DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES `PASSION' RUNS BOTH HOT AND COLD.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Chances are if you're a member of the target audience, you've already put your money down for a copy of Mel Gibson's ``The Passion of the Christ.''

For the rest of you, Gibson has neither directed the unwatchable Christian diatribe with anti-Semitic undertones that some have suggested nor created a masterpiece.

And neither is ``Passion'' a literal retelling of scripture - there are flashbacks (the Sermon on the Mount, the Last Supper) and, yes, even special effects. Cinematically, the film is both a bit of a curiosity and grandly moving - sometimes simultaneously.

The opening nighttime scenes, where Jesus (Jim Caviezel) and his disciples are in a grove as Judas at a temple bargains with a group of Jewish elders to turn the prophet over to them, have a nightmarish quality. There is a shadowy figure - the devil, obviously - who pops in and out of scenes. Later, when the disciples and soldiers scuffle, the action centers on a passive Jesus - rightly so, but the scene is disjointed and hard to follow.

The film then takes a more conventional storytelling approach as Jesus is taken before the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate and the Jewish King Herod and is eventually beaten, condemned, forced to carry a cross and crucified. It is during the final moments that the film again takes on its dreamlike quality.

For those of us who read and reread the Crucifixion story, Gibson certainly brings home the suffering of Jesus. Some think too much so, especially for the young. (The film is rated R for its violence.) But for believers, which Gibson is, that's the point. When Jesus says (I'm paraphrasing here), love your enemies - it's easy to love your friends, it has more impact because you see the savagery inflicted on him. At least the violence in Gibson's film has relevance to the story he's is telling. Yes, it's hard to watch, but Gibson should, if for nothing else, be commended for not showing us the indifferent and numbing taking of lives that happens far too often in PG-13 films, including some he's made.

There are times when Gibson is heavy-handed, however, such as in the cruel glee in which the the Roman soldiers carry out their floggings or when Judas, guilt-ridden by his betrayal, is terrorized by demon-like children, or when the 30 pieces of silver fly in slow motion through the air.

The other major criticism leveled at Gibson was that ``The Passion of the Christ'' might spur anti-Semitism. That didn't really prove to be the case - not that it doesn't exist in America. A recent ``Ali G,'' the HBO show in which British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen foists his outrageous character on a unsuspecting public, proves that. As Borat, a Kazakhstan journalist, Cohen - who is Jewish - went to a country-and-western bar in Arizona on open-mike night and performed a song with the refrain, ``Throw the Jew down the well.'' Watching the crowd get into it by heartily clapping along was chilling.

If Gibson's film stirred anti-Semitic feelings, they probably emanate from bigots already predisposed to venting hatred. The film itself tries to tread carefully. (Gibson reportedly excised an inflammatory line before the film hit theaters.) When Jesus is taken before a group of Jewish elders, some vociferously protest but are then barred from the proceedings, implying that responsibility lay with a small group who felt threatened by Jesus' growing popularity, not Jews as a whole.

Paradoxically, Jesus preaches forgiveness and nonviolence throughout the film, which would seem to be a signal to Christians watching the film not to be anti-Jewish.

It would have been difficult for Gibson to tell the story without including the role of the Jewish elders. Should he have soft-pedaled it more? That's the dilemma of the ``Passion.'' Everyone watches it filtered through thousands of years of history, interpreting it their own way.

In the end, it comes down to this: Gibson made a film that expressed his beliefs. That was his right. He wanted to show the death of Jesus in a graphic, eye-opening way. He did that. Beyond that, ``Passion'' succeeds only moderately as a flawed film with moments of beauty and some things to ponder.

As might be expected, there are no extras on the DVD.

``The Passion of the Christ'' (Fox; $29.98).

`SOUTH PARK - THE PASSION OF THE JEW'

``South Park - The Passion of the Jew,'' an episode from last season's series on Comedy Central, was disappointing considering the hype by critics. It may appeal to those who disliked - or even disliked the idea of - Mel Gibson's ``The Passion of the Christ,'' but it's not funny. I was ready to laugh, but the jokes are depressingly obvious, as are the targets. Matt Stone and Trey Parker have done better and smarter satire.

About the only amusing bit was when two of the boys - Stan and Kenny - decide to track down Gibson to demand their money back because they didn't think ``Passion'' was a good movie. Gibson is ridiculed (a fair target) but in such an infantile way that it becomes boring and pointless quickly. The rest - Cartman's neo-Nazi urges, the Jewish kid Kyle's guilt, and Jews and Christian almost coming to blows - is as flat as a cartoon cel.

``South Park - The Passion of the Jew'' (Paramount; $19.99) includes two other ``South Park'' episodes - ``Red Hot Catholic Love'' and ``Christian Rock Hard.''

`I LOVE LUCY,' `BULLWINKLE & FRIENDS,' `STAR TREK'

The TV box sets being released this week are of very familiar shows - ``I Love Lucy - The Complete Second Season,'' ``Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - The Complete Second Season,'' ``Touched by an Angel,'' and ``Star Trek the Original Series - The Complete First Season.''

The one cool thing here is the release of the complete 1966 ``Star Trek'' season. Previously Paramount had only put out two episodes at a time. The new set - in a nifty plastic yellow box - has all 29 episodes in airdate order. There are also bonus features, including ``The Birth of a Timeless Legacy,'' which tells how the show began, from the first pilot, ``The Cage,'' to reshooting the pilot with William Shatner. Another feature is ``Reflections on Spock,'' in which Leonard Nimoy talks about his character and explains why he chose to write two different books on the subject, called ``I Am Not Spock'' and ``I Am Spock.''

``I Love Lucy - The Complete Second Season'' (Paramount; $69.99) on five discs.

``Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - The Complete Second Season'' (Sony; $39.98) on four discs.

``Touched by an Angel'' (Paramount; $49.99) on four discs.

``Star Trek the Original Series - The Complete First Season (Paramount; $129.99) on eight discs.

`IKE,' `GETTYSBURG AND STORIES OF VALOR,' `CHRIS ROCK: NEVER SCARED'

A few other DVDs to note:

``Ike - Countdown to D-Day'' finds Tom Selleck playing Dwight D. Eisenhower on the eve of the great battle. The acting is somewhat stiff, but the events and strategies leading up to D-Day prove interesting enough to carry the drama along.

Still on the war front, there's ``Gettysburg and Stories of Valor - Civil War Minutes III.'' The documentary, narrated by Keith Carradine, uses some 30 stories present a detailed picture of the most pivotal battle of the Civil War.

Entertainment Weekly thinks he's the funniest man in America, but they'll laugh at anything. ``Chris Rock: Never Scared,'' the comedian's fourth HBO special, has a couple of moments, but there is little inventive here. Shots at strippers and the Michael Jackson and Kobe Bryant cases are what you expect. Rock fares better when taking on marriage.

``Ike - Countdown to D-Day'' (Columbia; $24.96).

``Gettysburg and Stories of Valor - Civil War Minutes III'' (Inecom; $39.95) on two discs.

``Chris Rock: Never Scared,'' (HBO; $19.96).

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) JIM CAVIEZEL, left, and JARRETH MERZ in ``The Passion of the Christ''

(2) LEONARD NIMOY in `Star Trek'