Out on DVD

"The Dragon Painter" (Milestone, $30)

Only recently restored, this 1919 American silent film tells the Japanese story of a great, untutored painter who is adopted as a protégé by a great artist and marries his daughter, only to have domestic tranquillity ruin his art. Shot mostly outdoors -- Yosemite stands in for the mountains of northern Japan -- it's a fable of art and love, with original tints and a lovely new score. In his portrayal of an artistic wild child, Sessue Hayakawa is amazing. The film runs 53 minutes, so another Hayakawa film, "The Wrath of the Gods," has been added. Also featured is a script and a silent short in which Hayakawa cavorts with Fatty Arbuckle and Charles Murray.

SCOTT EYMAN, COX NEWS SERVICE

"Battlestar Galactica: Season 3"

(Universal, $60)

The intense saga of political terrorism/collaboration, ethical dilemmas, spiritual debates, slam-bang action and interspecies fights gets even richer in setting the scene for its final season (starting April 4 on Sci Fi). Characters deepen as the apocalyptic space tale twists toward Earth. Extras on the six-disc set include commentary, deleted scenes, backstage videos and 10 "Resistance" webisodes. Nice price, too, after fans howled over separate season 2 sets totaling $100.

DIANE WERTS, NEWSDAY

With a new season at hand, three of the finest baseball flicks return. Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins star in "Bull Durham," the story of a romantic triangle among a veteran minor-league catcher, a raw pitching prospect and a baseball groupie. The 20th-anniversary DVD includes commentary by Costner, Robbins and director Ron Shelton and new interviews. Also in a 20th-anniversary edition is "Eight Men Out," featuring John Cusack and Charlie Sheen in director John Sayles' account of the Chicago Black Sox scandal. Sayles does commentary, and the disc has a retrospective. Gary Cooper stars as New York slugger Lou Gehrig as he climbs to stardom and struggles with the disease that bears his name in "The Pride of the Yankees." The DVD has six featurettes.