The two holiday films once predicted to dominate the major Academy Awards categories — only to have to content themselves with wins in technical categories — arrived on DVD this week.

"King Kong" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" are packaged as special editions, indicating the faith awarded them prematurely.

One has to suspect that this two-disc edition is only a preliminary version of Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong" (Universal Home Video). At three hours, it's at least an hour too long; my guess is that another deluxe edition — maybe even a re-edit — will ultimately be available.

With the first disc given over to a high-resolution transfer of the film, which looks great even in its reduced form, the second is filled primarily with Jackson's video production diary, much of which was available on the Web, and all of which was issued on a DVD that preceded the release of the film.

The best of the new material is a look at the Depression-era New York re-created in the film's first hour, which truth be told, is far more interesting than the first hour of the film.

For those who have no interest in any of the backstage business, a single-disc edition containing the film is available only in wide-screen.

The movie adaptation of the best-selling Arthur Golden novel "Memoirs of a Geisha" (Columbia-TriStar) was an even bigger disappointment, in that it failed to evoke the exotic intimacy of the book and by creating the love story that director Rob Marshall felt necessary to make the story more accessible and commercial.

Still, the casting of three of the most beautiful women in film — Chinese stars Ziyi Zhang, Li Gong and Michelle Yeoh — made "Memoirs" extremely easy to watch, cemented by its opulent costuming, make up and art direction.

FIFTY CENT

No one expected "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " (Paramount) to be an Oscar contender, but with smart, seasoned director Jim Sheridan at the helm, there was hope it could have the gritty cachet of "8 Mile." Instead, this fictionalized biography of rapper-of-the-moment 50 Cent, tracing his transformation from slinging crack to swinging rhymes, was a leaden disappointment that even a supporting performance from Terrence Howard couldn't save.

The 5.1 Dolby mix at least does the soundtrack justice, while the only extra is a 30-minute making-of doc. Unless Fiddy gets in another life-threatening beef before what little remains of his stardom subsides, I wouldn't expect a special edition to be forthcoming.

FRENCH COLLECTION

Another week, another film lover's must-own from the Criterion Collection, which seems incapable of getting it wrong with its releases of classic and culturally significant titles. The titles collected for "3 Films by Louis Malle" are all about young men making decisions that will affect their entire lives, beginning with 1971's unforgettable "Murmur of the Heart." Malle's story of a 14-year-old suffering from scarlet fever — the cause of the affliction of the title — and his close relationship with his free-spirited mother, who accompanies him to the spa where he is sent to recuperate, is one of the most understated, emotionally devastating dramas in all of film.

"Lacombe Lucien" from 1974 is about a rural 18-year old in 1944, who, after being rejected by the Resistance, becomes an informer for the Nazis, while falling in love with the Jewish daughter of a tailor.

The Occupation is also at the center of the Oscar-winning "Au Revoir, Les Enfants" from 1987. A Jewish boy hidden at a Catholic boarding school forms a deep friendship with a fellow student that will have severe consequences. It may be the best of all the films made by Malle, whose first feature, the dark thriller "Elevator to the Gallows," is being restored by Criterion for release next month.

All three are available separately, but the box also includes a fourth disc that includes new and insightful interviews with Malle's widow, Candice Bergen, and his biographer, Pierre Billard; video and audio interviews with Malle; and all 25 minutes of the 1917 Charlie Chaplin short, "The Immigrant" that features prominently in "Au Revoir."

ULTIMATE 'APES'

While a box set of all the "Planet of the Apes" films has long been available and the original film received a significant upgrade only two years ago, a new "Legacy Edition" (Fox) bundles the upgrade of the original 1968 sci-fi fantasy with its four sequels: 1970's "Beneath the Planet of the Apes," 1971's surprisingly entertaining "Escape From ...," 1972's "Conquest of ..." and 1973's "Battle For ...," all of which have now been given wide-screen (as in Panavision) transfers.

For collectors, the attraction will be the extended-for-TV broadcast version (by six minutes) of "Battle For ..." and the exhaustive bonus-disc documentary "Behind the Planet of the Apes."

Serious "Ape"-heads will want to opt for the limited-edition (10,000 copies) "Ultimate DVD Collection," which comes packaged in an ape head. It includes the two-disc "35th Anniversary Edition" of the original film, the sequels and every episode of the live and animated television spin-offs, and Tim Burton's disappointing 2001 remake.