DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES CAVETT PUT THE GREAT INTO `HOLLYWOOD GREATS'.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Television -- a vast wasteland.

The utterance by Newton Minnow more than 40 years ago isn't true, but there are more than a few deserts. Unfortunately, talk shows, which were fertile ground during the first quarter-century of TV, have pretty much dried up for anything other than promoting things or stroking the host's ego.

That's why ``The Dick Cavett Show -- Hollywood Greats,'' which includes interviews from his '70s show, is such a joy and a reminder of what conversational television could be.

His first interview alone in this collection is worth the price of the set. The press-shy Katharine Hepburn stopped by Cavett's New York City studio one day in 1973, trying to decide if she should accept an invitation from him to do the show, and said, ``Let's do it.''

After some mulling around on the set for a while in which Hepburn, as only she could, pronounced the carpet ugly (the scene is shown as an extra on the disc), she suddenly decided to do it right then.

The casually dressed pair sat down and talked. There was no audience. The laughter is from those lucky enough to have been on the set at the time. The interview was wide-ranging enough that it filled two full 90-minute shows.

Interestingly, the legendary actress really got into doing it -- no doubt thanks to Cavett's easygoing and intelligent manner. While she wasn't going to go into intimate details about parts of her past -- such as her long relationship with Spencer Tracy, there are a number of candid moments during the interview. Much of this was because Hepburn, who wouldn't bow to convention, was one fascinating woman.

The other interviews on the four-disc set art are a who's who of Hollywood at the time -- Fred Astaire, Bette Davis, Groucho Marx, Debbie Reynolds, Kirk Douglas, Alfred Hitchcock, Marlon Brando, Mel Brooks, Frank Capra, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Mitchum, John Huston and Orson Welles. Hardly the vapid sort that populate the airwaves all too often today.

The Brando interview, as you might suspect, was weird, as he refused to talk about himself and insisted on discussing the plight of American Indians. But Cavett, whose interviews with some of these stars will be airing on AMC, handled it relatively well, with his usual wit and grace.

Rob Lowman [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

NEW FILMS

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays an ambitious pastry chef in the ``The Great New Wonderful,'' a surprisingly observant film about life in New York City a year after 9/11.

Surprising because the director, Danny Leiner, had previously helmed ``Dude, Where's My Car?'' and ``Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.'' What made those comedies -- with their gross-out elements -- funny was how Leiner developed his characters.

``The Great New Wonderful'' doesn't have the humor of Leiner's previous films but has a sly wryness as it takes on a more serious topic. There is a certain exhaustion and disconnection that comes from living in the city after the attacks.

Leiner has brought in a strong cast, too, including Tony Shalhoub as an uneasy psychologist. And Gyllenhaal has become one of our best actresses in a short time.

``Lucky Number Slevin'' is a somewhat entertaining addition to the genre spawned by ``Pulp Fiction'' -- the offbeat noir thriller. This one even has ``Pulp'' alum Bruce Willis. Josh Hartnett plays Slevin, who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up facing a mob boss (Morgan Freeman) who wants his money -- never mind that he doesn't have the right guy.

Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci and Lucy Liu pop into the movie, too, -- to add character, we guess.

Nobody going to take ``Slevin'' very seriously, unless you think Hartnett with his shirt off -- which seems to happen more than a few times -- is serious.

OLDER FILMS

The number ``IV,'' ``V'' and ``VI'' ``Star Wars'' films (which us older folks thought were ``I,'' ``II'' and ``III'' when they were released in 1977, 1980 and 1983) are coming out in special edition. The new set includes the original versions and the 2004 ones that the franchise creator, George Lucas, had digitized, with new material added.

THE PRICE TAGS

TELEVISION

``Grey's Anatomy -- Season Two'' (Buena Vista; $59.99)

``Smallville -- The Complete Fifth Season'' (Warner; $59.98)

``The Office -- Season Two'' (Universal; $49.98)

``Las Vegas -- Season Three'' (Universal; $59.98)

``Roseanne -- The Complete Fifth Season'' (Anchor Bay; $39.98)

``Moonlighting -- Season 4'' (Lionsgate; $39.98)

``Diagnosis Murder -- Complete 1st Season'' (Paramount; $49.99)

``The Dick Cavett Show -- Hollywood Greats'' (Shout Factory; $39.98)

``Too Hot Not to Handle'' (HBO; $24.98)

``Black. White.'' (Fox; $26.98)

OLDER FILMS

``Star Wars Episode IV -- A New Hope'' (1977 & 2004 Versions, Two-disc Widescreen Edition) (Fox; $29.98)

``Star Wars Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980 and 2004 versions, Two-disc Widescreen Edition) (Fox; $29.98)

``Star Wars Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi'' (1983 & 2004 versions, Two-disc Widescreen Edition) (Fox; $29.98)

``Film Noir -- The Dark Side of Hollywood (``Sudden Fear,'' ``The Long Night,'' ``Hangmen Also Die,'' ``Railroaded,'' ``Behind Locked Doors'') (Kino; $49.95)

``Taps -- Special Edition'' (Fox; $19.98)

NEW FILMS

``Lucky Number Slevin'' (Miramax; $29.95)

``The Wild'' (Walt Disney; $29.99)

``The Miracle Match'' (Walt Disney; $29.99)

``Goal! -- The Dream Begins'' (Walt Disney; $29.99)

``Lower City'' (Palm Pictures; $24.99)

``The Great New Wonderful'' (First Independent; $26.99)

MUSIC

``R.E.M. -- When the Light Is Mine ... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 Video Collection'' (Capitol; $24.98)

``The Police -- Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out'' (Hippo; $14.98)

``Barbara Streisand -- One Voice'' (Rhino; $19.98)

``Get Ready: Definitive Performances 1965-1972 -- The Temptations'' (Motown; $19.98)

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) The reclusive Katharine Hepburn's interview with Dick Cavett is on the longtime host's new DVD.

(2) no caption (``The Great New Wonderful'')

(3) no caption (``Star Wars'')