The joy of sets: DVDs make ideal holiday gifts for film buffs, and there is a wide range of boxed sets out there to choose from.

• Author: Rothenberg, Roberts
• Position: Entertainment - Buyers Guide

AS THE HOLIDAYS APPROACH, so does the often-aggravating search for the perfect gift(s) for loved ones, friends, relatives, or whoever else might be on your list. If that person happens to be a film buff and owns a DVD player, that task can be a simple one, thanks to the bonanza of boxed sets of DVDs that are hitting the market in time for the gift-buying season. From favorite movie heroes to German horror films of the silent era, Japanese monster movies, hilarious British comedies, and even collections of cable and television series, there is more than enough to satisfy any taste. Moreover, if you can't find a set that fits, it's possible to put together a classic one on your own, but more on that later. First, let's take a look at some of the more-interesting sets beckoning from the shelves.

The John Wayne DVD Gift Set (Paramount Home Entertainment, $79.99) contains a mixed bag of westerns, at least three of which rank among the best of the genre. Topping the list is "True Grit" (1969), which brought the Duke his only Oscar, for his portrayal of fat, one-eyed lawman Rooster Cogburn, reluctantly helping a spunky young girl track down her father's killer. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) is director John Ford's rueful debunking of western legends, teaming Wayne's gunfighter with James Stewart's pacifist lawyer to rid a town of a villainous Lee Marvin. "The Shootist" (1976), Wayne's last picture, casts him as a famed gunman facing death from cancer, ironically echoing the actor's real-life battle with the disease that ultimately killed him. Ably supported by Stewart's sympathetic doctor, Wayne gives arguably his most-nuanced performance as he faces mortality. There's nothing wrong with "El Dorado" (1967), except that it's virtually a remake of director Howard Hawks' 1959 "Rio Bravo" substituting Robert Mitchum for Dean Martin, James Caan for Ricky Nelson, Charlene Holt for Angie Dickinson, and Arthur Hunnicutt for Walter Brennan. Hawks did it better the first time. The final entry, "The Sons of Katie Elder" (1965), is boisterous and often silly, with Wayne, Martin, and the rest of the cast allowed to do their own thing under the slack directorship of Henry Hathaway. Despite this, the picture remains one of Wayne's top audience-pleasers.

The Jack Ryan Collection (Paramount Home Entertainment, $76.44) combines three pictures featuring best-selling author Tom Clancy's long-running hero, albeit portrayed by two different actors. Ryan (played by Alec Baldwin) is basically a supporting actor in "The Hunt for Red October" (1990), a movie dominated by Sean Connery as a rogue Russian submarine captain being pursued by the Soviet and American navies, although for different reasons. In "Patriot Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994), Ryan, now portrayed by Harrison Ford, is clearly the focus, heroically taking on the IRA and a Latin American drug cartel, respectively. All three versions are far noisier and more action-filled than Clancy's often-cerebral, technocratic volumes, making them much more pleasing to viewers.

The Dirty Harry Series (Warner Home Video, $79.92) offers a quintet of Clint Eastwood films featuring his most-recognizable character, San Francisco cop Harry Callahan. First introduced in "Dirty Harry" (1971) in pursuit of a psychopathic extortionist/killer, Eastwood's snarling, brutal inspector is larger than life, with his own set of ethics, exhibiting little concern for criminals' civil rights, sporting his trademark .357 Magnum, and dropping eminently quotable lines that have become part of cinematic history--in this case, "Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?" to a wounded robber trying to figure whether Harry has used up all of his bullets in the pursuit. With the tremendous box-office triumph of the original, Eastwood spun off four sequels, starting with "Magnum Force" (1973), taking on vigilante cops, and following with "The Enforcer" (1976), confronting terrorists; "Sudden Impact" (1983), tracking a female revenge-seeker whose motivations largely parallel Dirty Harry's own, and in which he utters his oft-mimicked line, "Go ahead, make my day"); and "The Dead Pool" (1988), where Harry's name turns up on a list of celebrities who are systematically being murdered.

Rocky 25th Anniversary DVD Collection (MGM Home Entertainment, $89.96), the first of two compendiums of Sylvester Stallone's signature cinematic characters, presents all five episodes of the saga of underdog boxer Rocky Balboa's pursuit of respectability, happiness, and a championship belt. The 1976 original was a sleeper success, capturing Oscars for best picture and director (John Avildsen), though Stallone lost for best actor to Peter Finch and original screenplay to Paddy Chayefsky, both for "Network." Carl Weathers turns in a bang-on takeoff on Muhammad Ali at his boastful best as champion Apollo Creed, and his climactic battle royale with Rocky is as viscerally exciting as it is unlikely. Stallone kept returning to the tried-and-tree ingredients with "Rocky II" (1979), taking on Creed in a return bout; "Rocky III" (1982), battling Mr. T's Clubber Lang; "Rocky IV" (1985), defending America's honor against the vicious Russian fighter (Dolph Lundgren) who has killed Creed in the ring; and "Rocky V" (1990), in which a brain-damaged Rocky mentors a young boxer (Tom Morrison), but eventually has to take him on in a bloody streetfight.

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