A good DVD is the key to summer fun: on a laptop in the airport or on a plane (as long as it can be frequently interrupted); in the car (kids, hush up and watch!); and projected in your yard (where it must triumph over heat, bugs, and car alarms). Our nominees from new releases:

AIRPORT/AIRPLANE

Delicatessen. From one of the guys who directed Amelie, it's about cannibalism, a clown, and post-apocalyptic France. Brilliantly written, filmed in French, and rated R.

Night Stalker. All but invisible when it debuted last fall, this TV drama is an engaging X-Files clone by former Filers.

Project Runway, Season 2. The antics of 16 wannabe designers ("Where the hell is my chiffon?") will keep you in stitches.

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies. Lots of laughs, especially Dan Aykroyd's "Super Bass-o-Matic '76" and online dating service "me-Harmony."

Strangers With Candy. A Comedy Central cult hit: 46-year-old ex-"boozer, user, and loser" returns to high school, misguided by closeted teacher Stephen Colbert. Bonus: It'll prep you for the movie version, out in July.

BACK SEAT OF THE CAR

Duma. A journey full of crocodiles, fleas, hungry lions, and one adorable cheetah.

Grand Prix. Livens a dull van.

My Neighbor Totoro. Dakota Fanning voices a girl who finds magical creatures near her new country home in this Japanese cartoon fave.

Reading Rainbow. First time on DVD for the PBS series, with celebs reading great kid books and features on everything from manatees to jazz.

The World's Fastest Indian. If the kids think you drive too slowly: Anthony Hopkins rides a souped-up motorcycle in the true story of a world record.

BACKYARD CINEMA

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Larger than life antiheroes show why the West was wild.

Eight Below. Keep cool with stranded sled dogs.

John Wayne: An American Icon Collection. Guilty pleasure highlight: the Duke's midwestern spin on Genghis Khan in The Conqueror.

Life in the Undergrowth. Spiders brawl. Centipedes eat bats. This riveting invertebrate doc will make you squirm.

Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection. A singing German femme fatale in a gorilla suit will light up your backyard.

Mommie Dearest. Camp is queen in this '81 film about Joan Crawford.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. 9. Mike Nelson and robopals mock flicks like The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies.

Patton. Like a three-hour fireworks display!