DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: ROB LOWMAN

The rampaging delights of `Rome'

When in ``Rome,'' do as the Romans do. Which, if you're referring to the stellar HBO series, means unbridled violence, sex and ambition, and a lot of fun for viewers.

As one scholar noted on a History Channel special about the series, don't think of Romans in modern Judeo-Christian terms. They didn't have the same sense of morality we do. (Well, at least the Romans weren't killing people for religious reasons -- it was all about power and conquest.)

The series is a bit of a chimera -- with three broad stories being told: the soldiers/plebeians Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) and their families, including Indira Varma as Lucius' wife; the machinations of the rulers -- Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), Pompey (Kenneth Cranham), Mark Antony (James Purefoy); and the schemings of the aristocrats -- Caesar's niece Atia (Polly Walker) and her children -- the teenage (and future ruler) Octavian (Max Pirkis) and his older sister Octavia (Kerry Condon) and Caesar's lover, Servilia (Lindsay Duncan) and her grown son Marcus Brutus (Tobias Menzies).

From the opening credits, you know this is not your typical sword-and-sandals epic. It's that salacious graffiti on the walls that is a tip-off. (Interestingly, graffiti becomes a plot point a time or two.) But sex is as much an act of pleasure as it is a bartering chip. When we first meet Atia, she's astride a tradesman who she wants to procure a horse for her. A bit later, Octavian is spying on her as she bathes, but rather than admonishing him, she bids him come in to talk to her and casually rises stark naked from the bath -- not provocatively but because nudity wasn't an issue. (And neither is it in ``Rome''-- where there's a lot of nudity.) Later, believing that Pompey will marry Octavia, Atia lets him try out the goods, and she sends Octavian off to a whorehouse to lose his virginity.

And that's Atia, who is always plotting to advance in society, at her most innocent. Walker plays her perfectly. Atia is almost puzzled that everyone isn't as devious-minded as she, which gives the character a comic element.

Hinds (``Munich'') gives Caesar the expected arrogance but humanizes him, too. But the two everymen -- Titus and Pullo -- mismatched, unlikely friends -- are the heart of ``Rome.'' Titus is a real soldier, who still believes in the gods, while Pullo is an almost lovable lunk, except when he's killing or brutalizing someone, which is a lot of the time. But all the characters in ``Rome'' are walking contradictions. There is a startling moment involving Pullo that begins sweetly and turns to beyond ugliness in an instant. It is typical of how ``Rome'' continually jars the audience out of its expectations.

At a reported cost of $100 million, ``Rome'' was beautifully staged and simply the best series on television last year. That the Emmys have, for the most part, overlooked it is, in a word, stupid.

``I shall be a good politician, even if it kills me,'' says Mark Antony with what seems a perpetually threatening smirk on his face. ``Or, if it kills anyone else, for that matter.'' Yes, ``Rome'' is a killer (and there is plenty of killing in some horrific ways). But I bet you'll watch it more than once.

Rob Lowman, [phone]

[e-mail]

NEW FILMS

The winner of the Golden Palm at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, ``L' Enfant,'' centers on an unlikable character, Bruno (Jeremie Renier), who sells his ex-girlfriend's baby (and his own child) on the black market. The French film, by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, doesn't pass judgment on Bruno but instead offers the viewer a chance to think about the character's moral sense and why he does what he does, and, in turn our own decision-making process.

We don't know if Robin Williams' recent revelation that he had a drinking problem had anything to do with ``RV.'' You'd think, however, that Williams (who can still be a brilliant comic), director Barry Sonnenfeld (``Men in Black'')and the wonderful Cheryl Hines (``Curb Your Enthusiasm'') might have thought twice before plunging into this formulaic comedy. It's not unentertaining -- there are funny moments. It's just so cheesy and predictable that you'd swear you've seen even when you didn't.

By ``Scary Movie 4,'' you'd think that the series has long outlasted its welcome. And it has, but the ``Scary Movies'' always manage to squeeze out a few laughs.

OLDER FILMS

This is the moment to wax rhapsodic about ``Six Moral Tales by Eric Rohmer'' from Criterion.

Some find these films done by the French director in the late '60s and early '70s talky without much action or tension, but subtle and sublime would be more accurate. As the title says, the films involve moral choices -- not big sins but smaller personal questions that spring from Rohmer's Catholic background.

My two favorites are ``My Night at Maud's'' and ``Claire's Knee'' -- the fourth and fifth in the series. In ``Claire's Knee,'' Jean-Claude Brialy is a middle-age intellectual about to be married but who becomes consumed with a leggy 17-year-old woman who has no interest in him. In order to control his desire, he focuses on one small way to satisfy himself. He wishes to touch her knee. In ``Maud,'' Jean-Louis Trintigant is a devout Catholic in love with Francoise. One night, he goes with a friend to have dinner at the apartment of Maud (Francoise Fabian). Later, when a snowstorm forces him to stay overnight, Maud makes sexual advances. Should he or shouldn't he?

That's the beauty of Rohmer's films. They are a delicate dance, with the so-called heroes moving between questions of feelings, morality, religion and societal norms.

Each of the other four films bring their own pleasure. If you haven't discovered Rohmer -- who at 86 is still making movies -- this is the perfect collection.

Also out: ``Apocalypse Now -- The Complete Dossier'' with some new extras; ``James Stewart -- The Signature Collection,'' which includes six entertaining, though not great, films by the everyman star; ``Ronald Reagan -- The Signature Collection,'' which has the excellent ``Kings Row'' (and the president's best performance -- except in the White House, of course) and ``Knute Rockne All American''; and ``Heart Like a Wheel,'' the story of Shirley Muldowney, with lively performances by Bonnie Bedelia as the gender-busting drag racer and Beau Bridges as her understanding but hard-pressed husband.

TELEVISION

Daniel Radcliffe -- aka Harry Potter -- first caught everyone's eye when he played the 8-year-old David Copperfield in the BBC's 1999 production of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. ``Copperfield,'' along with ``The Old Curiosity Shop,'' ``Dombey and Son'' and ``Pickwick Papers,'' make up ``The Charles Dickens Collection, Vol. 2.'' < Though only in it for the first hour, Radcliffe was so impressive that the critics were touting him for the Potter role after seeing ``David Copperfield.'' Even without Radcliffe, the production would still be one of the best adaptations of Dickens' works, with a smashing cast of Tom Wilkerson as the narrator, Bob Hoskins as Micawber (a role W.C. Fields once essayed), Ian McKellen as Creakle and Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Micawber.

This is the season where DVD sets of last season's shows are being rolled out, including some which won't be returning. ``Surface -- The Complete Series'' is one of those. Even repurposing it by airing repeated episodes on the Sci Fi channel -- where it probably belonged -- didn't help the NBC series survive. Did it deserve to? Probably not, but sci-fi fans can get hooked into the strange-creatures-from-the-deep scenario.

Italian horrormeister Dario Argento (``Supiria'') has a couple of titles out ``Masters of Horror -- Dario Argento - Jenifer,'' which aired on Showtime, and ``Do You Like Hitchcock?''

``Jenifer'' involves a disfigured woman in a skimpy outfit with a healthy appetite for unhealthy things -- the staples of Argento's cinema. ``Hitchcock'' is a tribute to the master of suspense -- with more gore, of course.

They won't grow up or get old, which is why we have ``The Simpsons -- The Complete Eighth Season,'' which some call the last great season. Whatever.

TELEVISION

``Rome -- The Complete First Season'' (HBO: $99.98)

``The Simpsons -- The Complete Eighth Season'' (Fox; $49.98)

``Hogan's Heroes -- The Complete Fourth Season'' (Paramount; $38.99)

``Full House -- The Complete Fourth Season'' (Warner; $29.98)

``Remington Steele: Seasons 4 and 5'' (Fox; $49.98)

``Surface -- The Complete Series'' (Universal; $49.98)

``3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 5'' (Anchor Bay; $39.98)

``The Weird Al Show -- The Complete Series'' (Shout; $34.98)

``Hong Kong Phooey -- The Complete Series'' (Turner; $26.98)

``Dora the Explorer -- We're a Team'' (Paramount; $16.99)

``The Jeffersons -- The Complete Fifth Season'' (Columbia; $29.95)

``The Duchess of Duke Street -- Series 2'' (Acorn; $79.95)

``The Charles Dickens Collection, Vol. 2'' (``The Old Curiosity Shop,'' ``David Copperfield,'' ``Dombey and Son,'' ``Pickwick Papers'') (BBC/Warner; $49.98)

``The Flying Nun: The Complete Second Season'' (Columbia; $29.95)

``Frontline -- Can You Afford to Retire?'' (PBS; $29.98)

``Masters of Horror - Dario Argento - Jenifer'' (Anchor Bay; $16.98)

NEW FILMS

``RV'' (Columbia; $28.95)

``Scary Movie 4'' (Miramax; $29.95)

``Hoot'' (New Line; $27.98)

``Do You Like Hitchcock?'' (Anchor Bay; $19.99)

``I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer'' (Columbia; $24.96)

``L' Enfant'' (Columbia; $24.96)

``Land of the Blind'' ($26.99)

``Lemming'' (Strand; $24.99)

``Love Comes to the Executioner'' (Think, $24.99)

OLDER FILMS

``Six Moral Tales by Eric Rohmer'' (``The Bakery Girl of Monceau,'' ``Suzanne's Career,'' `` My Night at Maud's,'' ``La Collectionneuse,'' ``Claire's Knee,'' ``Love in the Afternoon'') (Criterion; $99.95)

``Apocalypse Now -- The Complete Dossier'' (Paramount; $19.99)

``James Stewart -- The Signature Collection'' (``The Cheyenne Social Club,'' ``Firecreek,'' ``The FBI Story,'' ``The Naked Spur,'' ``The Spirit of St. Louis,'' ``The Stratton Story'') (Warner; $49.98)

``Ronald Reagan -- The Signature Collection'' (``Knute Rockne All American,'' ``Kings Row,'' ``The Hasty Heart,'' ``Storm Warning,'' ``The Winning Team'') (Warner; $49.98)

``Heart Like a Wheel'' (Anchor Bay; $19.98)

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1) Ray Stevenson, Ciaran Hinds and Kevin McKidd in a scene from HBO's ``Rome.''

(2) no caption ("L' enfant")

(3) no caption ("Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier")

(4) no caption ("Knute Rockne All American")

(5) no caption ("David Copperfield")

(6) no caption ("Surface - The Complete Series")