Out on DVD giveaway: Tantrums, tiaras, freaks, geeks and Criterions

Elton John: Tantrums and Tiaras, an up-close-and-personal documentary about the iconic musician, is just one of the week's new DVDs that should immediately go onto your Santa wish list this holiday season. And we'd like to help you with your holiday shopping by giving away a handful of copies, two of which are signed by Sir Elton himself.

More after the break!

The long-awaited U.S. DVD debut of Elton John: Tantrums and Tiaras (Echo Bridge Home Entertainment) has arrived today, with the 1997 documentary finally getting a domestic video release. With John's longtime companion David Furnish in the director's chair, we get a much more warts-and-all look at the music superstar than another filmmaker might have been allowed to capture. While you'll come away from the movie admiring Sir Elton's work ethic, you'll also marvel at his bratty entitlement.

Whether or not you're a fan of the Rocket Man's music, the gossipy frankness of this movie makes it impossible to look away. 

To win a copy of the DVD, simply drop an email to comments@afterelton.com with the name of your favorite Elton John song. Two lucky winners (chosen at random) will receive a copy of the DVD signed by Sir Elton, and two runners-up will each receive a copy of the can't-miss film. 

More great DVD releases below... 

If you're looking for interesting and awesome to give — or get — this holiday season, check out some of this week's other new releases. The Criterion Collection has created some of the best DVDs on the market, replete with fascinating commentaries and extras that make them a must for movie buffs. They've just devoted their attention to two of the most delightful and bittersweet cult movies in recent memory.

Wes Anderson made his first leap into feature filmmaking with Bottle Rocket, starring Owen and Luke Wilson as childhood friends who make an hilariously awkward transition into would-be criminals, while Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express may be one of the screen's great portraits of romantic longing. These are both movies you'll find yourself watching over and over again, and you'll certainly pore over all the extras that the folks at Criterion have provided.

Back in print is the Freaks and Geeks: Yearbook Edition (Shout! Factory), an exhaustive collection devoted to the one and only season of this wonderfully smart and unsentimental high school sitcom. While it had its passionate defenders at the time — including GLAAD, which honored the show for an episode that featured a trans character — F&G ranks with earlier high school classics American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused for the sheer number of budding young stars (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Busy Phillilps, Linda Cardellini and Jason Segel, to name a few) that would emerge from it. (If you're a fan of Judd Apatow's movies, F&G was a major launchpad for both the filmmaker and his ensemble of comedic actors.)

The set also includes auditions, interviews with the creators at the annual Paley Festival, and oodles of commentaries by everyone imaginable, from actors to writers to directors to parents of cast members. There's even a commentary featuring four actors who played teachers on the show, doing the whole thing in character. I was lucky enough to get the Yearbook when it was originally available as a limited-issue collectible; now that it's being made available once again, I urge every fan of the show to snap one up.