DVD REVIEW OF NEW RELEASES UNDER THE HOOD WITH `STAR WARS'.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

You get the feeling that George Lucas is like his hot-rodder John in ``American Graffiti'' - always souping up his engine, looking for a little edge.

With the release for the first time on DVD of the ``Star Wars Trilogy'' - the first films in the series, which we all know are parts IV, V and VI - comes more tinkering. This after the 1997 re-release of the remastered films, which had some new scenes added. The latest tinkering is very minor (so keep your eyes open), but the films themselves - again remastered - look eye-popping and sound spectacular.

When ``Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope'' opened on May 25, 1977, it became a cinematic landmark, sparking a craving in audiences for bigger, wilder spectacles from galaxies far, far away. Your take on this can vary from considering it a film classic to thinking of it as the beginning of the sorry trend of juvenile comic-book cinema that has dominated the box office ever since. But whatever your opinion on the films, this four-disc box set, which includes one disc devoted to extras, is simply spectacular.

Each film has new commentary by Lucas, Carrie Fisher (who played Princess Leia), sound designer Ben Burtt and Industrial Light & Magic's Dennis Muren. ``Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back'' includes commentary by its director, Irvin Kershner. People sometimes forget that Lucas didn't helm the next one, ``Return of the Jedi,'' either (that was Richard Marquand), and didn't return to directing until 1999 with ``Episode I - The Phantom Menace,'' despite writing and producing other films such as the ``Indiana Jones'' trilogy.

The fourth disc, packed with extras, is a fountain of trivia and behind-the-scenes information. And even if you heard it before, it's more fun to get it from the sources. One bit I didn't know was about the famous line uttered by Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) to Luke (Mark Hamill) in ``Empire.'' Instead of ``I am your father,'' on the set Prowse uttered the line ``Obi-Wan killed your father'' in order to keep the paternal connection a secret from fans. Only Hamill (who was informed just before the scene), Kershner and the producer knew. (Sorry to you three people who didn't know about Darth being Luke's dad.)

Other extras include documentaries ``The Birth of the Lightsaber,'' ``The Characters of Star Wars'' (Lucas considered making Luke a dwarf - must have been that Hobbit influence) and ``The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars.'' For video gamers (I'm not), there's a playable demo of ``Star Wars Battlefront.''

Then there is what the fans have been waiting for, a behind-the-scenes preview of ``Episode III - Revenge of the Sith,'' which is due for a May 2005 release. That movie, which will complete the series, tells how Anakin Skywalker becomes the dark, mechanical force Darth Vader.

Granted, none of this is profound, but the films did change cinema - and, in a larger way, American culture. Recently, Lucas remarked that he finds it interesting that one generation will see the films out of order, but a new generation can see them as he intended. Lucas was off, though: More than one generation saw them out of order. (I saw the '77 film in my 20s, and my son - now in his 20s - had the same experience.) But the real question is how will ``Star Wars'' be seen ultimately: as vibrant cinema that has a life for generations to come, or as a cultural phenomenon that fades away?

``Star Wars Trilogy (Fox; $69.98)

`JOHN CASSAVETES: SEVEN AND ONE-FIFTH FILMS'

`LA DOLCE VITA'

`THE ROSE TATTOO'

There are a couple of older titles out that are significant. ``John Cassavetes: Seven and One-Fifth Films'' actually contains five films - ``Shadows,'' ``Faces,'' ``A Woman Under the Influence,'' ``The Killing of a Chinese Bookie'' and ``Opening Night'' - plus a lengthy documentary on the director called ``A Constant Forge,'' a re-edit of ``Bookie'' and a recut opening of ``Faces.'' The films have been digitally remastered.

In some ways, Cassavetes' films created American independent film with their improvisational edge and stress on the human condition. While some of Cassavetes' early work seems a bit dated today, there is no getting around the intensity the late director brought to his characters, and ``A Woman Under the Influence'' - a study of an average housewife having a nervous breakdown - is a great film.

And if you doubt Cassavetes' influence, note that the Emmy winner for best supporting actor in a drama, Michael Imperioli of ``The Sopranos,'' thanked the director in his acceptance speech Sunday.

Marcello Mastroianni plays a writer for a gossip rag in ``La Dolce Vita,'' Federico Fellini's 1960 take on the decadent jet-set life. (And you thought the paparazzi chasing after vapid stars like Paris Hilton was a recent trend?) While some of the film may seem old hat now, Fellini's eye for the surreal in life is timeless, and the shallow, hollow existence of Mastroianni's character looks awfully like something we see around us today.

Not to be overlooked are Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani's performances in ``The Rose Tattoo,'' the Tennessee Williams potboiler adapted into a 1955 film directed by Daniel Mann.

``John Cassavetes: Seven and One-Fifth Films'' (Criterion; $124.95)

``La Dolce Vita'' (Criterion; $34.98) includes commentary by film historian Richard Schickel and other extras on two discs.

``The Rose Tattoo'' (Paramount; $14.99)

`MEAN GIRLS'

`COFFEE AND CIGARETTES'

`CARANDIRU'

Of the new releases, Lindsay Lohan proves she has the right spunk in ``Mean Girls,'' based on Tina Fey's script about the new girl in town pitted against a pack of queen B's led by Rachel McAdams at the local high school. Fey's take on the teen scene is deliciously subversive, while Lohan (``Freaky Friday'') has an likable oddball quality, making ``Mean Girls'' cuts above the usual high-school comedies.

Jim Jarmusch's ``Coffee and Cigarettes'' is like a series of conversations - which it is - built around smoke and caffeine. Like most conversations, there are moments of silliness, seriousness, wisdom and dullness - all of which apply to this film. Some of those involved are Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Roberto Benigni, Steve Wright and Alfred Molina. Your take on this is likely to depend on your patience and philosophy, but any film having Cate Blanchett talking to herself (literally) is worth a look.

Brazilian director Hector Babenco's ``Carandiru'' is a dramatization of life inside a notorious prison in Sao Paolo, where 8,000 men were crammed into cells meant for 4,000. (The prison has since closed). Babenco (``Kiss of the Spider Woman'') examines how the prisoners make a life - complete with their own rules - out of the harsh conditions. Not easy to take, but it's hard to look away.

``Mean Girls'' (Paramount; $29.95) includes commentary and cast and crew interviews.

``Coffee and Cigarettes'' (MGM; $29.98)

``Carandiru'' (Columbia; $29.95)

`THE CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES COLLECTION'

The best of the TV-related releases is ``The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Collection,'' which stars Jeremy Brett as the eccentric English sleuth. Of all those who have played Holmes, the late Brett probably embodied him best. Many if not all of the six episodes of this collection - one directed by John Madden (``Shakespeare in Love''), who offers commentary - have played on American television (PBS or A&E) but not recently. So this is a great way to see what I consider the best production of the Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries.

``The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes Collection'' (MPI; $39.98) includes commentary on three discs.

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

``STAR WARS'': MARK HAMILL, left, CARRIE FISHER, HARRISON FORD