Armenia, My Home. 55 min. PBS. 2024. DVD UPC 4188704902. $29.99.

Director Andrew Goldberg’s film is both a history and a travelogue that covers the key places to visit in Armenia (or to read about if unable to make the trek to the small country in West Asia). Featuring incredible drone footage throughout, the film documents Armenian cities, majestic nature, and temples via sweeping, epic drone shots. The 20th century was difficult for Armenians, with 1.5 million people victim to genocide. The country has since become a homeland for the Armenian diaspora. The film’s interviews with dozens of people with Armenian heritage effectively personalize the doc, so it just isn’t a collection of lessons and drone shots; it creates an added layer of emotion. VERDICT A terrific way to learn Armenian culture and history while also discovering the nation’s beauty.

Kim’s Video. 88 min. Drafthouse Films. 2023. In English & Italian w/English subtitles. DVD UPC 4041830392. $25.99.

Video rental shop Kim’s was an institution for film lovers in New York City in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was known for having an obscure and unusual selection and bustling with energy and life. This portrait of Kim’s is both a history and a mystery, investigating how the entire collection ended up in Salemi, Sicily, after the shop closed. Directors David Redmon and Ashley Sabin try to get answers. Defiantly lo-fi, the doc sometimes uses too much narration and too many random clips from films, when it would have been more effective to narrow its focus to the lively history of Kim’s and the afterlife of its collection. VERDICT A bit all over the place as a film, but it should still please movie lovers with its strange, nostalgia-drenched story of a former video store.

★Remembering Gene Wilder. 92 min. Kino Lorber. 2023. DVD UPC 3832926621. $19.99.

A gentle, heartwarming, and ultimately bittersweet bio-doc of actor Gene Wilder from director Ron Frank. Arranged mostly as a chronological film-by-film recap of his career and narrated by Wilder himself, the doc is full of vivid details about well-known roles and includes interviews with former colleagues such as Mel Brooks, Carol Kane, and Alan Alda. Wilder’s personal life filters into the film every so often to allow viewers to form a deeper connection with him. This is not a bio-doc trying to uncover secrets; it’s focused on giving Wilder due recognition for his unique and memorable performances through the decades. VERDICT A loving tribute to a talented performer that will please fans and likely create new ones.

A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps. 107 min. First Run Features. 2019. DVD UPC 2022991831. $24.99.

Established in 1961, the United States Peace Corps is the embodiment of 1960s idealism in a government agency, attracting thousands of people each year in the call of international service. Alana DeJoseph’s film, narrated by actor Annette Bening, focuses mainly on the 1960s and 1970s in the Peace Corps but also includes current volunteer stories. The doc utilizes a lot of good archival photographs and footage that combine with interviews to give a real sense of what the experience is like for Peace Corps volunteers. The life-in-the-field sections are more interesting than some of the drier recountings of the ups and downs of the agency and its struggle for funding and autonomy. VERDICT A hopeful, wide-ranging history about the legacy of the Peace Corps.