DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES SCORSESE COLLECTION PACKS A PUNCH.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

A few months after Warner put out a box set of films by the director of ``The Aviator'' that included the gems ``GoodFellas'' and ``Mean Streets,'' MGM has released ``The Martin Scorsese Film Collection,'' with the prize being a special edition of the 1980 ``Raging Bull.''

The other films in the set aren't too shabby, either. The 1972 ``Boxcar Bertha,'' starring David Carradine and Barbara Hershey, was Scorsese's first Hollywood film - an ``exploitation'' flick for Roger Corman. The story is sort of a ``Bonnie and Clyde'' knockoff, but Corman got more than he bargained for. Scorsese, through his vivid visual style, created a dark, violent world, something he'd revisit in later films. Bonuses were the performances of Carradine and Hershey, who seems to inhabit the role of the sexy but complicated Bertha. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the disc, although it would have been interesting to hear what the principals had to say about the film.

``New York, New York'' (1977) is a musical tribute by Scorsese to his hometown, with Liza Minnelli as a band vocalist who ends up a movie star and Robert De Niro as a crazy, insecure sax player. The film starts on V-J Day (the director would have been less than 2 at the time) and follows the couple through their ups and downs (they are doomed never to be on the same page) along with some great musical production numbers, including the now-anthem of the city that never sleeps. The film is better in pieces than as a whole. The cinematography and art direction are super; Minnelli and De Niro are strong. The disc includes alternative takes, deleted scenes and commentary by film critic Carrie Rickey and Scorsese, who is not as loquacious - perhaps because of Rickey's presence - as he has been on other discs.

``The Last Waltz'' (1978) is one of the best two or three rock documentaries ever made. The final concert of the Band boasts outstanding musical numbers and wondrous tales of the road, mostly as related by the group's leader, Robbie Robertson. Scorsese filmed the 1976 Thanksgiving concert with the same eye he would use for a feature film, and what emerges is a strange cast of characters who have traveled through their own dark underworld. ``The Last Waltz'' is beautifully filmed (it had top-notch cinematographers - Michael Chapman, Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond). All you have to do is watch the fluid cuts and camera moments of the performances to see that. The disc, which has been released before, includes commentary by Robertson and others, including Scorsese.

The two-disc ``Raging Bull,'' one of the greatest American films, is a must for movie lovers. The story of prizefighter Jake La Motta (De Niro) was a perfect fit for Scorsese. La Motta was a minor celebrity, whose destructive impulses brought about his downfall. Scorsese, filming in brilliant black and white, creates a study of a man who went from his rise (an angry boxer who was nearly a champion) to his fall (alienated from all those he loved, jail time) to a sort of redemption (as, of all things, a comic). La Motta's life was one of resentment and violence. You were either for him or against him - no neutral ground - and you paid the price if he thought you were against him. (Born too soon, La Motta could have had a career in today's politics.)

De Niro is brilliant in the role. The Oscar went to the right person, and the actor showed his commitment by gaining weight to play the older La Motta and trimming down and adding muscle to play the young fighter. And no one on the screen has ever shown a more menacing visage of obsession than De Niro. The other key performers - Cathy Moriarty as La Motta's suffering wife and Joe Pesci as his brother - are excellent as well.

The discs include knockout extras: three commentaries, including those of Scorsese and the real La Motta; a comparison of scenes of De Niro fighting to newsreels of La Motta; a feature of how the amazing boxing scenes were shot (film students should study this) and other behind- the-scenes featurettes.

``The Martin Scorsese Film Collection'' (MGM; $49.96). Each title is available individually.

`The Notebook,' 'Shark Tale'

``The Notebook,'' the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' romantic best- seller, is saved by performances by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. As teens Noah and Allie - he a poor Southern boy who works at a lumberyard, she a girl from a wealthy home - the pair exude chemistry and spirit. Coming from different backgrounds, the couple are doomed by Allie's mother (Joan Allen), who refuses to allow the match.

But neither World War II nor other can stop love. The story is told by James Garner as Duke, a good-natured old-timer at a nursing home, as he reads aloud excerpts of a love story to Allie Calhoun (Gena Rowlands), who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Directed by Nick Cassavetes, ``The Notebook'' is better than it has a right to be.

Also out today is the animated feature ``Shark Tale.'' Since DreamWorks makes its screening policy difficult for anyone with a schedule, I was unable to review it. However, you can bet it's no ``Finding Nemo.''

``The Notebook'' (New Line; $27.95) includes deleted scenes, featurettes and commentaries by Sparks and Cassavetes.

``Shark Tale'' (DreamWorks; $29.95).

'Deadwood,' 'Miami Vice'

Expletives are used on the first season of HBO series ``Deadwood'' like a teenager, like, uses ``like,'' which is, like, totally. If you can get past the language and the violence and then the language again and, of course, the nudity, you'll find ``Deadwood'' goes a long way toward putting new life into the Old West.

The series is set in 1876 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The town is sort of in no-man's land. It had been Indian territory, but they were chased off by miners looking for gold, leaving a survival of the fittest and meanest situation. It takes a while to sort out all the characters and the different factions of the town. Keith Carradine plays Wild Bill Hickok (you know what happened to him). Timothy Olyphant is Seth Bullock, a former marshal who has come to Deadwood to seek his fortune. And Golden Globe winner Ian McShane is the brutal Al Swearengen, who owns the Gem Saloon and brothel and who is the town's reigning power.

Surprisingly ``Deadwood'' isn't a shoot-'em-up type of Western. The drama comes from the machinations of the characters as they vie for power or just simply try to survive. Creator David Milch, after doing research, has defended the language as being authentic to the time, and the way women and minorities are treated also speaks to that authenticity.

``Deadwood'' is not for the easily offended. For those who can handle it and have the initial patience, it's rewarding.

Slicker but a little dated is the first season of ``Miami Vice'' with undercover officers Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas). Inspired by the late NBC exec Brandon Tartikoff's ``MTV cops'' idea, ``Vice,'' which premiered in 1984, had Jan Hammer's hit theme, director Michael Mann (``Collateral'') as creator-producer-writer, an alligator named Elvis and pastels. Are pastels back in style yet?

``Deadwood - The Complete First Season'' (HBO; $99.90) includes all 12 episodes, commentary by cast and crew on four episodes, a making-of featurette, a featurette on the real Deadwood and an interview with Milch by Carradine, on six discs.

``Miami Vice - Season One'' (Universal; $59.90) includes all 22 episodes plus the two-hour pilot, introduction by Mann and featurettes on three discs.

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) ROBERT DE NIRO in ``Raging Bull''

(2) RACHEL McADAMS and RYAN GOSLING in ``The Notebook''