Criterion cleans up Varda's catalog

Agnes Varda presaged the French new wave by a few years, but only assiduous film fans hold her in the same esteem as Godard, Truffaut and the like. That's a shame, since Varda has always been one of France's most vibrant filmmakers, using her early career as a photographer as a jumping-off point for some of cinema's most intriguing efforts.

Several of these are included in Criterion's aptly named "4 by Agnes Varda" (Criterion Collection, 1956-1985, Not Rated),including her classics "Cleo from 5 to 7" and "Vagabond," two enigmatic and deeply affected portraits of women in turmoil. Both of these films were initially released years ago by the redoubtable Criterion, but now return cleaned, scrubbed and brought up to code. The other two films in the set, "La Pointe Courte" and "Le Bonheaur" are both portraits of marriages in disarray.

Perhaps it's no surprise, given Varda's reputation as a deep thinker but no snob, that the supplements are both ample and enjoyable. One included interview probably marks the first and last time Madonna will ever be seen in the Criterion collection.

also new this week

"Torchwood -- The Complete First Series" (BBC, 2006, Not Rated): There are those who "get" "Doctor Who," and there are those who are baffled by the pleasures of the venerable British sci-fi series. You probably have to like the show to derive maximum pleasure from its new spin-off "Torchwood," but, truth be told, "Torchwood" is a tad easier to take than "Doctor Who." It's a touch "X-Files" and a touch "Buffy," and the idea to play the clever action and intrigue for laughs rather than kitschy fun was smart. As can be expected from a project with "Torchwood"'s geek quotient, the DVD arrives with more than its share of special features that flesh out the show's

nascent mythology just in time for season two.

"Saw IV" (Lionsgate, 2007, Not Rated): Another year, another "Saw" sequel. Needless to say, the fact that the film's

antagonists died at the end of the third installment makes little difference, and indeed actor Tobin Bell does show up as the morally dubious Jigsaw once again. Yet it's not the slightly better-than-average writing that draws folks to these films every fall, it's the elaborate torture devices, and at this point the "Saw" franchise has permanently morphed into a sort of elaborate torture device itself, painful for anyone who likes their horror driven by craft rather than sadistic gimmicks.