VIDEO : SOAK UP FILM HISTORY WITH DVDS.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Despite initial success, some films lose their luster or fall in critics' eyes over time. Two recent remastered DVD releases - the 1939 ``Gulliver's Travels'' (WinStar; $19.99) and the 1937 ``Lost Horizon'' (Columbia; $27.95) - are good examples.

``Gulliver'' was America's second fully animated color feature, following Disney's 1937 ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.'' According to Tom Reich, the man behind the remastering of this 60th anniversary version, ``Gulliver'' was the third-highest-grossing picture of 1939, behind ``Gone With the Wind'' and ``The Wizard of Oz,'' but since then has largely been forgotten. The cartoon version of Jonathan Swift's tale was created by the Fleischer brothers - Max and Dave - who were also behind Betty Boop and Popeye.

Unlike Disney, who Reich considers always ``kiddie friendly,'' the Fleischer studios had more of an edge to their stuff - especially with the Boop cartoons. ``The Fleischers had a New York vaudeville sensibility,'' says Reich, ``while Disney had a Midwestern one.'' This meant that the Fleischers' cartoons were more adult and often had political and social relevance, which is probably one of the reasons the brothers couldn't break Disney's hold on the animation world. (They wouldn't be the last to fail.) Reich believes it was just bad timing, since their second animated feature, ``Mr. Bug Goes to Town,'' came out on Pearl Harbor Day.

Certainly much of ``Gulliver's'' animation is impressive. Reich points out that while ``A Bug's Life'' boasts how each blade of grass moves due to the use of computers, ``Gulliver'' did the same thing - except that more than 700,000 frames were hand-drawn. And Reich's remastering on the DVD, which also includes a number of extras, is also impressive, with the color and sound seeming new.

But the question remains whether ``Gulliver'' deserved to be mostly ignored for the past 60 years, or is a forgotten masterpiece. For my part, it falls somewhere in between, more a technical wonder and part of film history than compelling. Still, it's commendable that the film has been restored, and it deserves a new look.

``Lost Horizon'' is a different story. Frank Capra's film has been a staple of late shows, revival houses and cable channels for years. But critics are split over its merit. Pauline Kael called it ``part popular adventure and part prissy, high-flown cracker-barrel sentimentality.'' Others loved its spectacle. For Capra - who is best-known for his heartland comedies like ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' ``Meet John Doe'' and ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' - it was a way to present his vision of Utopia. And he did so with one of the most lavish sets ever built in Hollywood up till that time.

Much care was taken to restore ``Lost Horizon'' to its 1937 form. Some 24 minutes were trimmed during a World War II re-release so that the film's pacifistic message wouldn't be as strong. Some of those scenes were never recovered, but UCLA film preservationist Robert Gitt managed to put back about seven minutes of missing scenes.

The DVD also includes an alternative ending, three deleted scenes, photo documentary with narration by historian Kendall Miller and restoration commentary by film critic Charles Champlin and Gitt.

While ``Lost Horizon'' has a number of things to recommend it - especially performances by Ronald Colman and Sam Jaffe - it's not Capra at his best. It's too ponderous at times. Capra was better at making statements in comedies.

Still, Gitt deserves credit for restoring ``Lost Horizon,'' and the DVD with all its extras is a wonderful treat for film buffs.

This leads us to wonder why we aren't seeing more DVDs like ``Gulliver'' and ``Lost.'' Earlier this year, MGM released the 1951 Oscar-winning film ``An American in Paris'' on DVD ($24.99). It is essentially the same as the VHS version. It was not remastered, nor is there any commentary. Directed by Vincent Minnelli, starring Gene Kelly and filled with music by the Gershwins, it was essentially Kelly's attempt to turn the filmed dance number into high art. The 17-minute ballet sequence toward the film's end is breathtaking. Considering that MGM put out ``That's Entertainment,'' it would seem like they would have plenty of stuff in their vaults to add.

So while it's great that ``Gulliver'' and ``Lost'' were remastered, hopefully, studios will take time to remaster films that deserved it, like ``An American in Paris.''

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Photo: (1--2) Max and Dave Fleischer's pioneering ``Gulliver's Travels'' (1939) and Frank Capra's ``Lost Horizon'' (1937) have been remastered for DVD.