Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • August 27, 2014 DVD releases (continued from Restaurant page) of Navarre (Daniel Auteuill), ostensibly as a peace offering between the warring Catholics and Huguenots. In actual- ity, the union is a ruse by the Queen Mother (Virna Lisi) to incite a wave of assassinations that will come to be known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Director Patrice Chereau has a great eye for production design and favors intricately elaborate, sumptuous cos- tumes for the women. Performances vary. Lisi, who was an international sex symbol in the 1960s, is a convincing villainess. Adjani is too old for the character she is portray- ing and delivers most of her dialogue in a low-key, nearly expressionless manner. She is beautiful, but emotionless. This aspect of history is not well known to Americans, so the script provides a Cliff’s Notes-style tutorial on the era and its intrigue. Blu-ray bonus features include feature- length commentary and a booklet containing production information. The film is in French, with English subtitles. “Almost Human: The Complete Series” (Warner Archive) is a combination science fiction/crime drama that ran on the Fox Network during the 2013-14 season. The year is 2048. Science and technology have evolved by quantum leaps, changing urban life for citizens, criminals, and law enforcement. The Los Angeles Police Depart- ment now teams robots with human officers to combat a hyper-violent syndicate and protect the innocent. When cynical, seen-it-all Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban) returns to his beat after a year of recovering from a devas- tating attack, his new partner is Dorian (Michael Ealy), an android with emotional intelligence. As Kennex and Dorian work together to solve unspeakable crimes and investigate a power-mad criminal conspiracy, their common humanity is a ray of hope in an otherwise hopeless landscape. Lili Taylor co-stars as Captain Sandra Maldonado. The DVD set contains all 13 episodes of the short-lived series. Special features include a 2013 Comic-Con panel Q&A with cast and creators, unaired scenes, and a gag reel. “Seventy-five Years of WW II” (Lionsgate) commem- orates the 75th Anniversary of World War II in four dis- tinct segments. “D-Day in HD” presents the most critical military operation of the war and the largest amphibious assault ever in newly transferred color HD. Through the personal accounts of soldiers on both sides, this episode tells the story in the first person, in the words of those who lived it, from famous leaders like Eisenhower to unknown foot soldiers. “Bloody Santa Cruz” recounts the vicious combat in the South Pacific in which the USS Hornet was lost. “Enterprise Versus Japan” takes viewers to November 1942, as the USS Enterprise sends the Japanese Imperial Navy to a watery grave. “Ultimate World War II Weap- ons” reveals the weapons and inventions that shaped and decided the war, from the Studebaker truck to the shock and devastation of the atomic bomb. There are no extras on the two-disc DVD release.