DVD REVIEWS COSTNER'S 'RANGE' STRETCHED.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

There is a moment early in Kevin Costner's Western ``Open Range'' that echoes one in John Ford's great film ``My Darling Clementine.''

In ``Range,'' a young man named Buttons, played by Diego Luna, is left behind at the campsite with the wagons as the older cattlemen go to town. It is a brief shot, just Buttons with the camp dog posed as they watch the men leave. In Ford's film, the youngest of the Earp clan, Jimmy, is left behind while Wyatt and the rest go into town.

Ford lingers over the shot of the young man. It is like happening upon an old picture of a bygone era. In the portrait, you see the hopes and dreams of the still-young country reflected in Jimmy's face. When he is later found dead, it becomes a picture of loss.

While Costner - who doesn't make note of the Ford film during his DVD commentary - has other aims in ``Open Range,'' the differences in filmmaking styles are telling. While Costner has studied old Westerns, capturing the majestic vistas and hard life on a grand scale, his film never moves beyond its modest boundaries, which often makes its characters wooden stereotypes - particularly in the cases of Costner's hard-edged Charley Waite and Annette Bening's upright prairie spinster Sue.

And while Costner was interested in showing the day-to-day reality, in ``Clementine,'' which recently came out on DVD, Ford was interested in developing the community relationships that embodied the West and the characters were often more archetypal. Of course, Costner's work is more politically correct. In ``Clementine,'' Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda at his best) throws a drunken Indian out of town. In may not reflect our times, but it likely did the old West's. Costner (who directed and starred in ``Dances With Wolves'') says that, being sensitive to the way Indians are portrayed on screen, he consciously did not put them into the film - explaining away their absence with a line.

Perhaps if Costner had tried to deal with it in a better way, he would have made a stronger film. As it is, ``Open Range,'' while not without its moments - the climactic gunfight - and charms - Robert Duvall's old cowpoke Boss and the late character actor Michael Jeter's performance as a stable owner - comes down to a simplistic tale of good vs. evil.

One other sad note: The graceful score was one of the last scores by composer Michael Kamen, who died in November.

``Open Range'' (Disney; $29.99). The two-disc set includes commentary by Costner and a feature - ``Looking Back in Time.''

``My Darling Clementine'' (Fox; $19.98) includes the theatrical version and alternate pre-release version, a featurette about the alternate version and commentary by Wyatt Earp III.

Crazily ever after

The credit that director Robert Rodriguez gives himself on ``Once Upon a Time in Mexico'' - ``shot, chopped and scored by ...'' - gives you a hint of the film's dizzying pace and style.

``Mexico'' is loosely the last part of a trilogy - the first two being ``El Mariachi'' and ``Desperado,'' but don't expect them to have much in common except the mariachi with no name played here and in ``Desperado'' by Antonio Banderas. Salma Hayek is back, too - more as a vague plot point (albeit, a sexy one) than a character.

Actually, vague is an apt way to describe the plot, but Rodriquez's aim seems to be a trip through a garish fun house rather than a serious movie. This film plays more like his vampire film ``From Dusk Till Dawn'' than ``Desperado.'' Some of the fun is provided by Johnny Depp, who plays in his characteristic offbeat way a shady CIA agent. Depp gets to romp around in various ``disguises,'' including an extra prosthetic arm. Among the T-shirts he wears, there is one that reads ``CIA'' and another that says ``I'm With Stupid.''

Add to this a bad guy (Mickey Rourke) with the pet chihuahua he always carries around, a bad sexy Mexican police office (Eva Mendes), a mad (are there any other types?) drug kingpin (Willem Dafoe), a slew of other crazies and a story out of control and you have a recipe for chaos. How long you stay with it will depend on you. Some kids will spin around and around until they drop or fly out of control. Others know when to stop. With his film, Rodriquez fits in the former group.

``Once Upon a Time in Mexico'' (Columbia; $28.95) includes commentary by Rodriguez, six featurettes and deleted scenes.

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) KEVIN COSTNER in ``Open Range''

(2) JOHNNY DEPP in ``Once Upon a Time in Mexico''