The theory that the summer box-office beating was all about the quality of the movies — if they're good, they will come — is taken to the ropes with the DVD releases of three of the season's more anticipated titles, "Cinderella Man" (Universal), "Fantastic Four" (Fox) and "The Dukes of Hazzard" (Warner).

"Cinderella Man" may not be the best movie that Ron Howard has ever made, but the director's second teaming with Russell Crowe, who plays the hard-scrabble Depression-era boxer James J. Braddock, is far superior to the first biography they made together, 2001's "A Beautiful Mind."

But despite good word of mouth and almost uniformly good reviews, "Cinderella Man" failed to find favor with the ticket-buying public, for reasons difficult to discern. Perhaps the word "Depression" played a role.

The beautifully burnished DVD transfer — the golden-hued cinematography by Salvatore Totino is gorgeous — features commentary from Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, deleted scenes and a short but informative documentary about the real Braddock.

By contrast, "Fantastic Four" was mediocre in almost every way. The story was silly and predictable, the casting was dodgy (as stretchy leader Mr. Fantastic, "Horatio Hornblower" heartthrob Ioan Gruffudd made an impression that lasted about as long as a Silly Putty transfer, although Jessica Alba was fetching as the Invisible Girl) and the special effects were less than special.

Nevertheless, it pulled in $154 million in theaters, and the DVD (which like "Cinderella Man" is available in wide- and-full-screen versions, with a cast commentary and deleted scenes) will undoubtedly add to the coffers.

Then there's "The Dukes of Hazzard," starring the ever-charmless Johnny Knoxville and the inexplicably employed Seann William Scott as moonshine-running, hell-raising, fast-driving Kentucky cousins.

The movie does deserve credit for one seemingly impossible feat: It makes the TV series on which it was based look funny and inventive — and it still managed to shake down a respectable $80 million at the theaters.

Should you need your intelligence mocked even further, Warner's is simultaneously releasing an "unrated" version alongside the PG-13 cut that was on theater screens. This, of course, might lead some to imagine that Jessica Simpson would show what's under that gingham blouse. But please, guys, think about this a minute: Would that not have already been all over the Internet? The added footage does include some bare breasts, but they belong to characters listed in the credits as "Sorority Girl No. 1, No. 2" etc.

LENNON REDUX

Dec. 8 is the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon, and the sad day is being commemorated in at least one positive way: the DVD release of "Imagine: Deluxe Edition" (Warner), a remastered version of the 1988 documentary by director Andrew Solt.

Well-constructed and comprehensive, "Imagine" uses Lennon's words, taken from various interviews and private recordings, to narrate his life from his Liverpool boyhood through the Beatles and his solo career to the five years of comparative silence that preceded the release of the comeback "Double Fantasy," whose success he was appreciating when he was killed.

Yoko One supplied the filmmakers with hours of video and audio tape but did not have final approval rights. While it remains a positive portrait, it's anything but a whitewash.

Extras include footage from the rehearsals for the recording sessions for "Imagine" and of Lennon performing that song at a benefit at Harlem's Apollo.

TUBE FAVORITES

With "24" returning to the airwaves next month, check out "24 — Season 4" (Fox). Fans can get a remedial in who survived and who didn't, not to mention the state of Jack Bauer's checkered career. To respect all those gorgers who wait for the DVD boxes so they can watch the story unfold in real time — or just sans the commercials — no plot points will be revealed in this space, but the extras include a prelude setting up Season 5, and about 45 minutes of scenes cut from the Season 4 episodes.

Also boxed from the tube this week: