VIDEO THE 'BEAST' WITHIN BEN KINGSLEY'S RED-HOT PERFORMANCE AS A GANGSTER HITS THE SMALL SCREEN.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

The character Ben Kingsley plays in ``Sexy Beast,'' Don Logan, is 180 degrees from the characters the Oscar-nominated actor usually plays. And it's not simply because Logan oozes violence, a sharp contrast from Kingsley's Academy Award performance as Gandhi some 20 years ago.

``Very liberating,'' says Kingsley in a phone call from London about playing Logan, a sociopathic mobster. ``What the director (Jonathan Glazer) asked me to do - and I completely concurred - turned out to be a very, very interesting acting exercise. What I normally have done, what I normally have been asked to do by other directors - Steven Spielberg in 'Schindler's List,' for instance - is to allow the character to be led by his intelligence. But in the case of Don Logan, it was a great exercise for me to have the character to be led by his animal cunning, to be led by anything but his intelligence.''

Kingsley, by the way, won the SAG award on Sunday for outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries for playing Otto Frank in ``Anne Frank.''

In ``Sexy Beast,'' out on video and DVD today, Don is sent from London by mob kingpin Teddy Bass (Ian McShane) to Spain to recruit for an elaborate heist a retired thief, Gal (Ray Winstone), who is living in comfort with his wife, Deedee (Amanda Redman), and spending time with his friends Aitch and Jackie (Cavan Kendall and Julianne White). When Logan arrives, it's like four people caught in a cage with a mad dog, afraid to move because it might set the dog off.

It's an electrifying performance by Kingley, who as Don is a man devoid of any social skills or tact. Instead he tries to act like a human being without being one, and the tension is palpable. When Gal says no, the tension is ratcheted even further as Don badly tries to keep his rage under control.

While Kingsley's bravado performance steals the show in ``Sexy Beast,'' the quartet who are the object of Don's assault - even when it's merely a withering glare - are excellent as they try to retain their humanity.

It is ultimately the acting in this familiar tale of an aging criminal forced back into the life that makes it watchable. Director Glazer, who comes from commercials, has a jazzy visual style, but not all that jazz works, particularly some dream sequences involving a giant rabbit. And though the film has its merits, Kingley alone makes ``Sexy Beast'' worth the look, even if you don't understand his thick British street accent. His body language will tell you everything you need to know.

SCENE STEALING: The opposites of Don Logan are the characters in any of David Mamet's capers/thrillers, starting with ``House of Games'' in 1987. In ``Heist,'' the action is a bit more straight-forward than in his confidence-game films like ``The Spanish Prisoner.'' But Mamet isn't above pulling some sleight-of-hand. (Note Mamet veteran magician Ricky Jay is back).

``Heist'' also benefits from strong acting, with Gene Hackman as Joe Moore, the mastermind behind elaborate thefts. After successfully taking down one job with his crew - girlfriend Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon, Mrs. Mamet), Pinky (Jay), Bobby (Delroy Lindo) - Moore is blackmailed by moneyman Bergman (Danny DeVito), who forces the old thief to take on his nephew, a brash but outclassed hood named Jimmy Silk (Sam Rockwell) as part of the crew.

If you have ever seen any of Mamet's films, you know that there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way, and that's part of the fun, even as Mamet tries to root his plots with some sort of believability. The characters, however, all sound like they have minored in street philosophy. Luckily, the superb cast makes the dialogue seem natural.

In the end, the clever Mamet outsmarts himself to some degree. The situations often come down to two choices. It's sort of like the ball-under-the-cup game, but with two cups, so you're really not surprised how things play out, even if you guess wrong, which takes a bit of the edge off ``Heist.''

But Hackman, who should have been up for the Oscar against Kingsley in the best supporting actor category for ``The Royal Tenenbaums,'' is the ultimate thief, as a scene stealer.

``Sexy Beast'' (Fox) is listed at $29.98 on DVD and for rent on VHS.

``Heist'' (Warner) is listed at $24.99 on DVD and for rent on VHS.

``Zoolander'' (Paramount) is listed at $29.99 on DVD and for rent on VHS.