DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: ROB LOWMAN

A real nightmare

It's nearly impossible not to feel drained after watching Paul Greengrass' ``United 93,'' a re-creation of what we know happened and what may have happened to the fourth plane hijacked by Islamic terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.

Greengrass -- who made the excellent ``Bloody Sunday,'' about a 1972 clash between peaceful Irish protesters and the British military that turned deadly, and the thrill ride ``The Bourne Supremacy'' -- avoids sensationalism and delivers a taut story about the doomed hijacked flight that crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing everyone on board.

The hijackers, as we have learned since, had targeted the U.S. Capitol building. All we can be sure of is that the terrorists invaded the cockpit during the flight, probably killing the pilot and co-pilot and taking control of the plane. About a half-hour after that, the passengers tried to retake the cockpit, and a few minutes later the plane went down.

In an almost documentary fashion, Greengrass uses crosscutting to relate the horrific events. Early on, he captures the ordinariness of what may have seemed like just another day when it began for the passengers and crew, showing them making small-talk, checking bags and readying the plane.

Despite calling itself a ``creative work based on fact,'' it's the small details -- the chitchat, for instance -- that give ``United 93'' its feel of authenticity. When the terror hits, Greengrass moves between the confusion on the ground and the action on the plane.

In some ways the film is a reminder of how unprepared we (and our government) were for such an attack, although ``United 93'' makes no attempt to politicize the issue.

Seeing it, however, is a different matter.

As well done as ``United 93'' is, it's hard to take because, throughout, we are always aware of the doom that inevitably awaits the victims of the terrorists. And unlike other films, this wasn't dreamed up by a Hollywood scriptwriter. This was our country's nightmare.

`BROKEN TRAIL'

When asked what first attracted him to ``Broken Trail,'' the much-acclaimed and watched AMC miniseries, director Water Hill gives it to you straight: ``I like Westerns.''

During his illustrious career, Hill has directed some good ones, including ``The Long Riders,'' a lively retelling of the exploits of the James Gang, and ``Wild Bill,'' about the famed gunfighter-lawman.

In ``Broken Trail,'' which stars Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church, he wanted to to do something ``less icon and more blue collar.''

The film, set in 1897, features Duvall as Print Ritter and Church as his estranged nephew, Tom Harte. While driving a herd of horses from Oregon to Wyoming, they unintentionally become the protectors of a group of abused Chinese girls who have been brought to America to work as prostitutes. The pair -- who Hill notes are ``not extraordinary human beings'' -- must not only cope with the problems of the trail but deal with their own humanity.

``We didn't go looking to save no Orientals and a broken-nosed whore,'' Print says to Tom. ``But sometimes you got to roll with what's thrown at you.''

``What really got me about the story was the problems of the Chinese girls ... and that gave it a kind of heart,'' says Hill.

``Broken Trail,'' which was named Best of the West at the recent Golden Boot awards and is sure to get Emmy consideration next year, plays out differently than many of the kinetic films Hill is known for, like ``The Warriors'' and the two ``48 Hours'' movies.

``It's not paced like a lot of things that I have done, which push the stories along. ... This has the opposite technique. ... But I felt if you didn't put the story of these guys and young women in a huge landscape, you were really going to miss a huge storytelling element.''

He also says he was tired of people telling him what he could do in television. ``I always say that ... the television screens are getting bigger and the movie screens are getting smaller.''

Hill also directed the pilot episode for a very different sort of Western -- HBO's ``Deadwood.''

``I like the essence of what a Western is. ... I think it is essentially about the values of conduct and the moral choices people make ... away from official power of civilization ... so they have to work these out themselves. `Deadwood' is a very extreme example of that.''

Rob Lowman [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

OLDER FILMS

In anticipation of the upcoming remake, there's Robert Rosen's Oscar-winning 1949 film ``All the King's Men,'' based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. It starred Broderick Crawford in his Oscar-winning performance as corrupt politician Willie Stark. The film remains as powerful today as it was then.

Criterion is releasing new discs of films that should be part of the collection of any serious film fan -- Akira Kurosawa's ``The Seven Samurai,'' Federico Fellini's ``Amarcord,'' Jacques Tati's ``Playtime'' and, to a lesser degree, Terry Gilliam's ``Brazil.''

``Godzilla -- Gojira Deluxe Collector's Edition'' is a remastered version of the original monster epic.

NEWER FILMS

At the center of hyperkinetic ``District B13'' is parkour, a manic extreme sport that involves throwing oneself around in dangerous situations. There is a plot grafted onto all this running and jumping and hurtling through the air that goes on in the movie, but the filmmakers -- including producer and co-writer Luc Besson -- are more interested in the balletic, violent action.

``Kinky Boots,'' a British comedy, seems to have little more aim than to be offbeat and occasionally funny. Supposedly based on a true story, it tells how a drag queen helped save a failing shoe factory. And there's kinky footwear involved.

OK, so on the second season of ``Lost,'' they killed off some of the most attractive people on the island. As we have come to learn, more will appear.

The hit ABC series about 48 or so plane-crash survivors stranded on a tropical isle began year two with the main characters going down the hatch, a mysterious metal structure that raises more questions than it answers. It's sort of like Alice and the rabbit hole.

``Lost'' can be alternately frustrating and captivating. One minute it's easy to be annoyed with the characters and some of their back stories; the next you're convinced the mystery of why they're on the isle and what's really going on is about to become clear.

I find myself coming back to the show even after I swear to give it up -- the mark of good television.

``Supernatural,'' about two brothers in their 20s, played by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, searching for their father and trying to understand the mystery behind their mother's death, is worth checking out for horror/sci-fi fans. For those who miss ``Buffy,'' there's a new demon every week.

``Oz -- The Complete Sixth Season'' is the final year of the gritty HBO drama that takes place inside the experimental cellblock in Oswald State Penitentiary. The high quality of the series isn't in dispute, but the harsh, sometimes hallucinatory stories are an acquired taste.

``Sharpe's Challenge'' is a new adventure of the British soldier who pulled himself up from the ranks during the Napoleonic Wars to become a hero and an officer.

Based on Bernard Cornwell's novels, a number of the adventures were winningly filmed in the 1990s, starring Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe. The series has been shown recently on BBC America.

The newly filmed ``Sharpe's Challenge,'' which aired over the weekend, finds the professional soldier (still played by Bean) in India two years after the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

There he must save the day -- and a general's beautiful daughter.

Bean, who often plays villains, makes a great larger-than-life hero.

Season one of ``Hustle,'' the AMC British import about a group of elite con artists, is clever and well-written, and it's nice to see Robert Vaughn (``The Man From U.N.C.L.E'' from the '60s and other shows) back on TV. It's interesting that his ``U.N.C.L.E'' partner, David McCallum, is also on the hit show ``Navy NCIS.''

THE PRICE TAGS

TELEVISION

``Lost -- The Complete Second Season'' (Buena Vista; $59.99)

``Supernatural -- The Complete First Season'' (Warner; $59.98)

``Oz -- The Complete Sixth Season'' (HBO; $64.98)

``Sharpe's Challenge'' (BBC/Warner; $24.98)

``Broken Trail'' (Columbia; $26.98)

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

``The Flintstones -- The Complete Sixth Season'' (Turner; $44.98)

``Commander in Chief -- The Inaugural Edition, Part 2'' (Touchstone; $29.99)

``Hustle -- Complete Season One'' (BBC/Warner; $34.98)

``Perfect Strangers'' (BBC/Warner; $29.98)

``Shooting the Past'' (BBC/Warner; $29.98)

NEW FILMS

``United 93'' (Universal; $29.98)

``District B13'' (Magnolia; $26.98)

``Kinky Boots'' (Miramax; $29.99)

OLDER FILMS

``Seven Samurai'' (Criterion Collection; $49.95)

``Amarcord'' (Criterion Collection; $39.95)

``Playtime'' (Criterion Collection; $39.95)

``Brazil'' (Criterion Collection; $29.95)

``Godzilla -- Gojira Deluxe Collector's Edition'' (Columbia; $21.98)

``All the King's Men'' (Columbia; $19.98)

``Jackass -- The Movie: Unrated Special Collector's Edition'' (Paramount; $19.90)

FOR KIDS

``Fraggle Rock: Complete Second Season'' (Lyons/Hit; $49.98)

``Anne of Avonlea'' (Koch; $29.98)

CAPTION(S):

10 photos

Photo:

(1) Jean and Donald Peterson (Becky London and Tom O'Rourke) comfort each other in ``United 93.''

(2) no caption (``Broken Trail'')

(3) no caption (``All the King's Men'')

(4) no caption (``Godzilla -- Gojira Deluxe Collector's Edition'')

(5) no caption (``District B13'')

(6) no caption (``Kinky Boots'')

(7) no caption (``LOST'')

(8) no caption (``Supernatural'')

(9) no caption (``OZ'')

(10) no caption (``Hustle'')