Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'UHF' (new box art)

This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is:

“UHF” (new box art)

One gimmick distributors often employ to goose sales of long-released DVDs is to reissue discs in new packaging, hoping to attract new buyers as well as obsessive collectors. This week, “UHF,” the 1989 cult comedy, shot in Tulsa and starring Weird Al Yankovic, gets the treatment, being reissued with “new box art.”

The contents of the box are essentially the same as those in the long-awaited DVD package released in 2002, with the usual behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, audio commentary, production stills, promotional materials and Weird Al’s “UHF” music video.

But for Oklahomans, revisiting Weird Al and all the weirdos of Channel 62 should come as a welcome treat. The film was executive produced by Oklahoma City’s Gray Frederickson and shot entirely on location in Tulsa, featuring scores of locals as extras and in small supporting roles.

The wildly eclectic cast ranged from Hollywood mainstays such as Kevin McCarthy, Anthony Geary, Billy Barty and Trinidad Silva (who died tragically midway through the production) to edgy young comics such as Emo Philips, Victoria Jackson (“Saturday Night Live”), Fran Drescher (“The Nanny”), Gedde Watanabe (“Sixteen Candles”) and Michael Richards (presaging his Kramer antics on “Seinfeld”).