The carat-and-stick approach: A hidden gem in the extras

I'm about as interested in hearing about how Leo DiCaprio crafted his African accent as I am in whether or not he can grow an adult beard. And listening to Jennifer Connelly pontificate sincerely about "Women Journalists at War" seems roughly as thrilling as a political lecture from any Baldwin. But among the supplemental puff pieces clogging "The Blood Diamond" DVD (Warner, R, $34.98) is something of actual value: "Blood on the Stone," a graphic documentary about the "conflict diamonds" at the heart of the Hollywood flick.

African host Sorious Samura gives a first-hand tour of the illicit diamond trade that bankrolls weapons-trading and keeps the continent awash in corruption and corpses. The "Kimberly Process" is designed to stop these diamonds from entering the malls of the Western world, and its certification indicates that your Kobe Bryant Apology Ring went through legit channels. But Samura shows that the process is worthless. He spends a day of back-breaking toil with miners who explain why there's no point in taking their diamonds to anyone but a smuggler; he easily smuggles a stone across a border and heads to New York's diamond district, where dealers who couldn't care less about any certification buy everything he has.

Samura also interviews real kids like the brainwashed killers in the film. One scarred young man breaks down in tears as he recalls shooting an older miner for putting something into his pocket. Another recalls watching a man who swallowed a diamond get beaten to death and then cut open to get it out.

Net effect: like reading Upton Sinclair and passing on the sausage.

Also Tuesday: "Rocky Balboa" (Sony, PG, $28.95). "Eragon" (Fox, PG, $29.99). And "The Wild Wild West — The Second Season" (Paramount, 1965, $49.99), its first year in magnificently surreal (and remastered) color.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com