VIDEO BRUSH WITH GREATNESS ALEC GUINNESS' PORTRAYAL OF AN ANARCHIC ARTIST MAKES 'THE HORSE'S MOUTH' TRULY IMPRESSIVE.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

THERE'S A SCENE toward the end of Ronald Neame's 1958 film ``The Horse's Mouth'' where painter Gulley Jimson (Alec Guinness) destroys his own work.

To help give the film authenticity, Neame employed John Bratby, a member of a group of British artists known as the ``Kitchen Sink'' school whose preferred method of painting was squeezing a tube of paint right onto the canvas, to create the vibrant artworks seen in the film.

But after spending six weeks creating the final work - a mural on what was supposed to be an old church's wall - Bratby couldn't handle watching Guinness' Jimson destroy it by bulldozing it down. The scene, as described by Neame in an interview on the recently released DVD, was done in one take using five cameras. And in a moment of serendipity, there is a wonderfully accidental punctuation to the commentary on the impermanence of art.

As usual, Criterion has used a high-definition digital transfer to restore the film to its colorful self.

Part of that color includes Jimson, whom writer Joyce Cary modeled after poet Dylan Thomas in his 1944 novel. Guinness had tried to read the novel while aboard a British naval ship during World War II, but couldn't finish it, put off by its stream-of-consciousness narrative. Nor could Neame get through it when he tried to read it at the suggestion of Claude Raines.

Nevertheless, Guinness returned to it years later, drawn by its portrait of the artist as an anarchist, and the actor wrote the screenplay - his only writing credit. It's a marvelous role. Jimson - a broke, talented opportunist - is a larger-than-life character painted on an oversize canvas but doomed to be displayed in an obscure setting.

Guinness plays him to the hilt with a craggy old voice and a walk that looks like he's crushing grapes. The film, too, is populated with idiosyncratic, colorful characters. If Jimson is sentimentalized a bit at the end from his anarchic self, it's a small failing.

MEN WHO YACK: If you catch ``Men in Black II,'' there is scene where Tommy Lee Jones stares at a couple riding a tandem bicycle who are dressed in black with little white lights outlining their bodies.

The image also appeared in the first film at the same locale and is used to help jolt Jones' character's memory, but as director Barry Sonnenfeld notes on the commentary accompanying the ``Men in Black: Deluxe Edition'' DVD that was released recently, it's an image he's used before - in his second film, ``For Love or Money,'' starring Michael J. Fox. It made about ``$13 million,'' he jokes. (Actually, it topped out nearer to $11 million.)

The deluxe edition of ``MIB'' is essentially the same as the limited edition that came out a couple of years ago - only cheaper - but nevertheless it's amusing to revisit the film, which is essentially a grab bag of gags and special effects.

Sonnenfeld, who is joined by Jones on the commentary, really doesn't offer any more explanation as to why he re(bi)cycled the image, except that he liked it. That's pretty much in keeping with how they shot the movie, which really didn't have an ending. In fact, two key scenes - one where two aliens talk with subtitles and another with the talking dog - were changed in postproduction. New subtitles and a different track for the dog were added in order to create an entirely different direction in the plot.

There is a reference to ``Casablanca'' in ``MIB.'' The films have one thing in common: When ``Casablanca'' began filming, it didn't have a firm ending either. Sometimes accidents happen, though. ``MIB'' isn't a classic, but it'll do.

HYPNOTIC COMEDY: Maybe the most interesting thing about the ``Shallow Hal'' DVD out today is the featurette on the making of the fat suit for Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays a moving blob of a woman.

The joke is that the formerly shallow Hal (Jack Black) now only sees her inner beauty, which comes across as somebody with the thin, lovely body of Gwyneth Paltrow. The transformation had come about because of an encounter with that ``TV guru guy'' (played by TV guru guy Tony Robbins) in which Hal is hypnotized into shedding his beer-loving loser mentality.

Written and directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly (``There's Something About Mary,'' ``Me, Myself and Irene''), ``Shallow Hal'' is an uneasy mixture of the Farrellys' outrageous, gross sensibilities and a heartfelt, even worthy, message. It was hard to warm up to the film, even if the sentiments are admirable. The Farrellys are never short of good jokes, though. And the DVD has lots of extras, including a number of amusing outtakes.

UP AND ATOM: It's hard to imagine anyone over the age of 10 being interested in ``Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.'' But kids seem to enjoy the story of the young inventor Jimmy, who leads his pals from Retroville - a place that seems frozen in the late '50s or early '60s - on a mission to rescue their parents from a group of hostile aliens. Compared to the other two Oscar-nominated animated films - ``Shrek'' and ``Monsters, Inc.'' - ``Jimmy'' looks retro or rudimentary in style.

Yet the film has - like Jimmy - lots of spunk, and always seems in motion, much like most 10-year-olds. The DVD includes seven games to play, as well as the usual promotional materials. (As a parent, you should expect that.)

``The Horse's Mouth'' (Criterion) lists for $29.95 on DVD. It includes an interview with Neame, plus D.A. Pennebaker's short documentary film ``Daybreak Express,'' which opened the original New York theatrical run of ``The Horse's Mouth.''

``Men in Black: Deluxe Edition'' lists for $24.95 on DVD and has two discs of material.

``Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' (Paramount) lists for $29.99 on DVD and $22.99 on VHS.

``Shallow Hal'' (Fox) lists for $27.98 on DVD and includes commentary by the Farrellys. It is not yet available on VHS.

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