‘The Village’

Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt

Touchstone, $30

The 1999 “I see dead people” thriller, “The Sixth Sense,” rightfully put its young writer/director M. Night Shyamalan on the map and turned him into a major Hollywood player. But his subsequent films have become increasingly self-important and portentous. The big twist at the end of “Sixth Sense” was a real corker, but his reveals in “Unbreakable” and “Signs” bordered on ludicrous.

Shyamalan hit a new low of absurdity with “The Village,” a thriller about a 19th-century burg whose town is bordered by vicious, weird creatures. The fine cast, which includes Ron Howard’s 20-something daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, can’t save this turkey.

Shyamalan has never done DVD commentary, but he is certainly front and center on “Deconstructing the Village,” a slick series of mini-documentaries on the making of the film. There’s also a production photo gallery — Shyamalan is in most of the pictures — and a home movie he made as a youngster. The best extra finds Howard reading excerpts from her literate diary about the production.

‘Without a Paddle’

Seth Green, Matthew Lillard

Paramount, $30

This distasteful youth comedy should have been titled “Without a Laugh.” Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard are funny guys, but this “Deliverance”-esque comedy — Burt Reynolds even makes an appearance — is best enjoyed by undiscerning teenage boys. The three actors play childhood friends who reunite after the unexpected death of a buddy. When they find their friend’s map to the alleged treasure of D.B. Cooper, they decide to canoe down a river to find the loot. Along the way, a big bear mistakes Green for his baby and they run afoul of two pot-growing, good old boys (Ethan Suplee, Abraham Benrubi).

The digital edition includes additional scenes, a making-of featurette, interstitials that appeared on MTV and a gag reel. The commentary track by director Steve Brill and the three stars is far more amusing than the film.