Video. . .What’s New : Movies

The selection has never been better--in 1989, anyway--at the video store than it is this week. There’s a little bit of everything. . . .

Humor:

The funniest film of 1988? Many would nominate “A Fish Called Wanda� (CBS/Fox, $89.98, R). Starring Monty Python’s John Cleese and Michael Palin, plus Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline, this irreverent British comedy (directed by Oscar nominee Charles Crichton) about double-crossing jewel thieves and much else was a surprise hit with American audiences. A commercial has been tacked onto the video--but this ad may actually boost rentals and sales: It features Cleese giving a mock-lecture on subliminal advertising while the name of the sponsor, a soft-drink company, appears all over the place.

The funniest film of 1932? Quite possibly “Horse Feathers� (MCA, $19.95), the Marx Brothers film where Groucho is the unlikely president of a college, woos the beautiful Thelma Todd in a canoe and gets down to the real business of a university--building a good football team. Like the Marxes’ other Paramount films (“Duck Soup,� et al.), “Horse Feathers� is undiluted by the musical numbers, romance and sub-plots that marred their MGM pictures.

Drama:

Each of the following films from MGM/UA Home Video won the Academy Award for Best Picture: “Marty� (1955, formerly available from CBS/Fox) is a superb film adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s TV play. Directed by Delbert Mann, the black-and-white movie stars Ernest Borgnine as the man who’s just about given up finding love, and Betsy Blair as the woman who changes his mind. “Mrs. Miniver� (1942) is the ultra-classy (if somewhat artificial) spirit-rouser that depicted middle/upper-class Britons for Americans during World War II. Greer Garson starred in the title role, supported by Walter Pidgeon and Teresa Wright. “Cimarron� (1931) is based on an Edna Ferber novel about a pioneer family and stars Richard Dix and a young Irene Dunne. “The Great Ziegfeld� (1936) is a lavish biography of Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld (William Powell). Since it runs 177 minutes, it’s on two cassettes. “The Life of Emile Zola� (1937, previously available from Key) stars Paul Muni as the French author, with an emphasis on his involvement in the Dreyfus trial. Each of these videos is $29.95.

Also available from MGM/UA is the first musical ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture, “Broadway Melody� (1929, $29.95), now a rather creaky curio (its chief charm being a Freed-Brown score that includes “You Were Meant for Me�), and the newly colorized version of “Casablanca� (1942, $79.95).

Laughs and thrills:

The two 1988 films that offer both also share “the mob� in their plot lines. “Married to the Mob� (Orion, $89.98, R) is another delightful film from director Jonathan Demme. A hit man’s widow (Michelle Pfeiffer) gets caught between the Mafia and the FBI. Robert DeNiro and Charles Grodin have their own problems with the mob in “Midnight Run� (MCA, $89.95, R).

Music:

“U2: Rattle and Hum� (Paramount, $24.95, PG-13) is a documentary about the Irish band that went from being a critical favorite to one of the most popular rock groups of the ‘80s. U2 was filmed by Phil Janou on its 1987 U.S. tour. Heavy-metal rock is the focus of Penelope Spheeris’ “The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years� (RCA/Columbia, $89.95, R), as well as the funny/sad/goofy/obnoxious attitudes of the people who play it.

Richard Wagner’s final opera, “Parsifal� (Kultur, $59.95), was his interpretation of the Grail legend. The iconoclastic German director Hans-Jurgen Syberberg turned it into one of his fascinating-for-some, trying-for-others films in 1982. This double-cassette video runs 255 minutes. Information: (800) 458-5887.

And more:

Other notable movies released on videocassette this week include “The Passion of Beatrice� (Virgin Portfolio, $79.95, R), a historical drama set during the Hundred Years War and directed by Bertrand Tavernier; “The Big Blue� (RCA/Columbia, $89.95, PG), a romantic comedy/drama about “free divers� starring Rosanna Arquette; “A Handful of Dust� (RCA/Columbia, $89.95, PG), an adaptation of the satirical Evelyn Waugh novel; and the failed comedy “Feds� (Warner, $89.95, PG-13), in which two women (Rebecca DeMornay, Mary Gross) become FBI recruits.

Other Videos

The highly praised “Dear America: Letters From Vietnam� (HBO, $89.99) details American soldiers’ experiences, told in their own words--read by such stars as Robert DeNiro, Michael J. Fox, Kathleen Turner and Martin Sheen. “Bette Midler’s Mondo Beyondo� (HBO, $39.99) was a very disappointing, hour-long HBO cable special featuring not nearly enough of Midler, who hosts several boring weird-comedy/performance-art acts.