Yes, the late director Sam Peckinpah made violent movies, and the nickname Bloody Sam is hardly undeserved.

But when Peckinpah was able to stifle his B-movie impulses, he also produced cinematic poetry. "Sam Peckinpah's Legendary Westerns Collection" (Warner) is yet another in that company's string of well-compiled, attractively priced box sets. Peckinpah's 1969 masterpiece "The Wild Bunch" is the cornerstone of the set, and has undergone a substantial upgrade from the 1997 release, with an absolutely beautiful anamorphic, wide-screen remastering and the original stereo soundtrack remixed for 5.1 Dolby Surround.

"The Wild Bunch" has a screen-specific commentary supplied by four Peckinpah experts, as do the other films included in the set: 1962's "Ride the High Country," with Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott as aging gun slingers for hire; 1970's surprisingly wistful (at least to those who know Peckinpah only by reputation) tall tale "The Ballad of Cable Hogue," starring Jason Robards; and the restored version of 1973's "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid."

Better time, however, can be spent on the documentaries on "The Wild Bunch" extras disc, which includes the feature-length career overview "Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade," first seen on cable channel Starz in 2004, and the Oscar-nominated "The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage," which was produced in 1996. The 2-disc treatment is also lavished on "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid," which was famously cut and re-edited by the studio for which it was made. ("Cable Hogue" and "High Country" also have accompanying documentaries.)

In 1995, Turner Classic Movies assembled a 122-minute version of the drama starring James Coburn as lawman Pat Garrett and Kris Kristofferson as the famous outlaw he would bring down, which was originally released at 106 minutes.

That cut now graces Disc 2, with the first DVD given to a new 115-minute edit reassembled from notes that would apparently make it even more representative of Peckinpah's original intentions.

'HUSTLE & FLOW'

In last year's "Hustle & Flow" (Paramount), Terrence Howard finally got the great role he's long deserved and responded with a triumphant performance as DJay, a Memphis pimp looking to turn his life around with a new career as a rapper.

Though "Hustle & Flow" proved too gritty for mainstream audiences, they'll get a second chance to see one of the most exhilarating and entertaining films of the year via the DVD.

'CONSTANT GARDENER'

Another of last year's memorable films, Fernando Meirelles' intelligent and suspenseful adaptation of the John Le Carre novel "The Constant Gardener" (Universal), makes its DVD appearance, timed, of course, for the upcoming Oscar nominations. Meirelles may get one; also in contention is Ralph Fiennes as the English diplomat who refuses to believe the official explanation of his activist's wife death while she is on assignment in Africa. Short docs explore Le Carre's career and the gorgeous location shoot in Kenya.