It's not the Oscars, but on Thursday night 750 homes across America got to premiere a short, yet riveting film.

It was a campaign biography of Mr. Clark and was the feature attraction of house parties around the country. The few who'd seen advance screenings of the film call it one of the most extraordinarily effective and emotionally appealing political bios ever. "It's the best I've seen in the 28 years I've been doing politics," says Geoff Garin, a Clark pollster who has a reputation as a straight-shooter. Even a few non-Clark supporters said it brought tears to their eyes.

It was produced by Linda Bloodworth -- fellow Arkansan, Bill Clinton loyalist and Hollywood impresario. Titled "American Son," it stresses the former general's rise from modest roots to an American hero as supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Duty, honor, country -- the motto of his alma mater, West Point -- is the refrain. (See a preview of the video at the Clark Web site.)

Mr. Clark is depicted as an energetic patriot, exceptionally bright - - first in his class at the military academy -- and an optimist. Declaring he's eager to meet America's new challenges that lie "over the next hill," he says, "I am an old soldier and I always believe in taking the next hill."

The film makes several salient points in the uphill Clark presidential quest. One is his concern for nonmilitary issues, noting he was in charge of 44,000 school kids when he commanded NATO. Retired Maj. Patricia Williams, an African-American, praises his outreach to women and minorities.

There are numerous other testimonials from military officers, subtly refuting some of the public criticism made by other military men, including the former superintendents of West Point and the Naval Academy. With the general and his wife describing his service in Vietnam -- he was severely wounded right after his son was born -- it draws an inevitable contrast with Mr. Dean, who was rejected for military service.

Campaign insiders say the film, running 14 and a-half minutes long, has been a fund-raising and organizing boon and they hope it can attract voters. In early January the campaign plans to buy back-to- back, 15-minute television spots in early primary states, including New Hampshire, which is extremely costly in major broadcasting outlets, and use some of the more moving scenes for shorter commercials.

Regardless of how good it is, it will compete in a cluttered commercial marketplace: New Hampshirites have seen an estimated 4,000 TV spots by presidential hopefuls this year, and the pace will only accelerate in January