Whitney Houston vibrant in "The Bodyguard," on Blu-Ray and one-night-only in theaters

The Bodyguard, Whitney Houston's 1992 film debut, crystallized the late pop sensation's success as a woman for all media.

Commemorating both the 20th anniversary of the movie that nearly wasn't and the life of the talent that is no more, Warner Home Video releases a Blu-ray video of this film Tuesday that had a longer gestation than an elephant. On Wednesday, The Bodyguard will have a one-night-only revival on a big screen near you, the ideal context for fans to sing along with Houston's renditions of "Queen of the Night" and "I Will Always Love You," songs that made the film's soundtrack one of the best sellers in history.

To watch The Bodyguard again (or for the first time) is to be wowed by Houston's vitality and sauciness. And to be intrigued by how her costar (and producer) Kevin Costner calibrated his subdued performance to complement his costar's four-octave emotional and vocal range.

In 1992, the film was dismissed by critics and embraced by moviegoers, commonly the initial reaction to a film that will be remembered as a popular success rather than a classic. Uncommonly, perhaps because of its attractive leads and Houston's recent death, it seems considerably less preposterous than it did 20 years ago. This movie about a psycho stalker was released the year after Silence of the Lambs, and it was widely criticized for tipping off the audience too early to the identity of its villain. Then, as now, I am flabbergasted by how natural a screen presence Houston was in her first time before the movie cameras.

Today, The Bodyguard feels like a time capsule of the early 1990s, one that except for Kevin Costner's dark suits and its tinkly musical score has held up mighty well. (My 15-year-old couldn't believe it was 20 years old.) Even so, nothing says 1992 like its jump-cut editing, schmaltzy soundtrack, and the mosh-pit ambience of the venues where Houston's character performs in a costume inspired by the futuristic 1925 film Metropolis.

If not a classic, The Bodyguard is a streamlined star vehicle with classic elements, looking back to Casablanca for the star-crossed characters torn between duty and love and forward to In the Line of Fire, another film about a bodyguard negotiating a romance while trying to stop an assassin.

The story of The Bodyguard's conception, gestation, and delivery is as compelling as the movie itself.

In 1975, Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay about a stoic bodyguard hired to protect an excitable pop diva from a psycho fan made the rounds of studio production offices. At one point, Steve McQueen and Diana Ross were attached. When McQueen backed off, Ross and then-boyfriend Ryan O'Neal expressed interest; then they broke up. Kasdan continued to polish and did 11 more drafts.

His rewrites got passed once, twice, 67 times. Kasdan stopped counting. Not yet the celebrated screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back and writer/director of Body Heat, he put the script for The Bodyguard in a drawer. While making Silverado in 1985 with Costner, he pulled it out to show the actor, who was then at the threshold of his stardom.

Costner imagined himself in the title role and pop sensation Houston, whose self-titled debut album was dominating the charts, as his costar. When Costner's 1990 Dances With Wolves scored best picture in 1991, he finally had the clout to get The Bodyguard made.

Costner still liked the idea of Houston, but the studio wasn't so sure. She was a hot property, but could she act?

As Costner recalled in his moving eulogy Feb. 18 at Houston's funeral, before her audition she removed the makeup that a professional had applied because it felt too heavy and put on her own. Under the hot lights her mascara and foundation melted like frosting on 100-degree pavement. But she got the part.

For Kasdan, who produced the film with Costner, it felt right. He didn't think an actress could have handled the singing in a movie where the songs had such a critical storytelling function.

Still, Houston asked director Mick Jackson if she needed acting lessons. He told her no, to approach her dialogue as character Rachel Marron as if selling the lyrics to a song - a technique that had served Judy Garland well.

The interracial-romance angle may have been controversial in 1975, but in 1992, Jackson downplayed it. "Rachel's race was star," Jackson explains in an interview on the DVD bonus track.

When the film went into production, "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted" the '60s hit for Jimmy Ruffin and also the Supremes, was the torch song Houston was slated to sing. But singer Paul Young had done a cover for the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes and it had hit the charts. In its place, Costner suggested Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You." The ballad would become one of Houston's biggest hits.

It takes a stronger person than I am to listen to Houston sing the opening words to that song - "If I/Should stay/I would only/Be in your way" - without losing it. The song's flickering start and flaming coda is the audio equivalent to a comet, the comet named Whitney Houston.

Contact Carrie Rickey at carriedrickey@gmail.com. Read her at http://www.carrierickey.com