"Sin City," based on a series of graphic — in both senses of the word — novels by Frank Miller and co-directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez, was not a film you loved or hated; it was a film you ran to see or totally ignored.

Ultra-violent and ultra-stylized (the film sought to replicate the look of the comics), the purposely pulp film noir was destined for cult status as soon as the word got out it had not been watered down for mainstream consumption.

So when it was released as a bare-bones DVD earlier this year, you knew it was a stop gap. Now comes "Sin City: Recut, Extended, Unrated" (Dimension), a two-disc set that pairs the theatrical version of the hard-boiled drama, now supplemented with a commentary by the directors, with a new version that unweaves the four stories of crime and corruption (each adapted from one of Miller's books) and presents each of them as stand-alone chapters.

As Rodriguez allows in his introduction to the new version, it's an alternative version as opposed to some "improved" director's cut. The primary advantage is that each episode is longer, and two of them, "The Hard Goodbye" and "Yellow Bastard," feel more finished in this context. And, of course, it means fans of the film can simply dip into a favorite section any time they please.

Fans of Jessica Alba, however, should know that it contains no additional nudity.

There is also an option that allows you to watch a speeded-up "Green Screen" version of the film before it was illustrated.

UNRATED RAUNCH

"The 40-Year-Old Virgin" was the funniest film of 2005, and probably the raunchiest as well. The comedy, starring Steve Carell as Andy, a naive, action-figure-collecting stock boy whose friends mount a crusade to get him, uh, de-virginized, is a very long and hilarious dirty joke before it turns, well, rather sweet.

The new "Unrated Version" (Universal) is more about the dirty joke than the redeeming message. It reinstates some of the over-the-top gags that could have been cut to ensure an R rating, though what makes the few minutes of unseen material more objectionable than what remained is difficult to discern. Most of it is devoted to more ridiculous courtship advice from Andy's almost-as-clueless co-worker Mooj (Gerry Bednob).

Copious extras include a passel of cut scenes that have not been reintegrated into the movie, accompanied by droll commentary from Carell and his co-writer and director Judd Apatow, along with "Waxing Doc," whose title will be self-explanatory to anyone who has seen the film.

SPRINGTIME FOR MEL

Mel Brooks' classic 1968 farce "The Producers," about Broadway producers Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, whose plan to mount a certain flop goes hilariously awry, was available as a "Special Edition" and is now reissued as a two-disc "Deluxe Edition" (MGM).

A cynic would say this has something to do with the imminent release of the film version of the hit Broadway musical, but I'm certain that including an extended infomercial for that film on this set is just a coincidence.