An untold benefit of Barack Obama's election to president is that it should put a ton of conspiracy theories to rest.

You know the ones: Where is the U.S. government hiding the aliens from Roswell? ... Which agency faked the moon landing? ... What were those wacky Freemasons up to years ago? ... And who really brought down the World Trade Center?

It'll be harder to peddle such paranoia when the man with access to all the top-secret codes and documents doesn't -- you know, "look like the folks on the dollar bill."

So Warner Home Video has managed to get its new "JFK" Ultimate Collector's Edition (rated R, $39.98) out just under the wire. A few more weeks and President Obama will be able to confirm what only a select few have known with certainty: Director Oliver Stone is much better at making movies than at extrapolating from history.

Stone's 1991 film posits that mystery still shrouds the assassination of President Kennedy -- even after the cover-up was exposed in court, no less, by a tenacious Louisiana district attorney named Jim Garrison. The rest of us have just been too dense to grasp what Garrison and Stone knew all along: that multiple gunmen were used in a conspiracy involving mobsters, Cuban émigrés and anti-communist CEOs. Their plan can be traced up to the highest branches of Constitutional power, where a whole lot of people not only felt above the law but free of any moral trappings.

The filmmaking talent is such that "JFK" is still an absorbing movie and is likely to remain so even after all the conspiracy cobwebs have been swept from the American psyche.

At the heart of the new collector's set is the same two-disc "director's cut" DVD available separately ($26.99) and on high-definition Blu-ray Disc ($39.98)

It restores 17 minutes of footage to the three-hour theatrical version, and includes a 90-minute "fact checker" called "Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy."

The hefty cardboard sleeve also contains a "JFK" booklet, a packet of Kennedy memorabilia and photos, plus the breathless, 128-minute documentary "The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings," which glosses over any trace of scandal or criticism about that distinguished Irish-American family.

Speaking of U.S. presidents: PBS Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment have assembled a magnificent, 15-disc collector's box titled "The Presidents" ($129.95). This is a wonderful gift set for history buffs and everyday American patriots, as it contains 10 comprehensive biographies of some eminent, 20th century presidents.

Each episode, originally aired as part of the "American Experience" series, runs between two and four hours-plus, and includes priceless archival footage and news clips. Taking center stage in this history refresher course are such inspiring idealists as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, among others. Ideologues on both extremes will find things to take issue with, but the presentations of real-world issues and challenges are never less than stimulating.

A call to patriotism

Just in time for Veteran's Day, Warner Home Video packaged together three patriotic musicals produced by the brothers Warner to support our troops in World War II: The "Warner Bros. and the Homefront Collection" (not rated, $39.92) has enough star power and musical highlights to defeat the film's duller patches of dialogue and plot filler.

"Thank Your Lucky Stars" from 1943 boasts the delicious party gal lament "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," delivered by Bette Davis with a hilarious deadpan glint in those famous eyes. The film also features cameos by Warners stars -- everyone from Humphrey Bogart to Hattie McDaniel, with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland thrown in for good measure.

"Irving Berlin's This Is the Army" was the top-grossing film that year, partly because it gave audiences the chance to see Kate Smith sing the stirring "God Bless America" and the composer himself delivering the tongue-in-cheek doughboy diatribe, "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning."

The following year, Warners produced its all-star ode to the volunteer service performed for soldiers on leave over at "The Hollywood Canteen." The three films come fully equipped with vintage WWII shorts, themed cartoons, commentaries and a new, full-length documentary about the period titled "Warner at War."

Also noteworthy on DVD

"The Polar Express Presented in 3-D" (Warner Home Video, rated G, DVD $20.97, Blu-ray Disc $34.99). Robert Zemeckis' 2004 animated fantasy about a midnight train to Santa's wonderland makes for wholesome holiday entertainment, but its presentation in 3-D leaves something to be desired. Maybe 40 percent of the shots provide some magical sense of depth and dimension to the computer animation; extraneous lines and out-of-register images, however, distract more than the novelty itself adds. As in Christopher Van Allsburg's prize-winning children's book, the film comes out on the side of Santa. Some of the night's mishaps and perils may be too scary for toddlers. In general, though, the plastic musical trimmings, the movie's "believe" theme and the benevolent presence of Tom Hanks as a figure model all help convey the eternal spirit of Christmas.

"Standard Operating Procedure" (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, DVD $28.96, Blu-ray Disc $38.96). Film documentaries have been wearing their political biases on their sleeves lately, but Errol Morris proves himself better than that with this investigation into the shocking photos that surfaced from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. There could have been no better breeding ground for aberrant behavior than inside that converted Iraqi facility, where green U.S. soldiers were charged with warehousing the very same enemy combatants who were slaying their comrades and civilians outside the walls. As the young soldiers and occasional officer explain their states of mind at the time, it's clear that what Morris's camera is reconstructing is a real-life psychology experiment about the antisocial depths to which human beings will sink to meet the expectations of their peers. It's an absorbing inquiry into human needs that offers neither comfort to military apologists nor ammunition for the Bush haters. The Blu-ray Disc contains added hours of unused interview footage and a picture that is more detailed than anyone could want.

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (Warner Home Video, rated PG, DVD $28.98, Blu-ray Disc $35.99). This great-looking, wide-screen cartoon feature -- the first based on the George Lucas movies and their series spinoffs -- wastes no time plunging us into the thick of warfare in some robot-laden galaxy. Fans won't mind but the uninitiated might notice that instead of much plot we're given lots of gaming strategy and techno chatter, while character development is largely confined to adolescent snits and sarcasm. All the established players from the sci-fi films are in the mix, including Anakin Skywalker, Jabba the Hutt and Jedi Master Yoda, along with various newcomers. The CGI figures have a roundness and dimensionality to them, though overall they lack nuance. Bonuses include a filmmaker commentary on the single-disc edition and complete behind-the-scenes coverage on the Blu-ray and double-disc sets.

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