DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES DIFFERENT TAKES ON 'THE VILLAGE'.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

M. Night Shyamalan is a victim of his own twisted success. ``The Sixth Sense'' was such a cultural phenomenon that its startling ending was an extended joke in two films last year - Adam Sandler's ``50 First Dates'' and the recent ``Ocean's Twelve.''

After Shyamalan threw in twists on his two follow-up films - ``Unbreakable'' and ``Signs'' - audiences were conditioned to wait for the twist at the end. But when the revelation came in the director/writer's most recent film, ``The Village,'' most fans and critics were disappointed. ``A crummy secret'' groused critic Roger Ebert.

But that crummy secret wasn't the secret of the film. Like many in the audience, it seems the critic was too focused on the ending and not the story. Others saw the film differently. So without trying to spoil the crummy secret, here's an alternative - and I believe more appropriate way - of looking at ``The Village.''

Not long before or far from where Shyamalan started shooting ``Signs,'' one of the planes hijacked on Sept. 11 crashed in the Pennsylvania woods. Philadelphia native Shyamalan may have then started thinking about ``The Village.'' But while the director has been tight-lipped about the meaning of ``The Village,'' it takes only a small step to see the film as a commentary on America's response to 9/11. Some signs in the movie, like the color codes, are obvious. Others are more subtle - like the strange way the village elders (Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Cherry Jones) talk. Sure, it points to that crummy secret, but it also shows a group of people in an artificial situation - a state of denial.

The problem with ``The Village'' is that Shyamalan played his cards too close to the vest. Had he tipped off audiences earlier to the nature of the film, some of the parallels might have seemed more evident. As it is, the solemn tone of the film may seem silly or boring to many when it could be read as somewhat satirical.

Though lots of folks didn't see the 9/11 analogy, Shyamalan, in a cameo at the end (a la Hitchcock), does put it in the audience's face: Look at what he's reading.

And Shyamalan doesn't reveal anything more about his intentions on the DVD, which has a making-of documentary and deleted scenes but no commentary by the director. ``The Village'' may not be a great film, but it's a lot better and smarter than what many saw.

``Without a Paddle'' is one of those hit-and-miss comedies that seems to be the norm in Hollywood today. Sort of the ``throw it against the wall and see if it sticks'' variety. I guess it also depends on what the filmmakers are throwing.

In ``Without a Paddle's'' case, it plays out like some kind of screwy ``Deliverance,'' as three pals (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard) take a trip into the Oregon woods in search of the $200,000 stolen by skyjacker D.B. Cooper, who disappeared after parachuting from a plane.

Along the way they meet up with hostile pot farmers and a pair of environmentally friendly babes before running into ``Deliverance's'' own Burt Reynolds as a hermit. Green, Lillard and Shepard are a likable enough comic trio, but ``Without a Paddle'' could have used some current to give it direction.

``The Village'' (Buena Vista; $29.99).

``Without a Paddle'' (Paramount; $29.95) includes commentary and deleted scenes.

'MI-5,' 'Monk,' 'Gilligan's Island'

They call ``MI-5,'' the series about the British agency responsible for homeland security, ``Spooks'' in Britain; so it seemed to be appropriate to talk about it with a onetime real-life spook.

Mike Baker was a CIA covert operative for 14 years, specializing in counterterrorism, counternarcotics and counterinsurgency operations. Now he's CEO of his own intelligence-gathering company, Veritas Global, a provider of risk-management services to the private sector. He also advises the writers on ``MI-5.''

So how real is the show, which just began its third season on A&E last Saturday (repeats this Saturday at 3 p.m. and a new episode airs at 10 p.m.) while the DVD set of season two is out today? Baker says that, for the most part, the show ``is credible, but once the writers get that basis then they'll stretch it to create the excitement and the drama.''

Baker's involvement with the show began because he knew ``MI-5'' creator David Wolstencroft, who asked him to help out. At first it was tricky when the writers asked about what was possible, says Baker, who, because of his past, ``couldn't paint in the details. ... I'd be dancing around the specifics, but eventually it worked. The writers have gotten better'' about what might happen in various situations, he says.

One thing Baker commends the series for is concentrating on the toll that being an operative takes.

``MI-5'' stars Matthew MacFadyen as Tom Quinn, a senior anti-terrorism agent. His boss is Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) and his closest co-workers are agent Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes) and surveillance specialist Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo). None of them is immune to the pressure of the job, which gives the series a realistic edge.

``With MI-5, one of the things we talked about is that there are a lot of quiet moments, a lot of down time, a lot of sitting in the back of some nasty van where the temperatures climb up to 110 and all you want to do is leave. It's a necessary evil,'' says Baker, who admits to doing his fair share of it. ``Some people are good at it and that's why you develop surveillance teams. It takes a certain mind set.'' Another point is that a lot of the planning goes into a covert operation, and that ``nobody would tune in to watch because it's all in the details. What you're trying to do in real life, as opposed to entertainment, is that the goal is to not be noticed but to blend in and carry out your operations ... so that people don't know you were there.

``That's true to this day. The agency (CIA) gets almost no credit for a terrific number of successes because, rightly so, they don't advertise. And so things happen completely off the radar screen, and that's the way that world has to operate, which doesn't necessarily jibe well with good TV,'' says Baker, who says he maintains good relations with his former employer.

And if you're wondering what Baker watches when he has time to relax, yes, it's shows like ``24'' and ``Alias'' and ``MI-5.'' Well, policemen probably watch police shows.

Baker says it's been good fun helping out with the show and hopes they'll give him a cameo some day. ``It will be the only opportunity I have to be the director of the CIA.''

Season one of the series came out last year, and while there are some elements that might be unfamiliar, it takes little time to become quickly involved with this first-rate show.

Also out is the second season of a show to like for entirely different reasons - ``Monk,'' starring Tony Shalhoub as the obsessive-compulsive detective. While the first season was fun, it was in the second that the series hit its stride. And for nostalgia fans, season two of ``Gilligan's Island'' has the castaways hanging around for more inanity even while guest stars like Zsa Zsa Gabor drop by.

``MI-5, Volume 2''(BBC; $79.90) includes interviews, deleted scenes and character bios on five discs.

``Monk - Season Two'' (Universal; $59.90) includes featurettes on four discs.

``Gilligan's Island - The Complete Second Season'' (Warner; $39.90) on three discs.

'The Letter,' 'Random Harvest,' 'Oscar and Lucinda'

Warner is releasing a number of its older films. Two in particular to look for are ``The Letter'' and ``Random Harvest.'' William Wyler's 1940 melodrama ``The Letter'' stars Bette Davis as an adulteress who covers up her sin with murder. Davis is at her powerhouse best, exhibiting both passion and vulnerability. ``Harvest,'' Mervyn Leroy's 1942 tearjerker, has Greer Garson as a singer who nurses an amnesiac British World War I soldier (Ronald Colman) back to health. When he regains his memory, he loses his memory of her. Contrived, but Garson and Colman are terrific.

Another crazy love story to look for is Gillian Armstrong's 1997 ``Oscar and Lucinda.'' The film, based on a Peter Carey novel, introduced many of us to the fine actress Cate Blanchett, who is getting well-earned plaudits for her luminous turn as Kate Hepburn in ``The Aviator.''

The film tells the story of Oscar Hopkins (Ralph Fiennes), who in the 1800s bets Lucinda Leplastrier (Cate Blanchett) that he can move a glass church from Sydney to the remote north of Australia. Gambling is a strong motif in ``Oscar and Lucinda,'' but the film itself is driven by strong performances, Armstrong's beautiful visuals and a playful score by Thomas Newman. The film is no gamble, but it's a winner.

``The Letter'' and ``Random Harvest'' (Warner; $19.97 each).

``Oscar and Lucinda'' (Fox; $9.98)

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD and WILLIAM HURT in ``The Village''