If you're not familiar with the works of John Frankenheimer, the new four-disc collection of the classic director's works is a great sampler to get you started. If you're a huge fan of the legendary action director, then you might be disappointed. Everyone in between should be pretty happy. Think of it like an appetizer sampler - you get a good idea of how talented the chef is but it's not a complete tasting of everything on the menu.

John Frankenheimer got his start directing TV in the late '40s and helmed episodes of Climax! and Playhouse 90 in the '50s. He broke through in film in the '60s with a few landmark movies, including '61's The Young Savages, '62's Birdman of Alcatraz, and The Manchurian Candidate that same year. He went on to make The Train, Seconds, Grand Prix, and a line of other hits, including French Connection II and Black Sunday in the '70s. The '80s weren't as good to Frankenheimer, but he had one of his most critically acclaimed hits in Ronin near the end of his career. (He passed in 2002.) Four of his films - The Young Savages, The Manchurian Candidate, The Train, and Ronin - are now included in a sampler box set, which might help introduce new fans to this legendary director's incredible skill with a camera. Frankenheimer has long been acclaimed for his direction of action - the car chase in Ronin is legendary - but it's the way he plays with tension, like in The Young Savages and The Manchurian Candidate that really distinguishes his career. The other three movies are good, but The Manchurian Candidate is quite simply one of the best movies ever made. If you don't own it, just adding that film to your collection could make The John Frankenheimer Collection a worthwhile purchase. Consider the other films a BIG special feature.

Now, if you're a fan who remembers every detail of Frankenheimer's career, this collection might not be the right purchase for you. For one, MGM bizarrely chooses to include only the single-disc edition of Ronin instead of the excellent two-disc one that came out less than two years ago. If you're going to make a collection for fans, you should include the best available edition of every film in it. And The Train and Young Savages come with no special features at all, although this is technically the first time that The Train has been available on DVD, which kind of makes the film a bonus in itself. Once again, it's all in how you look at it. None of the films in The John Frankenheimer Collection are bad and some are great, so even without the best special features or the most career-comprehensive collection, it's a box set that a movie fan can be proud to add to their shelf.