New on DVD: 'The Green Prince,' 'Don't Look Now,' and more

Films like

The Green Prince,

a stunning documentary about the role of espionage in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, come once every generation.

A collaboration between Israeli filmmaker Nadav Schirman and Palestinian rebel-turned-Israeli-intelligence-asset-turned-memoirist and activist Mosab Hassan Yousef, The Green Prince tells the compelling story of Yousef's abortive attempt to become a Palestinian armed radical during the second Palestinian intifada.

Yousef was expected to contribute to the Palestinian cause - he was, after all, the eldest son of the notorious Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding leader of Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic organization with an active military wing.

When his father is arrested by Israeli soldiers for the umpteenth time, the young Yousef and two of his friends decide to buy guns and attack Israeli Defense Force soldiers. His first attempt at being a killer lands Yousef in jail.

The Green Prince doesn't shy away from showing the harsh treatment Palestinians received in prison - or the deadly manner by which they resolved internal conflicts. Disgusted by Hamas' commitment to torture and murder, Yousef agrees to spy on his father.

Yousef continues to supply Israel's domestic security service, Shin Bet, with intelligence for well over a decade.

Constructed of archival films, news reports, first-hand accounts, and dramatic recreations, The Green Prince features extended interviews with Yousef and his Israeli handler, former Shin Bet officer Gonen Ben Itzhak.

It is as exciting as any fictional spy thriller and as eye-opening as any political tractatus.

(www.musicboxfilms.com; $29.95 DVD; $34.95 Blu-ray; rated PG-13)

Henry V. Kenneth Branagh's spectacular 1989 adaptation of Shakespeare's rousing historical epic can hold its own against Laurence Olivier's classic 1944 Technicolor extravaganza. And that is the highest praise any film version of the Bard could receive. Featuring a heavenly cast, including Paul Scofield, Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, and Emma Thompson, the film finally is available in high definition. (www.shoutfactory.com; $24.97; rated PG-13)

The Purple Rose of Cairo. One of Woody Allen's most successful marriages between serious theme and madcap comedy, this 1985 romcom is set in the 1930s and stars Jeff Daniels as a dashing movie hero who walks off the big screen to woo lonely film fan Mia Farrow. Part of the gorgeous Twilight Time limited edition Blu-ray collection from Screen Archives Entertainment, it's available for purchase online. (www.screenarchives.com; $29.95; rated PG)

The Bride Wore Black. Another title from Twilight Time, this exciting 1968 auteur-thriller from François Truffaut gives a French New Wave twist to the classic Hitchcockian thriller. It also is one of the early inspirations for Quentin Tarrantino's Kill Bill. Starring a then-40-year-old Jeanne Moreau - she's as sexy and radiant as ever - the film is about a bride who exacts bloody vengeance on the men who assassinated her lover on their wedding day. (www.screenarchives.com; $29.95; not rated)

Don't Look Now. Thanks to the Criterion Collection, Nicholas Roeg's masterful existential ghost story from 1973 is now available in high definition. Adapted from a story by Daphne du Maurier, this visually arresting piece stars Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland as a couple who take a trip to Venice after the death of their young daughter. It's there they think they spy her ghost, which leads them down that ancient city's winding alleys. Look carefully and you'll see a familiar face in a most creepy role. (www.criterion.com; $39.95; rated R)