DVD REVIEWS AND NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

The early days of Che Guevara 

When a 23-year-old medical student named Ernesto Guevara de la Serna from Buenos Aires and his friend, a 29-year-old biochemist named Alberto Granado, began their trek across South America in 1952, they were thinking of little more than having some youthful adventures.

As we know now, Ernesto became Che, and it was that trip that changed the direction of his life from comfortably middle class to revolutionary. Both men wrote of their experiences, with Che's being discovered in some diaries long after his death. The writings form the basis of the lyrical ``Motorcycle Diaries,'' directed by Walter Salles.

After it was released last fall, the film was mostly praised (it has an Oscar nomination for screenwriting) but also sparked some criticism over what was seen as the romantic depiction of Ernesto, played by the charismatic Gael Garcia Bernal. Che, the argument went, would later be responsible for some terrible acts during his revolutionary days. While no one disputes Che's record, the criticism is specious. ``Motorcycle Diaries'' is not about Che but Ernesto, not about revolution but possibilities.

What the film explores is an awakening of a young man to the travails and inequities of the world around him. As the thin, asthmatic Ernesto and bearish, lecherous Albert traverse the continent, they are at first more interested in scoring with the local females than in the countryside, but as they encounter troubles - they are constantly falling off their cycle, and eventually it has to be abandoned - the pair are forced to look into the faces of the South American people, many of them poor and displaced.

Though the trip took place more than 50 years ago, the way Salles and his cinematographer Eric Gautier shot ``Motorcycle Diaries'' gives it an immediacy, as if we are looking at a picture of South America today. (And perhaps, in a way, we are.)

The film is not without humor, mostly from the pair's romantic misadventure and inability to stay on their bike. But by the time the two reach their destination, a leper colony in Peru, their road trip has grown serious.

There we see hints of the Che to come - a figure inspiring to people. And the Che to come is hinted at earlier when Alberto suggests the idea of a peaceful revolution. But Ernesto replies he thought a revolution without guns would be impossible. Everyone doesn't make that leap, however. Watch ``Motorcycle Diaries'' for what it is - an intelligent film that believes in the old-fashioned idea that it's good for the soul to explore the world.

``Motorcycle Diaries'' (Universal; $29.98) includes featurettes and deleted scenes.

'SAW,' 'ROBOT STORIES,' 'TAXI,' 'TAE GUK GI,' 'RAISE YOUR VOICE'

For those who need their fear factor fix of the week, there's ``Saw,'' a disquieting little number directed by James Wan. There is no question that Wan does a better-than-average job of manipulating the fright level, but this story of a serial killer who subjects his victims to tortuous tests before he lets them kill themselves is only for those with a strong stomach. It isn't enough to watch Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), a successful doctor, and fellow captive Adam (Leigh Whannell) chained to the wall of a filthy bathroom try to escape their fate, but through a series of flashbacks we see how previous victims of the Jigsaw Killer met their demise, which ups the gore quotient. As the film wears on, though, you're just hoping the filmmakers will cut it short.

Director Greg Pak's ``Robot Stories'' is a four-story sci-fi anthology that looks at the ways robots may impact humans. The stories range from the whimsical to the moving. Pak's ``Machine Love,'' a story of an android who develops affection for the women who are his office co-workers, is the best of the lot, but each story offers its own charms.

If you ever have taken a cab ride and wondered if the driver was lost, then you'll know what it's like watching ``Taxi,'' a flat comedy starring Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah. Latifah plays her usual persona - the bigger-than-life African-American dealing with an uptight white person, this time Fallon's timid New York City cop. ``Taxi'' is not much of a ride.

``Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War'' is the South Korean equivalent of ``Saving Private Ryan,'' showing both the brutality of war and the sacrifice of the common man. Like ``Ryan,'' it shows an elderly man returning to the site of his battles, 50 years before, in the Korean War. Unlike ``Ryan,'' though, the film, directed by Korean filmmaker Kang Je-gyu, takes a double-edged view of war, with the South being just as likely to be guilty of atrocities as the Communist North. ``Tae Guk Gi'' is a well-made film that gives us in this country a perspective on a world we don't usually see.

The Hilary Duff starrer ``Raise Your Voice'' is an overcoming-tragedy story by the numbers, but a decent supporting cast, including John Corbett and Rebecca De Mornay, keeps it somewhat afloat. But most adults aren't going to sit still long enough for the ``inspirational'' end.

``Saw'' (Lions Gate; $28.98).

``Robot Stories'' (Kino; $29.95).

``Taxi'' (Fox; $29.98).

``Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War'' (Columbia; $28.98).

``Raise Your Voice'' (New Line; $27.98).

'Donnie Darko,' 'Kansas City,' 'Howards End'

Among older films being released, ``Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut,'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal, adds about 20 minutes to the original 2001 release. Luckily, the new material only enhances Richard Kelly's strange, appealing film. Check it out and see why it's been a cult hit.

Robert Altman's 1996 film, ``Kansas City,'' is both a tribute to gangster movies and jazz. It's a heady combination. Not perhaps one of Altman's greatest, but a lively and entertaining film.

The 1992 Merchant-Ivory film ``Howards End'' is a well-mannered version of the E.M. Forster novel that is blessed with some elegant performances by Emma Thompson, who won the Oscar as best actress, and Vanessa Redgrave. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala also picked up an Oscar for the script.

``Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut'' (Fox; $26.98).

``Kansas City'' (New Line; $19.97).

``Howards End - The Merchant Ivory Collection'' (Home Vision; $29.95) includes featurettes on two discs.

'Thieves' Highway,' 'Night in the City,' 'Casque d'Or,' 'Touchez Pa au Grisi,' 'Tout Va Bien'

As is often the case, DVDs from Criterion are the picks of the week.

There are four film noir releases to check out - Jules Dassin's ``Thieves' Highway'' (1949) and his 1950 ``Night in the City,'' plus Jacques Becker's 1952 ``Casque d'Or'' and his 1954 ``Touchez Pa au Grisi.''

``Highway,'' a tale of revenge starring Lee J. Cobb and Richard Conte, was the last film Dassin, who was blacklisted, shot in Hollywood. ``Night in the City'' had an American cast - Richard Widmark in a remarkable performance as an unsympathetic hustler - but was shot and takes place in London.

``Casque d'Or'' stars French great Simone Signoret as a mobster's girl who falls for the wrong guy. ``Touchez Pa au Grisi'' stars Jean Gabin, called France's John Wayne, as an aging tough guy who hopes to make one last score and go off with his young girlfriend, played by Jeanne Moreau.

Also out is Jean-Luc Godard's 1972 ``Tout Va Bien,'' starring Jane Fonda and Yves Montand as an American news reporter and her husband, a New Wave director, who end up in the middle of a volatile strike at a factory during the filming of a commercial. In this political movie, Godard creates an atmosphere in which all sides are heard but in the end doesn't offer the audience an easy resolution.

``Thieves' Highway'' (Criterion; $39.95).

``Night in the City'' (Criterion; $27.96).

``Casque d'Or'' (Criterion, $39.95).

``Touchez Pa au Grisi'' (Criterion; $29.95).

``Tout Va Bien,'' (Criterion; $29.95).

'The Greatest American Hero' and more TV

``The Greatest American Hero'' was a quirky early-'80s show that never caught on with the public. The parody of superheroes starred William Katt as Ralph, an L.A. schoolteacher given a flying suit by aliens that only works for him. Convinced by an FBI agent to use it for good, Ralph bumblingly fights crime. Though inconsistent, the show, the first season of which is out today, was fairly cute, especially for the younger set.

Also out today are season five of ``Angel'' and season seven of ``Little House on the Prairie.''

``The Greatest American Hero'' (Anchor Bay; $29.98).

``Angel - Season Five'' (Fox; $59.98).

``Little House on the Prairie - The Complete Season 7'' (Goldhill Home Media; $49.98)

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL in ``Motorcylce Diaries''