Funny, sexy and thrilling, Doug Liman's Mr. & Mrs. Smith is one of the best Hollywood romantic action romps ever.

So it is a shame that something so fun is now seen primarily as the project that put Brad Pitt into Angelina Jolie's bed, on and off screen.

The process just culminated in the year's most overwrought media circus -- the celebrity baby birth in Namibia. Aside from the fact that it is none of our friggin' business, and boring to outsiders anyway, the gossipy stuff deflects us from what started it all -- this wicked little flick.

Mr. And Mrs. Smith, the story of a married couple whose relationship is frayed by their secret lives as spies working for opposing sides, is back on DVD tomorrow in a new widescreen unrated version. It boasts an extra 13 minutes in running time. Most of that is sex and violence. In the context of this movie, most of that is pretty tame, although you see more of Jolie's curvaceous flesh and that can't be a bad thing.

The two-disc DVD is also loaded with extras, including an alternate ending involving a baby (!) and an interesting backgrounder in which we discover how many times studios turned down the project as hopeless.

But, with Pitt and Jolie essentially playing themselves -- albeit in exaggerated, larger-than-life versions -- Mr. & Mrs. Smith became a huge hit.

STUNNING: No one in recent memory was more transformational in her performance than Felicity Huffman, who played a transgendered man seeking to become a woman in Transamerica. Huffman even told director Duncan Tucker to hire a man to play the role. But he persevered; so did she; and Huffman deservedly became an Oscar nominee.

The splendid DVD, in separate full and widescreen versions, arrived May 23 (this is my first chance to champion it). Through physical mannerisms (vocal gymnastics, subtle gestures) as well as distinct emotional touches, Huffman created an eternally memorable character with dignity and humanity. The DVD, in spirited encounters with Tucker, Huffman and co-star Kevin Zegers, shows how that happened.

RENEWED CLASSIC: In 1969, George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid re-invented the American western through a languid style, Conrad Hall's unique cinematography and a contemporary sense of humour.

The still-resonant, still-entertaining film is back on DVD in a two-disc widescreen release called the Ultimate Collector's Edition. With fresh interviews, including with Newman and Redford, the film is given its singular place in history. Among revelations, Newman discusses how his easy relationship with Redford in real life contributed to their on-screen chemistry, as if they were really playing themselves in a "fictional" story about two real-life characters. Most of what Newman and Redford say is probably true.

VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN: Napoleon Dynamite was back on DVD again in May in a two-disc widescreen release called Like, The Best Special Edition Ever! It is an absolute must-buy for cult fans, even if they're annoyed at double dipping. Included is the original 2002 short, Peluca, that started it all with Heder as the forerunner of Napoleon.

The DVD is packed with other Heder moments, none of which convince me that he is an actor.

But he is an embodiment of his fictional character.

Or, gosh, vice versa.