DVD REVIEWS AND NEW RELEASES AN ADMIRABLE GOAL IN 'MIRACLE'.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

For a short while in 1980, hockey became a big-time sport, thanks to what was dubbed the ``Miracle on Ice'' when a bunch of amateurs from the United States stunningly upset the vaunted Soviet team during the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. The story has been smartly retold in the movie ``Miracle,'' starring Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks, the tough-minded coach of the American team who died last year in an auto accident.

For those who don't remember the circumstances, it was a low time for this country because of the Iran hostage crisis and an economy that wasn't performing well. The odds of the United States beating the Soviets in hockey were the equivalent of a college team upending the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

The best players in North America played in the National Hockey League as professionals and weren't eligible then to play in the Olympics, so both the U.S. and Canadian teams were made up of true amateurs. In other words, those usually not good enough to turn pro.

The Soviets, meanwhile, skirted the rules by having all their athletes work for the state, usually the Red Army, and had them train full-time in their sport. (It was a practice that irked the West.). Add to that the fact that for 30 years the Soviets had put a lot behind their hockey program and had developed elite players who could match the all-stars in the NHL.

Russell captures Brooks' intensity perfectly. The coach used the strategy of making himself the target of his players' hate in order to make them stronger and give them something over which to bond. It worked; Brooks proved to be the ultimate motivator, and his accomplishment helped give the nation a sense of pride.

Though ``Miracle,'' directed ably by Gavin O'Connor, is a sports movie, the focus is not on the team but on a man with a mission. Give Russell and O'Connor credit for putting the focus in the right place.

``Miracle'' (Disney; $29.99) includes commentary by O'Connor, editor John Gilroy and director of photography Daniel Stoloff; ``The Making of Miracle''; ``First Impressions: Herb Brooks With Kurt Russell and the Filmmakers''; outtakes; an ESPN roundtable with members of the 1980 team, actor Kurt Russell and host Linda Cohn; plus two other featurettes.

'Paycheck'

In the right hands, famed sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick's thought-provoking concepts make for interesting films (``Blade Runner,'' ``Minority Report''). ``Paycheck,'' with Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, is a missed opportunity, settling for action over ideas. Affleck plays a freelance computer engineer who steals ideas from one company and creates new versions for others that sidestep copyright laws. As a precaution, after each job his memory is wiped clean for the previous few weeks he worked so he won't know what he has done. All he knows is that he has a large paycheck.

After he takes a big job, which is to crack a device that can see into the future, he finds himself three years later without any money and an envelope containing 19 objects as clues to what he did. From there on, director John Woo cranks up the action and doesn't look back as Affleck's character is hunted as he tries to figure out what he's done. On that level, ``Paycheck'' succeeds (Woo is very adept at action), but it's a modest success at best.

``Paycheck'' (Paramount; $29.99) includes commentary by Woo and screenwriter Dean Georgaris, two featurettes and seven extended/deleted scenes.

Classics revisited

This week's new editions of older movies include a collector's edition of Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti Western, ``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,'' with 18 minutes of added footage. Starring Clint Eastwood as an iconic gunfighter, the 1966 film with Leone's larger-than-life stylings (remember the drawn-out final shootout?) has influenced countless filmmakers, including two from the current crop - not surprisingly, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The two-disc set has a number of interesting extras, including a featurette on composer Ennio Morricone, whose theme for the movie is one of the most recognizable in film history.

Another iconic character was Steve McQueen's Capt. Virgil ``The Cooler King'' Hilts in the 1963 World War II saga ``The Great Escape.'' And there isn't anyone cooler than McQueen on a motorcycle - or even bouncing a baseball in solitary confinement. Directed by John Sturges (``Bad Day at Black Rock'' and ``The Magnificent Seven''), ``Escape'' also stars James Garner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn in this tale of a group of Allied prisoner breaking out of a German POW camp. The action is great, but the characters are better, and it too has a memorable score by Elmer Bernstein.

The 1956 film ``Around the World in 80 Days,'' directed by Michael Anderson, is more noted for its lavishness, exotic locales and cast of stars than for its action or drama. But there are amusing moments as debonair David Niven stars as Phileas Fogg, the Victorian English gentleman who - on a bet - tries to circumnavigate the world in 80 days in a hot-air balloon.

Director Bob Rafelson's 1976 offbeat comedy ``Stay Hungry,'' about a rich Southern Boy (Jeff Bridges) infatuated with a bunch of bodybuilders at a small gym, was significant for a few reasons, though it was a box-office failure. It allowed Sally Field, who played a randy gym rat, a chance to shed her ``Flying Nun'' image and prove she could act. The film also introduced us to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Though he had some small roles before, in ``Stay Hungry'' he showed that he was more than just a muscleman - like his character in the film. As a comedy, ``Stay Hungry'' falls apart a bit at the end, but it has fun, loopy sensibility, good acting and in the end a nice message.

``The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Extended Version Collector's Set)'' (MGM; $29.90). The two discs include commentary by film historian Richard Schickel, five featurettes and deleted scenes.

```The Great Escape (2-Disc Collector's Set)'' (MGM; $29.90). The two discs include commentary by Sturges and members of the cast, five featurettes and two documentaries.

```Around the World in 80 Days (Two-Disc Special Edition)'' (Warner; $26.99). The two discs include commentary by BBC Radio's Brian Sibley, an introduction by Robert Osborne and the documentary ``Around the World With Mike Todd.''

```Stay Hungry'' (MGM; $14.95).

TV in a box

The TV boxed sets keep coming, starting with ``Sex and the City - Season Six, Part 1.'' That's right, you'll have to wait for Part 2 to get the rest of the last season of the saucy HBO sitcom, which should include the finale with some of the alternate endings of the series.

In season two, ``The West Wing'' picks up after the assassination attempt on President Bartlet (Martin Sheen). One of the major plot point deals with his multiple sclerosis. (It doesn't prevent him from planning to run for a second term.)

The second season of ``Smallville'' finds the teenage Clark Kent, aka Superman (Tom Welling), learning about his super powers and origins. During ``Star Trek Voyager: Season Two,'' Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew - whose spaceship has been thrown across the galaxy - battle less among themselves and deal with the problem of getting home. A grimmer Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison (the always sterling Helen Mirren) returns in ``Prime Suspect 6 - Last Witness'' (it recently aired on PBS). In ``6,'' she investigates the murder of a young Bosnian woman while battling efforts to force her into an early retirement.

``Sex and the City - Season Six, Part 1'' (HBO; $49.99). The three discs include 12 uncut, half-hour episodes with four audio commentaries by executive producer Michael Patrick King and a Museum of TV and Radio Seminar featuring the four leads and executive producer.

```The West Wing - The Complete Second Season'' (Warner; $59.99). The four discs include all 22 episodes; commentaries on four episodes with creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, director Thomas Schlamme and cast members Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, Robert Burlinger and Kathryn Joosten; two featurettes; and deleted scenes and outtakes.

```Smallville - The Complete Second Season''(Warner; $59.99). The six discs include all 23 episodes on six discs, two with commentary, five with deleted scenes; and three featurettes.

```Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Second Season'' (Paramount; $129.99). The seven discs include all 26 episodes and a number of featurettes.

```Prime Suspect 6 - Last Witness'' (Warner; $29.90, two discs).

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

KURT RUSSELL (center) in ``Miracle''