Iron Man>

Buried in extras of the new "Iron Man" two-disc set are a six-minute screen test of Robert Downey Jr. and four minutes of rehearsal between Downey and Jeff Bridges. There you see what set the summer blockbuster apart from so many other superhero movies.

As inventor Tony Stark, the fast-talking head of an arms manufacturer, Downey gives one of the best performances of the year. A onetime MIT whiz kid, Tony is a celebrity and playboy with no compunction about selling his high-tech weaponry and no thoughts to its collateral damage and blowback.

A trip to Afghanistan to show off his latest deadly toy goes bad and Tony has a change of heart (almost literally). Had any less an actor than Downey been in this role, "Iron Man" might have been just another big-budget popcorn movie. But director-actor Jon Favreau ("Elf," "Zathura") was savvy enough to understand he needed someone special to play a morally suspect guy who turns into a superhero.

Downey certainly had the credentials, and not just because he was a onetime Hollywood bad boy. Throughout his career, the actor has given us vivid portraits of conflicted men - his Oscar nomination for the 1992 "Chaplin" being one of the few times he was recognized for it. While it would be surprising to see him nominated for "Iron Man," Downey makes Tony Stark a nuanced, complicated character. Give a lot of credit to Favreau, too, who didn't take the obvious route, and to the skills and charms of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges.

The two-disc set features enough extras to keep fans occupied, including 11 deleted or extended scenes, a feature-length documentary, "I Am Iron Man," and a number of shorter featurettes.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall >

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is another slightly raunchy romantic comedy from Judd Apatow's team and another score. Jason Segel plays Peter, a musical composer for a TV show, who has been dumped after five years by girlfriend Sarah (Kristin Bell), one of the stars of the show. She then takes up with a Brit rocker (Russell Brand), who is a more daring choice than the slightly doughy Peter (male nudity alert). Looking for a change of scenery, Peter goes to a Hawaiian resort (of course, he bumps into Sarah and her rocker boyfriend, who also have chosen that spot for a getaway), where Peter meets Rachel (Mila Kunis), a woman with her own relationship problems.

"Sarah Marshall" was written by Segel, who was in Apatow's "Freaks and Geeks," and directed by Nicholas Stoller, who wrote for Apatow's "Undeclared." While Apatow is listed as only one of the producers, the film bears the same stamp as his "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" - some gross-out jokes mixed with some genuine moments about relationships and an underlying sweetness.

For the curious, there is a three-disc unrated version out.

More>

The 25th anniversary edition of "The Jewel in the Crown" is welcome because not only was it one of television's great miniseries, it also has been nicely remastered in this version.

Alex Gibney's piercing documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" examines the death of an Afghani taxi driver who was detained by American forces in 2002 and who died in their custody a few months later after being subjected to torture. Gibney interviews soldiers involved and finds that more than a few "bad apples" are responsible. Gut-wrenching but necessary if we are to have a real dialogue about U.S. policies. (The film will also air at 9 p.m. Monday on HBO.)

Also on the dark side is the documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster," which sees the use of steroids by athletes (professional and amateur) as symptomatic of a larger problem in America.

Rob Lowman (818) 713-3687; robert.lowman@dailynews.com

out tuesday

NEW FILMS

"Iron Man" $34.99/ $39.99 two-disc collectors edition/ $39.99 Blu-ray

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" $29.98/ $34.98 three-disc unrated collector's edition/ $39.98 Blu-ray

"Taxi to the Dark Side" $27.98

"Bigger, Stronger, Faster" $26.98

"Lou Reed Berlin" $24.95

"OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" $24.98

TELEVISION

"The Jewel in the Crown — 25 th Anniversary Edition" $39.95

"Beauty and the Beast — The Complete Series" $89.98

"Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" $26.98

"My Three Sons: Season One, Vol. 1"$39.98

"NUMB3 RS" $59.98

"My Name Is Earl — Season Three" $49.98

"Sports Night: The Complete Series 10 th Anniversary Edition" $69.99

"Adam-12: Season Two" $34.99

OF SPECIAL INTEREST

"2008 Olympics: Beijing 2008 Complete Opening Ceremony" $29.99

"2008 Olympics: Michael Phelps — Inside Story of the Beijing Games" $19.99

"When We Left Earth — The NASA Missions" $49.98/ $69.98 Blu-ray for four-disc set

OLDER FILMS

"An Autumn Afternoon —Criterion Collection" $29.95

NEW TO BLU-RAY

"The Thing" $29.98

"The Sixth Sense" $34.99

"Daredevil — The Director's Cut" $39.98

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" $29.98

"Knocked Up" $29.98

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" $29.98

MUSIC

"Jazz Icons: Series 3 Box Set" $119.99

"Jewel: The Essential Live Songbook" $29.99

"Roy Orbison: A Black & White Night" $24.98 for Blu-ray

"CSNY/Deja Vu" $14.98

"Live at Red Rocks — Deluxe — U2" $19.98

FOR KIDS

"Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess" $19.99