VIDEO : BLANCHETT SETS `ELIZABETH'-AN TONE.

Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Entertainment Editor

If a film set in Elizabethan times had to win the Academy Award for best picture, it should have been the one about the monarch who put her stamp on the era. And if an actress should have gotten an Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), it should have been Cate Blanchett for best actress rather than Judi Dench as best supporting.

That's no disrespect to Dame Judi, who is in the pantheon of actresses, but her brief time on the screen pales next to Blanchett's metamorphosis from a sensuous but awkward girl to the self-assured Virgin Queen in ``Elizabeth,'' which comes out on video next week. And no disrespect to ``Shakespeare in Love,'' which is a frothy and delightful mixture of fact and fancy that offers a lighthearted conjecture on how a struggling playwright became, well, the Bard. But ``Elizabeth,'' even with its flaws, is a darker and more interesting vision.

If some viewers shied away from ``Elizabeth,'' which was directed by Shekhar Kapur (``Bandit Queen''), because it was a historical costume drama, then they were missing out on what is ultimately a tale of high-stakes political intrigue with a ``Godfather''-like ending.

But if the history is confusing, here's a thumbnail sketch: In 1554, Henry VIII is dead, and England is racked by religious instability. A dying and childless Mary I, a Catholic known as ``Bloody Mary,'' rules, and has stepped up her suppression of Protestants. Despite attempts to get rid of her, Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth, ascends to the throne upon the queen's death in 1558. She continues to be seen as a threat by Catholics, who plot to oust her. (In those days, that didn't mean getting a talk show but more likely losing your head.) Meanwhile, her advisers press her to marry a foreign ruler in order to stabilize the country.

This is where the film takes off. Elizabeth is conflicted between her own urges - an affair with Lord Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes, who also played Shakespeare in love) and the affairs of state. Aided by a master spy, Sir Francis Walsingham (Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush, who received an Oscar nomination for ``Shakespeare''), Elizabeth realizes that her only chance of survival is to assert herself and not subjugate herself to any man.

Unlike many Hollywood films, ``Elizabeth'' is fairly accurate historically. Dudley and Walsingham were real enough and played important roles in Elizabeth's life. How the machinations in the royal court unfold is a matter for conjecture and for historians (and Hollywood) to fill in. Kapur's direction, while flamboyant at times, stays focused enough to keep the film on the right track.

While ``Elizabeth'' doesn't really penetrate the veil of history, which Kapur seems to use as a metaphor, judging by the number of shots filtered through soft focus, smoke or curtains, it does put forth an interesting theory on origination of the Virgin Queen.

The people need something to believe in, Walsingham tells Elizabeth as she gazes up at a statue of the Virgin Mary. What ensued created an empire (but that's another film).

Seeing stars: As they did for their 100 greatest movies list, the American Film Institute in conjunction with the major Hollywood studios will release 100 videos for AFI's ``100 Years ... 100 Stars.'' The names of the top 25 men and 25 women stars will be revealed on a three-hour CBS special on June 15. Each of the past stars will be introduced by a contemporary star. The 100 videos, which will have stickers that say ``Legendary Performance'' or ``Star Performance,'' are of the 50 old stars and 50 new stars. They will be available in stores June 16. More information about the event and who was nominated can be found on the Web at afionline.org.

What's in store: Blockbuster has begun to release its own line of videos. So far, the titles are of some of the more interesting movies from the premium cable channels and smaller independent films. Among the first releases from the cables are `The Baby Dance,'' a drama produced by Jodie Foster and starring Laura Dern and Stockard Channing, and ``Safe House,'' a thriller with ``Star Trek's'' Patrick Stewart. ``The Curve'' is a thriller that played at Sundance. It stars ``Felicity's'' Keri Russell and has a soundtrack featuring Sarah McLachan and the Smiths. The video chain's Web site is blockbuster.com.

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Photo: Cate Blanchett stars in ``Elizabeth,'' which comes out on video next week.