The week’s DVDs begin in Texas:

DVDs and streaming for Sept. 8 by Boo Allen

This week, we begin in Texas:

Texas Rising (***)

This five part mini-series, now on three discs, originally aired on the History Channel. British director Roland Joffé, known best for serious fare such as The Mission and The Killing Fields, directed from an event-filled, historically dubious, script by a trio of writers. The story centers on Texas’ 1836 battle for independence, or, more accurately, battles for independence because Joffé covers several skirmishes before the concluding Battle of San Jacinto. Ft. Worth native Bill Paxton persuasively plays Sam Houston as an arrogant but masterful commander of a ragged army itching to fight before he gives the signal. But before that, the script provides numerous other sub-plots, such as an Indian attack, a battle field romance, a looting episode, a desertion, and other dramas. The series begins, wisely, after the defeat of the Alamo and goes up to and a little beyond Houston’s inauguration as Texas’ first president. Filmed in and around the beautiful area of Durango, Mexico, the series also offers an engaging diversion with its wide casting, as various recognizable faces pop up on names Texans see every day on schools, streets, cities and counties: Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Deaf Smith, Chad Michael Murray as Mirabeau Lamar, Rob Morrow as James Fannin, Jeff Fahey as Thomas Rusk, Christopher McDonald as Henry Karnes. The expansive cast also includes Brendan Fraser, Thomas Jane, Crispin Glover, Kris Kristofferson (as Andrew Jackson), Jeremy Davies, Ray Liotta, Jake Busey, and other notables. The weakest casting comes with French actor Olivier Martinez playing Mexican General Santa Anna as a pompous buffoon with a strange accent. Cynthia Addai-Robinson plays Emily West, the so-called “Yellow Rose of Texas,” who goes from Houston’s bed to Santa Anna’s, distracting him just enough in his time of crisis to cause the general to learn to, paraphrasing, prick not your finger when you pluck it off, lest bleeding, you do paint the yellow rose red. Overall, the history may not stand up, but “Texas Rising” serves as rousing entertainment and, if you are lucky enough to be Texan, great fun.

Not rated, 450 minutes.

Extras: a 15 minute “making of” featurette. Plus: two examining featurettes of, respectively, 14 and 12 minutes, on the fascinating characters Sam Houston and Santa Anna.

The Age of Adaline (**1/2)

The age of Adaline is 29, and that’s what it stays throughout this treacly romance resting on a far-fetched science-fiction twist. Brook Lively plays ever-perky Adaline, the victim of an early last century accident (picnic, lightning), explained in scientific mumbo-jumbo nonsense, that leaves her forever stuck at the same age. We should all be so cursed. Adaline grows old, or older, but, because the government once wanted to know her secret, she must move around, changing identities and avoiding much human interaction. So, of course, in present day San Francisco, she fights against falling in love with Ellis Jones (Michiel Huisman). But obviously she does, or the movie would not exist. Inevitably, the duo goes to meet his parents, where Adaline discovers that Ellis’ father William Jones (Harrison Ford as father and Anthony Ingruber as the younger in flashback) just happens to be the great love of her life when she was younger. The audience may now roll its eyes as complications follow. Director Lee Toland Krieger, working from a script from a trio of writers, fights against his material that creaks under the weight of its silly plot. He succeeds in delivering an overly emotional however absurd romance.

Rated PG-13, 113 minutes.

Extras: commentary, a 30 minute “making of” featurette on “A Love Story for the Ages,” an 18 minute featurette on the film’s styles in “Style Through the Ages,” eight minutes on actor Anthony Ingruber, and five minutes of deleted scenes.

Redeemer (**)

A former hitman, Pardo (Marko Zarar), now known as The Redeemer, is a vigilante protecting the oppressed. Just to make him more menacing, he favors hoodies and quotes scripture. So, naturally, sparks fly when he meets up with brutal drug lord Bradock (Noah Segan) and his army of drooling minions. And, before long, serial killer Scorpion (Jose Luis Mosca) joins in on the blood-flying mayhem. Ernesto Diaz Espinoza directed, with an emphasis on the chaotic martial arts fight scenes.

Not rated, 90 minutes.

Extras: deleted scenes and a “making of” featurette.

The Carol Burnett Show: The Lost Episodes

Carol Burnett herself picked out these 16, never-released to DVD so-called “lost” episodes that first broadcast on CBS from 1967 to 1972 in the series’ first five seasons. These early broadcasts, now on six discs, feature such talents of the era as Carol Channing, Bob Newhart, Chita Rivera, Don Rickles, Burt Reynolds, Flip Wilson, Bing Crosby, Phyllis Diller and many others. The episodes feature several skits familiar to Burnett fans. A single disc holding three episodes and supplements is also available.

Not rated, 1255 minutes.

Extras: the five hours plus of supplements include thirteen extra interviews, featuring Julie Andrews, Alan Alda, Jack Jones, Jim Nabors, Don Rickles and others. Plus: an on-set tour of CBS Studio 33, the site of the series’ original filming. Also: bloopers, outtakes, “making of” featurettes, bonus sketches, and the opening number from the renowned “Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center” TV special.

Also on DVD and streaming: American Heist, Misery Love Comedy, Paper Planes, The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

“Prick not your finger when you pluck it off, lest bleeding, you do paint the white rose red.” Henry VI-I