By BRUCE DANCIS, Scripps Howard News Service

One hundred years ago, the motion-picture industry was in its infancy and the Old West wasn't very ancient. When moviemaking first came to California and other Western states in the early part of the 20th century, the first films that were produced revealed new worlds to movie audiences.

Dumbo, the little elephant with the big ears and an even bigger heart, has been with us for 70 years. Walt Disney's fourth animated feature film, "Dumbo" was originally released during the fall of 1941, then rereleased in theaters in 1949, 1959, 1972 and 1976.

From a review of Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" at the time of its release in 1941:

Dazzling pitching duels. Clutch hits in the last at-bat. Close plays at home plate. Grievously untimely errors.

Four offbeat, low-budget movies from the 1950s and 1960 -- a caper-heist film that announced the emergence of a leading director; an atomic espionage thriller; a sci-fi allegory; and a gangster saga -- are among the new or recently released DVDS that grab our attention this week.

Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" may be about the military trial of a woman convicted in 1865 of conspiring to murder President Abraham Lincoln, but it has obvious relevance to today's debates about the use of military courts vs.

When you think about movie and TV genres that are perfect for satire, science fiction (and sci-fi fans) and medieval sword-and-sorcery yarns are ripe for the spoofing.

An early film starring the young John Cusack, the latest episodes in an excellent historical drama from Britain and two fresh takes on World War II are among the more intriguing recent DVD releases.

Phil Ochs didn't just chronicle the civil-rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s in song, he was part of them. Like Bob Dylan, his friend and idol, Ochs became a spokesman for young people who were both energized by the election of John F.

I couldn't see Matthew McConaughey in the role of Mickey Haller, the quick-witted, rule-bending Los Angeles defense attorney in "The Lincoln Lawyer." Maybe it was his slacker charm or his appearances in one-too-many lousy romantic comedies, but McConaughey didn't seem to possess the acting chops needed to portray a sharp, ethically challenged defender of the unjustly, and justly, accused whose