Nirvana "Nevermind" (Eagle Rock Entertainment) — The latest in a series of documentary DVDs about classic rock albums (others have been devoted to key releases by Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Metallica, the Grateful Dead, the Sex Pistols and about a dozen others) is impressive because it was made with the cooperation of the surviving key people involved, including band members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl and producer Butch Vig (the usually talkative and camera-loving Courtney Love, however, is surprisingly absent.)

Although much of the Nirvana video footage has been previously released in various forms (most notably in the Nirvana box set), there are a few clips, mostly of live performances, that will probably be new to even the most devoted Nirvana fan.

But the best parts are the insights and anecdotes offered by such experts as Kurt Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross and Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke.

The 50-minute documentary opens with scenes of the Seattle skyline, and includes photos and films of some of the band's earliest shows in local clubs. Nirvana's hometown of Aberdeen is portrayed as not very far from Seattle but countless miles away in terms of sophistication.

The early innocence of the band — "There was hardly any career ambition whatsoever," says Grohl — is contrasted by the confusing, hectic final days leading up to Cobain's suicide (which is never brought up).

Vig's hands-on demonstrations of how songs were created in the studio — isolating individual tracks to show Cobain's singing and harmonizing abilities, and how the instrumental tracks were layered to make a fuller sound — are fascinating, and show how serious Cobain was as an artist, as compared to his wild, drug-addled image.

The 25 minutes of bonus material includes Grohl and Novoselic telling stories about the making of the album — including how poor and innocent they were — details on the filming of the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video, and a visit with the model for the naked-baby album-cover photo, who is now a teenager with a very cool story to tell.

"DIG! A film by Ondi Timoner" (Palm Pictures) — The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at last year's Sundance Film Festival, now out on a two-DVD set that includes deleted scenes, music videos, interviews and more, "DIG!" is a riveting, troubling, insightful documentary about two contrasting bands — the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols — and their love-hate relationship.

The most compelling character is Anton Newcombe, the brilliant but combative and self-destructive leader of the Brian Jonestown Massacre. He's shown as a gifted and prolific artist who becomes increasingly paranoid, due to his own mental problems, exacerbated by prodigious cocaine, heroin and alcohol abuse, all caught unflinchingly by director Ondi Timoner's camera. Newcombe seems to have cleaned up toward the end, until he has another onstage outburst, firing band members and kicking a fan in the head, for which he is taken away in handcuffs.

Also featured is the bratty, arrogant Courtney Taylor ("I sneeze and hits come out"), lead singer of Portland's Dandy Warhols, who narrates the film, telling of his fascination with Newcombe and his band. The two groups have a short-lived partnership, living and touring together, but it soon turns out very badly, dissolving into acrimony, fistfights and death threats.

Although Taylor has to get a restraining order against Newcombe, he never loses respect for the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and rightfully so — Newcombe's music is impressive, even though he is obviously mentally disturbed.

You can't take your eyes off "DIG!," not only because of the characters involved — also including some of the band members and various hangers-on — but also because it offers a rare look into the world of struggling rock bands and what they have to go through to survive.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com