Josef von Sternberg box set among new DVDs 

3 SILENT CLASSICS BY JOSEF VON STERNBERG (1927-1928). While Josef von Sternberg is most famous for his numerous collaborations with lover, discovery and legend-in-her-own-right Marlene Dietrich, the Austrian-born filmmaker has also been heralded for directing three of the most enduring films to emerge from the waning years of the silent film era.

Beckoned to Hollywood by a telegram that read, "Millions to be grabbed out here and your only competition is idiots. Don't let this get around," former Chicago reporter Ben Hecht arrived on the scene and almost immediately won the Best Original Story Oscar — in the first year of the Academy Awards, no less — for the gangster yarn Underworld (1927). Even after the honor, Hecht openly complained that von Sternberg had ruined his story, but regardless, the film was a huge hit and established the careers of both men. Underworld is an exciting piece of cinema, settling the template for the gangster flicks that would soon follow it at a fast and furious clip. George Bancroft stars as Bull Weed, a burly, brawling hoodlum who takes a liking to a drunken ex-lawyer he nicknames "Rolls Royce" (Clive Brook). Bull is too busy pulling off heists and mixing it up with a rival mobster (Fred Kohler) to notice the attraction developing between his moll, a slinky number named Feathers (Evelyn Brent), and the erudite Royce — once he catches wind, however, even his looming hour of execution won't stop him from determining their loyalty to him. If this Paramount production doesn't quite capture the brilliance of the classic Warner Bros. gangster films that would blanket the 1930s and '40s, it's still a technical gem that showcases von Sternberg's prowess behind the camera.

Modern audiences would be forgiven for assuming that the first Best Actor Oscar ever handed out went to one of the enduring giants of the silent era — perhaps Chaplin or Keaton, maybe Barrymore or Chaney. Instead, it went to an acclaimed performer who would only be in Hollywood briefly, electing to return to the German cinema and eventually emerging as a full-fledged ... Nazi. That would be Emil Jannings, and, pushing politics aside, his performance in The Last Command (1928) is indeed terrific. And so is the movie, the most epic, the most emotional and the most satisfying one in this set. Jannings stars as Sergius, a broken, beaten man working as a film extra in the brutal Hollywood system. A director (William Powell) casts him in his upcoming film as a Russian general, and in flashbacks that take up the bulk of the picture, we see that he really was a Russian general: Grand Duke Sergius Alexander, cousin to the Czar and a top target when the revolution came a-callin'. Jannings is magnificent in all his facets — from a proud military man to a traumatized nobody — and Underworld's Evelyn Brent is also memorable in the flashback sequences as the Communist who can't quite commit to the cause once she unexpectedly falls for the iron-fisted yet oddly compassionate general.

George Bancroft eventually was relegated to supporting roles in the sound era, but von Sternberg used him well as a leading man in the late '20s: the aforementioned Underworld, 1928's The Dragnet (a lost film), 1929's Thunderbolt (for which Bancroft earned his only Oscar nomination) and The Docks of New York (1928). Basically a stock melodrama elevated by gorgeous visuals and fine performances from the ladies, this finds Bancroft playing Bill Roberts, a ship furnace stoker who, while on shore leave, saves a young woman named Mae (Betty Compson) from killing herself. The recuperating Mae makes friends with the more worldly Lou (Olga Baclanova), but both women (as well as Bill) are bothered when Lou's cruel husband (Mitchell Lewis) openly puts the moves on Mae. Compson and Baclanova — the latter most famous for getting carved into a chicken in Tod Browning's notorious Freaks — provide an interesting contrast in their characterizations of two women trapped in seemingly dead-end lives, while von Sternberg and cinematographer Harold Rosson expertly capture the dire working-class environment.

DVD extras include two visual essays (each approximately 35 minutes) detailing von Sternberg's early life and films; a 40-minute interview with von Sternberg from 1968; and a 96-page booklet.

Underworld: ***1/2

The Last Command: ****

The Docks of New York: ***1/2

Extras: ***1/2

HARRY BROWN (2010). A pervasive sense of corrosion and corruption is one of the defining elements of the tough-minded film Harry Brown, the other being the typically compelling performance by Michael Caine. The treasured thespian stars as the title character, a septuagenarian living in a particularly squalid London slum. Losing his bedridden wife soon after the movie opens, Harry is content to mind his own business and steer clear of the young hoodlums terrorizing the neighborhood. But after his best friend (David Bradley) runs afoul of these thugs, Harry, who long ago had suppressed memories of his military days in return for blessed matrimony, discovers that, even at his advanced age, he can still recall a thing or two about handling weapons. As the steely vet stares down these punks with gun in hand, we half expect him to growl, "Do you feel lucky?" but the character is less Dirty Harry and more Paul Kersey, the role played by Charles Bronson in the 1974 hit Death Wish. But whereas Death Wish kept its vigilante theme uncluttered, this new picture gets bogged down with distracting police business (most involving Emily Mortimer's soulful detective) and culminates with a ridiculous sequence involving a handful of copout devices (including a double-cross that's laughable rather than shocking). While director Daniel Barber gives the film a suitably grungy look, Gary Young's ragged screenplay leaves something to be desired. But Caine is able, channeling righteous indignation straight out of the Old Testament.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Caine, Barber and producer Kris Thykier; and seven deleted scenes.

Movie: **1/2

Extras: **