DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Giant tripods invade your home!

On one of the extras on the two-disc edition of Steven Spielberg's summer blockbuster ``War of the Worlds,'' he says that it is childhood memories that stay with you. He then goes on to talk about how his father took him out one night to see a meteor shower and made a telescope for him.

Since then, Hollywood's premier director has manifested his fascination with outer space with ``Close Encounters'' and ``E.T.,'' two films that take a benign or neutral look at aliens. With ``War,'' Spielberg offers a post-9/11 vision, complete with paranoia and inhuman impulses by the humans.

Based on the 1898 H.G. Wells novel that inspired Orson Welles to use our fears to play a Halloween trick in 1938, Spielberg's ``War'' begins, like its 1938 predecessor, in New Jersey, where aliens come down to Earth during an eerie lightning storm and then rise out of the ground to wreak havoc with giant tripod contraptions. It's also comical at first how the Jersey-ites are bemused and befuddled by the events, before they realize that the danger is real.

One of them is Ray (Tom Cruise) - a somewhat irresponsible father forced to take care of his two children (Dakota Fanning as the precocious 10-year-old and Justin Chatwin as her sullen teenage brother) while his ex-wife and her husband head for Boston. Ray is somewhat quicker to recognize the threat, and he quickly gathers up the kids and heads to Beantown.

While the family drama as Ray comes to grips with his parental duties is part of the fabric of ``War,'' Spielberg never lets it intrude too much into the flight narrative, and some of the set pieces - including a chaotic crowd scene at a Hudson River ferry landing and a devastated suburban landscape into which a jetliner has crashed - are spectacular. For the most part, Spielberg keeps the action moving and the dread palpable - as he did in early movies like ``Duel'' and ``Jaws.''

Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp, however, never solve the ending problem from Wells' original novel. (If you don't know, suffice it to say that the Gaia Theory would seem to apply, which makes for a rather flat denouement.) There are some moments that hauntingly remain - one over possession of a gun, another a ``Sophie's Choice'' decision amid a battlefield, and yet another involving a crazed character played by Tim Robbins. And in the meantime, Spielberg reminds us that he still knows how to make a thrill ride.

``War of the Worlds'' (DreamWorks; $29.99 single disc; $39.99 two-disc set)

`The Polar Express'

It took a while for ``The Polar Express'' to pick up much steam at the box office, and that was due to the realistic-looking animated film's visual impressiveness on an IMAX screen. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who wrote the film with William Broyles Jr., ``The Polar Express,'' based on a 32-page book by Chris Van Allsburg, tells the story of a young boy of the 1950s who, despite some doubts, hopes there is indeed a Santa Claus to deliver gifts. After falling asleep, he wakes to a train pulling into his front yard with a conductor voiced and played by Tom Hanks, utilizing the new motion-capture technology. (Hanks is also the voice of the boy and Santa). The boy boards, and the train heads for the North Pole, taking him on some adventures before delivering him to see the jolly old man.

But ``The Polar Express'' is more muted than jolly. Even the colors have a feel more of faded nostalgia than vibrancy of celebration. Inside ``The Polar Express'' there is a sweet idea, but it gets lost amid the technology. It's not as disappointing as some have made it out to be, but like Christmas wishes sometimes, the reality isn't as magical as what you imagined. For those interested, there are extras that deal with the technology involved in making the film as well as a game for youngsters.

``The Polar Express'' (Warner; $28.98 single disc; $29.98 two-disc set)

'Ran,' 'Tales of Hoffmann'

Criterion is releasing two classics worth noting - first and foremost is legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's 1985 ``Ran,'' which is loosely based on Shakespeare's ``King Lear.'' At 75, Kurosawa made a film about a feudal lord who retires from ruling his kingdom, dividing it among his three sons (unlike Lear's three daughters). As ``Lear'' was one of Shakespeare's later works and one of his greatest, ``Ran'' is one of Kurosawa's. The story - universal and heartbreaking, of a powerful man who becomes impotent in old age - requires a certain maturity to pull off, which Kurosawa had, making ``Ran'' simply a magnificent achievement.

Three years after he made the classic ballet movie ``The Red Shoes'' in 1948, director Michael Powell turned his attention to the lyrical Jacques Offenbach opera ``The Tales of Hoffmann.'' Overlooked at the time, the film has been championed by Martin Scorsese, who provides audio commentary for the DVD. Though ``Red Shoes'' was in color, Powell chose to make the sumptuous ``Hoffmann'' in black and white. Some have called the film a spectacular failure; spectacular it is, for sure. But the film has its defenders, including Scorsese and George Romero, who also is interviewed for the DVD. While Powell's adventurous cinematic choices can be debated, the charm of this production cannot.

``Ran'' (Criterion; $39.95)

``The Tales of Hoffmann'' (Criterion; $39.95)

'King Kong,' 'Aeon Flux'

Whenever there are big-budget theatrical movies on the horizon that have been done before in earlier versions, you can be sure they'll be released on DVD before the premiere. In the early '90s, MTV had a stylish animated version of ``Aeon Flux,'' the super agent of the future (about 400 years ahead) in a dominatrix outfit who will be played by Charlize Theron on the big screen. Disease has wiped out the majority of Earth's population, except for a protected city-state ruled by mostly corrupt scientists, with whom Ms. Flux finds herself at odds.

For those of you who can't wait to go ape when Peter Jackson's ``King Kong'' comes out next month, there's the original 1933 RKO classic ``King Kong,'' which is being released in a special edition and a collector's edition. The film itself has been remastered and has commentary from visual-effects wizards Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston, ``Kong's'' creator Merian C. Cooper and the beauty that killed the beast, Fay Wray. There is also a fascinating seven-part documentary with segments introduced by directors John Landis and Jackson. The collector's edition DVD features a keepsake tin with a 20-page reproduction of the original 1933 souvenir program, ``King Kong'' original one-sheet reproduction postcards and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage theatrical poster.

Also, there's ``The King Kong Collection,'' which includes the ``King Kong Special Edition,'' ``Son of Kong'' and ``Mighty Joe Young.'' Over the years, there has been much analysis of ``Kong'' - from its psycho-sexual implications to its racial overtones - but there is one thing for sure: Some girls can't resist a big ape.

``The King Kong Collection'' (Warner; $39.92)

``King Kong'' (Warner; $26.99 for the special edition; $39.99 for the collector's edition)

``Aeon Flux - The Complete Animated Collection'' (Paramount; $38.99)

'Seinfeld,' 'Leave It to Beaver' and much more TV

By the time ``Seinfeld'' hit seasons five and six, the show about ``nothing'' had become something. Much of its humor fell into typical situations - i.e. a misunderstanding with Kramer's (Michael Richards) girlfriend forces Jerry (Seinfeld) into wearing a puffy pirate shirt for his appearance on the ``Today'' show.

But Jerry, Kramer, George (Jason Alexander) and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) more often than not were tripped up by there own foibles, vanities and obsessions, which led to hilarious and recognizable situations to which the audience could relate. When Jerry is caught making out during ``Schindler's List,'' there is righteous outrage on one hand - how can he let his sexual urges take over when this horrible historical event is being depicted? Well, easily, because there is also the acknowledgment that most of us are all too human - we laugh out loud in a place of worship and very often let our weaknesses get the better of us.

That sounds much too serious for a sitcom, but ``Seinfeld'' was brilliant in that way because it avoided the formula of having the characters learn their lessons - and that is their charm, or lack thereof. Both seasons pile on enough dumb sitcom situations to seem utterly preposterous, but the series always kept enough of its underlying aim of ``nothingness'' to avoid becoming ordinary. For fanatics of the series, there is a gift set of the two seasons with a collectible puffy shirt.

Five of Barbra Streisand's television specials from the 1960s and early '70s have been collected together in a box set. The first, ``My Name Is Barbra'' (1965), is in black and white and includes performances of her best-known tunes of the time, including ``People'' and ``Don't Rain on My Parade.'' The others - all in color, including ``Color Me Barbra'' (1966) - all spotlight a superb song stylist at the top of her game.

Personally, I am immune to the charms of the Cleaver clan of the 1950s. ``Leave It to Beaver,'' which debuted in 1957, depicted an all-American family - dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont, mom June (Barbara Billingsley), older brother Wally (Tony Dow) and Theodore (``the Beaver'') played by Jerry Mathers - who never seemed to have much to do (talk about nothing!) except keep the nice boys from being too rambunctious. This could usually be done with just a bit of fatherly or motherly advice. Only the unctuous Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond - Harry Shearer was originally cast in the role for the pilot), a friend of Wally's, brought any hint that there was a less-than-nice world waiting out there. For fans looking for more comfort food, there's a collectible lunch-box edition with a Cleaver family photo album.

For the more cynical among us, the question about ``American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol'' is how can you tell the difference? Yes, of course, the labels. Disc one serves up ``winners'' Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood, as well as well-known runners-up like Bo Bice and Clay Aiken; disc two has the outrageous William ``She Bangs'' Hung and others who are seemingly oblivious to their lack of talent. But there isn't a memorable artist among them on either disc, though it could be argued that some of the worst are, in their own way, originally bad. Even the trio of judges - Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul - seem to have dropped in from some bad sitcom. (Talk about real nothingness).

Other television-related discs are listed below.

``Seinfeld - Season 5'' and ``Season 6'' (Columbia; $49.95 each)

``Seinfeld - Seasons 5 & 6 Giftset'' (Columbia; $119.95) includes handwritten script and a collectible puffy shirt.

``Barbra Streisand - The Television Specials'' (Warner; $59.98)

``Leave It to Beaver - The Complete First Season'' (Universal; $49.98)

``American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol'' (Capital Entertainment;$34.98)

``CSI Miami - The Complete Third Season'' (Paramount; $79.99) tag!

``The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Fourth Season'' (Paramount; $39.98)

``Extreme Makeover - Home Edition'' (Disney; $29.99)

``Home Improvement - The Complete Third Season'' (Disney; $39.99)

``The Golden Girls - The Complete Third Season'' (Disney; $39.99)

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) TOM CRUISE and DAKOTA FLANNING in ``War of the Worlds''

(2) ``THE POLAR EXPRESS''