By Peter Covino

Lifestyles Editor

If you didn't have an HDTV before the Black Friday craziness, chances are pretty good you've got one now.

And hopefully, all of the battle wounds have healed as well, as the realization sets in: Now you need a Blu-ray player and lots of Blu-rays.

And I am always here to help.

But first, a bit of  a send off for flamboyant and wholly original British director Ken Russell.

Russell died earlier this week at age  84 leaving a legacy of some not so good films, but also some very visionary works as well including his version of  The Who's Tommy (1975); his Oscar-winning film Women in Love (1969), the so controversial The Devils (1971) that it has never played in its original form in the U.S.; and Altered States (1980), a head trip of a science fiction film.  He also made some musical biographies including Lisztomania with Roger Daltrey and The Music Lovers with Richard Chamberlain as Tchaikovsky.

Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be a collection of Russell's most memorable films available.  Ken Russell at the BBC is a collection of his early biopics while he worked for the BBC. I have never seen these British productions, but fans say they are amongst the best films he ever made. It is available at Amazon.com.

The Devils,  The Music Lovers, Altered States and Women in Love were also available via Amazon as well as other retail outlets.

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Now it's time to feed that growing thirst and keep that big new screen from staying blank.

Keep in mind, with NetFlix and other  “instant” options, a download  can be a good choice. But if you want the best picture possible, you need to have a Blu-ray. In addition to the best picture, Blu-rays also offer more in the way of special features, some of them only available via an internet  connection.

Among the newest releases, Cowboys & Aliens (Universal) is a good way to test your HDTV and Blu-ray player.

This summer release takes the Western into new territory. There are the standard Western folk, including a grumpy old rancher played by Harrison Ford, and the stranger who comes into town who doesn't know who he is (played by Daniel Craig), except he has this large metal bracelet on his wrist.

Based on a graphic comic book, Cowboys  & Aliens  is directed by Jon Favreau. When it is a Western, and that is in the early going on, it is very much a Western. And then the aliens come and you will be happy you have a big screen to catch all the action.

This was a good summertime entertainment film, with some great action sequences and a good cast. The Blu-ray/DVD combo (also includes a digital copy) will be available Tuesday. Bonus features include commentary and conversations with director Favreau as well as the feature Igniting the Sky: The Making of Cowboys & Aliens.

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You will have to wait another week for the Blu-ray debut of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944, Warner Home Video), but it will be worth the wait.

This is the near perfect musical  with Judy Garland in her first adult role, even though she is still playing the sweet second oldest daughter in a prominent St. Louis family.

No amazing special effects here, just lots of  home spun charm in this great restoration of a classic. I have said it numerous times before, but the best thing about Blu-ray isn't even so much how good these old classic films look in HD, but that the studios are spending millions of dollars to restore them and they have probably, never, ever looked better.

The story here is about traditional as it gets — it is a post card setting year in the life of a turn-of-the-century St. Louis family at the dawn of the world's fair in St. Louis.

Garland gets a lot of help from child-star Margaret O'Brien, and the film was directed by Garland's soon-to-be future husband Vincente Minelli.

This also is one of the great holiday films, perfect family viewing for the holidays. The memorable songs made for the film include  “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Boy Next Store” and “The Trolly Song.” The Blu-ray includes a bonus CD featuring Judy Garland singing songs from the film.

The Blu-ray also is part of  40-page book that includes photos and trivia from the film. The Blu-ray also contains many other bonus features as well.

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Back to 2011, The Tree of Life (20th Century Fox) is another good choice to put that big screen TV through its paces.

No dazzling special effects here, but director Terence Malick is one of those rare visionary directors.

The story should be better, but there is still a lot to like in this film starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

The story, when it isn't trying to make an artistic/soul-searching statement centers around a Texas family in the 1950s.  Pitt is very much the head of the O'Brien family where he rules with an iron fist, even though he shows loving moments. The father and his wife raise three sons, but for unspecified reasons, the middle son dies at the age of 19.

This causes the adult version the eldest son Jack (played by Penn) to examine the meaning of life, not only his, but  it seems to be examination of the meaning of life in general.

The worth-the-money for the Blu-ray experience comes a bit later where for some twenty minutes, The Tree of Life is a near hallucinatory experience with its creation of the universe complete with the first stirrings of life to the dinosaur.

It makes for a very pretty picture, but it also looks like time spent on the National Geographic Channel.

The three-disc Blu combo includes a DVD disc and digital copy  as well as a 30 minute documentary on the making of the film.

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If your recent purchase included a 3D TV,  the experience doesn't get much better than Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World (Universal).  This winner of the Best East Sciences Program Award at the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Sea Rex includes a face-to-face encounter with the T-Rex of the seas and other state-of-the-art underwater sea creatures that even pre-dated the dinosaur.

The 58-minute film will also play in 2D on any Blu-ray player.

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For the younger set is The Smurfs  (Sony Home Entertainment), featuring an all-star cast that includes Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria as well as the voices of George Lopez, Katy Perry and Jonathan Winters.

The PG rated film finds the Smurfs chased out of their village by and evil wizard and into Central Park.

The Smurfs is available on DVD and in a 3-disc holiday gift set that includes Blu-ray, DVD and digital.

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New on Tuesday will be The Debt (Universal) in Blu-ray, DVD and digital download.

This is old-fashioned espionage with Helen Mirren (Rachel), Claran Hinds (David) and Tom Wilkinson  (Stephan) play an  agent trio who won world-wide acclaim for  ridding the world of  a Joseph Mengele-like Nazi doctor in the 1950s.

A younger version of the trio offers most of the thrills though as they are part of an elaborate plan to capture the doctor in East Berlin.

But nothing ever goes according to plan. The agents have kept a secret for all these years.

The Debt has some thrilling moments, elements of sexual intrigue and a surprising violent scene that you probably won't see coming. If also has an almost over-the-top climax that will either please or annoy Helen Mirren fans.

Bonus features (included on the DVD version as well) include  A Look Inside the Debt; Every Secret Has A Price: Helen Mirren in The Debt and The Berlin Affair: The Triangle at the Center of The Debt.

There also is a feature commentary with director John Madden and producer  Kris Thykier.

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Hollywood doesn't get more classic than the Platinum Bombshell Jean Harlow and the Warner Archive has assembled a seven film collection for her 100th birthday.

Harlean Harlow Carpenter remains one of Hollywood's biggest icons and this new set includes three newly remastered films, all new to DVD. This isn't Blu-ray quality, but these films look and hold up amazing well considering there were all made between 1933-37.

The collection includes:

Bombshell (1933) Remasted.  Harlow plays a glamour queen who wants to quit the business, but her press agent won't let that happen.

The Girl From Missouri (1934) Remastered.  EadiessHarlow is on the prowl to find a millionaire in New  York. But she is not easy.  

Reckless (1935) Remastered. Not one of the  more typical Harlow comedies, she is a Broadway star accused of murder after the death of her high-living, high society hubby.  William Powell co-stars,  the last real-life love of Harlow's short life.

Riffraff (1935). It's Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow is this comedy romance, but it isn't all laughs either.

Suzy (1936). Harlow is teamed up with Cary Grant this time in a World War I triangle of romance and spy intrigue.

Personal Property (1937). Debt-ridden socialite Harlow puts on a show of wealth to impress a suitor who's also making a pretense of fortune. Robert Taylor is the butler who sees through the ruses.

Saratoga (1937). In Harlow's final film she plays the daughter of a horse breeder who is engaged to a millionaire, but drawn to a bookie played by Clark Gable.

Special Features: Trailers for all Seven films, including newly discovered trailers for Bombshell, Girl from Missouri and Personal Property. Rare, never before heard Reckless pre-recording sessions including Jean Harlow's unused vocals captured live on the MGM stage. Lux Radio Theater presentation "Madame Sans-Gene" with Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor (Audio Only). Two "Leo is on the Air" Radio Promos. Portfolio of Seven Signature MGM Studio Portraits of Miss Harlow.

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New from the Warner Archive Collection is  Damage (1992). Louis Malle directs this look of sexual obsession among the upper classes as a conservative British politician (Jeremy Irons) falls dangerously in love with his son’s fiancee (Juliette  Binoche).

There is some good acting all around in this R-rated drama which also stars Miranda Richardson, as the wife of the politician.

Definitely worth a look.

Like all Warner Archive Films, it is available only on line at Warnerarchivecollection.com.

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Also “new” from the collection is Get Carter (1971) a crime drama that through the years has gotten a lot of respect and is now regarded as one of the top British films ever.

I have never been too big on Michael Caine, he has starred in some really good films as well as been responsible for some stinkers. Get Carter is one of his better efforts.

Here he plays a gangster out to avenge the death of his brother. He lives in London but return to his native New Castle (where most of the film was made) as he investigates the death and eventually gets his revenge.

Get Carter is available only through the Warner Archive Collection.

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The revenge factor returns in Boy Wonder (Inception Media Group), a tale about a boy who witnesses the murder of his mother during a Brooklyn car-jacking, who as a teen, is in relentless pursuit of his mother's killers.

Caleb Steinmeyer plays the 17-year-old loner-turned vigilante. Standing in his way is the new homicide detective  who befriends the boy, not realizing he is behind the series of murders.

This independent psychological thriller has won numerous awards in its limited theatrical release and it has just been released on DVD.