DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Shooting the real Iraq War 

Michael Tucker had just gotten back from Iraq a few days before and was ``glad to be out of there.''

Tucker had directed ``Gunner Palace,'' an eye-opening documentary about a group of soldiers - the U.S. Army's 2-3 Field Artillery Division (known as the Gunners) - who were headquartered in a palace that once belonged to Uday Hussein in late 2003 and early 2004. He had returned to Iraq to get some photos to help out one of those soldiers - Retired Army Capt. Jonathan Powers - who, with the backing of the Vietnam Veterans Foundation of America, had begun a project to help the orphans and children of Iraq.

In ``Gunner Palace'' Tucker makes no attempt to inject a political agenda into his portrait of the day-to-day lives of the soldiers that ranges from moments of levity and fun when some of them do their raps, to the danger they encounter on nighttime patrols in hostile neighborhoods.

Tucker says that the reaction to the film has been ``emotional'' from the families involved. ``The two families whose sons had died told (Tucker) they were grateful for the film because it gave them some picture of what it was like there.''

Although it has not been shown to troops in Iraq, Tucker noted wryly that he saw it as a bootleg in Baghdad on a disc with ``Black Hawk Down.''

While the film tried to be neutral, Tucker says, ``I think if I made the film now, it might be harder to walk that line,'' especially as the tours of duty have been extended for our troops.

``The vast majority of those soldiers are pretty supportive of the (Bush) administration. They may have their doubts and complaints, but they're pretty mission-focused.'' Realizing there is little they can do about the politics, most of the soldiers' complaints are ``Ernie Pyle stuff. I only have two sets of uniforms, or the armor issues, better equipment, how can I do my job better, how can I stay alive, how can I make this go faster.''

But Tucker says the mood there among the soldiers is ``grumpier'' than when he was with the gunners, and while he'd like to go back to Baghdad to do another documentary, it's even more dangerous now than it was when he made the film.

He said on his recent trip he saw a soldier walking around in a flame-retardant flight suit and asked him why. The soldier told him that every gunner on a convoy now has to wear one because the insurgents are putting homemade napalm in their explosives.

Tucker also thinks there's ``this huge public disconnect about the war.''

``I just came out of Baghdad, and you're seeing children living in horrible conditions, seeing people living in a complete state of terror and soldiers that are terrified, there is violence all around you. Then you look at Google News, and there are 780 references to Tom Cruise getting sprayed in the face with water. It's revolting. ... There's not a sense that we're a country at war.''

A portion of the sales of the ``Gunner Palace'' DVD will go to the Fisher House Foundation, which provides housing for families of wounded and ill soldiers.

``Gunner Palace (Universal; $24.99).

'Monsieur N,' 'The Pacifier,' 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman'

If you think about it, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is something of an American hero. After all, in order to finance his wars, he sold the Louisiana territory relatively cheap, effectively doubling the acreage of the United States at the time.

Even acknowledging that, there is not much interest stateside in films about Napoleon. Still, the French crank them out. ``Monsieur N'' offers an alternative history to the one that has the emperor dying in exile on the tiny isle of St. Helena. So worried that Napoleon would escape (he had done it once before) from the isolated dot of land, the British had 3,000 troops guard him there, as well as ships patrolling the area.

Philippe Torreton plays the crafty Bonaparte - who, despite being the prisoner, seems to have the upper hand - with elan. Ever the military strategist, Napoleon spends his time outmaneuvering his jailers and the toadies that followed him into exile hoping for a piece of his fortune when he kicks off. Directed by Antoine de Caunes, ``Monsieur N's'' playfulness makes it anything but a dull history lesson.

Vin Diesel succeeds in ``The Pacifier'' where he hasn't in his latest pictures. If being an action star doesn't draw them into theaters, then do a sendup of your image. In ``The Pacifier,'' Diesel plays Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe, sent to house-sit a group of kids after their father - who invented a powerful microchip - is killed by terrorists and their mother is off on assignment.

Diesel's Wolfe - as expected - turns out to be less ferocious (though not a sheep) when it comes to being a baby-sitter, but the actor almost seems endearing when he dives into his familial tasks. Keeping things lively are the cast of Brittany Snow (from ``American Dreams'') as the oldest daughter, Faith Ford (``Hope & Faith''), Lauren Graham (``The Gilmore Girls''), Carol Kane (``Taxi'') and Brad Garrett (``Everybody Loves Raymond'').

If it seems sitcomish, it is, but it chugs along amusingly as family fare. And Vin has now done his nanny duty and can return to kicking butt.

``Diary of a Mad Black Woman'' is not my cup of tea, but it might be yours. The movie's producer, writer and composer, Tyler Perry, plays three roles in the film, including the gun-toting hefty granny Madea, who helps Helen (Kimberly Elise) reclaim her life after being kicked out of her Atlanta home by her hotshot lawyer husband Charles (Steve Harris). What happens is part fairy tale, the rest over-the-top hokum. Adapted from Perry's own play, ``Diary'' struck a chord with lots of people, proving a small box-office hit, and we can assume that everyone who went wasn't mad or black.

``Monsieur N'' (Empire; $26.98).

``The Pacifier'' (Disney; $29.99).

``Diary of a Mad Black Woman'' (Lions Gate; $28.98).

'The Browning Version,' 'Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'

``The Browning Version'' (1951) is adapted from a play about a retiring teacher at a British school - not much loved by anyone, including his unfaithful wife. Not very uplifting, but Michael Redford's performance is a lesson in subtle acting.

``Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'' (1974) is one of those cult favorites that makes you wonder why it gained its popularity. It stars Susan George and Peter Fonda in the title roles as robbers on the run from the law, a sheriff played by Vic Morrow. There are plenty of stunts and car chases, but that was expected in an era of films like ``Cannonball Run.''

``The Browning Version'' (Criterion; $29.95).

''Dirty Mary Crazy Larry'' (Supercharger Edition; $19.98).

'The Daily Show' and more TV

Depending on how you voted in the last presidential election, ``The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Indecision 2004'' may make you laugh or cry. But if you put the election behind you, this three-disc set, which includes 10 shows, is still pretty funny. While the audience for the show - which is a faux newscast with Stewart as anchor and Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, Samantha Bee and Ed Helms as reporters - skews to the left, Stewart has just as much fun ripping liberals as he does conservatives. The odd part is that while the Comedy Central show is, duh, a comedy, it actually in a lot of ways covers the news better than most news organizations, leading to it winning a Peabody Award. The shows include guests from the real political world, and more often than not Stewart asks more penetrating questions than the softballs usually lobbed at our politicos. A bonus disc includes some off-the-wall bits from other shows.

Other TV-related releases are listed below.

``The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - Indecision 2004'' (Paramount; $39.98).

``Revelations'' (Universal; $27.98).

``La Femme Nikita - The Complete Third Season'' (Warner; $99.98).

``Homicide Life on the Street - The Complete Season 7'' (A&E; $99.95).

``The Ren and Stimpy Show - Seasons Three and a Half-ish'' (Paramount; $38.99).

``Nero Wolfe - The Complete Second Season'' (A&E; $99.95).

``The Sid Caesar Collection - 50th Anniversary'' (New Video; $49.95).

``Doris Day Show Season 1'' (MPI; $38.98).

''A Touch of Frost - Season 6'' (MPI; $38.98).

``Beyond the Da Vinci Code'' (A&E; $19.95).

'Jimi Hendrix'

``Jimi Hendrix'' - a 1973 ``authorized'' documentary on the great rock legend who had died a couple of years before - nicely covers the bases by looking at the private man and his struggle to be recognized and the public figure. It includes discussions about him from such contemporaries as Pete Townshend, Little Richard (whose band he played in), Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Lou Reed. In some ways, Hendrix and his music will always be a bit of an enigma because of his early death from a drug overdose. But the inclusion of some great performance footage by Hendrix in the doc gives you an inkling of how the guitarist could move audiences.

``Jimi Hendrix'' (Warner; $19.98).

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Director MICHAEL TUCKER, on the set of ``Gunner Palace''