His daring sexual themes

Independent filmmaker Todd Haynes, 50, finally has achieved mainstream success with this year's emotionally affecting HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce and his 2007 Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There, which featured six different actors in the lead role.

Haynes has a penchant for formal experimentation and for exploring daring, transgressive sexual themes.

His 2002 drama Far From Heaven looks like an inoffensive 1950s melodrama about middle America, but is actually the story of a tormented, closeted gay man.

Nowhere are Haynes' preoccupations more evident - or raw - than in his 1991 breakout movie, Poison, which Zeitgeist Films will release June 21 in a special edition, Poison: 20th Anniversary Edition (www.zeitgeistfilms.com/; $29.99; not rated).

Inspired by the gay French author Jean Genet, Haynes' film tells three connected stories in different film genres.

"Hero" is a sensationalistic pseudo-documentary about a 7-year-old boy who kills his dad.

The Jekyll and Hyde-esque "Horror" looks like a 1930s Universal horror pic. The black-and-white piece is about a mad scientist who discovers - then drinks - the chemical substance behind human sexuality. The potion turns him into a monster.

The confrontational "Homo," which is about the attraction between two prisoners, forces viewers to rethink our preconceptions about desire, guilt, and sexual identity.

Summer fun: Sci-Fi

The Adjustment Bureau Director George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum) puts Matt Damon and Emily Blunt through a mind-bending adventure about free will, destiny, and love. It's due June 21 from Universal. (www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/; $29.98 DVD; $39.98 Blu-ray; rated PG-13) You may also want to see Danish helmer Christoffer Boe's 2005 drama, Allegro, which pits Ulrich Thomsen against similar forces.

Warehouse 13: Season 2 Wacky Secret Service agents Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) return for another round of adventures in this sly, witty dramedy from cabler Syfy, due June 28 from Universal. (www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/; $49.98; not rated)

SGU: Stargate Universe - The Complete Final Season Also from Syfy comes this interesting entry in the Stargate franchise, which was unjustly canceled earlier this year. This grown-up show had great promise. (www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/; $49.98; not rated)