VIDEO RAIMI USES HIS SPIDER-SENSE.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

When he was a kid, Sam Raimi had the figure of a superhero painted on the wall. As it turned out, his choice was a portent. Raimi went on to direct the story of that superhero, ``Spider-Man,'' which turned out to be last summer's biggest hit.

Interestingly, on the two-disc special-edition DVD of ``Spider-Man,'' which comes out Friday, Raimi talks about not only his love of comic books but also how he learned to tell a story with pictures by reading them. Raimi has delved into the comic-book genre before for his films, with the 1990 ``Darkman,'' starring Liam Neeson. Of course, much of what Raimi has directed has a comic-book feel, the obvious films being ``Evil Dead'' and ``Army of Darkness,'' but look at the 1995 ``The Quick and the Dead,'' a story of a gunslinger competition starring an all-star cast of Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone. The film is filled with cartoonish scenes, including one where a bullet goes clear through a competitor's head, leaving a hole big enough for the camera to peer through and see the shooter and his smoking gun.

Raimi does nothing that graphic in ``Spider-Man,'' which tells the story of Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a high-school nerd from Queens who is bitten by a genetically enhanced spider that gives him super powers. (In the original 1962 comic, Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider - times change.)

What makes Parker different from most superheroes is that he's a bit of screw-up - too human under his flashy disguise. In a segment on the DVD about the original comic, Marvel's Stan Lee, who created the character, tells about how in one of his early Spider-Man stories, the superhero tries to cash a check he's been given as a reward but the bank won't honor it. A teller says anyone can wear a costume and turns Peter away.

Raimi has kept that quality in the film. Maguire is wonderfully cast. His everyman persona makes Parker (``your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man'') someone we all can root for. Likewise, Kirsten Dunst gives Parker's unrequited love interest, Mary Jane Watson, a down-to-earth vulnerability that matches her flaming-redhead sexiness.

Another thing that roots Spider-Man is that he lives in a real city - New York - unlike Gotham or Metropolis. Raimi uses the city to great effect as a computer-generated Spidey swings among the giant buildings. (Raimi, unlike so many others, directs action sequences that you can follow.)

The DVD offers a lot of insights into the special effects in the film, including a lively commentary by effects supervisors John Dykstra and Scott Stokdyk and animation director Anthony LaMolinara. There is also a pop-up feature called ``Weaving the Web,'' which has a Spider-Man icon pop up during the movie; click on it and it takes you to a short feature usually concentrating on the design and production of the film.

There is also a commentary from Raimi, producer Laura Ziskin, co- producer Grant Curtis and co-star Dunst that yields some interesting moments about the making of the film. The second disc has a feature called ``Spider-Man: The Mythology of the 21st Century'' that talks to Lee and others who have drawn and written the comic over the years. (Lee says people associate ``Spider-Man'' with him more than any other of his characters.)

Even non-comic-book fans will find it interesting how Marvel has kept the essence of the superhero's persona while updating him - either in the drawing style or in plots. The illustrators also talk about how they came up with the special ``Spider-Man'' issue about the World Trade Center attacks. (The twin towers were featured in the movie but were taken out after the attacks.)

The DVD is filled with other features, but the bottom line is that Raimi - a somewhat underestimated director - has created a fine addition to the superhero genre. The film - like its protagonist - is sometimes understated. Raimi doesn't have the grand operatic ambition that Tim Burton had with ``Batman,'' but ``Spider-Man'' grows on you. And there is another on the way in 2004: ``The Amazing Spider-Man.''

SPEAKING OF SPIDERS: ``Eight Legged Freaks'' goes for the schlocky camp of a drive-in movie - and occasionally succeeds. The film expands the acclaimed creepy short ``Larger Than Life'' by New Zealand director Ellory Elkayem. The director may have been better off going on to something else instead of making ``Freaks,'' but the film - starring David Arquette as a mining engineer trying to save his small Arizona town from the onslaught of giant spiders (caused by toxic waste) - has its moments, particularly the special effects. And for those who want to see the original, ``Larger Than Life'' is included on the DVD.

TEARS FOR 'FEARS': ``The Sum of All Fears'' is more interesting because of its timeliness rather than its filmmaking. An updated version of the Tom Clancy novel of the same name, the film features a young Jack Ryan. (The CIA agent is played here by Ben Affleck, but earlier done by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford.) The plot involves a neo-Nazi group that wants to create a war between Russia and the United States in order to sweep in and take power in the void.

It's the detonation of a small nuclear device in Baltimore during the Super Bowl that gives the film its immediacy. Terrorism is on everyone's mind, and the idea of a weapon of mass destruction being smuggled through our docks gives one pause. The scene itself is eerie. If the rest of the film had such purpose, it might have succeeded on its own, but ``Sum'' doesn't add up, suffering from over-the-top villains that take the believability out of the plot and a Ryan you have trouble buying. Affleck isn't bad, but he doesn't have the weight needed to carry the role, even as he's being helped along by the presence of Morgan Freeman as his CIA boss.

``Spider-Man'' (Columbia TriStar) lists for $28.96 on DVD. Besides the features mentioned above, it includes: HBO's ```Making of Spider-Man''; ``Spider-Mania,'' an E! Entertainment special; profiles of Sam Raimi and composer Danny Elfman; screen tests for Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons and CGI Spider-Man; gag/outtake reel; conceptual art and production design gallery; comic book artist pinup gallery and DVD-ROM features.

``Eight Legged Freaks'' (Warner) lists for $26.98 on DVD and includes commentary by David Arquette and Ellory Elkayem.

``The Sum of All Fears'' (Paramount) lists for $29.99 on DVD and includes commentary by director Phil Alden Robinson, Tom Clancy and cinematographer John Lindley.

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Can he swing from a thread? Take a look overhead! Sam Raimi's ``Spider-Man'' will be released on DVD Friday.