But with this fairly straightforward (yet still completely insane) actioner, Miike plies his tricks in service of a compelling tale, following a small group of samurai as they hack and slash their way through an evil warlord’s unrelenting army. Enemies are dispatched in ways you’ve likely never comprehended, let alone witnessed onscreen, so let that serve as an invitation or warning. Pure, blood-spattering entertainment of the highest order. Rated R for sequences of bloody violence, some disturbing images and brief nudity. Running time: 2:21.

Suggested retail price: DVD $26.98; Blu-ray $29.98.

NEW ON DVD

“SOUTHLAND: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON,” starring Michael Cudlitz and Shawn Hatosy. Not one of the more aggressively publicized dramas out there, “Southland” makes no effort to sugar-coat the oft grisly situations its characters — members of the LAPD — find themselves in, nor does it go out of its way to make anyone especially likable. They’re there to maintain order, and hopefully survive to do it again tomorrow. This authenticity makes for alternately stirring and grueling entertainment, and those who found themselves feverishly flying through DVDs of “The Shield” and “The Wire” would do well to give this lesser-known program a shot. Not rated, contains language, sexual content, drug content, and violence. Running time: 5:02.

Suggested retail price: $34.99. 

NEW ON BLU-RAY

“CRACK IN THE WORLD,” starring Dana Andrews and Janette Scott. A well-meaning attempt to harness the geothermal energy lurking beneath the Earth’s crust leads to an hour and a half of entertainingly cataclysmic consequences in this 1965 sci-fi favorite, whose still rather impressive effects pop anew in high definition. As old big-budget disaster movies go, “Crack” is brisker than most, getting to the point in short order, the “point” in this case being the wanton destruction of everything and everyone in sight. Not rated, contains violence and mild sexual content. Running time: 1:36.

Suggested retail price: $29.95. 

“DAS BOOT,” starring Jurgen Prochnow and Herbert Gronemeyer. The submarine movie to end all submarine movies, “Das Boot” is director Wolfgang Petersen’s (“Air Force One”) masterpiece, a claustrophobic and harrowing depiction of life aboard a WWII German U-boat, in all its alternately listless and terrifying misery. This must-own Blu-ray features a commentary from Peterson and several making-of featurettes. Rated R. Running time: 2:29.

Suggested retail price: $35.99. 

VIDEOPORT PICKS

“HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN,” starring Rutger Hauer and Molly Dunsworth. Like we’re not gonna recommend a movie called “Hobo with a Shotgun.” Thankfully, there’s more going on here than just a catchy title, with Hauer (“Blade Runner”) reliving his glory days of starring in such proudly cheap actioners as “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Split Second” as the title firearm-toting vigilante. A tongue-in-cheek valentine to such bygone classics of the VHS era as “Death Wish 3” and “The Exterminator,” director Jason Eisener extends a popular faux trailer from “Grindhouse” to feature length a la “Machete,” but with more consistently deranged results. With nary a breath between priceless one-liners and sick setpieces, Hauer’s trademark zeal brings Eisener’s vision to life. Once upon a time, Joe Bob would have told you to check it out, and we’ll do the same. Rated R for language, sexual content and brutal violence. Running time: 1:26.

Suggested retail price: DVD $26.98; Blu-ray $29.98.

“ILLEGAL,” starring Anne Coesens and Alexandre Gontcharov. Sure to spark discussions and varied opinions, this frustrating but essential drama from writer-director Olivier Masset-Depasse (“Cages”) follows Tania (the excellent Coesens of “My Life in Pink”), a young Russian mother struggling to maintain some sense of self and dignity being arrested and held as an illegal immigrant in a Belgian detention center, where beatings are common and hope is scarce. Necessarily grueling and shot documentary-style for maximum effect, “Illegal” is no one’s idea of a fun summer blockbuster, but for those willing to take the journey, Coesens’ brave performance reaps rewards for the viewer. Not rated, contains language and violence. Running time: 1:30.

Suggested retail price: $24.95.

— Courtesy of Videoport