As we prepare to leap into March, February goes out like a lion with a mighty slate of new DVD releases, including ye olde epic retold in CGI (sorry, no 3-D glasses included), Criterion bringing back a gorgeous Oscar-winner from some years back, the new Wes Anderson, the terrific final episode of Extras, anime galore, and much more. Leap on in!

Re-issues, indies, anime and Oscar-winning 'toons, Hollywood fare with great ensembles highlight this week's valentine of new releases.

(This also appeared on GreenCine Daily.)

"With the 1961 roadshow spectacular El Cid, the Weinstein Company has made an appropriate choice to inaugurate its prestige label, the Miriam Collection," writes Dave Kehr in the New York Times. "Filmed largely at historical locations in Spain in Super Technirama, a 70-millimeter widescreen process, El Cid remains, even on home video, a feast of visual detail. Under Anthony Mann's direction, the film overflows with deep-focus vistas, towering sets, densely crowded battle sequences and the imposing presence of two remarkable physical specimens, Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren."

More from Glenn Kenny: "The pictorialism, the kineticism, the ferocious visual intelligence displayed by Mann, cinematograhper Robert Krasker, and the rest of the film's production team lift this epic into a realm rarely touched by any of the arts."

This week brings a rich, full-bodied group of new DVD releases, with a slew of new films from Criterion, horror, drama, anime, a doc about quirky superhero wannabes, and even a few crappy movies for people who like crappy movies! Yes, there's something for everyone, so come on inside and take a look.