The fact that John Ford made so many of his films for different studios is the primary reason the director has been denied a comprehensive DVD box set like the ones devoted to the films of Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. Even more criminal is that so many of his films, including "Fort Apache" and "3 Godfathers," are not available on DVD in North America.

My preference would be to see a dozen of Ford's best licensed to the Criterion Collection, but for the moment, we can be grateful that Criterion has graced us with a two-disc remaster of "Young Mr. Lincoln." Ford's film about Lincoln the shopkeeper and prairie lawyer, brilliantly played by Henry Fonda, was released in 1939, a year some film scholars believe to be the greatest in cinematic history.

Choices that year included "Gone With the Wind," "The Wizard of Oz," "Only Angels Have Wings," "The Women" and Ford's "Stagecoach."

Ford's film addresses 10 momentous years in the life of one of America's greatest leaders.

It shows him coping with the death of his great love, Ann Rutledge, courting Mary Todd and teaching himself law in that fabled log cabin — and showing off what he learned in the film's second half, which has him defending not just the two men accused of murder, but the concept of American justice.

Curious for a Criterion release, this one has no commentary from a film scholar or historian. It does, however, trace the film's history and impact in a booklet, and it includes the first part of the television series' "Omnibus" biography of Ford, which explored his early work in detail.

MORE ON LINCOLN

Those in search of the historical Lincoln should be provoked and even occasionally surprised by "Lincoln" (A&E), a 1988 documentary that looks at Lincoln's life through the prism of his depression. Among those interviewed are Gore Vidal (who wrote an acclaimed novel about Lincoln's life) and Andrew Solomon, author of the award-winning "The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression."

A more traditional perspective, focusing on the complex relationship between Lincoln and his wife, is presented in "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided" (PBS/Paramount), composed from photographs, illustrations, interviews and narration (with David Morse and Holly Hunter voicing the principals) taken from correspondence and other writing. It aired on PBS in 2001 on the long-running "American Experience."

'PROOF'

Depression looms large in "Proof" (Miramax), John Madden's excellent adaptation of the prize-winning stage play. It failed to raise an audience in theaters (and never opened in Honolulu) despite an excellent performance by Gwyneth Paltrow as the daughter of a brilliant mathematician (Anthony Hopkins) who fears she may have inherited her father's mental illness.

YOUNG SCI-FI

"MirrorMask" (Columbia-Tri Star) is an exceedingly artful, visually remarkable variation on the themes of "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz" cooked up by graphic novelist Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean.

It tells the story of the 15-year-old daughter of the owners of a traveling circus (Stephanie Leonidas) who enters a war-torn alternative universe populated by creatures as magical as they are metaphorical.

"Zathura: A Space Adventure" (Sony), inspired by the children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg ("The Polar Express"), is far lighter fare, yet still inventive and entertaining. Two battling brothers (Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson) and their teenage sister (Kristen Stewart) head into outer space, courtesy of a board game.