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nd now for something completely Fed transformed into something else. Python: the complete (well, al- most) history of the show that Graham Chapman as a Rocky Horror in “Terry had been very worried about it, nearly began as Owl Stretching ‘The Meaning of Life.’ because he said, ‘It doesn’t really make Time andA Horse, A Spoon, and a Bucket, sense’,” notes Jones. “I felt, ‘Why not yet went on to become one of the most custom. Instead, there were routines, ani- successful, groundbreaking comedy pro- mations, non sequiturs, subtitles, voice- amalgamate the freedom that Spike Milli- grams in television history. over narration, and general silliness, all gan’s got—not having punchlines—and use Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the half- tightly linked. Notes Terry Gilliam, “We Terry’s animations to flow in and out of hour series, ranon British TV from 1969 to tried to interrelate everything.” sketches’?” Besides giving the series a 1974. On Python, anything went—a Minis- shape, Gilliam’s wild animations (a TV set ter of Silly Walks who goes off to work, a In one show, for instance, a sketch drilling holes in eyes, a man slicing off his house that devours people and neighbor- called “A Book at Bedtime” finds a man head while shaving) gave the series a vio- hoods, a talk show host who blithely inter- reading aloud a picturesque description of a lent tone, which bled over into some of the views a stuffed cat. “We always felt, ‘we'll castle, stumbling over words he can’t pro- sketches. “Sam Peckinpah’s Salad Days,” do what makes us laugh’,” recalls Terry nounce. The scene shifts to the castle be- for example, opens with a tennis garden Jones, one of the six members of the ing described; a Scottish highlander falls party. A ball is tossed to one of the picnick- group. And though some viewers don’t from a turret. Next is a segment about ers, hitting him in the head—which sud- agree, calling the team’s work tasteless “Kamikaze Highlanders” who jump from denly explodes. Another man grabs the and unfunny, many more have joined in the turrets. One man remarks to another, “We arm of a companion and it comes off, spurt- fun, turning their 45 shows (just now com- have no time to lose,” which segues into a ing a fountain of blood in slow motion. And ing out on tape), movies, records, and sketch about the “No-Time-to-Lose Ad- so on. books into hits. vice Center,” where people are given ad- Monty Python’s Flying Circus, influ- vice on how to use the expression. This Surprisingly, the BBC gave the Pythons enced by British radio’s seminal Goon turns into a cartoon about “No-Time Tou- little trouble until their third year. “They Show (with Peter Sellers), snuck onto the louse,” a French Impressionist gunslinger started to get more interested because it U.K. scene in October 1969 as a late-night in the Old West, before a return to the was more successful,” observes Gilliam. replacement for a religious talk show. Few Kamikaze Highlanders. More sketches fol- “They had to show their involvement. We were watching, and even fewer at the Brit- low; the show ends full circle with the had one session where the BBC gave us ish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) knew “Book at Bedtime” sketch. this huge list of things that had to be dealt what to expect. (The ambiguous title was with. They were totally misinterpreting meant to keep as many people as possible NO PUNCHLINES! everything that was going on. In one of the in the dark.) The series had been sold on sketches, John pushes a severed leg the basis of previous work by the six Py- In their former lives as writers, the Py- through the door and says, ‘Sign here.’ And thons—Graham Chapman, John Cleese, thons had constantly felt trapped by the that was referred to as the scene where Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and “tyranny of the punchline,” the require- the man pushes the giant penis through the Michael Palin—who had all worked on such ment of concluding a funny sketch with a door.” popular programs as At Last the 1948 brilliant joke. “We kept seeing so much Show, The Complete and Utter History of good work being weakened by a weak end- The Pythons both wrote and performed Britain, and The Frost Report. ing,” says Gilliam. “So we did the obvious the material. Usually Idle and Gilliam would But Monty Python would be like no other thing: get rid of the weakest link.” create alone; Chapman and Cleese and series, and would change the nature of Palin and Jones would collaborate. Recalls television humor. The Pythons were the Gilliam played an important role in that. Palin, “Terry and I would write together first true video comedians, brilliantly using A former magazine illustrator, the trans- for a week, working quite closely in the the medium to poke fun at TV, politicians, planted American had made a mark on Brit- same room, swapping ideas around. Then doctors, the military, the clergy, the upper ish television with a limited-animation car- there’d be a reading session. You could tell classes, surrealism, documentaries, and toon short, Elephant. In the stream- from the laughter around the table when life in general. of-consciousness exercise, a man is hit something had worked and when it hadn't.” “When we decided to do Python,” recalls by a falling elephant, squashed, and then The group would discuss the material for Terry Jones, “I was thinking, ‘What kind of several days, followed by more rewriting. shape are we going to give it?’ And I re- Idle soon became known for his wordplay, member looking at Spike Milligan’s show, Chapman and Cleese for their logic and Q5, on TV and thinking he was doing out- acerbity, and Palin and Jones for their rageous things in comedy. He’d start a flights of fancy and imagery. sketch and then it would suddenly turn into something else. Or someone would push a Ideas suggested by one member were door onscreen and he’d walk through it. often developed by another. That process And he just didn’t bother about finishing off led to “The Pet Shop,” a classic piece in everything. I suddenly realized we had all which a customer has an incredibly hard been writing cliches till then.” time trying to return a parrot that was sold The Pythons planned their comedic cha- to him dead, nailed to its perch. “It’s based os very carefully. Sketches did not simply on a guy I originally bought a car from,” follow one another; they didn’t have guest says Palin. “If anything went wrong withit, he would never admit it. There was always singers separate segments, as was the some excuse. You’d say, “The brakes don’t work’ and he’d say, “That’s because it’s Typically Monty moments: Eric Idle pon- new. It needs a bit of adjustment.’ ‘But I tificates to Terry Gilliam and Michael went down a hill and nearly killed myself.’ I Palin in ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’ remember telling John about this character (left); and Terry Jones as Mr. Creosote and he thought it was very funny. Then he and John Cleese in ‘Monty Python’s the and Graham wrote something. It was Gra- Meaning of Life’ (right and below). ham who had the idea that it should be a parrot.” Similarly, Graham Chapman recalls try- ing to create a sketch with Cleese about a “Ministry of Anger,’ which Palin and May 1987 Video 51

Jones turned into a “Ministry of Silly says now) and refused to do any more TV. programs. The landmark court ruling that Walks.” “In Python,” notes Palin, “any resulted favored the Pythons’ position and loose ends could lead to something that (Six episodes were made without him.) more generally strengthened artists’ made a nice, surrealistic whole.” The group turned again to film, this time retaining creative control. The result was a rights. NO MONEY! parody of the Arthurian legend, directed by NO PYTHON! Through it all, the deadlines—ten days Jones and Gilliam: Monty Python and the to do a show—and a slim budget led to Holy Grail. By 1975, the troupe was in a paradoxical great creativity. “Necessity always makes position: the components of this inter- us make leaps,” remarks Gilliam. “That “We did feel we had exhausted Python nationally successful unit were all anxious to work as individuals. “What I hate most is on TV by then,” recalls Palin. “But Terry repetition,” observes Gilliam. “I hate the feeling that I know the answers to things. I Jones, myself, and Terry Gilliam were in- like being constantly surprised.” In Palin’s view, “There’s a certain desire within you was the advantage in television. We did terested in cinema. We were going to set to try and find out what you can do on your nothing but take chances to fill up that half- up a film anyhow and it seemed a shame not hour every week. I’ve always been con- own. When I’m ina group, I tend vinced that with enough money we could to get all the Pythons in.” to be more submissive so I'll really have been mediocre beyond be- blend in. There are certain times Holy Grail has all the best elements of when I can only express what I the series, hung loosely on a quest plot. want when I’m out on my own.” The six began to work apart, lief. Case in point—Monty Py- with varying initial results. thon and the Holy Grail. Had we John Cleese created the the money, we would have had 12-episode sitcom, Fawlty Tow- ers, a brilliant farce about a rude horses, not men pretending they hotel owner. “It was my most successful non-Python effort,” were horses banging coconuts to he now notes. “It’s about as fun- ny as I can be.” make galloping noises.” Eric Idle appeared on Satur- In 1972, the group made its day Night Live (as did Michael Palin), developing the creative first tentative step into the film world with And Now for Some- alliances that led to amock documentary on the “pre-fab four,” the Rutles, a legendary thing Completely Different, a re- singing group whose career very much re- sembles the Beatles’. make of about 40 TV pieces. The Michael Palin and Terry Jones collabo- idea was to introduce the troupe rated on Ripping Yarns, anine-episode TV to America, but the movie—over satire of “boys’ adventure” stories. which they had little control— Graham Chapman wrote a semi-fanciful book called A Liars Autobiography, Vol- pleased neither the Pythons nor 7 Ries ume VI,.and appeared in a film, The Odd their potential audience, and Michael Palin and his beloved in ‘Jabberwocky.’ Job. continued after next page was a disappointing flop. It wasn’t until 1974 that the team made it The episodic narrative finds Arthur and his in the U.S. in, of all places, Texas. A local knights encountering a killer rabbit, a public broadcasting station picked up the three-headed knight whose heads are al- series—both commercial and public televi- ways arguing among themselves, and so- sion had rejected it as “too British”—and cialist peasants debating the class system. the ratings were great. A cult developed, The movie was a hit, helped perhaps by a and the Pythons began turning up on other Python stage show in America (a later tour PBS channels around the country. was captured in the film Monty Python Live By then, a second movie was in the at the Hollywood Bowl), records, and pub- works, and the series itself was on the licity surrounding a lawsuit the group wane. John Cleese had become bored (“I brought against ABC-TV when the net- felt we were just repeating ourselves,” he work aired heavily edited versions of the MILESTONES OF THE ’70s The beginning of the ’70s saw an odd cinematic backlash sions—sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll—were Animal House against ’60s liberalism: movies like 1971’s Dirty Harry (Warn- (MCA) and Cheech and Chong’s 1979 odyssey, Up in Smoke er) and 1974’s Death Wish (Paramount) accused the bleeding (Paramount). The star of the former is well represented on The Best ofJohn Belushi (Warner), as is one of his Saturday Night hearts of letting perverts and criminals run free. Even Live colleagues on The Best of Dan Aykroyd (Warner). Both “blaxploitation” films like 1971’s Shaft (MGM/UA) got into the tapes amply illustrate why it became hip to stay in and up on act with their superbad black detectives. The crumbling Nixon Saturday nights. administration was best interpreted in 1976’s All the Presi- dent's Men (Warner). Hearts and Minds (Embassy) powerfully Led Zeppelin is perhaps the one band most people associate with ’70s rock ’n’ roll, and the documentary The Song Remains documented the futility of the Vietnam War, while 1979’s the Same (Warner) captures them in 1973 at the height of their Apocalypse Now (Paramount) painted it as a terrifying, halluci- _ ear-splitting megalomania. Martin Scorsese’s 1978 The Last natory landscape. Waltz (CBS/Fox) (a lot easier to swallow) is the Band’s farewell concert, with affecting performances by Neil Young, Bob No student of the ’70s could ignore 1977’s Saturday Night Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, among others. The concert film genre Fever (Paramount), the movie that got America into skin-tight was soon superseded by music video, and you can watch that slacks and platform shoes. Most other movies about ’70s form’s most influential pioneers in 1979’s Devo: The Men who culture are bleak: 1977's Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Para- Make the Music (Warner), an inspired mix of satire and robotic mount), about the singles-bar scene, 1979’s Being There (CBS/ pop presented with visual flair. Fox), about television and political ennui, and 1976's Taxi Driver (RCA/Columbia), about urban alienation and violence. —Louis Kesten Two hugely successful comedies about standard teen obses- 52 Video May 1987

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Monty Python continued from preceding page preachings were not a good subject for observes Palin. “Don’t believe everything satire. The movie instead went after the because you're told it by somebody wear- Terry Gilliam wrote and directed Jab- followers of Jesus who distorted his mes- ing some sort of outfit. Just have a little berwocky—with Palin in the lead—a dark, sage. Says Cleese, “I think Life of Brian think.” vulgar story about a medieval peasant fighting a monster. was the most successful Python film. It The movie was strongly protested by By 1978, the group had reconstituted was about important matters and had a religious groups who had never seen it; the itself to create its finest work, Monty Py- controversy made it the Pythons’ biggest thon’s Life of Brian. The story of Brian good story.” Cohen, a contemporary of Jesus, roughly That story involves a lisping Pontius Pi- money maker up to that time. As Palin parallels the life of Christ. It had started as notes, “It was our most successful because atitle, Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory, but the late, a group of revolutionaries who would of an intelligent script, good performances, Pythons eventually decided that Christ’s and a lot of help in the publicity from nuns, rather argue than revolt, and wild crowds who keep mistaking Brian for the Messiah. bishops, and Mrs. Strom Thurmond.” “After Life of Brian,” recalls Gilliam, “There’s a fairly simple point to the film,” “there was great pressure on us to do CALL TODAY FOR... another film quickly to take advantage of the success. We were all greedy enough to Now Video Sales Offers go along with that line of thinking and we Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Quasar, Magnavox, RCA, tried it. It didn’t work. The chemistry just Toshiba, Sanyo, Marantz, Casio, GE, Canon, Bogen, wasn’t right. We didn’t need to make the Technics, Ambico, ProTech, Maxell, and TDK film, so we stopped.” Audio & Video Products and Accessories at THE SOLO YEARS Distributors Prices!!! Gilliam then directed two critically and At Video Sales we've eliminated the Take advantage of factory-direct prices commercially well-received fantasies: middleman and are making available and call Toll Free. Time Bandits, featuring Palin, Cleese, and nationwide the largest selection of Sean Connery, and Brazil, a 1984-type tale proven quality products and acces- ¢ All merchandise in stock shipped with Palin as a villain. The latter brought sories in the TV & Video Industry today. within 24 hours ¢ All major credit cards Call now for: accepted °All products factory sealed Gilliam into a bitter conflict with Universal and double boxed with full manufacturer's Pictures, which initially refused to release @ The lowest competitive prices. warranty ®No orders charged until it, claiming the story was too downbeat. @ 3 convenient shipping locations shipped ° COD orders accepted. No sales After a year of acrimony, the movie ap- tax for orders shipped out of Washington peared, to great acclaim. coast-to-coast. State ¢ Dealer inquiries invited. @ Acomplete shipping and service Idle wrote a play, Pass the Butler, for VIDEO London’s West End. Chapman starred facility unequaled anywhere. SALES with Idle and Cleese in a misconceived pi- rate spoof called Yellowbeard; Palin made For Ordering and two entertaining comedies, The Mission- Information Call Toil Free: aryandA Private Function. Cleese begana 1-800-631-3325 or company to produce corporate training 1-206-671-8719 films; Jones wrote a children’s book. 1435 RAILROAD AVE. ¢ BELLINGHAM, WA e 98225 The group came together in 1983, for what could be the last time, to do a sketch For additional information, circle No. 71 on Reader Service Card. movie, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. “Getting six people together to try and make a narrative film is very difficult,” observes Gilliam. “Everybody had been going his own way. It was more difficult to get everybody to agree on things. We wanted to do a film as a group and the easiest way to do it was to find a backbone that we could string a lot of sketches on.” Jones directed, and the final result works on many levels, poking vicious fun at the church, snobs, Americans, and fools. Meaning ofLife provides a fitting coda to the group’s collective work. Monty Python ends as it began, with sketches that push the boundaries of taste as far as they can go. “I feel comedy ought to be about some- thing, but I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to say that’s the only purpose,” Jones observes. As for the future, “There is a ten per- cent chance we'll work together again,” says Palin. “John’s dead set against it, which is silly really, because nothing is absolute in this world. Everything changes.” Selected Videography on page 120 54 Video May 1987

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20 Years After toMohetnh,eranadndRisnogl:o (clockw'se rom top Fe): Jo Sgt. Pepper, STGheEeoSrgSoer,iginPaaluls, @eeeeeeseeeseeesesseeseeeeeeeeee Beatlemama @eeeeeseeseseeeseesesseeeeseseese Thrives On Tape By Ira Robbins or some, June 1967 was just anoth- er month. Lyndon Johnson was busy escalating the war in Vietnam and worrying that racial tension at home might erupt into a summer of open violence. Carl Yastrzemski was well on his way to becoming the American League MVP, helping the Red Sox snare a rare pennant. Elvis had just married Priscilla; Liz and Dick were scandalizing neighbor- hood theaters in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? To many graying teenagers, however, June 1967 will be forever linked with Sgt. 56 Video May 1987

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee been done without them,” but he’s very happy they chose to participate. A home Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the videocassette release should directly fol- low the June broadcast. ambitious, groundbreaking Beatles album released at the beginning of the month. An SILVER SCREEN BEATLES:* >>> intuitively timed call to psychedelic arms, the music was keyed perfectly to the pre- The notion of rock’n’roll movies was vailing youth culture mood, as well as to pivotal events like the Monterey Pop festi- Seeseeeseosseeseea® hardly new when the Beatles teamed with val. More so than any other record, Sgt. director Richard Lester for seven weeks in Pepper—which has sold 30 million copies worldwide—set the tone for the brief but early 1964 to shoot a feature film that came momentous cultural era known as the Sum- mer of Love. to be titled A Hard Day’s Night, after an For today’s adolescents—born after the acleay ‘comedy, Dr. expression of Ringo’s. Elvis Presley had group’s final record release (Let Jt Be) in (RCA/Columbia).. The proved many times over that popular re- 1970—the Beatles fall somewhere be- ‘saw its first Hollywood cordings could translate into boffo box of- tween moldy oldies and a weird relic from 1968’s The Green Berets (\\ fice, but the films he was pushed into mak- an incomprehensible decade of abominable simple-minded and uninten ing were embarrassing contrivances that clothing, inexplicable political conscience, larious aeae dven demeaned his talent and tried the patience and uncontrolled social upheaval. Count- of his fans. less scholars have tried to explain the phe- nomenon and its cultural significance, but The Beatles’ first swipe at cinema was getting a real sense of what made the Fab Four so important to so many would be something entirely different. A fictional- impossible had they not left behind such a large video legacy. ized day-in-the-life documentary, the film Armed with a VCR, one can now view has a deceptively simple story about a Liv- the Beatles onstage, in movies, in candid situations and interviews, and as the sub- erpool-to-London train ride, Paul’s “very jects of in-depth documentaries and sat- ires. If an afternoon spent with John, Paul, iy ce:‘Sh clean” grandfather, and a television con- George, and Ringo on the telly doesn’t stir cert broadcast. It offers an intimate look at up latent feelings of Beatlemania, nothing places the Stoneosn sta! John Lennon’s seditious cheekiness. will. such AmericaRn&B lege: Ringo’s insecurity and meancholy, Berry, Ray oP oranc Paul McCartney’s mischievous charm, GET BACK eccceccccccccccccece and George Harrison’s shy cynicism. The Beatles are in the news on several fronts. Help! finally appeared on videotape A Hard Day’s Night also suggested the this past January; after a long delay due to legal wrangles, the first Beatles records on possibilities of teen rebellion in 1964, as compact disc were released at the end of February; Ringo Starr became the first ex- bare the S| tones’ notorious pe the foursome’s irrepressible hijinks van- Beatle to serve as a commercial spokes- mont concert that.marked th end of quished the stuffy, conservative attitudes man (for Sun Country wine cooler). The inclusion of the song “Twist and Shout” in the era. . of adult authority figures. With the bonus of two hit summer movies (Back to School and Ferris Bueller's Day Off) gave new chart Hollywood's :ae notable ee to such wonderful songs as “She Loves You,” life to the Beatles’ 1964 version. MTV has “TI Should Have Known Better,;” and “If I also gotten into the act, airing the 39 half- deal with the sexual revolution was Fell,” A Hard Day’s Night is a true delight, hour Beatles cartoons made in the mid- an exuberant rock’n’roll movie second to 60s. 1969’s Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice none. In tribute to Sgt. Pepper's opening lyr- (RCA/Columbia), a generally awkward Of special note to videophiles: the cur- rent edition of the tape has a remastered ic (“It was 20 years ago today/Sergeant comedy about wife-swapping. Civil hi-fi digital soundtrack and an opening se- Pepper taught the band to play”) the quence—still photos put to the tune of “T’ll twentieth anniversary of the album—and rights were treated with a little more Cry Instead’—added to the film for its the era it effectively inaugurated—is being 1981 theatrical re-release. (Trivia fans commemorated next month with a two- care, best of allin the tense 1967 Os- may recognize George Harrison’s future hour TV program and an associated book, wife—Patti Boyd, whom he met on the film both titled Jt Was Twenty Years Ago To- car-winner In the Heat of the Night set—as one of the two schoolgirls Paul day. Derek Taylor, who began working for flirts with on the train.) the Beatles as their press officer in 1964 (CBS/Fox). Putney Swope (RCA/Co- and was also heavily involved in the Califor- lumbia), the tale of a token black who nia music scene of the 60s, was engaged by Britain’s Granada Television to consult takes over a Madison Ave. advertising on its show—‘“someone to bridge the gaps,” as he puts it. He was also asked to firm, was the decade’s funkiest come- author the book, which analyzes 1967—everything from drugs and the dy. The youth movement, though, pro- counter-culture to the anti-war move- ment—using Sgt. Pepper as the starting duced the decade’s truly memorable point. films. Easy Rider (RCA/Columbia) ral- The commercial success of the Beatles’ Although they waited until the show was lied the nation’s hippies around the vir- film debut encouraged the powers that be tues of peace, love, and drugs. Dustin to do another movie the following year and Hoffman made his debut in the 1967 multiply the budget (which meant color, : coming-of-age classic The Graduate :(Embassy), andOCSEOOSOECRMSEESDCSEDLeEReOELCTOSEOOeOEAEECe:EEEDCERREDEEERACCSEREOEEOO followed up with a vir- instead of black & white). With Lester again directing, the Beatles spent the :° tuoso performance in the stunning, cyn- spring of 1965 being chased around Aus- ®: ical Midnight ee (MGM/UA). tria, Nassau, and London in Help! (original- —Louis Kesten : ly titled Eight Arms to Hold You). A less e CeCe OCC CSCC CEC Cb CERCS SHSSSSSHinStHiSmSatSeS,HTHleEsHsSSrSeHbeHlTlEioHuHsFHpSiScHtSurSeH,SStHhHeSHoFpE-HSSHSHSHSESHESHH Oseceeee portunity to see the Beatles for another 90 minutes was still a godsend for Beatle- largely completed, George Harrison and maniacs. Watching this delightfully silly romp two decades later is a treat, if not as Paul McCartney cooperated, and new in- emotionally resonant an experience as its terviews with them (alongside other rele- predecessor. The music (“Ticket to Ride,” “The Night Before,” “You’ve Got to Hide vant survivors of the era) are incorporated. Your Love Away,” etc.) is great, as are the Ringo, however, “didn’t show any enthusi- exotically-located images of the Beatles asm for the project. He’s not keen on doing skiing, curling, running around a battle- television right now,” Taylor explains. Re- field, and cavorting on a white-sand beach. The video release, which required three garding the Beatles’ involvement, Taylor notes that the book and film, which aren’t primarily about the group, “could have May 1987 Video 57

The Beatles yesterday and today: ‘Let It Be’ (left), ‘Help!’ (center), ‘Rupert and the Frog Song’ (right). PCOS SSHSSESSSSEHSSHEHSESOSESESESEOEDE SCOSCCSHHSHHSHESHESSHHHTHOHESSS L) A ty to the not-quite-true story of the “pre- fab four.” Neil Innes’ songs—incisive revi- years of negotiations, also features an im- past joys with lighthearted versions of old sions of familiar-sounding tunes, with titles pressive digital hi-fi music soundtrack. songs, the cameras watch four childhood like “Cheese and Onions” and “Piggy in the friends, none yet 30, in the throes of adult Middle”—round out the loving but merci- The Beatles’ film efforts, unfortunately, less presentation. proceeded on a downward spiral after that. alienation. Tempers flare, spirits flag, but a Magical Mystery Tour, McCartney’s mis- BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO-°°: guided, unsuccessful effort to keep the lot of music gets played and recorded. For band visible in light of the decision to stop the amazing coda, the quartet gets up ona Of all the Beatles, John Lennon, mur- touring, was produced and directed by the dered in December, 1980, has been the Beatles, and premiered on British televi- London rooftop for an inspired set of “Get subject of the most video projects. Last sion in December 1967. A goodhearted but year saw the release of Imagine, a 1971 incoherent hour, it loosely follows John, Back” and other songs, as curious hordes collection of short home-movies, accompa- Paul, George, Ringo, and a crowd of char- gather below in Saville Row. After this nied by John and Yoko’s music, that ranges acters on a bus ride to nowhere. Thrown in from attractively impressionist to avant- are a babbling army sergeant (Victor invigorating finale, the Beatles were fin- silly. Live in New York City, a one-hour Spinetti) and a priceless appearance by the ished. (Although issued legally on video in film of a 1972 benefit concert, is marred Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, performing by a disappointing selection of songs and “Death Cab for Cutie,” complete with an 1981, the tape is no longer in general circu- a hamhanded band but it displays a bristly onstage stripper. Lennon in fine form attempting to leave his lation.) Probably to everyone’s benefit, Magical past behind. Mystery Tour was never put in general the- WHAT BECOMES A LEGEND MOST? Released in 1984, Yoko Ono: Then and atrical release: few fans would have en- joyed admitting that their idols were capa- The Compleat Beatles—a 1986 made- Now is a sympathetic look by journalist ble of such shameless (perhaps drug-ad- for-video documentary—provides a co- dled) self-indulgence. Except for the musi- gent, in-depth recap of the group’s roots, Barbara Graustark at Ono’s life before, cal segments—including “Fool on the Hill,” history, and cultural impact. Interviews during, and after her time with Lennon. At “T Am the Walrus,” and “Blue Jay Way’— with a number of important figures, espe- its best, the program defends Ono as a that, in retrospect, closely resemble con- cially George Martin, add significantly to temporary rock videos, there is no reason the program’s depth and value; extraordi- misunderstood artist and fills in the specif- anyone but diehards should consider this nary film research led by director Patrick essential viewing. Montgomery gives it plenty of fan value as ics of their life together; at its low point, well. Narrated by Malcolm McDowell, the The Beatles’ only other group film (not two-hour presentation offers facts, Paul McCartney admits he was wrong and counting the animated feature, Yellow Sub- analysis, and vintage images of the Beatles marine, which was made with little involve- onstage and in various other settings. This apologizes for not liking her at first. Ono’s ment on their part and remains unre- tape is essential for anyone seriously in- involvement makes it a fairly revealing por- leased—for the time being—on videocas- terested in seeing—and perhaps under- trait; some of the hitherto unseen sette) is Let It Be, the uneasy documentary standing some of—what Beatlemania was home-movie footage is also quite extraor- of their last recording sessions and public all about. dinary. performance together. Shot in ’69 by Mi- chael Lindsay-Hogg, it is a forthright, The less reverent may find Monty Py- Interview with a Legend, Tom Snyder’s downbeat look at their final days together, thon member Eric Idle’s scathing mock- with revealing glimpses of the emotions umentary, The Rutles—All You Need Is lengthy 1975 chat with Lennon, rounds out and forces splintering the group. As the Cash, almost as educational and far more the current collection of Lennon video, but four (five, including Yoko Ono, who had by uproarious. An all-star cast of Saturday one suspects there will be more. (Two then become Lennon’s inseparable part- Night Live regulars (John Belushi, Bill items thankfully not yet heading to the ner) alternately struggle to make an album Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner) and stores are John and Yoko: A Love Story, a they don’t really care about and recapture musicians (Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, George Harrison) adds a veneer of veraci- three-hour NBC-TV bio-pic recounting the 58 Video May 1987. couple’s 14-year romance, and John Len- non: A Journey in the Life, a BBC produc- tion in which actor Bernard Hill recites Lennon’s words. ) continued after next page

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0G WR gOON Re(OSRLEOU ee TSF ORE we naa eam er Rie HE Sa EEE continued from preceding page was the only major acting undertaking on mal channels but are of dubious legality. Besides what’s included in The Compleat It would be overly generous to say that his own. any of the Beatles’ non-musical film roles McCartney entered cinema as the Beatles, the best early ’60s footage is on have been significant contributions to cine- three videocassettes drawn from the ar- ma (or even to the group’s otherwise peer- soundtrack composer of The Family Way chives of Britain’s great TV pop show, less creative achievements), but some of (1967). He did little or no film work in the Ready Steady Go! The Beatles Live, shot in their work has been notable or at least ’70s (save writing and recording the smash a London studio during a break from the amusing. Ringo Starr’s parts in Candy and hit theme song for the 1973 James Bond 1964 filming of A Hard Day’s Night, is a The Magic Christian (in which he played picture Live and Let Die), but returned to fascinating black & white document of Peter Sellers’ adopted son) add considera- action in 1984 with the theatrical film Give them actually performing, not miming. Un- bly to the bizarreness of these offbeat 60s My Regards to Broad Street, which he fortunately, they get through a dozen films; he earned more favorable notices for wrote, starred in, and composed. The flim- songs in under 20 minutes by doing a dis- That'll Be the Day, a rock’n’roll drama sy plot—master tapes for a new album concerting show-bizzy medley of five hits about British teenagers in the late ’50s. have been stolen and must be re- run together. trieved—is largely an excuse for Paul to Before reuniting with Paul McCartney in perform items from his solo career as well Video may or may not have sparked the Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984), as bland recreations of vintage Beatle current surge of interest in Liverpool’s Ringo accepted assignments in such varied songs. Harmless but trivial. Paul and wife greatest contribution to popular culture. projects as Mae West’s Sextette; a 1971 Linda next turned to video, releasing Nonetheless, the wide variety of material spaghetti Western, Blindman; Ken Rus- Rupert and the Frog Song, a cassette of available on your TV screen provides an sell’s Lisztomania, in which the drummer three animated pieces including the title unparalleled opportunity to relive those played the Pope; Son ofDracula, which he short, a charming animal fantasy for chil- amazing times. Okay, so you can’t really also produced; and the 1985 TV mini-se- get back to where you once belonged. But ries, Princess Daisy, which, in case you dren. if you find yourself holding your face, shak- were wondering, is available on videotape. There are many videotapes of the Be- ing your head, and shrieking—even a tiny, silent scream—when Paul or John or John Lennon was the first Beatle to atles performing onstage, representing George or Ringo winks at the camera, launch a film career outside the group, but virtually every active stage of their ca- don’t feel bad: some things never change. his debut effort, as Musketeer Gripweed in reers—together and apart—from 1963 to Happy birthday, Sgt. Pepper—you’re Richard Lester’s mordant army farce, How the present. Two vintage items—tapes of guaranteed to raise a smile. I Won the War (1967), was also his last. a 1965 Shea Stadium concert and a ’66 Although he acquitted himself—albeit with appearance at Tokyo’s Budokan—have, at Selected Videography on page 123 little dramatic flair—in a small, odd role, it times, been circulated widely through nor- Why settle for less VIDICRAFT To be the best demands excellence. Challengers will always be pursuing us. Like all true leaders, we welcome competition. Tests prove that the Vidicraft SEG-200 Special Effects Generator is the finest product of its kind on the market today. The SEG-200 brings studio quality special effects to the home video enthusiast. Wipes, fades, dissolves. . .a virtually unlimited combination of colorful effects, all controlled by you. You can produce these effects with your camera, or from VCR to VCR during dubbing. The Vidicraft SEG-200 sets the performance standard. Don’t take our word for it. Write or call for test results. Better yet, visit your local authorized Vidicraft dealer and see for yourself. pesianCOANNSSeD‘lU$MEEENRGGI-NEL2EE0RI0NRGOWS28 rropy VIDICRAFT Pulibonitely Excelent Call or write for your nearest authorized dealer 1-800-547-1491 * TWX: 910-464-5156 « (503) 223-4884 * 0704 S.W.Bancroft St. * Portland, Oregon 97201 For additional information, circle No. 14 on Reader Service Card.

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Thirty Years Later, McCarthy’s Movie Victims Prevail On Tape IACT GENERATIONLVJ IHOLLYWOOD'S Four years ago, ona cool, starry night, some of the best and brightest movie people of the thirties and forties attended a party for once in honor of themselves. They were the survivors of the Hollywood blacklist, the notorious McCarthy-era purge that closed Hollywood to some of its most creative directors, writers, actors, actresses, even craftsmen. Many of the guests, so-called “subversives” in early Shirley Temple flicks. Summoned to testify the 1950s, fought and, eventually, beat the black- in the 1950s, he sang his inquisitors the Bill of list. Present were director Martin Ritt, still known for socially aware films like Norma Rae Rights to a tune he composed for the occasion. and the anti-blacklist comedy The Front; grav- As if to underscore the significance of the reun- el-voiced character actor Lionel Stander, who made an unlikely “comeback” in the hit TV show ion, there were also four of the survivors of the Hart to Hart; writer and director Jules Dassin, Hollywood Ten—screenwriters Lester Cole, best known for Never on Sunday and Rififi; and Alvah Bessie, Albert Maltz, and Ring Lardner Jr. actress and director Lee Grant. Grant was black- Widows and relatives represented the five who listed when she refused to testify against her first had died. The tenth, director Edward Dmytryk, husband, screenwriter Arnold Manhoff. had not been invited: after serving his prison time, he had recanted and “named names.” Former MGM leading lady Karen Morley, who starred in such classics as Dinner at Eight and Now they had returned—from England, Our Daily Bread, showed up with her husband, France, Italy, Mexico, New York City, and else- character actor Lloyd Gough, who was also black- where—to the scene of past glories. They re- listed. From his Pennsylvania retreat came writer turned with trepidation. Hollywood held negative John Wexley, whose prison drama, The Last connotations for some. Their emotions ran high. Mile, launched Clark Gable on the stage and Who knew what sparks might fly? Spencer Tracy in films. Octogenarian producer and composer Jay Gorney made it in his wheel- Journalists were not invited and, amazingly, no chair. Gorney co-wrote the Depression anthem word of the occasion leaked out to newspapers. “Brother Can You Spare a Dime” and produced Los Angeles Times film critic Charles Champlin slipped into the reception that followed dinner. But he honored the press silence and did not report the event. ~ IMSBYILCRLHIUAASEMTRRATION BioFoc Po AusF MoeeGicb tele G A N May 1987 Video 63

s they gathered, the anxiety dis- Bogart & Bergman in ‘Casablanca,’ co-written solved in a rush of feeling. Cole, an by Howard Koch (I1.) before being blacklisted. unregenerate Communist who had sniped at what he felt was the mellowed PHOTO BY ALISON MORLEY how they felt and, in some cases, what they went politique of some ex-blacklistees, was through to make the films, enhances their value. on time. Without hesitation, Lardner Jr. Blacklistees stepped forward and clasped him in an Starred in This month marks the 40th anniversary of the affectionate bear hug. Their camarade- ‘Body and first secret sessions in Hollywood of the House rie set an exuberant mood for the eve- Soul,’ ‘Lost Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC), Horizon,’ and when two congressmen began taking “friendly” ning. ‘National testimony in their investigation of Communist ac- An elegant, courtyard dinner for 100 tivities in the motion picture industry. Within the Velvet’... year, 19 leading, left-liberal film artists were sub- was followed by a reception for several hundred poenaed to testify, at highly-publicized hearings, other former blacklistees, their families, and about their political affiliations and the supposed sympathetic Hollywood luminaries. Composer Communist themes of their films. Earl Robinson played the piano and actor William Marshall joined him for a stirring rendition of “The The first “unfriendly” ten who refused, on First Ballad of Joe Hill.” Amendment grounds, were cited for contempt of Congress and jailed for up to one year. These Three camera crews were also on hand. Hollywood Ten became symbols and scapegoats They weaved in and out of the scene, record- for an entire generation of Hollywood activists ing the event for a documentary about the black- whose work had been animated by social con- list era that has not yet been completed. Mary cerns. Steenburgen, Teri Garr, Mike Farrell, Joan Hackett, and cinematographer Haskell Wexler Why these ten among the hundreds eventually were among those of Hollywood today dotting the blacklisted? Was it because most were Jewish? Or male? Because none were World War II com- crowd. bat veterans? “I remain alittle baffled by how they As the evening wore on, the young filmmakers chose exactly those names,” was all Lardner Jr. could say, almost 40 years later. It certainly sat down on the lawn, weary, their film stock wasn’t because they lacked credentials: Sam depleted. The Old Left of Hollywood were still Ornitz, elder statesman of the Hollywood branch carrying on, talking, laughing, reminiscing. of the Communist Party, was a superior novelist and B-level scriptwriter. John Howard Lawson, a The blacklist. The Hollywood Ten. These noted playwright and screenwriter (for Action in evocative words mean little to people now, espe- the North Atlantic, among others), was a tireless cially to a college generation still in diapers during proponent of the Screen Writers Guild, and its the Vietnam War. It was all so long ago, some- first President. thing they learned about in The Way We Were or Producer Herbert Biberman had devoted most The Front. of his energies to anti-fascist organizing. Alvah But whether film fans know it or not, the black- Bessie, nominated for an Oscar for her script for Objective Burma, had fought with the Internation- listees are responsible for a major body of work— al Brigade in Spain. both political films and simple entertain- ments—made before and since the blacklist. Novelist Albert Maltz’s Hollywood career in- Their lost years deprived us of even more films. cluded two Oscar-winning documentaries (about Now dozens of their best are on tape, even works like Salt of the Earth that were effectively blocked from distribution at the time. Knowing 64 Video May 1987

the defeat of the German army and another, star- ...and wrote and future President Ronald Reagan, then Presi- ring Frank Sinatra, about the need for racial toler- ‘High Noon,’ dent of the Actors Guild. ance) and such films as This Gun for Hire and Naked City. Lester Cole was a prolific script writ- ‘Public With the example of the imprisoned Ten, er with a high political profile. Enemy,’ HUAC became more successful at extracting and ‘The “names” from cooperative witnesses. Such Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner Jr. were also Philadelphia prominent informers as director Elia Kazan, writ- screenwriters with Oscar recognition. Trumbo Story.’ ers Budd (On the Waterfront) Schulberg and Clif- was nominated for Kitty Foyle in 1940, Lardner Jr. ford (Golden Boy) Odets, writer-producer Roy won for Woman ofthe Year in 1942. Both had solid Huggins (creator of TV’s Maverick and The Fugi- box-office track records. tive), and actor Sterling Hayden—who repented in his autobiography—built lucrative careers on Finally, director Edward Dmytryk and produc- the ashes of former friends they had named as er Adrian Scott were responsible for the Ray- subversives in front of the committee. mond Chandler adaptation Murder My Sweet, the Dick Powell melodrama Cornered, and one of The ten were the tip of an iceberg, beneath Hollywood’s most courageous films about an- which were ten times ten times ten, plus family ti-Semitism, Crossfire. members, and even neighbors. There were screenwriters aplenty, as well as many studio gainst tremendous odds, the Ten and personnel, technicians, publicists, agents, and many others had transformed Holly- secretaries. The precise magnitude of the Holly- wood from a glamorous symbol of unre- wood blacklist has never been ascertained; nor of ality into a center of social conscious- the parallel blacklists that ravaged labor, educa- ness in the U.S. From the early 1930s tion, government. until 1947, when HUAC descended on the industry, Hollywood was the focal Some of the Hollywood victims died poignant- point for many political movements. ly. Sensitive character actor J. Edward Brom- berg, fingered by Kazan, fled to London in 1951 Hollywood activists founded the Ac- and died, at 47, “in great loneliness, ” according to tors Guild and the Screen Writers David Chute in The Great Fear. Tough-guy actor Guild, aided anti-fascist forces in the John Garfield was on the verge of being recalled Spanish Civil War, organized defense committees by the Committee, which suspected perjury in his for political prisoners, lent time, money, and previous testimony. The anxiety provoked a fatal prestige to labor causes, and helped elect pro- heart attack. Most of the blacklistees suffered gressive candidates. less dramatically from divorce and family ten- A few film people belonged to the domestic sions, years of stress and insecurity, and sorely incarnation of the Communist Party, then an um- reduced circumstances. brella-type leftist organization working for a vari- ety of causes. Ironically, Hollywooders did not Many embarked, families in tow, for Mexico, have any clearer idea of who officially belonged to England, France, and Italy, where they found the Party than HUAC did. “It was all very loose,” work and were greeted as heroes in political cir- explained Edward Chodorov, a Warner cles. The exiles included directors Joseph Losey, screenwriter who became an MGM producer. whose many first-rate films include Harold Pint- In the thirties, many Hollywood celebrities, er’s The Servant and Accident, and John Berry, from James Cagney to Jean Harlow, joined the united front of causes. But after World War II, PHOTO BY ALISON MORLEY James Cagney in ‘Angels with Dirty Faces, x with Russophobia on the rise, the political climate co-scripted by blacklistee John Wexley (I.). shifted to the right. Genuine leftists remained dedicated but the coalition had evaporated, leav- i. ing the outspoken vulnerable. uring the fight to keep the Ten out of jail, Hollywood liberals—led by direc- tors William Wyler, John Huston and How Green Was My Valley screenwriter Philip Dunne, struggled to mount a pro- test. But studio executives, producers and union leaders capitulated to right- wing pressure and instituted a blacklist of suspected “Reds” and “pinkoes,” ushering in 20 years of rampant blacklisting that destroyed lives, ruined careers, and dispatched some of our best filmmakers abroad. Hundreds escaped the notori- ety of the Ten, only to discover their names were being circulated by HUAC or anti-Commie citizen groups that flourished under Presidents Truman and Eisenhower. The HUAC hearings persisted into the mid- 1950s. Hollywood “friendlies” who offered ex- pert testimony on those shifty Reds included Walt Disney, Gary Cooper, Robert Taylor, character bon vivant Adolphe Menjou, novelist Ayn Rand, May 1987 Video 65

whose last pre-blacklist film was a compelling Hemingway adaptation called He Ran All the Way (which turned out to be John Garfield’s swan song). Charles Chaplin left the country after the com- mittee, unable to prove he was a Communist, attacked him on vague moral grounds. So did a number of Oscar-calibre screenwriters, including Sidney Buchanan, who penned Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Donald Ogden, author of The Phila- delphia Story, Carl Foreman, famous for High Noon, and Michael Wilson, who scripted Five Fingers. Back in the U.S., it seemed actors were hit hardest; their faces were their calling cards. Mor- ley, the former thirties ingenue, fought back by running for lieutenant governor of New York. But she lost, and never regained her acting career. Before he became familiar to a younger genera- tion as Dr. Zorba on TV’s Ben Casey, character actor Sam Jaffe—a lifelong non-Commu- nist—spent a decade under the blacklist teaching math and scraping to get by. Lionel Stander lectured HUAC brilliantly, dar- ing the investigators to prove he was a Commu- nist when he was insisting he wasn’t. Later, he turned up as a broker on Wall Street where, he MILESTONES OF THE ‘50s In the 50s the Commie Threat became a na- tional political concern, although Hollywood ap- proached it metaphorically in sci-fi epics like 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Republic) and 1954’s Them! (Warner). Stanley Kramer, Hollywood’s social conscience, confronted the newly born nuclear menace with 1959’s On the Beach (CBS/Fox), a corny post-holocaust melo- drama, although you should check out The Atomic Cafe (Thorn/EMI) for a glimpse at our govern- ment’s attitude. The 1950s also saw the genesis of youth rebel- lion, with Marlon Brando and James Dean playing tortured, misunderstood adolescents in 1954’s The Wild One (RCA/Columbia) and 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause (Warner). Rock ’n’ roll subse- ‘The Front,’ with Woody relished telling interviewers late in life, he made more money than when he was a contract player. quently became the main expression of this rebel- Allen and Zero Mostel “Tt seems my face or figure on the screen could (above) was directed by lion, with Elvis Presley as its primal force. Most Martin Ritt (below). throw the thing off the tightrope,” Stander recol- lected. “But I could go to Wall Street and invest of the King’s movies are tedious, embarrassing the savings of widows and orphans with impunity. There was no blacklist there.” affairs, but 1957’s Jailhouse Rock (MGM/UA) has Some writers were able to operate through the best musical sequences. “fronts.” The credits from these years are still not sorted out. In some cases that means reve- The ’50s also introduced some of Hollywood’s nue, too. There were absurd situations with one “front” being assigned to rewrite another—and most voluptuous icons. Jayne Mansfield is the both of them really one and the same person, a blacklistee functioning through the nom de plume sexy center of 1956’s The Girl Can’t Help It of a willing confederate. (Key), which also features priceless musical cam- At least four writers functioning under pseudo- nyms won Oscars during this “scoundrel time”: eos by Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Gene Dalton Trumbo (a.k.a. Robert Rich) for The Brave One in 1956, Carl Foreman and Michael Vincent. Marilyn Monroe steamed up the screen Wilson (as Pierre Boulle, the novelist) for Bridge on the River Kwai in 1957, and ex-actor Nedrick in 1955’s The Seven Year Itch (CBS/Fox) and Young (a.k.a. Nathan E. Douglas) for The Defiant 1959's Some Like It Hot (CBS/Fox). continued on page 123 Television first became widespread in the ’50s, and you can catch one ofits innovators, Sid Cae- sar, on Your Show of Shows (Yesteryear). The work of Ernie Kovacs, however, created a more lasting impression that still influences video art- ists. Clips from Kovacs’ series and specials ap- pear on Ernie Kovacs: Television’s Original Ge- nius (Vestron). —Louis Kesten 66 Video May 1987

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whose last pre-blacklist film was a compelling Hemingway adaptation called He Ran All the Way (which turned out to be John Garfield’s swan song). Charles Chaplin left the country after the com- mittee, unable to prove he was a Communist, attacked him on vague moral grounds. So did a number of Oscar-calibre screenwriters, including Sidney Buchanan, who penned Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Donald Ogden, author of The Phila- delphia Story, Carl Foreman, famous for High Noon, and Michael Wilson, who scripted Five Fingers. Back in the U.S., it seemed actors were hit hardest; their faces were their calling cards. Mor- ley, the former thirties ingenue, fought back by running for lieutenant governor of New York. But she lost, and never regained her acting career. Before he became familiar to a younger genera- tion as Dr. Zorba on TV’s Ben Casey, character actor Sam Jaffe—a lifelong non-Commu- nist—spent a decade under the blacklist teaching math and scraping to get by. Lionel Stander lectured HUAC brilliantly, dar- ing the investigators to prove he was a Commu- nist when he was insisting he wasn’t. Later, he turned up as a broker on Wall Street where, he MILESTONES OF THE ‘50s In the ’50s the Commie Threat became a na- tional political concern, although Hollywood ap- proached it metaphorically in sci-fi epics like 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Republic) and 1954’s Them! (Warner). Stanley Kramer, Hollywood’s social conscience, confronted the newly born nuclear menace with 1959’s On the Beach (CBS/Fox), a corny post-holocaust melo- drama, although you should check out The Atomic Cafe (Thorn/EMI) for a glimpse at our govern- ment’s attitude. The 1950s also saw the get lion, with Marlon Brando and tortured, misunderstood ad The Wild One (RCA/Columbi Without a Cause (Warner). | NO POSTAGE NECESSARY quently became the main exp! IF MAILED lion, with Elvis Presley as its IN THE of the King’s movies are tec UNITED STATES affairs, but 1957’s JailhouseR the best musical sequences. The ’50s also introduced s BUSINESS REPLY MAIL most voluptuous icons. Jayr sexy center of 1956’s The FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 3494 NEW YORK, NY (Key), which also features pri eos by Little Richard, Fats POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE Vincent. Marilyn Monroe ste in 1955’s The Seven Year1 uideo 1959’s Some Like It Hot (CE Television first became wic and you can catch one ofits i P.O. Box 52255 sar, on Your Show of Shows Boulder, Colorado 80321-2255 work of Ernie Kovacs, howe’ lasting impression that still i ists. Clips from Kovacs’ ser pear on Ernie Kovacs: Telev nius (Vestron). 66 Video May 1987

BEBEEE E00 00008 BEEEEE EEE EERE E0000 00000000 000000008 o) VIDEO RETAILERS o) o) Have trouble finding copies of VIDEO at your local newsstand? Want to know where to send a friend to pick up a copy? The following will help —it's a list of retail stores across the country, that carry at least 20 copies of VIDEO every month. ALABAMA INDIANA Video Headquarters, Keene OREGON Video Village, Mobile Mr. Video, Franklin Video Scene, Rochester The Video Station, Cottage Grove Mr. Video East, Indianapolis Home Video Shop, Seabrook Classic Video, Piqua ARKANSAS Video Biz, Portage Dayton Video Inc., Kettering Video Vision, Monticello Merrillville Video, Merrillville NEW JERSEY National Video, Springfield National Video, North Little Rock Video Biz, Elkhart Film Fare, Carteret Video Network, South Point Video Productions, Melbourne The Movie Place, Angola Video Plus, Cliffside Park Video Biz of Lima, Lima Movie Mart Video Rental, Ft. Smith Video Village, Evansville Take One Video, Hoboken Take Two Video, Hoboken OKLAHOMA CALIFORNIA IOWA Video Unlimited of Linden, Linden Kaleidoscope Video, Oklahoma City Video Biz of Des Moines, Des Moines Video Joes, Verona The Video Library, Mannford Video Journeys, Los Angeles ShowtimeVideo, Des Moines Video Access, North Bergen CR Flicks, Muskogie Wakonda Video Exchange, Des Moines Video Land Inc., Parsippany Video Archives, Manhattan Beach Video City Rental Inc., Waterloo Video Odyssey Inc., Woodbridge PENNSYLVANIA The Video Station, Santa Monica Pick A Show Video, Council Bluff Take Ill Video, Newark ~ Visual Adventures, Bridgeville Video Station, Cedar Rapids Video Express, Newark Star Video, Inglewood Blackhawk Films, Davenport Centrill Video, Jersey City Visual Adventures, Monroeville Mac's Video Center, Jersey City Visual Adventures, Pittsburgh Video Box, Reseda KANSAS Reel To Reel Inc., Butler Instant Replay, McKees Rocks Todays Video, Azusa Duncan’s Movie, Magic, Topeka Video Store, Elmwood Pk On The Go Video, Diamond Bar Video Biz of Oakland, Oakland Network Video, Pittsburgh A & M Video Palace, Hemet KENTUCKY Ramapo Video Image, Wayne Video Mart Inc., San Bernadino Home Video, Louisville Copeland Eterprises Inc., Red Bank Instant Replay #2, Pittsburg Picture Show, Huntington Beach Video Visions #2, Lovisville Video Voyagers, Netcong Coast Video, Fountain Valley Video Visions, Louisville Video Pavillion, Newton Network Video, Greensburg Video Best, Anaheim Video Fantastic, Richmond Video Village Inc., Florham Park SRihcokwstiVmiedeoVidHeeoa,dqGuraortveersC,ityLaProbe Salzer’s Video, Ventura Video Productions, Cynthiana Act One Video, East Hanover C & W Video, Camarillo Video Galaxy, Turnersville Videoplace, Altoona Unique Video, Tulane LOUISIANA The Video Store, Glendora Video Biz, Metarie Family Video Center, Marmara Our Geng Video, Duncansville Video Biz, Lompac National Video Clearview, Metairie Risley Video Center, Millville Home Video Of La Place, La Place Yorktowne Video, Lakewood Mikes Video |, State College Home Movies to Go, Santa Maria Video Biz, Maudeville Ippy’s, Manesquan Home Video Center, Lancaster Video Affairs, Belmont Video City #2, Mandeville Video Exchange, Pt. Pleasant Video 54 Inc,, Lancaster Video Biz, San Bruno Video Biz of Slidell, Slidell Pik A Flick Co., Toms River Hollywood at Home, Moosic Laser World Inc., San Francisco Star Video, Baton Rouge Bound Brook Video Studio, Bound Brook Audio Video World, Chalfont Chois Homes Video, San Francisco Video Connection, Somerset Video Connection, Quakertown Video Station, Benecia MAINE Video Biz, New Brunswick Video Library, Philadelphia Video Plus, Concord Video Store, Auburn Videotape Library IX, Philadelphia Video Village, Newark NEW YORK West Chester Video, West Chester Ye Olde Video Shoppe, Vallejo MARYLAND New Video, New York Vaccaros Video, Reading Front Row Video, Oakland Video Showplace, Bowie Rare Bird Video, New York Video Room Inc., Oakland Video Tek Inc., Temple Hills Laser Video, New York RHODE ISLAND Pick A Flick Video, Cupertino Gude Video, Rockville Video Rama, Greenville American Video Center, Milpitas Video Store, Silver Spring Video Stop Inc., New York National Video, Middletown Video Box Office, Scotts Valley Columbia Video Center, Columbia Greetings & Readings, Towson Classic Video, New York SOUTH CAROLINA VCiOdeLoORCoAuDntOry Inc., Denver Tower Video, New York Showbiz Video Sales, North Myrtle Beach Video Visions, Northglenn MASSACHUSETTS Giffen Video Corp., Staten Island Video Showcase, Teja Picaflic, Avon Video House Inc., Hadley Captain Video, Staten Island Video Dimensions, Auburn Video Investers Inc., Staten Island SOUTH DAKOTA CONNECTICUT Video Nook, North Brookfield Video Pro, Spearfish National Video, Avon Video Dimensions, Southbridge Popcorn & Movies, Bronx Video Connection, Wore TEXAS Movies And More, Manchester Sake Video Take, Natick Video Connection of Riverdale, Riverdale Video Store, Carrollton Video Station, Woburn Bay Electronics, Bronx Video Galaxy X, Einfield Video Revolution, Andover Prime Video, Bronx Wedgewood Rental, Ft Worth Playtime Video Inc, Newington Act 1 Video Inc., Dracut Star Video, Larchmont Robar’s Video, Branford Video Connection, Sougas County Video Inc., Elmsford Videotrend, Houston Video World of Derby, Derby Family Flicks Unlimited, Amesbury Plaza Video, Pleasantville Audio Video Plus, Houston Video Movies of Monroe, Monroe Video Biz Northshore, Gloucester Video Scape, Middletown Sci-Fi & Screams Video, Willis Video Connection, Bridgeport Action Video, Salem Future Video, New Hyde Park Video Movies of Brookfield, Brookfield Video Ventures Inc., Hingham Marks Drugs, Rosenburg Candlewood Video, New Fairfield Avenue Video, Malden Arthans Home Video, Port Washington Westend Video, Waltham Northwest Video Club, San Antonio DELAWARE TS V Video, Medford Parkway Video & Electron Mart, Brooklyn Vid-Com, Brownsville Video Station, Wilmington Video Biz, Needham Shore Road Video, Brooklyn Video Station, Cedar Park Towne Video, Fenwick Island Home Video Center, Plymouth Video Star, Flushing At the Movies, Round Rock Towne Video, Milford Video Paradise, Plymouth Movieland, Lubbock Towne Video, Rehoboth Beach Mr. Video, New Bedford Video Village, Whitestone Video Station, El Paso National Video, North Dartmouth DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Video Cinema, Bayside UTAH Savrez Inc./Metro Video Centers, Washington MICHIGAN Video America-Logan, Logan Video Biz, Washington Video Connection, Bayside VNiedweo YoCroknneVcitdieoon,WoFraldr,minFgatromningHitlolns Hills VERMONT FEvLeOryRtIhDinAg Video, Tallahassee Movies III, Littleneck Hollywood Video, S. Burlington Rainy Day Video Inc., East Detroit Video Joe, Forest Hills Video Station, Burlington Video Video, Pensacola Rentertainment, East Detroit Video Flicks, Ozone Park Video Biz, Winooski Video Communications, Altamonte Spring ADM Offices, Rochester Video Plus, Richmond Hill Video Station, Winooski National Home Video, Tavares Abbott Video Inc., Roseville Future Video, Mineola Video Express, Palm Bay Discount Video Pleasant Ridge, Pleasant Ridge All Cast Video, Hewlett VIRGINIA Variety Records & Video, Miami Thomas Video, Royal Oak Video Zone, Lynbrook Video Station, Alexandria Video Connection, Miami Act | Video, Sterling Heights Video Connection, Merrick Professional Video Comm., Alexandria Sebasco Inc,, Miami Video Station Bohemia Broadway Discount Video, Broadway Video Station, Riviera Beach TSV Video, Sterling Hgts. Rainbow Video, Commack Performing Arts Video Centre, Richmond Video House, Ft, Pierce Deer Park Pro Camera Inc., New York The Movie Store, Virginia Beach American Video Express, Stuart Starburst Video, St. Clair Shores Hollywood Movie Shore Ltd., East Setauket Video Unlimited, Grafton Video X Tron of Stuart Inc., Stuart Movieland USA, Levittown Video Station, Portsmouth Masters Video, Dunedin Movie Man, Taylor Castle Video, Lindenhurst Video Magic, Chester The Listening Post, Bay City Home Video Movies, Nesconset Moore Videos, Courtland Video Connection, Largo 24 Karat, Lake Ronkonrama Lee Hartman & Sons Inc., Roanoke Video Junction, Bay City Movieland USA, Shirley Family Video Shop, Brookmeal Video Empire, Palm Harbor Video Tech Center, Owosso American Video, Delmar Video Biz, Sarasota Video Environment Inc., Albany WASHINGTON Video Corner, St. Petersburg Video Today, Holland National Video, Rotterdam Platters, Seattle Video Biz, Ft. Myers Premier Video, Grand Rapids Video Factory, Everett VDiisdceoountS,hopGer,anWdyoRmaipnigds Boob Tube, Liberty Camcord & Company, Bellingham GEORGIA Stardust Video, Tacoma Home Video, Norcross MINNESOTA The Movie Store, Watertown Camera America Video, Valdosta Crown Video Corp., St, Paul Video Factory, Buffalo WEST VIRGINIA Video Mania, Maple Grove Video Biz, Williamsville Video Station, Huntington HAWAII Bigelow Video, New Hope Video Biz, Fairport Richwood Electronics, Richwood Mavi Video Center, Kahuldi Video Express LTD, Duluth Video Biz, Rochester Jack Wada Electronics, Lihue American Video Ctr., Rochester WISCONSIN Paradise Video Inc., Wailuku MISSOURI Video Home Entertainment, Mukwonago Movie Palace, Ballwin NORTH CAROLINA Little Buddah Enterprises Ltd., Milwaukee ILLINOIS Movies to Rent, Bridgeton Video Connection, Greensboro Video Station, Madison Quick Flix Video, Arlington Hats. First Capital Video, St. Charles News Center in Cary Village, Cary Danz Video, Oconto Algonquin Records, Des Plaines Video Castle Stores, Kirksville Box Office Video Inc., Raleigh Northwoods TV Video Co., Tomhawk State Electronic, Mount Prospect Crown Video, Lemar Video Station, Raleigh Adventure Video, Waupaca Video Alternatives, Palatine Video Corner, Gastonia Video Hotline, Winnetka MONTANA Movies Plus, Gastonia CANADA Video Station, Bozeman National Video, Ashville Just Video Ltd., Kelowna BC Video Extraveganza, Bensenville Basement Video, Pembroke OT NEBRASKA OVFiiHvdeIeoOStaMrovViiedeoC,lasHsiilclsa,rdColumbus B & B Video, Carol Stream Movie Madness, Norfolk MVViiaddgeeiooc MCCooanvsnitelecestiVoUinndi,etod,.T,olCCeoodllouummbbuusa VViisdueaol CAadsvseentttueresR,entaCllse,veTloalneddo Georgetown Video, Woodale NEVADA AVVViiimssseuuuraaailllcaAAAndddvvveeeVnnnitttduuuerrroeeesss,,,Inc.MEP,leaynrNrtmiooaarrth Olmsted | C Video, Las Vegas VViissuuaall AAddvveennttuurreess,, AMkirdodnleburgh Hts. Pro Visual, Dolton Video Plus, Reno VSHipodemeceotruVLmiibdreVaoirdy,eLoi,CbarnAatsroyh-nlMainldford Br., Milford Video Basics Inc., Joliet Video Flicks, St Bernard Video In Motion Inc., Aurora NEW HAMPSHIRE Video Station, Amherst Countryside Home Video, Countryside Movie Loft, Hudson Video Biz, Bedford Video Sixty Six, Countryside Showbiz Video Sales/Rentals, Chicago Diaca Video, Niles Knight Time Video Shoppe Inc., Cicero Larrys Book Store, Chicago McPherson Electronics, Dixon Red Carpet Video, Sterling Good Vibes Sound, Champaing Bac Theaters Inc., Belleville J&L Video, Mt Sterling G0e0H0e0o0H0u000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000GE0GSE0GF0E0E000EEEE00E0E000ESE0E0R0EE200000E2E02000G0E00E0580R00 GB BREESE EERO SE EE20 000 00000000 000000000000 000000000008 FB oa)

|5)ames ee =| =f |} 4 VIDEO overTAKES MAIN STREET alle Once Confined To Rental Stores, Tapes Are Now Invading Everything From Bowling Alleys To Minimarts By Jim Bessman 70 Video May 1987

surprise, but it really shouldn’t have. A few the Mother Goose in toy stores, though blocks over, the Scribners bookstore on both are sold in video and book shops and Fifth Avenue had a full window devoted to 25 titles in Home Vision’s “Portrait of an masAss mBeerstchaFnidlimse& ouVtildeetos’.s Roy Winnick Artist” series, along with smocks, paint- notes, you don’t sell carpet in a butcher boxes, and palettes. There were also sev- store. Moreover, today’s hit movie tape eral videocassettes in the window of Music may be largely forgotten in a matter of People, a music-instruction boutique in weeks. These maxims have formed the midtown. Inside were perhaps 70 titles op- basis by which Best has successfully mar- posite the cash register, ranging from a keted a wide variety of long-lived special $29.95 guitar instructional to a series of interest videocassettes to specially inter- music business-related titles ($40 per ested consumers. In 1983, when Winnick tape) to an $80 exploration of the drum kit. brought out John Gnagy’s Learn to Draw in “A lesson from a good teacher can cost a package containing paper and pencils, he $20 an hour,” notes owner Danyale En- found that traditional video stores weren't glish. “The videos offer four months of interested in his sale-only title. So he went lessons, and after three or four repetitions to art supply stores, and later landed it in they pay for themselves. It’s definitely the the drawing-kit section of that year’s way of the future.” Sears-Roebuck Christmas catalogue. Ah, the way of the future. In home vid- More recently, Winnick turned to sports eo, that future stretches way beyond the with such titles as Charlie Lau’s The Art of bounds of the traditional video specialty Hitting .300, which was sold in sporting store, and as a stroll in any big city will goods stores and through Inside Sports confirm, this future is now. One can obtain magazine. Benihana cooking cassettes, “niche” video titles concerning just about elaborately packaged with companion any subject imaginable in department cookbooks, have appropriately found their stores, supermarkets, convenience way into bookstores, gourmet shops, elite stores, bowling alleys, dance studios, and mail order catalogues, and, of course, the dozens of other outlets. Videos are also Benihana restaurants. Play Bridge with available through mail-order catalogues, Omar Sharif is available through bridge periodicals, and various TV programs. clubs, supply houses, gift shops, and mail Tapes are everywhere! order. Steve Wolff, president of Stevron, Ltd. Richard Stadin, president of New York- in Hazel Crest, Ill., says his Bowling with based MasterVision, is another manufac- Don Johnson (“not Don Johnson from Mi- turer peddling his wares to specific cus- ami Vice, but the bowler!”’) reaches alleys tomer bases well outside the bounds of through bowling product distributors in video specialty stores. “With special inter- addition to mail-order sales via specialty est product, water seeks its own level,” magazines. Sherry Smythe-Green, who says Stadin. Case in point: a pair of bird produces the Kathy Blake Let’s Learn How identification tapes, Audubon Society's to Dance line of dance instruction tapes in VideoGuide to the Birds of North America: 1 Antrim, N.H., says her 22 titles can be and Ducks Unlimited’s VideoGuide to found at Blake’s studios, as well as in video Waterfowl and Game Birds. “I just got a catalogues, thus sparing her (mainly male) call from a bird-watching nature shop in IRBMLOYALBRUBAISNETcTRuZAsTItOoNSmers the agony of admitting to video Tennessee,” reports Stadin. “We're in all store clerks that they don’t know how to kinds of these shops, even governmental waltz. ones run by park departments. This ap- AUDIENCE HUNTING plies to every tape I have of special inter- est, be it karate, biology, language, histo- t was January in New York, and I could “Tt’s like being a detective,” states Mi- ry—there’s general distribution, catalogue only watch Golf My Way, a Christmas chael Weiss, manager of tape marketing availability, and special environment.” present to myself, so many times be- for Los Angeles’ J2 Communications, dis- This year, a new “special environment” |} fore running out to the Richard Metz cussing how he markets such “alternative” is Bank of America, which Stadin notes Golf Studio indoor driving range to see non-theatrical video titles as Chef Paul is offering his 1987 Touche Ross Video Tax whether you really can learn from video. Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen, Phyllis There, amidst the gloves and club covers Diller’s How to Have a Money-Making Ga- in a glass case, was not only my recent rage Sale, and the Mother Goose Video acquisition but a selection of golf vid- Treasury series. “You have to find specific eotapes, most of which I’d never seen in areas of distribution where specific product my local video store. works and then get that product into According to co-owner Suzanne Metz, them.” at least one of a dozen or so titles a day As VCR penetration approaches the 50 have been purchased in the year the store percent level, adds Weiss, “a lot of stores has carried them. She now expects to in- that have adopted a wait-and-see attitude crease inventory through new golf-tape are willing to go farther with video than distributor contacts made at an Orlando before.” Thus, J2 has been able to place trade show. The studio also promotes it- Prudhomme in gourmet shops as well as self to passers-by, screening Al Geiberger food and housewares sections of such ma- and Patti Sheehan tapes when not using its jor department stores as Lechmere, Ma- VCR equipment to tape students’ swings. cy’s, and Neiman-Marcus. Weiss hopes to Video in the pro shop may have been a put the Diller tape in hardware stores and May 1987 Video 71

Main Street by the Bureau of Business Practices via enthusiastic about it, they're even buying direct mail and telemarketing to corporate air time after we supply them with com- Guide to new accounts. Similarly, Al managers enrolling in “Stop Smoking” ef- mercials and an 800 number,” says Sales Reuben, Vestron Video’s senior vice presi- and Marketing Director Larry Klingman. dent of marketing and distribution, says his forts. How to Enjoy Wine is carried by company is testing the use of videos as wine-related equipment and merchandise The cassettes—which have already sold premium items. “Tapes can be used to four hundred thousand copies—are just induce someone to purchase another prod- specialty catalogs. now being offered to video specialty stores uct if the tape subject is related to that Karl-Lorimar’s Consumer Reports home for the first time, in response to rising product,” he says, suggesting that Ves- consumer demand. The company’s unusu- tron’s Let’s Go Mets could be given away to improvement tapes are in hardware store al marketing strategy has employed door- New York Mets season ticket buyers. (In- to-door salesmen, book chains, religious cidentally, the video is carried at Shea Sta- chains, like Ace and True Value, as well as book stores, direct mail, TV and radio ad- dium concession stands.) vertising with 800 numbers for ordering, builders’ supply houses. Other Karl spe- Goodman Enterprises is already mar- and tape-of-the-month clubs. keting Just For Kicks soccer instructionals cialty titles are likewise distributed to ap- Indy ace Rick Mears’ Tune-Up America for kids, parents, and coaches as premi- ums. Regularly priced at $19.98, each tape propriate markets. Esther Williams’ Swim car care series is already in 150 automotive is available for $11.50 and two boxtops Baby Swimis in swimming pool equipment outlets around the country; executive pro- from specially-marked boxes of Kix cereal. ducer Bill Maloney hopes to crack the big The National Soccer Coaches Association stores; the Minnesota Fats tape can be auto part chains, home improvement cen- of America is promoting the tapes; the found in billiard shops; and Warren Miller’s equipment manufacturer which co- ski tapes are in ski shops. While the compa- ters, and sporting goods stores. sponsored the video is also distrib- ny’s Jane Fonda exercise tapes are every- Kids, meanwhile, can find video galore in uting them to sporting goods stores. where, Sales V.P. Gary Hunt surprising- ly reports their greatest success is in gro- toy stores, with countless low-priced titles NEW VIDEO VENUES doing major business. Adults can buy video cery stores, especially Denver’s King Su- for themselves in museums. For example, Where else can video be found? Simon & Kartes sells its six volume art history Schuster Software is aiming the Palm-Atre per, where they were promoted along with Spa’s Seven-Day Plan to Change Your Life Weight Watchers food (“Take weight off set, Museum Without Walls, to museum directly at spas and health clubs, and gift shops. Another specified marketing ar- through health and exercise product dis- with Weight Watchers and keep it off with ea for Kartes is lawn and garden centers, tributors. Fresh Start: 21 Days to Stop Jane Fonda”) and in a six-week period sold Smoking is sold through local chapters of where the new Yardening garden and lawn the American Cancer Society, and offered more copies per store than any other outlet care how-to series will be distributed. It in the country. will even be sold to agriculture offices in 72 Video § county government seats, for use as public Over the past year, Hanna-Barbera Pro- reference. Meanwhile, the 34-store Flow- ductions, the studio that created the Flint- er Time chain in Long Island, New York is renting arts and crafts tapes and will soon stones, has used a network of religious and carry gardening videos, including a full line from the Ortho Chemical company. secular organizations, all outside the usual video store channels, to distribute its ani- mated series, The Greatest Adventure: Sto- ries from the Bible. “Distributors are so CATALOGUING TAPES “I work from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and after I get home and eat dinner I’m too tired to go to the video store,” says Bob Jeggers, di- rector of acquisitions and product develop- ment for The Video Schoolhouse catalogue. “But I can easily order from an 800 num- ber.” One hundred thousand copies of the current catalogue have been circulated to stores, schools, and consumers, who learn of it through small ads in newspapers and magazines. Most of the 5,000 titles offered are of the educational and instructional type rarely found in the typical video store. Steve Troy, whose Norstar catalogue carries major studio movie titles but “spe- cializes in the alternative market because those needs aren’t fulfilled by traditional distributors,” currently services 15,000 retailers, plus schools and libraries, which take “anything and everything” from clas- sic movies to educational how-to’s and, in- evitably, popular films. American Express MRBIOAYLBRLBUAISNETTRoZAfTfIeOrNs its cardholders a video purchase service as well. In addition to catalogues, home video shopping is also now possible through tape-of-the-month clubs like the CBS Video Library and Time-Life Home Video Club. Another new way to distribute video is BPRIAYHCROKRTIOCK continued on page 127

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WPIITEHCE UPOUTTFOIT22 || [tsSscopuénscnHgiri 6$.2490 TTH2sOSe.M..G.HIFi 6i.4t9 TT1H2o0gPEluAsMERA «©5f.o29g TCTHIZeOPHGRXOIND, i4.9s9 H.A., CHICAGO, IL. PAN AG155 1289 L830 ES HG CALL HRX451W/CPRO 8.69 7120 EXG PRO 7.99 7120 GOLD HiFi 5.99 PAN AG160 w/piezo =—-'1379 5.39 7160 669 71 6.89 © T160 As a rule multistandard machines are L500 ESXHIFi 5.99 1160 S.H.G. 7.89 7160 Plus 7.39 160 HGX 5.89 very costly and always require multistan- PAN PV300 wow! L750 ESXHIFi BASF 160 5.99 8775M50M0E3EG0XGMin. 544...638999 RX PROW/C 7.99 dard monitors. PAN PV220 g99°* 88L8MM3MM0 63E00SXMMHiiInnF,.i 654.96:9 BASF 160H.G. 6.99 SQPROWC 7.09 6.89 There is, however, one device that does not require the purchase of a monitor: The PAN PV100 VHS-C 4149 8MM 90 Min. 7.39 MEMOREX PROw/c 4.99 L750 HGX 5.89 Image Translator™ from Instant Replay ©JVC-120 3.99 TOK (2951 South Bayshore Drive, Miami, FL CANON VMEZ HiFi8 1229 8MM 120 Min. 8.39 MAG 1120 3.69 4.09 L750GOLDHiFi 6.79 33133. Phone: 305-448-7088). 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WARRANTY [et see meaner ccrse Pav g ATEMinoXCAsTCuNRrOEUarASndFSceAerOC.C:RHTIAUESNRiRSoGmtEEpRlArySNeFsDOpsoPRenAWnsdCEiCKbRIlaEWeNDIGcILhfLTeorc_kBCt“EyAAApoRFroTTDgESrmRaIoTpnhOReiRyEcaBlACoT.r0Eed.rerDro.r* ’sD.stoI: S(SPRhWLeiIlpATipYHaibnlgeDMEOPVcDiOhEdaSeLrIogTe)sW8I6TS8nHoH1tO-P1M.r8eAtfhNAunURdFAaObvAUleCeN..,TDURBPrGEroEiRocTkSelsyYnOUm,.UaSyR.NAe.vwBarEyWS.AYToRrCRkPaARsNhI1TC1Y2Ea1.n4.dWINcTOaPCHrl.re0Sya.MAs0LeA.f'EoNSrSUa,dwFdTaAlAMCkXaATpSpUiOrnTNRoEpEcrRuORisCUSatTAtoeRmOeDUFr.ssSh..SiAApT.NpAiDTnE'g=W,VAAIORCSRhACRaDOAnEdRWNRlDETSiInL.YgNC,GOAMaNNETnODOd|} | be 2 © fe 9 a

aroudja. that matter, it would have been difficult to tell the moon’s surface Fa-roo-zha. Say it ten times. from anything on it.) Simply put, image processing refers to any The name Faroudja may one day become as electronic method used to improve the quality of a video signal. synonymous with high-quality video as Dolby is The process increases the visibility of detail within the television with audio. And just as there is a man behind the picture. Faroudja image processing, as used by the Novabeam 100, Dolby name—Ray Dolby, founder of Dolby selectively enhances certain portions of a television picture and Laboratories—there is Yves Faroudja, the leaves those that might take on an artificial appearance alone. French-born founder of and chief scientist at Faroudja’s goal is to “fix” the pictures produced by the American Faroudja Laboratories, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale, television standard, NTSC. California. Our story begins when the North American Television Stan- dards Committee (NTSC) established the specs for broadcast- Now, the Faroudja image processing system, well-known for several years among professional video engineers, has made its ing color television signals in 1953. A debut in consumer electronics. Henry NTSC television signal is comprised of 525 Kloss, the innovative consumer electron- lines scanned at 60 times per second—con- veniently the same frequency as most ics pioneer who popularized Dolby noise Inventor Yves reduction in the 1970s, has added Faroudja home electrical wiring in the United States. It also specifies the way the color portion of image processing to Kloss Video’s new Faroudja’s the picture is overlaid on the back & Novabeam 100 video projector, which uses white signal. it to enhance giant television pictures. Hi-Tech Quest In addition to the U.S., NTSC is the A recent licensing agreement between television standard in some South Ameri- cancountries, Central America, U.S. terri- Japanese electronics giant Sony and For The Perfect tories, Japan, and Canada. The rest of the Picture May Faroudja Labs may put the system in virtu- world uses other TV standards: PAL, used ally every quality video product, from TVs most notably in Germany and the United and monitor/receivers to VCRs and Kingdom, and SECAM, used in France, Italy, and other European countries. camcorders. In the coming months, Sony Make Him The will begin to design new microchips incor- Dolby Of Video These standards were developed about porating Faroudja TV picture improve- ments for its own use and to sublicense to a decade after NTSC and produce an argu- other manufacturers. If the technology ful- ably better picture, because they have fills its promise, viewers will be seeing new levels of visual excellence in a variety of more horizontal scanning lines (625 lines, or 100 more than with NTSC) and treat brands. Most TV viewers first saw image pro- color differently. cessing at work when NASA used it to show television signals from the moon and FLYING COLORS Mars. Without this kind of treatment, it Somewhat derisively, the initials NTSC would have been difficult to see Neil Arm- strong planting a flag on the moon’s surface have also been said to stand for Never or Alan Shepard driving golfballs. (For Twice Same Color, as a result of the primi- oO ¢sh i: | (@)on Feo mamansec ntti (Ceou: isccznese fi‘@)

teal tive, unstable circuitry manufactured for most early color audio, when the treble is turned way up, the music or speech TVs. “The traditional criticism of NTSC is based on what it was sounds “brighter,” but the background noise also increases. The when all television sets were controlled by vacuum tubes,” said result is not necessarily better sound, just a different one with Faroudja. “Today, with modern circuitry, NTSC can hold its own more problems. among world television standards, yet everyone still continues to criticize it.” However, he believes that NTSC is actually better When you turn up the sharpness on a TV, visual noise—snow than PAL and SECAM, from a technical and theoretical stand- and grain—is much more apparent. Even worse, the televison point, and there is no reason why NTSC pictures shouldn’t be picture will look artificial. A “halo” effect appears, especially much better. around large, dark objects set against any light background. Faroudja calls this effect “‘cartoony” because of the way cartoon In fact, the praise heaped upon European TV is unfair, said drawings are outlined. You can see this for yourself by simply Faroudja. He characterized the reasons behind the creation of experimenting with the sharpness (also called “detail” or video PAL and SECAM as “‘a mixture of European nationalism and a “peaking’’) control. misinterpretation of what was wrong with NTSC. They (European scientists) believed it was a problem of principle. It was a false Faroudja’s VHP system takes a cagey approach to increasing belief.” the detail in a picture without increasing noise or producing out- lines or halos. Other enhancement circuits that claim to sharpen Today, a push is on to create yet another television standard, video images work only on the edges of objects. VHP works by High Definition TV, with double the number of scanning lines anda leaving the edges alone. “We try to avoid changing the borders, and fill up the insides with an enhanced picture,” said Faroudja. new, wider screen format. HDTV screens would have a 5 to 3 screen ratio, width to height, vs. the 4 to 3 ratio of present TVs. To understand how this is accomplished, try to visualize how changes in the brightness within a single video picture would look if “T cannot believe that, 30 years later, there are those who want they were turned into a graph on paper. Any sharp transition to make the same mistake again. We have not done all we can with between a light and dark scene—the silhouette of a figure against a NTSC yet,” argued Faroudja. bright sky—would look like a spike in the graph. Less dramatic transitions in contrast—well-lit figures against a soft, darker back- VIDEO PATCH WORK ground—would be represented as less of an increase. Faroudja image processing refers not to a single method of The VHP circuitry ignores these steep transitions in the video improving the NTSC image, but to a group of patented processes signal (which you can actually see on a waveform monitor in any developed at Faroudja Labs. All maintain or restore the visual TV studio) and concentrates only on the areas of a picture that are fidelity of the video signal in the patch from TV studio to the home. of lower contrast. For instance, ina picture of a woman ina tweed They concentrate on producing sharper images with more faithful suit against a bright sky, VHP works only on the complicated, color reproduction. low-contrast features of the scene: The hair, facial features, and the texture of the tweed suit. The background, which needs no The process used in the Novabeam 100 is what Faroudja Labs enhancement and would look “noisy” or grainy if treated, is left calls VHP, for Vertical and Horizontal Processing. Here’s the untouched. problem that spurred its development: VHP is also smart enough to work harder on the smaller details When a television signal is recorded on videotape, especially of an image than the large ones; it actually suppresses noise at a consumer-quality VCRs, the image quality degrades and looks certain level so that it is enhancing real elements of the scene and “soft”—fine details are lost. To an extent, the lost detail can be not the random noise that accompanies it. restored by turning up the TV set’s “sharpness” control. Finally, the system works on details in the horizontal direction But doing so seldom improves the picture. Why? A TV’s sharp- ness control is like the “treble” knob on a home stereo amplifier. In Pi

aSSEaiTaoaE o even with the Faroudja processing turned way up. In fact, the a processing gave the resulting image an unnatural, blotchy ap- pearance. But Faroudja does make the best even better. With laser videodiscs, a good dose of Faroudja processing (50 percent worth) added surprising clarity and dimension to an image | thought couldn’t be improved. The increase in detail lent a photographic, rather than electronic, appearance to scenes. On the other hand, when applied more heavily, the Faroudja processing made videodisc scenes far too harsh, especially very complex, detailed scenes such as crowd shots. This, in turn, made certain defects in the 6.5-foot image, such as errors in the conver- gence of the red, green, and blue portions of the picture, even more obvious. of the picture—on each individual scan line—and analyzes the CABLE CHALLENGE vertical dimension of objects, from line to line. A small object that A real test was to use Faroudja processing on cable, which has its own problems. For example, my cable system, like many might be three or four scanning lines high—because of the “halo” others, scrambles its pay-TV services. Most cable descramblers or “cartoon” effect—might be only two or three lines high after degrade the image as they reconstruct the signal. Ona big-screen TV the problems are all the more obvious and annoying. VHP processing. While the Kloss 100’s Faroudja circuitry is no panacea, the THE EYE’S THE LIMIT image processor seemed able to separate the picture from the noise and‘increase the detail without making the defects more To see for myself how well Faroudja’s improvements work, I noticeable. Again, however, turning the Faroudja control all the examined the Kloss Novabeam 100 with its 6.5-foot (measured way up produced an unwatchable image. diagonally) screen—the first consumer product to incorporate Faroudja processing. How high to turn up the Faroudja processing is pretty much an esthetic decision. Still, it seems as though the first rule of thumb is In addition to improving the electronic chassis, Kloss added a that it is better underused than overused. Overall, the image Faroudja VHP electronic circuit board similar to one sold in a processing looked better when applied to simple, rather than professional video device called Recordex. The Recordex proces- complex, images. The improvement in the details in an actor’s face sor. sold by Faroudja Laboratories, is mostly used to improve the in close-up, for instance, seemed more natural than what the quality of video recordings in TV news gathering. Ironically, if Faroudja processing lent to crowd scenes and complicated land- purchased separately, the Faroudja board would cost almost as scapes. The results of over-enhancing apicture are less objection- much as the entire Kloss video projector, according to Kloss able when the TV’s contrast control is set low. technicians. Faroudja processing sometimes gives a picture a brand new I turned on the set and adjusted it. The picture looked better appearance. Any savvy TV watcher can tell the difference. be- than I am used to seeing in projection TVs. (See “Videotests, ” July tween an image that originated on 16mm or 35mm movie film and a 1986. for full test results on the Novabeam 100.) I turned the video image froma TV camera. Yet, Faroudja processing, with its Faroudja control on the Novabeam, moving it from the subtle to increased detail, begins to blur that distinction, at least to my the obvious end of the scale. Clearly, the degree to which the eyes. (This is only in the apparent sharpness of the picture, not in image enhancement should be used is subjective, and critical the difference in “presence” caused by frame rates—24 frames viewers will have varying preferences. per second for film, 30 for video—or the difference in contrast and color values.) I soon found that VHS and Beta cassettes that looked soft on a Kloss without the image processing circuitry appeared sharper Still, the basic improvements in Kloss’ new projector, coupled with a boost from the Faroudja board. In fact, the difference with the addition of Faroudja image processing, produce an unusu- between a clean, high-definition signal from a videodisc or off-air al sight: a very large television picture of substantial quality. The signal and a half-inch videocassette was much less discernable, video picture produced by the Novabeam 100 seems at least equal especially in close-ups and large objects that filled the screen. to a good 16mm film image. With continued improvements on the part of Kloss and Faroudja engineers and cleaner, higher-quality However Faroudja circuits won't do much to improve poor video sources, movie theater owners may really have something originals. be they tapes or discs. I could not resuscitate a bad dub to worry about. ILLUSTRATION BY ANDRZEJ DUDZINSKI! .@) oD

‘Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker with (left) and without VHP enhancement. Faroudja’s’ invention subtly boosts onscreen detail. NTSC’S SECOND CHANCE first set to form the finished picture. Progressive scan TVs would store the two sets of lines comprising the picture in digital memory Kloss and Sony’s adoption of the Faroudja.technology signals and reconstruct it in one sweep, starting at line 1 and ending with the start of a movement to improve the basic quality of TV. The line 525. This would eliminate the impression that the picture is Novabeam projector is an attempt to offer a video picture that constructed of horizontal lines as well as some motion defects. competes with a motion picture. Sony is almost certain to use these techniques to better the pictures produced by its 8mm Roizen also predicts that digital “line doublers” will be used to recorders and camcorders. (While Faroudja will not comment on convert a 525-line picture up to 1050 lines. Computer circuitry Sony’s intended use, other sources indicate that 8mm video will be would analyze two lines and synthesize a new line to fit between among the first to benefit.) And, of course, standard Beta and VHS the two based on the picture information. This would make jagged recorders, and monitors and TV sets can use any technical im- diagonals smoother and double the visual information in the pic- provements available. ture. Sony and Japanese broadcast camera maker Ikegami have shown prototypes of such systems. Joseph Roizen, a Palo Alto-based broadcast consultant who frequently works with Yves Faroudja, believes other Faroudja All these improvements are incremental, admitted Roizen, but taken together, he said they will dramatically improve visual fideli- VHP system. Among them is a technique that encodes the NTSC ty. “There is a turnover of some 14 million television receivers a signal and produces a significantly better TV image on sets year,” noted Roizen. “It would not take long to incorporate these equipped with a special Faroudja decoder. The picture would be improvements. In five years, it should be economically and techni- totally free of moire patterns and stray colors, said Roizen. cally possible to provide the equivalent of HDTV performance. Everyone will be able to have large, high-quality images in their Recently introduced, it has attracted attention from broadcast- homes, 1050-line pictures on seven-foot screens like the Kloss.” ers and video producers, and Faroudja is preparing to ship its first encoders. Roizen also foresees two other improvements he and Yves Faroudja, who appears poised to make a fortune from his Faroudja feel could boost the performance of NTSC video. inventions, is philosophical about his role as the emerging guru of the “better video” movement. “There is an easy way and a hard The first is “progressive scanning.” Presently, NTSC televi- way to do anything,” he said. “Throwing out our NTSC pictures sion works on the principle of “interlace.” Half the lines of a and making better pictures with a new television standard such as 525-line picture are sent in one sixtieth of a second, followed by HDTV is the easy way. Iprefer to work with what we have. This is the other half, which are painted on the videoscreen between the the difficult way.”

BETTE DAVIS. | HUMPHREY BOGART. JAMES CAGNEY. NO STGAARRSY HCAOVOEPEERV.ERERSRHOOLNEFLBYRNING.HTER. ow, Key Video them—along with our The Left Hand Of God/ ERROL FLYNN 4 fabtaotmgetomt} elec: Gary Cooper and Errol Passage To Marseille/ (@ryerettew 5)(erereUaMeat light on 44 of Flynn class—iwchesr- The Petrified Forest/ Charge Of The Light They Drive By Night/ Brigade/The Dawn _ the movies that made ever videocassettes The Treasure Of The Patrol/Gentleman Jim/ them legends. Movies Evasmre) (oe Sierra Madre Northern Pursuit/The ~~ that demand to be seen Prince And The Pauper/ again and again now can 13)om ie& OnBANAfe) JAMES CAGNEY The Private Lives Of be seen again and again. Footlight Parade/ Elizabeth And Essex/ Because now, at only All About Eve/Hush, A Midsummer Night’s The Sea Hawk/They $29.98* each, you can afford to own them. Hush, Sweet Charlotte/ Dream/Public Enemy/ Died With Their And our beautifully Jezebel/Juarez/TheLetter/ The Roaring Twenties/ illustrated cases provide 13 Rue Madeleine/ Boots On the kind of deluxe pack- Madame Sin/Now, : What Price Glory/ aging to make these White Heat videos even more Voyager/A Pocketful ALL THIS FOR JUST collectible. Of Miracles/ Watch On Oar 20°\" Bette Davis, Humphrey The Rhine bsYoreetuar-tevel etestsy Cagney make their debut HUMPHREY BOGART GARY COOPER Each in March. You'll find The Barefoot Contessa/ Along Came Jonés/ The Big Sleep/Dark The Fountainhead/The KEY VIDEO ® Passage/Dark Victory/ btdu(e(@) aMeelo Clel coy High Sierra/Key Largo/ Sergeant York/ Vera Cruz *Suggested Retail. Copyright © 1987 The CBS/FOX Company. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Key Video is a registered trademark of The CBS/FOX Company.

VIDEO MAGAZINE GUIDE TO _ a GY FILM REVIEWS 03.) :.0%c.sscaueanee Peel POR LESS 080 iee0 see. 91 VIDEO REVIEWS ......0.0-0«cueecme NEW DISC RELEASES:. ...°. 2:93 NEW TAPES & DISCS............90 PROGRAMMING SOURCES....96 NEWS AND VIEWS SSHSHSHSHSSSOHSHSHSHHSHOHHSSHSSHSSSHOHHOSHSSHHHSSESEHESESEE BY MARK FLEISCHMANN MAKING BOOK ON HOME VID=O: tive hotseat, makes the book essential THE FUTURE OF VIDEO PRODUCING reading for the video industry. It’s avail- able for $16.95 from Focal Press, 80 Montvale Ave., Stoneham, Mass. 02180 ichael Wiese, who acquires video FOR TH= (617-438-8464). : programs for Vestron, once told a HOME MARKET journalist he’d entertain proposals writ- ten on cocktail napkins as long as they ARE SUPER DUPERS had the right stuff. Would-be videomak- GOING HIGH GRADE? ers bombarded him with napkins. “Peo- ple miss the point. Iwant a concise state- ment saying what the show is, what pro- H igher-grade tapes and sturdier motable elements are in it, what genre.” shells are going into the pre-re- When Wiese, vice-president for non-the- corded program pipeline as labels de- atrical programming, likes what he sees, mand better blanks for bulk duplication. the idea may make it onto videotape. Or so says TDK, a major quality-con- His new book, Home Video: Producing scious tape manufacturer. Doug Booth, for the Home Market, is an insider’s hand- national sales manager for TDK’s Pro-In- book on how to create made-for-video dustrial Division, says the program in- programming. As labels deplete the dustry now feels that lower-grade tape store of Hollywood history; they'll need “4s costing more in the long run” as con- to supplement the stream of theatrical sumers return inferior goods and tape material with a growing proportion of must see Wiese’s orientation as merce- wears down duplicating recorders. TDK non-theatrical stuff to maintain the lucra- rrweereeeeesrneaereys.eeBeustesfor him, it represents the chal- quotes executives at Bell & Howell/Co- tive flow from retailer to VCR. lenge of wielding creative power. lumbia Paramount, a major duplicator, “T must have made 29 independent Wiese employs independent produc- and Karl-Lorimar as supporting the use films,” recalls Wiese. “I was rarely suc- ers, with whom his relationships split of high-grade (HG) tape. cessful. Now I’m on the other side of the equally among finished productions, col- Other major duplicators have varying desk.” One major theme of the book is laborations in which Vestron steps in to perspectives on the TDK report. Tom his turning away from making films for correct perceived flaws, and in-house DeMayer, president of VCA Teletro- “self-discovery’—to please himself—in ideas farmed to outside producers. All nics, says his firm only uses HG. Fred favor of mastering the marketplace, cre- fall into such recognizable pigeonholes as Fehlauer, senior VP of commercial prod- ating a product that'll go over with dis- music, how-to, exercise, and other cate- ucts for CBS/Fox’s duplicating arm, is tributors, stores, and consumers. Under gories discussed in the book as “Genres more of a maverick. His operation uses the heading “Shocking Facts” he argues of Original Programming.” its own specifications in choosing tape. “I that categories matter more than ideas. Wiese’s analysis of the video market personally don’t care what designations “T’m on the lookout for trends, fads, and condenses a lot of trade-press informa- the manufacturers use,” he says. “TDK personalities,” he said recently. tion into comprehensible form. That, is one of the companies able to match our | Artists who remain true to their vision combined with his view from the execu- specifications.” r May 1987 Video 79

gUS Sn SS nderground filmmaker Sheldon Rochlin started his label, Mystic Fire Video, in answer to every avant- gardist’s dilemma: “I had a pretty hard time getting my own work placed in the video market,” he recalls, “so I decided to start a company that features special- ized stuff. Then I contacted Kenneth An- ger and other longtime friends.” Starting with mail order, Rochlin has expanded his business to video stores. Anger’s Magick Lantern Cycle was an ambitious early Mystic Fire release, along with the influential films of Maya Deren. A recent release is Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds, Costanzo Allione’s warmly humorous portrait of Allen Gins- berg and his Jack Kerouac School of Dis- embodied Poetics. Also newly issued is Two bizarre images from Mystic Fire’s release of Kenneth Anger’s films: ‘Inauguration Come Back, Africa, Lionel Rogosin’s of the Pleasure Dome’ (above) and ‘Lucifer Rising’ (below). landmark 1959 film, a true-to-life fictional music videos by England’s Cabaret Vol- narrative secretly filmed in Johannes- burg. taire, New York’s Sonic Youth, and Min- Another exciting independent label is neapolis’ Husker Du; excerpts from a : n these dark days of Congressional 40-minute film by Robert Frank and Ru- : controversy—with Hollywood squar- Giorno Poetry Systems, founded origi- dy Wurlitzer, starring Burroughs andDr. :: ing off against the electronics industry nally as a record company by Beat poet John Giorno. Video Pak 1 was “just sort John; and “something” by infamous film- - and the threat of copyguard chips hang- of a demo” featuring William S. Bur- maker/journalist John Waters. “We’ve : ing over future generations of unborn roughs, rocker Lenny Kaye, and himself; eeeeerewmeesoeeeemoeeseerbyeeeereeneegeeetsteinrgesfeionniesheeedeeveisdeo pieces from : VCRs—I have heard a voice in the wil- VP 2is Howard Brookner’s excellent film psoeopelxep,e”nsiGv:ieo,rnowe sacyosu.ldn“’B‘tecparuosdeucethetyh’erme Burroughs. VP 3 will be released simul- : d=er«nTehses, a vboaircreierof totruoeur idealism: : only success taneously with a music/poetry compila- ourselves.” i: nformati‘on contact: Mystic.* a yours and ours, aies the sHoeudrariaerloma of; tion on LP, CD, and audio cassette. For more ° 5 “We're going to release a Video Pak ev- 10014; 212-645-2738, Glomo Poetry | thanexpawnhodwanttconstery time we release a record now,” says Fire Video, 24 Horatio St., #3, N.Y.C. : government restriction, Hip mame amen Giorno. Under the working title J?’s 10y0s1t2e;ms212I-ns9t2i5tu-t6e,372. owery, N.Y.C. : foe than free. Let the ci: nema be Clean—It Just Looks Dirty, it will include smeseseseeccceeee : Who said that? None other than Jack : Valenti, president of the Motion Picture : Association of America. His January ad- - dress to the Christian Democrat Union in : Munich was not about MPAA’s lobbying : in Congress, however. He was actually complaining about foreign governments : trying to encourage homegrown cinema : by limiting American imports. : The change of context is unfair, of > course, but instructive. Valenti doesn’t : want government cramping MPAA com- : panies’ style, but he’d be more than con- * tent to see the state bossing around Ze- nith, RCA, and their Japanese suppliers. His attitude toward federal regulation sways like a palm tree in a warm summer f sbreeze, But what else would you expect of a > man who pontificates about “enchanting stories transformed into great films, : greatly told” and then numbers Rocky IV : and Police Academy 3 among his exam- : ples? ; 80 Video May 1987

VittiF~ FILMS PRODUCED FOR THEATERS SSHSHSSHSHSHSSSHSHSSSSHSSSHSOSHSSSSSSSHHSHSOSSSSESSESEESEEEE Jeffrey, telling him, “You're like me.” Booth then recites Roy Orbison’s lyrics: “In dreams you're mine, all the time, forever,” transforming them into a grim promise of eternal retribution. Blue Velvet is a dangerous film—all other current star vehicles and sequels pale in comparison to its uncomfortable themes and dark imagery, some of which are lost on the small screen. Once upona time, movies were considered an art form. David Lynch has reminded us of that. —Richard Gehr 3b 1986. Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah; pr./dir. Ivan Reitman. Isabella Rossellini and Kyle MacLachlan in ‘Blue Velvet’: uncomfortable themes 116m. (PG) $89.95. MCA. Image: good. : his world: extreme normalcy containing Having hit the box-office jackpot with Ghostbusters, director Ivan Reitman 1986. Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossel- the seeds of unfathomable evil. could have repeated the formula for an- lini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern; dir. other smash or used the clout to try When the apparently normal Jeffrey something daring. Legal Eagles awk- wardly straddles the middle ground. It’s David Lynch. 120m. (R) St cc $79.95. Beaumont (MacLachlan)—dressed to Karl. Image: good. look like Lynch himself—discovers a hu- got wise-guy hip style, big, bankable stars, a catchy hit song, anda budget that Following its credit sequence, 1986’s man ear in a field, the camera literally takes an amusing little movie to major motion picture status. Legal Eagles’ ar- best film begins with short, dreamy shots enters that ear, unfolding a seductive rival on tape is really a homecoming: for of idealized small-town life: flower beds mystery Jeffrey can’t ignore. Enlisting all the big screen trappings, it’s little ; more than a sophisticated spin on a (red roses and yellow tulips) against a the aid of Sandy (Dern), the innocent and Mannix-type TV episode. white picket fence and cloud-dappled pretty daughter of a police detective, he Hero lawyer gets involved in an art theft prosecution and uncovers a com- blue sky. A firetruck, complete with ecPceewciessesleesdetcoesDeosreoetehy Vallens (Rossellini), a dalmatian, passes in slow motion while a dark, mysterious, beautiful nightclub plex case of fraud and murder. Along the way, he gets tempted by a wacky artist fireman waves at the camera; a mid- singer known as “the lady in blue.” : but falls for the eager young defense at- torney. But put Robert Redford, Daryl dle-aged man waters his lawn; a voice on Voyeurism, sado-masochism, andraw Hannah, and Debra Winger, respective- ly, into those roles, and plug in walk- the radio deems it another “sunny, lust all descend on Jeffrey after he spies (hang?)-on appearances by major 20th : century art works, and you’ve given the woodsy day” in Lumberton, the center of on Vallens from a closet, witnessing : old dog some new class. all that is banal and middle-class. Frank Booth (Hopper) psychotically rape Lighthearted roles are Redford’s Suddenly, the hyper-reality of every- her. He soon discovers that Booth has forte, and he’s a non-stop charmer here, as if repenting for his appearance in Out day life gives way to chaos and disaster. kidnapped Vallens’ husband and son in ofAfrica. All the witty little moments that The man watering his lawn violently order to possess her. As Jeffrey be- give this movie its laughs are his. Even Winger, who this writer has never found clutches his neck and keels over, while comes more involved in this complex the camera plunges between blades of : world, his feelings for both Sandy and grass to show us insects battling one Vallens intensify and his identification another, the sounds of their struggle hid- with Booth deepens. During the climax eously magnified. Within minutes, David of a terrifying joyride, Booth smirks, Lynch has established the polarities of smears lipstick on his face, and kisses May 1987 Video 81

very appealing, projects a winning Ciccone as a vaguely puritanical mission- fiendish thingy and are hideously mur- gal-Friday goodness. Hannah merely dered by it. In Aliens, Ripley returns to makes the most of a bad situation, play- ary’s aide (performing typical God’s the planet where hundreds of the mon- sters have hatched, using human colo- ing a petulant, manipulative nympho work: seeking missing opium needed to nists as a stage in their grossly disgusting performance artist who makes the most reproductive cycle. She is accompanied insufferable downtown divas seem stable ease the pain of suffering soldiers), one is by a platoon of high-tech space grunts, by comparison. still left with a performance as sluggish as optimistic about wiping out the aliens. Ironically, the movie itself is a nimble weeaeneeMsScGcessetruepor. The plot lurches along as eeeerecons piece of art fraud, using real works and real galleries (you can hear the high- if cast and crew were so anxious to get They, too, are butchered and Ripley is brows scream, be it the thrill of recogni- again left alone, Rambette doing bat- tion or the chill of sell-out) to elevate out of China that they neglected to shoot tle—first with a flame thrower/machine itself beyond humble, escapist craft. gun/grenade launcher and finally in a ro- That it also presumes to make perform- a few key scenes. But were Shanghai bot suit—with the evil Queen Alien. ance art understandable and/or safe for the mainstream is a tricky proposition Surprise otherwise flawless, Sean and Director Cameron, who first attracted that’s bound to make aficionados feel a attention with the surprise hit Ter- little, well, slimed. —Marianne Meyer Madonna would still look like refugees minator, has made a true sequel that is from a high-school production of “Guys completely loyal to the original, even to and Dolls.” the point of teasing the audience with a threatened repeat of the alien-burst- The film is not utterly devoid of charm. ing-from-the-chest scene and an encore George Harrison’s theme song, a rick- by the ship’s cat, the only other survivor shaw chase, and Penn’s best line (after of the first film. He puts his own mark on the picture with the overkill technique he detailing the grisly demise of a fabled developed in Terminator, turning the film into a furious rollercoaster ride. Where opium trafficker: “If they'll do that to an Alien was dark and brooding, Aliens de- livers shock after shock at such an alarm- Sean Penn and Madonna: the couple of the ’80s in ‘Shanghai Surprise.’ ing rate that the audience never gets to ecewreeerereesreelsaexs.ees eee In truth, Aliens requires a 70mm screen, crushing Dolby sound, and a the- ater full of screaming people for maxi- mum impact. Fortunately, Cameron doesn’t rely on the blood, flash, and spe- cial effects—beneath the spectacle, the dynamics still work. Even on the small screen, Aliens functions as a tight sci- ence-fiction thriller. And with the visual tension reduced to manageable size, there’s time to inspect the immaculately detailed sets, costumes, and hardware that do so much to create the reality of this bleak and tarnished future world. —Mick Farren SHANGHAI SURPRISE opium king, can you imagine what they'll SID & NANCY 1986. Sean Penn, Madonna, Paul Free- do to a glow-in-the-dark-tie king?”) give 1986. Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, Drew the odd goose to this piece of salvage. : Schofield; dir. Alex Cox. 111m. (R) Hi St man; dir. Jim Goddard. 97m. (PG-13) H1 But really, the couple of the 80s should $79.95. Vestron. Image: good. have waited 20 years to make this pic- : cc $79.95. Embassy. Image: good. ture. Or at least waited 20 years to re- When Sex Pistol Sid Vicious (Oldman) How do you go about criticizing a mov- ie that’s already been kicked to death by : stumbles into Nancy Spungen’s (Webb) : life in this witty, nihilistic semi-fiction, every press hack in moviedom and then lease it. * he’s drunk and she’s stoned. Their be- sat on by Roger Ebert? I guess you start —John Walker : fuddled collective unconsciousness pret- > ty well sums up the film’s general atti- by politely pointing out that Shanghai Surprise is not so mucha terrible film as a ALIENS : tude, though their love supposedly textbook example of a poor film concept. 1986. Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn; ; shines through. It’s not love, however, With its “grizzled mercenary grudgingly cseearaeecsedisre.ceJeaemes Cameron. 138m. (R) Hi Stcc aiding the innocent in a world of dou- $89.98. CBS/Fox. Image: good. so much as a proto-social bonding: the ble-cross and deceit” motif, the story It’s always a bit redundant to review not-so-cute couple scrounge the streets negates itself as a realistic vehicle for of London and New York looking for a wee Sean and Madonna, who are simply the video release of a recent blockbuster boredom-reducing fix—or anything to too damn young for their roles. As a eeeeecefislcms. There can’t be too many video con- relieve Spungen’s whining. The constant fly-by-night novelties trader, Penn has refrain of her grating nasal impreca- sumers who aren’t aware that Aliens was the shock action hit of last summer. Or too much youthful vigor to match the that Sigourney Weaver reprises her role world-weary, I-need-drink-persona of Ripley, the only human survivor of the tire affair. and comes off like a wired sophmore who original movie. In Alien, the crew of a Sid & Nancy tells a story unique to the just pulled an all-nighter. Even ignoring funky commercial spaceship unwittingly the obvious image conflict of “Boy Toy” reeecsseestseakseesse on board the universe’s ultimate ’80s: boy meets girl junkie, girl turns boy into junkie, boy junkie kills girl junkie. It’s 82 Video May 1987 paSe

not a charming scenario, but Cox’s wob- ’ ing. Ginger & Fred's target is television NOBODY’S FOOL and advertising, yet the ribbing, for all its bly attempt at authenticity and occasional surreal grotesqueness, is also oddly af- 1986. Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts, Mare Winningham, Louise Fletcher; dir. surreal touches, combined with Oldman fectionate—and all the more effective : Evelyn Purcell. 107m. (PG-13) $79.95. for it. Karl. Image: good. and Webb’s hyper-acting, turns Sid & The main story is the reunion of an old The motto of the mythical southwest- Nancy into a fairly successful evocation : dance team, Amelia and Pippo (Masina ern town of Buckeye Basin is “to be or : and Mastroianni), who once enjoyed not to be ain’t much of a choice,” and of the late-’70s punk-rock subculture. : great success imitating the routines of that’s what this film is all about. Cassie : Fred and Ginger. After 30 years of sepa- (Arquette) has a choice: stay in the ham- Sex Pistols manager Malcolm Mc- : ration, these former lovers are to appear let where a blemished past makes her the : ona Christmas special, along with other subject of scorn, or overcome insecurit- Laren (David Hayman) is portrayed as a : movie star imitators, dancing dwarves, a ies and leftover emotions for her old boy- : woman who has left her husband for an friend and escape to Los Angeles with hucksterish, amoral manipulator who en- Riley (Roberts). It ain’t much of a choice, extraterrestrial, a levitating priest, a but it’s the only one she’s got. courages Vicious’ destructive instincts. couple who tape record voices from be- Cassie starts the film at rock bottom: Realizing that Vicious is nothing more or eveycoensdc,eeand a cow with 18 teats. Amelia is she has publicly humiliated herself, acci- dentally become pregnant, repeatedly less than “a fabulous disaster,” McLaren now a widow, grandmother, and busi- tried suicide, and taken a job wait- ressing in a dive. Her now-married ex- teams him up with Johnny Rotten (Scho- nesswoman; Pippo a seedy encyclopedia boyfriend wants to have an affair with eeeseaeleesman who makes up pornographic her. Joining a local theater group involves field), whose cynical, sneering presence her with the volatile stagehand Riley. rhymes to amuse himself. Ina Rome that The chemistry between Cassie and Riley and constant ennui sum up the era’s seems to be wall-to-wall advertising and is odd, to say the least. They seem very television screens they rehearse and fi- attracted to one another, yet never con- zeitgeist. At one point, Cox generalizes : nally perform their famous dance num- verse. Most of their on-screen time to- > Der: gether is early in the relationship, when this attitude by showing proper British they look into each other’s eyes and The material is hokey in ways only glance away in embarrassment. schoolchildren running through the : Fellini could get away with. It’s also de- : pressingly tacky: virtually all the people Arquette is terrific, handling the role streets, denting cars with tennis rackets with a sad sense of guilt, the feeling that : on the program are hungry for the spot- she gets what she deserves. Winsome and hockey sticks. light. Everybody has his little special- and naive—at times to the point of emp- : ty-headedness—even at her angriest, Two particularly touching moments > ty—even the woman who has been paid she’s cute. Roberts is the down-to-earth to be without television for a year. After catalyst convincing her to take control of stand out: Nancy drags Sid to her grand- she complains of the cruelty of this ex- her life. periment, the host says, “You sound as parents’ home. During dinner, the bare- Nobody’s Fool is a truly American suc- though you have a trained voice.” cess story, or part of one, anyway. By chested punk sucks on a bottle and “Abhhhhhh,” she sings, in her moment of the end, Cassie realizes you are what you ‘ glory. make yourself, and decides not to dwell smokes cigarettes while Nancy raves to in the past. Treading a thin line between The genius of the film is that it finds comedy and drama, the film leaves a her shell-shocked family about metha- both absurdity and reason in these souls, hopeful feeling that one can overcome and in the television audience’s interest the shortcomings and tragedies of life. done. Later, after Sid has stabbed Nancy : in them. Ginger & Fred is primarily about : the power of art to help heal us of our —Adam Philips during a senseless withdrawal-induced : sorrows. Bravo, Federico. * —M. George Stevenson argument, he is seen in the film’s coda doing a little dance, eating pizza, and re- gaining her in a heaven-sent taxi cab. It’s a dream of course—just the sort of thing one might look to drugs for—but it’s too little too late. —Richard Gehr GINGER & FRED 1986. Giulietta Masina, Marcello Mas- troianni; dir. Federico Fellini. 128m. (PG-13) Hi sub. $79.95. MGM/UA. Image: good. Of all the indisputably great cinema artists, none is quite so accepting or good-humored as Fellini, even about the things or people he is ostensibly satiriz- Giuletta Masina and Marcello Mastroianni: not the couple of the ’30s in ‘Ginger & Fred.’ FRANKENSTEIN > J1a9m31e.s BWhoarlies. Ka7r1lmo.ff,LV CoClAiVn (sCildivee;2) dCirX. $29.98. MCA. Image: excel. Contrary to myth, James Whale’s Frankenstein is not the granddaddy of all horror movies—or even all Frankenstein movies. Charles Edison made the first Frankenstein in 1908. Whale borrowed heavily from a 1920 German film, The Golem, in which a rabbi breathes life into a clay monster to rescue his flock from persecution. Yet the 1931 flick inspired everything from Whale’s grade-A se- quel, Bride of Frankenstein (1935), to the ridiculous I Was a Teenage Franken- stein (1957). A half-century later Whale’s Franken- j May 1987 Video 83 E

stein is still strangely moving in a version MEN divides our sympathies. Are we rooting 1986. Heiner Lauterbach, Ulrike Klein- specially restored for laser release. Its for Julius’ con or Stefan’s romance? Ste- landmark status is mainly due to intense er, Uwe Ochsenknecht; dir. Doris Dorrie. performances by Boris Karloff (the mon- 99m. Dubbed. Hi $79.95. Vista. Image: fan’s improving professional prospects or ster) and Colin Clive (the doctor). Whale’s secondhand expressionism is fair. his happiness? Maybe they’re both wom- entertaining too, but it’s no big deal after Men is a double paradox: a German you’ve seen his German mentors. an-manipulating pigs, but then, that’s comedy and a woman’s male-bonding Five chapter stops on Side One zoom movie. Director Dorrie dunked her nibin ; what Paula likes. Dorrie gets in her digs in on footage cut by the wimpy censors venom when she wrote this tale of : at both sexes. When Julius asks a fresh- of yesteryear. Dr. F., upon giving life to Frank, goes splendidly bonkers and buddyhood betrayed—so deadly accu- - faced girl the first thing she noticed about screams, “In the name of God!” Other rate is her satiric vision of male self-im- agery that it camouflages the movie’s no- : him, he blanches at her reply: his ass. In ble generic ancestry. Men is really an ; Dorrie’s world, no one is innocent. updated screwball comedy, My Man : That includes Vista Home Video, Godfrey for young urban prats. Julius (Lauterbach) is Dorrie’s God- : whose welcome release of a wonderful : film comes in mangled form. Men con- frey—the undercover character with : vulsed theatrical audiences in a subtitled two identities. He’s an ad exec whose wife, Paula (Kleiner), is dallying with an version, but on this tape, astringent Ger- : man performances give way to indiffer- : ent English overdubbing. Also distract- : ing is the false brightening of dark : scenes. —Mark Fleischmann ‘Frankenstein’ is revivified on disc with lost illustrator named Stefan (Ochsenk- EXTREMITIES footage and bonus material. necht). Julius goes incognito as a doubt- : 1986. Farrah Fawcett, James Russo, Di- racked casualty of yuppiedom; Stefan, a “new” footage helps explain the mon- confirmed bohemian, falls for the ruse ana Scarwid; dir. Robert M. Young. ster’s dark mood. Frightened men of sci- and takes him in as a roommate. The ence give Frank a syringe in the back; a > 89m. (R) Hicc $79.95. LV $29.95. Para- cruel lab assistant burns his hair with a subsequent tale combines Hollywood- torch. Armed with still more torches, the style screwball vignettes with interludes mount. Image: good. of wry, revealing conversation, the kind Every woman’s worst nightmare is to of navel-gazing humor American : be outrageously attacked, demeaned filmmakers assume we're too crude to :; both physically and mentally, by an appreciate. The kinetic comedy makes : usurper who claims the right to abuse you laugh; the static chats draw you into any female. Extremities, originally an the characters. : off-Broadway play, isolates one such act As Julius’ hate/love relationship with : of degradation and the equally powerful Stefan deepens, he hits on a plan to de- : response it engenders. Marjorie stroy Stefan’s bohemian charm by luring eceheicmcccincteo the world of the bourgeoisie. (Fawcett)—attractive, healthy, modern, Julius exploits his double-edged feelings : creatively employed, well-liked—be- by turning Stefan from starving artist to * comes the random victim of Joe (Russo), successful art director. When the identi- a serial rapist/murderer. Through a com- ty blur is complete, Dorrie enacts her : bination of timing and resourcefulness, finale in an orgy of hilarious symbolism, she gains the upper hand, and gives her eeveyn reprising the final visual joke in the : assailant a nasty helping of his own medi- end-credit sequence. Only then does she cine. This brings on Marjorie’s next set resolve the sinister web of ambiguity that of troubles: her roommates, neurotic ; Terry and social-worker Pat, just cannot - accept her dominance'over the bad- avenging German mob is prophetic in its bloodlust. Side Two contains the balance of the movie and some garnishes, including the theatrical trailer, still frames of memora- bilia, and seven scenes replayed for study. These are in the CAV mode—to be frozen, slowed down, or stepped through, frame by frame. Abrupt transi- tions and continuity lapses suggest miss- ing frames at several points, but if you’d been born in 1931, you wouldn’t be such a spring chicken either. With its blend of gothic grandeur and high comedy, Frankenstein is still a stun- ner. With today’s genetic engineers busi- ly perfecting human life, there’s more than one reason to feel a chill at Clive’s ragged cry, straight from the edge of human sanity: “It’s alive! It’s alive!” —Mark Fleischmann eeee rrrrr ee 84 Video May 1987

ly-hurt, supplicating prisoner. Rather eesecece than believe their friend’s explanations, they bend over backwards to accept :ey Joe’s claim that he’s the victim... until the : devastating truth comes out. Director Young creates a claustropho- bic mood by relentlessly tracking Marjo- rie and Joe as they battle for survival. Lengthy closeups leave the viewer with little time for reflection, instead forcing him into the thick of the action, personal- izing the confrontations. Russo, an anon- mous plumber or construction-worker T3 OM V«A>SE15C3T2O.0M0Y0-4FREE RENTAL*$2 “Gy: Take advantage of HWOOMRELDVVIIDESOIOINNC Present this coupon to yourparticipating Video dealer and receive —« is: wonoson exersce, ne. argu nones Rental Discounts and up to $2.00 off the rental of Vasectomy. © 1986 Vandom International Pictures. Al Rights Reserved. | ForffeeereMderecshpaecnidai: lsley to | To The Consumer: This couponis limited to a single rental of Vasectomy on videocassette. Void ifused otherwise. Cash value of 1/20 of one cent. Video M.ag a zin e To the Dealer: For each coupon you redeem as an agent, we will reimburse you up to $2.00 plus 22° to cover postage; providing this coupon was R ea de rs i] used in accordance with our consumer offer. A copy of the invoice proving rental of the videocassette Vasectomy must be submitted with each redeemed coupon you submit. This offer is void where taxed, prohibited, “or restricted by law; or if submitted by anyone not specifically authorized. The consumer pays the sales tax where applicable. This coupon may not be used towards rental of any videocassette other than Vasectomy. Photocopies or other facsimiles of this coupon will not be accepted. For reimbursement, mail this coupon and documentation specified above to: Worldvision Home Video, Coupon Refund, 660 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10021 Good in USA only Allow 4 weeks for reimbursement. Expires July 31, 1987 — “DIRT CLEAN” VAIN Poster Redemption Coupon World's Audio/Video Care Specialists Bib, the world’s specialists in audio and video care products, is proud to send to our valued customers a FREE poster of the famous Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. 1. Please answer the following questions, and send dated store cash register receipt, credit card receipt or other dated proof of purchase that shows payment within Jan. 1, 1987 and Dec. 31, 1987. Only U.S. residents are eligible and only one poster per household. Quantities are limited. 2. Purchase must be of either Bib’s Camcorder Card Kit, VE-1 Push Button Video Head Cleaner, VE-40 or Bib’s Compact Disc Cleaner, A-616. No other Bib products qualify and this coupon may not be used with any other store discount or other Bib offer. 3. Attach this coupon to the proof of purchase and send to: Bib Audio/Video Products, P.O. Box 27682, Denver, CO 80227. Not responsible for lost or mishandled or misdirected mail. Void where prohibited by law. Invalid requests will not be returned. Allow 3-4 weeks delivery. REDEEMABLE ONLY BY MAIL. NOT A STORE COUPON. N$O1T.H0I0NG PIRNE-CBOAMTMEON (e“e7% OFFER —\" Bring this official pre-bate certificate to your video rental store Mpaiel tra caning yarleted certificate to: SA A and reserve Nothijng iin Common. Get a Nothini g ijn Common P.O. Box 1180 sticker from your video retailer when you reserve the film and eee attach it to this pre-bate certificate. Limit: One per household. Offer available and limited to residents of the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Offer begins April 3, 1987 and ends May 31, 1987. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of your pre-bate. This official certificate may be reproduced and must accompany all valid pre-bate requests. Offer void where restricted, taxed, or prohibited by law. ae Video

stein is still strangely moving in a version MEN : divides our sympathies. Are we rooting :: for Julius’ con or Stefan’s romance? Ste- specially restored for laser release. Its 1986. Heiner Lauterbach, Ulrike Klein- : fan’s improving professional prospects or er, Uwe Ochsenknecht; dir. Doris Dornie. : his happiness? Maybe they’re both wom- landmark status is mainly due to intense 99m. Dubbed. Hi $79.95. Vista. Image: : an-manipulating pigs, but then, that’s performances by Boris Karloff (the mon- fair. ster) and Colin Clive (the doctor). :; what Paula likes. Dorrie gets in her digs Whale’s secondhand expressionism is Men is a double paradox: a German : at both sexes. When Julius asks a fresh- entertaining too, but it’s no big deal after comedy and a woman’s male-bonding : faced girl the first thing she noticed about movie. Director Dorrie dunked her nib in you’ve seen his German mentors. venom when she wrote this tale of him, he blanches at her reply: his ass. In buddyhood betrayed—so deadly accu- Five chapter stops on Side One zoom rate is her satiric vision of male self-im- Dorrie’s world, no one is innocent. : That includes Vista Home Video, in on footage cut by the wimpy censors agery that it camouflages the movie’s no- of yesteryear. Dr. F., upon giving life to rrw-eweceobslee segseneesrsiecseaeneceestry. Men is really an whose welcome release of a wonderful Frank, goes splendidly bonkers and ; film comes in mangled form. Men con- screams, “In the name of God!” Other Consumer: Please fill-in your name :and:address. below. $| | NAME | STREET Ro ee hme ee ora oe ate Fit Seep roBy89 ER REE ECA EOC ERE SECO LROP SRO ZIP | WIDED SORE ies eeco a e | ADDRESS icc | | — | | i tag \"pind eatelne ot | Please Print | | NAME ia | | ADDRESS * | OITY STATE 5. ZIP. | Camcorder: Care: Kit i with | 1:purehased: niy Bib Video Head Cleaner EJ Gompact :Disc’- Cleaner Ey | | purchase of VCR: EI Compact Disc: Player {4 Gamcorder. | Brand | What: prompted purchase £3 advertisement fg salesperson EI recommended {3 other Store Where purchased price. Your ‘age :: marribd EC} single. EJ children Consumer’ ‘Please fill.in:your name-and: address. below, | | NSAEMRERETeee | | CE a a ee | STAT ec eke | i ZIP. t | VIDEO: STORE ico a 7381 )85a)hs ERROR SCREESETOE PEDROS BREED OEM EPEAT OSES CR ROUTE ESOT |

ly-hurt, supplicating prisoner. Rather eeeceececese than believe their friend’s explanations, they bend over backwards to accept Sigourney Waver and Michael Caine in ‘Half Moon Street.’ Joe’s claim that he’s the victim...until the devastating truth comes out. don). Slaughter and Bulbeck are always easygoing nebbish whose last name in- Director Young creates a claustropho- showing up at the same parties, coinci- spires endless rude jokes from his col- bic mood by relentlessly tracking Marjo- nie and Joe as they battle for survival. dences which seem to be choreographed leagues. These dolts work for Anthony Lengthy closeups leave the viewer with little time for reflection, instead forcing by some diabolical cabal set on thwarting Costello (Dan Hedaya), “the meanest, him into the thick of the action, personal- His Lordship’s peacemaking initiatives in lowest mobster in Newark,” who knows izing the confrontations. Russo, an anon- ymous plumber or construction-worker the Middle East. Their plan is to use Dr. his charges are too inept for anything type, is a chilling stalker. His studiously bland expression reveals little of the fe- Slaughter to lure her lover to a trick pad except tasks like picking up dry cleaning. rocity it shields. Fawcett, whose theatri- cal debut in Extremities singlehandedly on Half Moon Street, and in the confused All that changes after an ill-fated visit blasted away her lingering bimbette im- age, is a grimly determined victor. pursuit of this goal, would-be assassins to the track, where Harry and Moe bet Playwright William Mastrosimone’s seduce and pummel Weaver unmerciful- on the wrong horse and end up costing screenplay offers a largely gratifying un- derstanding of the isolation of women, ly. While this classy actress is being so roy trhe boss $250,000. Suddenly, they’re but Extremities does have one serious flaw: the antagonistic attitude Marjorie’s gratuitously abused, Caine seems so the center of attention, as Costello’s housemates take towards her mastery over Joe. Having saved her own life, she numbed by the script that he sleepwalks boys attempt to redress the balance the still has to justify herself to her closest friends, whom Joe had also planned to through the entire film. old-fashioned way—with bullets. Wise kill. Mastrosimone may believe that a Although Half Moon Street strives for Guys draws its scant energy from Harry strong, vengeful woman must act alone, but few women would hesitate to band some pretentious message about how and Moe’s bumbling efforts to avoid exe- together against a character like Joe. people use one another, it is really noth- cution and ultimately fulfill their dream of —Toby Goldstein ing more than an excuse to show Sigour- opening the first Jewish-Italian deli. 1986. Sigourney Weaver, Michael Caine, Keith Buckley; dir. Bob Swaim. 90m. (R) ney Weaver in a garter belt. Even at the film’s most raucous, Hi cc $79.95. LV $34.95. Embassy. Im- age: good. —Teresa Carpenter there’s a subdued tone that’s downright There’s a certain kind of role made for soothing. The leading men are surpris- Sigourney Weaver: the upper-crust girl with a lusty streak, which she played to ingly pale presences. Although grating, perfection in The Year ofLiving Danger- ously. Director Bob Swaim clearly hoped 1986. Danny DeVito, Joe Piscopo; dir. Harry lacks the spirited edge of DeVito’s for the same effect in Half Moon Street. Weaver plays Dr. Lauren Slaughter, an Brian De Palma. 92m. (R) Hi cc $79.98. roles in Taxi and Romancing the Stone. American academic living in London, where she writes articles for an outfit CBS/Fox. Image: good. Rather than resort to the “Joisey guy” called the Middle Eastern Institute for Strategic Studies. One day, the beauti- Turn director Brian De Palma loose on : schtick perfected on Saturday Night ful, brainy Ph.D. receives an anonymous videotape extolling the advantages of a tale of small-time gangsters and you’d Live, Piscopo plays Moe as a mild-man- working for an escort service and presto, she becomes a call girl. expect a stomach-turning eruption of nered goofball, sweet and stupid. The blood and guts, right? Not so with Wise supporting players fare better with parts Certain attempts are made to explain this turn of events. She is having trouble Guys, a slight, lowbrow farce recounting that seem more fully realized than the paying her rent. She likes ‘“uncom- the trials of two dimwit hoods who rur leads. Captain Lou Albano (of Cyndi plicated sex.”’ Her ex-husband, landlord, and male colleagues walk all over her, so afoul of the mob. Short on both violence Lauper video fame) makes a vivid splash she is taking some perverse feminist re- venge. None of these is very convinc- and bone fide chuckles, it’s played with a as a foul-mouthed hitman whose heart ing. Then Dr. Slaughter enters into a liaison with the radical Lord Bulbeck curious restraint that mostly seems in- belongs to his white Cadillac. Harvey (Caine). Their trysts are sodden epi- sodes in which they utter breathy inani- tended to alter prevailing notions of De Keitel acts like a refugee from a Martin ties and quote T.S. Eliot (apparently to Palma as a heavy-handed shockmeister. Scorsese film (Taxi Driver gets a brief remind us that this is taking place in Lon- ribbing, by the way), turning in a memo- He’s made comedies before, and even rable cameo as a casino baron. such grossout classics as Carrie and The Fury offered a few gruesome laughs. But But do we care whether Harry and Wise Guys aspires to (and achieves) Moe survive? It’s not easy to feel con- nothing more than sitcom-level silliness. cern for two stooges unable to cross the DeVito is Harry Valentine, another in the actor’s ongoing series of comically ob- street without getting into trouble. The key to enjoying this genial mess is to shut noxious characters. Piscopo portrays off your brain and go with the flow. Harry’s best buddy Moe Dickstein, an —Jon Young May 1987 Video 87

VIDEOS MADE FOR HOME VIEWING JAY LENO: THE ingly aggressive delivery and jarring face keep the viewer from falling asleep AMERICAN DREAM during this weary exercise. 1986. Dir. Ira Wohl. 49m. Hi $29.95. Rich Hall turns away from documenta- Paramount. Image: good. ry comedy and tries a mini-movie. Per- haps influenced by Pee-Wee’s BigAdven- RICH HALL’S ture, Rich takes a trip across America to VANISHING AMERICA get a Wilt Chamberlain basketball. Like 1986. Dir. Steve Rash. 50m. Hi $29.95. Pee-Wee, he encounters a lot of odd peo- ple and strange quirks of Americana (like Paramount. Image: good. a Mr. Softee truck playing its tinkly theme music to entice customers at a HOWIE MANDEL’S NORTH funeral). Some of the vignettes are bor- ing, some whimsical, and a few memora- AMERICAN WATUSI TOUR ble. Hall favors the deadpan ironies of a Martin Mull mixed with the wistful angst 1986. Dir. Jerry Kramer. 52m. Hi of a Jean Shepard. For fans with pa- $29.95. Paramount. Image: good. eeeecccoe tience, it works pretty well. Hall and Williams are the best bets ROBIN WILLIAMS LIVE 1986. Dir. Bruce Gowers. 60m. $59.95. : here. But you can bet that there will be _: more to recommend soon, as other Vestron. Image: good. : Billy Crystal BILLY CRYSTAL: stand-ups experiment with hour-long : specials for cable and videotape. DON’T GET ME STARTED —Ron Smith 1986. Dir. Paul Flaherty, Crystal. 60m. one liners, in cold print, are not so hot. At : Hi $59.95. Vestron. Image: good. one point he looks up into the balcony and THE CHARLES Thanks to cable TV, stand-up comics shouts, “How do you like the play Mr. : BUKOWSKI TAPES : 1987. Pr./dir. Barbet Schroeder. 240m. can present uncensored concerts to the Lincoln? Duck!”) Williams is compelling : $100.00. Lagoon Video (Box 5730 Santa : Monica, Calif. 90405; 213-394-0423). home audience. Also thanks to cable TV, and compassionate, a Bosch comic, Image: good. they’re being encouraged to experiment painting wild, scary, funny panoramic : Those who can’t get enough of Charles with more than concert films—now there pictures. Bukowski’s comically ugly view of the are comic documentaries and mini-mov- Howie Mandel is fine for teenagers human race from his dozens of books of poetry and prose now have a way to ies. Originally HBO and Showtime spe- and beer heads. He pulls outa mannequin : spend four—count ’em, four—hours : with the sleaze laureate of Los Angeles’ cials, these five tapes demonstrate dif- leg, dons a hairnet, and shouts “I’m gon- : underbelly in the relative safety of the na stand on one leg!” He pulls off the home. The Charles Bukowski Tapes ferent concepts in solo comedy. bring viewers as close to the man as one can get without needing a vacation, or at Mandel and Williams stay with the tra- hairnet and cries, “I’m gonna try the ex- least a good dry cleaner to remove the stench of alcohol and tobacco from one’s ditional live concert format. It works best act same stunt—without a net!” Chicken : clothes. for Williams, the most dazzling stand-up crowing, silly props, and some “comical” French filmmaker Barbet Schroeder performer of all time. He’s not necessari- Vegas smut ad-libs to ringsiders are at : shot and assembled these 52 short inter- : view segments, conducted over several ly the best or funniest, but he’s exhilarat- the same level. : years mostly in and around the author’s : Los Angeles home. Like everything as- ing to watch. The stage throbs with his For their part, Leno, Crystal, and Hall : sociated with Bukowski’s life, the pro- : duction is decidedly low rent. split-second ad-libs, bewildering voices, try to break away from stand-up. Very In his writing, Bukowski has shown a and frantic body english. Comic imagery + wise, since Leno and Hall are static : talent for cutting through the banality of : society’s conventions with iconoclastic is his forte: the imaginative re-enactment: stand-ups and Crystal fares better in : wit. His first-person stories detail a drift- : er’s life: menial labor, booze, gambling at of the birth of his child is a highlight. (His ; sketches. : the track, entanglements with cheap, Crystal’s messy video is a pseudo-cin- : clinging women. But Schroeder appeals : ema verite documentary. The cameras : to his subject’s worst instincts. The di- : view “Hollywood types” (a pushy agent, : agay choreographer, a clod interviewer) : ata rehearsal with Billy and guests Sam- : my Davis Jr. and Fernando Lamas (both : played by Crystal). The belabored antics : goon and on, drearier than Paul Shaffer : talking to David Letterman. Jay Leno tries a kind of nasty 60 Min- : utes. In search of “The American : Dream” he smugly takes a camera crew : to such admittedly mundane places as an : auto assembly plant and an old people’s bingo game room to skewer the dull, sad existence many live. There are also man- in-the-street interviews, tormenting Robin Williams : boring people with questions about their : lives and their goals. Only Leno’s grat- ee 88 Video May 1987

rector, who has produced films by : Rohmer, Wenders, and Fassbinder and : is currently making a movie of Bukows- : ki’s Barfly with Mickey Rourke and Faye : Dunaway, allows the author to ramble : incessantly about how tough his life has ‘ been. His father beat him; his mother : didn’t love him; his employers didn’t un- : derstand his artistic soul. Indeed, Bukowski has led afascinating : existence. Before he became consumed : with self-importance, his stories provid- : ed unique, humorous glimpses into a : netherworld of low-lifes and losers. But : in these tapes Bukowski is seen openly : courting fame, while continuing to deny ‘ interest in it. By placing himself apart : from his audience and, infact, most ofthe : human race, he seems to have forgotten : the irony that lay at the heart of his best :: The Mets vs. the Red Sox in ‘1986 World Series Highlights’: ‘‘Just the tonic for those long cold work. —Eric Estrin : months when inferior sports clutter the tube.” this tape catches on. Proceed at your : own risk. —Marianne Meyer : 1986. Pr./dir. Stephanie Bennett. 57m. 1987. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Fred : : $29.95. MCA. Image: good. Newman. 60m. $59.95. Vestron. Image: Running just shy of an hour, a survey : like this—with its mix of old TV footage, good. : modern music videos, live shots, and : talking heads—can’t help but seem hur- Parents and teachers, watch out! This : 1986. New York Mets, Boston Red Sox; : ried and superficial. Bennett has a wealth “imstructional” video gives pre-teens : dir. Harry Coyle. 60m. Hi St $19.95. : of good material at her disposal, including step-by-step directions for dozens of : RCA/Columbia. Image: good. : classic performances by Janis Joplin, tricks and pranks, the type guaranteed to The World Series is one of the few : Brenda Lee, Linda Ronstadt, and Aretha : Franklin, and contemporary conversa- disrupt classrooms and upset households : sports championships that usually lives : tions with Tina Turner and others. Even : artists she couldn’t get on-camera for everywhere. From the old classics : up to its hype. You can keep the Super : interviews (Chrissie Hynde, Madonna) 3 are well-represented through clips and (cheek popping, spoon dangling, jug- : Bowl—I live for that week in October : appropriate juxtapositions with available gling) to new twists (moon walking, mak- : when baseball’s finest duke it out. The : sources. Eschewing obvious narration, : Bennett delights with subtle editing iro- ing slime), Show Off! runs through a lita- : 1986 Series between the Mets and the : nies, like cutting from a ranting Patti : Smith to perky-pluJasne Wiedlin’s asser- ny of easy stunts that might well be con- Red Sox certainly matched those expec- : tion that the Go-Go's were really L.A. sidered a crime against study halls. tations. It was the wildest, craziest spec- : “street punks.” Chances are, once kids get hold of this : tacle of the year, not just in sports but in Despite the smooth video ride, the : historical context is subliminal at best, sleek, slick, and contagious tape, they : all of entertainment. When was the last + and there’s no exposition on the changing - perspective of women in rock. The pre- won't soon let go. : time a movie had you on your feet sumption is that you already know how With high production standards and a : screaming at the screen? : Phil Spector exploited Darlene Love, : how Janis Joplin died, and why Tina and bright graphic style, Show Off! is one of : This tape preserves the most memo- Cher left Ike and Sonny. Brief bits the best looking kid-vids this reviewer : rable moments of that unpredictable bat- : with Bonnie Raitt and the Bangles—the has seen in some time. The comedy/vari- : tle, excerpted from NBC’s broadcasts. * former a virtuoso musician still strug- ety-show format features Cosby kid Mal- : I’m not a big fan of Joe Garagiola and Vin : gling for mainstream success, the latter a : current pop smash—only hint at the full colm-Jamal Warner and former Nickelo- : Scully, the announcers who covered the range of issues. deon host Fred Newman among a cast of : Series, but some of the pictures here are One is ultimately left wondering why merry pranksters. Warner seems to : priceless: Gary Carter’s eyes widening : the subject of women in rock didn’t : merit two full hours of this intriguing have the lamest jokes (or merely delivers : as a pitch approaches the plate, John : exploration. Hopefully, it wasn’t be- : cause, to quote Jackie DeShannon’s them in the lamest manner); Newman : McNamara arguing with an ump while : words, the topic is “just girls.” nearly steals the show with an impres- : Scully lip-reads, Dwight Evans’ grimace —Marianne Meyer sion of a Julia Childish cooking matron : as a homer bounces off his glove. and an illustration of human beat box : Of course, the real highlight here is the techniques. (Fat Boys, beware!). : Mets’ astonishing tenth-inning Like the stunts, the cast runs the : come-from-behind victory in Game Six. gamut from ingratiating to infuriating, but : Losing 5 to 3, down to their last out, they the assortment easily offers something : pull off a 6-5 victory. The videotape cap- for everyone. : tures it all, from Ray Knight’s jubilation Show Off! fairly demands multiple : to Bill Buckner’s despair. plays so the viewer can perfect each gag. A tape like this is just the tonic for It’s a lethal combination of subject matter : those long cold months when inferior and execution. One can easily imagine : sports clutter the tube. Even if you hate hordes of hyperactive cut-ups, trainedin : the Mets—and I know many of you conspicuous behavior, overrunning the : do—every baseball fan must have this school system in Show Off! swat teams if : tape. Amazin’. —Louis Kesten May 1987 Video 89

oe x NEW RELEASES ON TAPE AND DISC SOHCSSHSHSSHSSHSSHSSSSSHSHSHSSHSHSSHHSEHEEHESEBES Allegheny Uprising. 1939. B&W. sheriff driven to murder. 99m. (R) tempt to build railroad through An- Women in Fury. 1984. Suzanne John Wayne, Claire Trevor, $59.95. Warner. des. 127m. $19.95. RKO. Carvalno, Gloria Cristal. Escape George Sanders. Colonials defy from Brazilian prison. 94m. British officer. 80m. $19.95. RKO. New York Ripper. 1984. Jack Hed- The Virginian. 1929. B&W. Gary $69.95. Lightning. ley, Almanta Keller. Murder vic- Cooper, Walter Huston; dir. Vic- American Justice. 1986. Jameson tims found near city landmarks. tor Fleming. Early western with Women’s Prison Massacre. 1985. Parker, Gerald McRaney, Wilford 88m. $79.95. Vidmark. Cooper’s immortal line, “Smile Laura Gemser, Loraine De Selle. Brimley. Desert lawmen help vic- when you say that.” 90m. $19.95. Male convicts held in women’s fa- timized immigrants. 96m. (R) Ride a Wild Pony. 1976. Michael Kartes. cility take inmates hostage. 89m. $79.95. Lightning. Craig, John Meillon. Farm boy, $69.95. Vestron. crippled girl claim pony. 86m. (G) Warrior Queen. 1987. Sybil Dann- Angel’s Brigade. 1979. Peter Law- $69.95. Disney. ing, Donald Pleasence. Lifestyles The Zero Boys. 1986. Daniel ford, Jim Backus, Arthur Godfrey. of the rich and decadent in ancient Hirsch, Lekki Maroney. Killer Women crimebusters tackle West Sakura Killers. 1986. Chuck Con- stalks mountain hikers. 89m. (R) Coast drug ring. 97m. (PG) nors, George Nichols. Martial Pompeii. 69m. (R) $79.95. Ves- $79.95. Lightning. $69.95. Lightning. arts: scramble for classified gene- splicing info. 87m. Hi $59.98. tron. Key. PROGRAMMING LEGEND Shanghai Surprise. 1986. Madon- DATE IMAGE QUALITY na, Sean Penn; pr. George Har- Varies according to type of rison. Romantic adventure in For theatrical releases, this 1930s China. 97m. (PG-13) Hi program. Films: original theat- rating refers to the transfer quali- $79.95. Vestron. rical release. Made-for-broad- ty and overall visual appearance. The Appaloosa. 1966. Marlon Smith! 1969. Glenn Ford, Keenan cast: first telecast. Made-for- For non-theatrical programs, it Brando, John Saxon. Horse breed- Wynn, Warren Oates. Rancher de- video: first release in any for- refers to overall visual quality. er on trail of bandit. 99m. $19.95. fends Indian accused of murder. mat. Compilations: production Kartes. 101m. (G) Hi $69.95. Disney. of collected work. excel.: exceptionally attrac- tive and/or faithful to Back to Bataan. 1945. B&W. John The Squeeze. 1977. Stacy Keach, FORMAT the original Wayne, Anthony Quinn. WWII Carol White, Edward Fox. Wife of All programs are available in guerilla fighters liberate the Philip- Scotland Yard inspector kid- good: adequate but pines. 95m. $19.95. RKO. napped. 106m. (R) Hi $59.95. Beta and VHS unless noted. All Warner. programs on disc are also avail- unremarkable Combat Shock. 1986. Ricky Giovi- able on tape unless noted. The fair: passable, but below nozzo, Veronica Stork. Vietnam Strategic Air Command. 1955. following abbreviations apply: vet stops local drug traffic. 85m. James Stewart, June Allyson. average. (R) $79.95. Prism. Baseball player joins Air Force. B: Beta videocassette poor: seriously flawed 114m. Hi $39.95. Paramount. V: VHS videocassette Fair Game. 1987. Cassandra De- 8: 8mm videocassette ETCETERA laney, Peter Ford. Joyriders in Strike Back. 1980. Dave Balko, LV: LaserVision videodisc Official MPAA ratings (G, PG, Australia terrorize woman. 86m. Brigitte Wollner. Escaped convict. Hi ss $79.95. Charter. 89m. $69.95. Vestron. in either in CLV or PG-13, R, X) are provided when CAV playing format. available. All programs are in 52 Pick-Up. 1986. Roy Scheider, Strike Force. 1974. Richard Gere, CED: CED videodisc color unless noted. List prices Ann-Margret; dir. John Frank- Cliff Gorman. New York City cops. are not given for CED discs. enheimer. Adaptation of Elmore 74m. $69.95. Vidmark. AUDIO FEATURES Leonard novel: kidnappers take All available audio information anim.: animated businessman’s mistress, threaten The Terrorists. 1974. Sean Conn- B&W: black & white to reveal affair. 111m. (R) Hi ss ery, Jeffrey Wickham. British am- is provided. Dolby noise reduc- cas.: videocassette $79.95. Media. bassador held hostage by group tion, which is used on virtually all comp.: compilation demanding release of extremists. VHS tapes, is not noted. The ezd.: colorized Gunfight at Sandoval. 1959. Tom 89m. (PG) Hi cc $59.98. Key. following abbreviations apply: dir.: directed by Tryon, Dan Duryea. Texas ranger m.: minutes infiltrates bank-robbers’ hideout. Top Gun. 1986. Tom Cruise, Kelly St: stereo 72m. Hi $69.95. Disney. McGillis. Brash naval pilot romanc- Hi: Hi-Fi N.a.: not available es woman instructor. 110m. (PG) ss: Dolby surround stereo nar.: narrated by The Killer Inside Me. 1976. Stacy Hi ss cc $26.95. Paramount. pr.: produced by Keach, Susan Tyrell. Adaptation of ce: closed-captioned RE: reissue Tycoon. 1947. John Wayne, CX: CX encoded sub.: subtitled wr.: written by Editors’ choices in the Directory are highlighted with red titles. Jim Thompson novel: small-town wr-RDe0SB9O18S6A5MNoSl1Cea0.il/,7M9eoi:.5SSe6w5SSePopl10c©enR06Bos8ael:6ol:eOr8LheFoSwlE08esaSbe'l.d)eei-See4,.t)Le0la,e6r'a0ine Day, Anthony Quinn. At- 6eoWw08w/PO1BbiCS0©A-maISO0:e.i1\\6Slcn1ieraoI/At10s6rbl6eiCO0RS.Sb0ew86le6nmstNre,)6e.b1i:t)e\\lS17Sd,s:8bce60en'816'm (Sce Maen a) O ena 90 Video May 1987

The Galaxy Rangers. 1987. Anim. 4 cas. featuring interstellar crimefighters: Phoenix and Other Tales, Chained and Other Stories Special promotions and other pricing news (70m. ea. $14.95 ea.); Birds ofa The Adventures of Jeremy. 1987. Feather, Mindnet (25m. ea. $14.95 Anim. puppets. Bear’s misadven- tures. Two stories: A Morning in ea.). Hi St. Magic. @ The third MGM/UA “Movies Great Movies” promotion Pretty Wood and A Flying Bear. cuts prices on The Dirty Dozen, A Night at the Opera, A Day at 30m. Hi $14.95. Sony. Goldy II: The Saga of the Golden the Races, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Goodbye Girl, Bear. 1986. Jessica Black, Jeff Village of the Damned, Year of the Dragon, Westworld, Soylent The Adventures of Tintin. 1962. Richards. Orphan girl rescues bear Anim. Adapted from Herge’s car- from cruel circus owner. 92m. Green, Logan’s Run, and 14 other titles to $24.95 each. (Sale toon books. Two cas.: The Shoot- $69.95. Vestron. ing Star, Black Island. 45m. ea. Hi ends May 31.) $19.95 ea. Sony. : Home Alone: A Kid’s Guide to Play- ing It Safe When You’re On Your @ Kartes releases seven new “Film Classics” at $19.95: Alakazam the Great. 1961. Anim. Own. 1987. Host Malcolm-Jamal Morocco, The Moon’s Our Home, The Virginian, You Can't Warner. Instruction on how to han- Cheat an Honest Man, Seven Sinners, The Appaloosa, and The dle emergencies and more. 30m. Hired Hand. Voices of Jonathan Winters, $12.95. Hi-Tops. @ MCA directs a second “Movie Mogul” extravaganza—15 Frankie Avalon. Feature from Ja- pan: exploits of regal chimp. 84m. Inhumanoids Vol. 3: High-Tech At- films at $24.95 each, including Scarface, The Deer Hunter, High Hi $29.95. HBO/Cannon. Seeeeesstaecsk.ec1s98e6s.reAcniems.esDseefeenedeeersssespsoetsesecesPelsains Drifter, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Best Little Around the World with Willy Fog— radioactive cloud heading toward Whorehouse in Texas, Dune, Conan the Barbarian, Streets of The Temple of Doom. 1987. Car- Earth. 45m. $12.95. Hi-Tops. Fire, Shenandoah, The Last Starfighter, Repo Man, Conan the toon version of Around the World in 80 Days. 30m. $14.95. Sony. The Land of Pleasant Dreams. Destroyer, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Babysongs. 1987. Live ac- 1987. Anim. Bedtime stories fea- _@ Paramount declares open season on video prices, firing Top Gun into stores at $26.95. Also on tap are 25 mixed new turing merchandised characters. Two sep. cas.: Is It Soup Yet?, and old titles, dubbed “The Best of the Best,” at $19.95 each. tion/anim. Tunes for tots, including Bearly There At All. 30m. ea. Look for Uncommon Valor, The Man Who Shot Liberty Val- “Piggy Toes,” “Sittin’ in a High $12.95 ea. Hi-Tops. Chair.” 30m. $14.95. Hi-Tops. The Little Schoolhouse Vols. 1-3. ance, Dragonslayer, Time Bandits, Star Trek I-III, An Officer The Best of Gumby. 1987 comp. 1987. Preview of typical school and a Gentleman, Catch-22, Terms of Endearment, Ordinary Anim. With intro by creator Art day, for children ages 2 to 5. Ti- People, Wings, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Clokey. 45m. $19.95. Family. tles: All About the Alphabet, All Hours, Shane, True Grit, The Shootist, Trading Places, Air- The Boy Who Could Fly. 1986. Col- About Numbers, All About Shapes. plane!, and To Catch a Thief. leen Dewhurst, Fred Gwynne, Activity book included. 30m. ea. Louise Fletcher. Eight year old re- @Warner Home Video has repriced several titles to treats into fantasy world after fa- $12.95 ea. Hi-Tops. $24.98: new releases The Sundowners and Calamity Jane (see ther’s death. 120m. (PG) Hi ss Directory entries), plus Strangers on a Train, Pale Rider, East $79.95. Karl. The Littlest Outlaw. 1954. Pedro of Eden, Mean Streets, Time After Time, Superman II, Mag- num Force, Bullitt, Them!, and Altered States. Care Bears. 1987. Anim. Tie-in Armendariz, Joseph Calleia. Boy with toy line. 3 cas., 2 stories @ Embassy’s “International Film Festival” reduces prices each: Camp/Soap Box Derby, Split rCeeeoeeesseetrreaeles sdeisseobeesdeieensteshoeresseeefreoemesmielei-se on top foreign flicks. Three-hour epics Fanny & Alexander and Deciston/The Birthday, The Lucky tary to save it from slaughter. Seven Samurai drop to $39.95 each; $29.95 now buys you Charm/Braces. 30m. ea. $14.95. Pardon Mon Affaire, Playtime, Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, Clean Karl. 73m. $69.95. Disney. Slate, Contempt, The Return ofMartin Guerre, Spetters, Miss Julie, or any of 13 others. Flower Stories. 1981. Anim. James . the Cat leads two children into an . More Roobarb. 1974. Anim. Cud- © RCA/Columbia gives you asecond chance to “Wrap Up enchanted garden. 84m. $14.95. . Hollywood” at $29.95 per movie through June 24. Stop Making Family. . Sense, Body Double, The Big Chill, AgainsAtllOdds, Kramer . dly mutt’s adventures. 67m. vs. Kramer, St. Elmo’s Fire, Tommy, The Way We Were, . $14.95. Family. . . . My Favorite Fairy Tales Vols. 6, 7. . . 1986. Anim. The Wizard ofOz, The * . Sleeping Beauty. 30m. ea. $9.95 . ° ea. Hi-Tops. . . . The New Three Stooges. 1969. . ° Live action/anim. Larry, Curly, . Tintin and his 0g Snowy in ‘The Shooting Star.’ Bridge on the River Kwai, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail top the list. —Steve Daly and Moe introduce tales featuring The Real Ghostbusters: The Bird of cartoon counterparts. Two tapes: Kildarby and Other Stories. 1987. Cops ‘n’ Robbers, The Weird, Cartoon version of hit comedy. Wacky West. 60m ea. Hi $14.95 ea. 65m. $29.95. Magic. Embassy. Return to Treasure Island Vols. 4, The Raccoons in Cry Wolf! 1986. 5. 1985. Brian Blessed, Christo- Anim. Raccoons’ forest home dis- pher Guard. Serialized sequel to rupted by developers. 40m. Hi St Stevenson tale; 2 episodes per $19.95. Embassy. cas. Approx. 110m. ea. Hi $49.95 ea. Disney. Rainbow Brite’s San Diego Zoo Ad- venture. 1986. Live-action; Rain- Sir Prancelot. 1986. Anim. Medie- bow protects animals from Murky val inventor and Lady Hysteria. Dismal. 45m. $29.95. Vestron. 84m. $14.95. Family. Rambo: Exercise in Terror. 1987. Tales of Beatrix Potter. 1986. Ad- Anim. version of Stallone charac- aptation of famed picture books ter. 100m.SOb0wMB6Ce68aOmoeeoa2C/'dh:.1iM66PO/-I.li1k0b:2Ui6),6e6b0seB68b0Sp0e629eawwS08ei12bbn/.:e!,)oR.iSee590se0e26o0,.0e6-i.b.002pds16t86a1e6re $39.95. Family. freeeespeerrefcocrcmeecdsccbcyccmceemcbceersseccoefcsEn- May 1987 Video 91

gland’s Royal Ballet. 86m. Hi rings,” “Battered Plants.” 57m. Hi on civilian help. 81m. (R) $79.95. $29.95. HBO/Cannon. $59.95. Vestron. Vestron. Waldo Kitty in ‘That's My Hero!”’. Legal Eagles. 1986. Robert Red- A Room with a View. 1985. Maggie Amateur Night. 1985. Geoffrey 1975. Anim. Mild-mannered feline Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Deuel, Dennis Cole. Contestants imagines he’s bold adventurer. ford, Debra Winger, Daryl Han- Denholm Elliott; dir. James Ivory. in nightclub talent competition. 72m. Hi $19.95. Embassy. nah; pr./dir. Ivan Reitman. Ro- Adaptation of Forster novel: trip to 91m. $69.95. Vestron. mantic comedy with Redford and Florence awakens passions in The World of Teddy Ruxpin Vols. Winger as lawyers on opposing proper British girl. 117m. (PG) Hi Apology. 1986. Lesley Ann War- 4-6. 1987. Anim. Fables with up- sides of murder case. 114m. (PG) ss cc $79.98. CBS/Fox. ren, Peter Weller, John Glover. beat morals, featuring cartoon ver- Hi ss cc $89.95. MCA. Artist solicits telephone apologies, sion of toy bear: Take a Good Look, Sex Appeal. 1986. Louie Bonanno, eereeegreetseroenessfereosmerseerisaeleksilelesre. s9e8sme.eeHi Madigan’s Millions. 1967. Dustin Tally Brittany. Young man desper- $79.95. HBO/Cannon. Grubby’s Romance, Teddy Out- smarts Mavo. Vols. 4, 5 30m. ea. Hoffman, Elsa Martinelli, Cesar ately in need of female companion- Blue Velvet. 1986. Kyle MacLach- $12.95 ea.; Vol. 6 75m. $24.95. Romero. Hoffman as bumbling ship. 85m. (R) $79.95. Vestron. lan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hi-Tops. Treasury agent assigned to recov- Hopper, Laura Dern; dir. David er gangster’s stash. 89m. (G) She’s Gotta Have It. 1986. B&W. Lynch. Teenager’s discovery of $64.95. World. Tracy Camila Johns, Spike Lee; severed ear in field leads him on wr./dir./pr. Lee. Brooklyn woman strange sexual odyssey. 120m. (R) Men... 1985. Heiner Lauterbach, with three lovers, each deter- Uwe Oschenknecht; wr./dir. mined to make her drop the other Hi ss $79.95. Karl. Doris Dorrie. Husband moves in two. 84m. (R) HiSt (re-channeled mono) cc $79.98. Key. The Bridge to Nowhere. 1986. Bru- with man wife left him for. 96m. no Lawrence, Alison Routledge. $79.95. Vista. Son of Paleface. 1952. Bob Hope, Teens on camping weekend wan- Jane Russell, Roy Rogers; co-wr./ der into domain of gun-toting Bon Voyage. 1962. Fred MacMur- The Moon’s Our Home. 1936. dir. Frank Tashlin. Sequel; Hope recluse. 82m. $79.95. Charter. ray, Jane Wyman, Tommy Kirk. B&W. Henry Fonda, Margaret as Harvard grad heading west to Family finds trip to France a fiasco. Sullavan, Margaret Hamilton. Ac- claim gold inheritance. 95m. Hi Dancing in the Dark. 1986. Martha 131m. $69.95. Disney. tress and novelist quarrel after $69.95. RCA/Columbia. Henry, Neil Munroe. Wife finds husband has mistress. 93m. (PG- The Cartier Affair. 1984. Joan Col- hasty wedding. 76m. $19.95. Soul Man. 1986. C. Thomas 13) B Hi V $69.95. New World. lins, David Hasselhoff, Telly Sava- Kartes. Howell, Rae Dawn Chong, James las. Collins as TV actress in love Earl Jones. White student poses as with con man sent to steal her jew- The Movie Maker. 1986. Zsa Zsa black to win law school scholar- els. 100m. $39.95. Karl. Gabor, Orson Bean. Frantic ef- ship. 101m. (PG- 13) B Hiss cc V forts to finance production. 87m. cc $79.95. New World. $79.95. Lightning. Comic Cabby. 1987. Bill McLaugh- Nasty Habits. 1977. Glenda Jack- Too Shy to Try. 1982. Pierre Rich- Death Drug. 1978. Philip Michael lin, Al Lewis. Made-for-video: son, Geraldine Page, Eli Wallach. ard, Aldo Maccione. Wimp takes Thomas, Vernee Watson. Aspiring Burlesque of Watergate events set psych course to become bold with musician’s slide into substance youth becomes driver to overcome in convent. 92m. (PG) $69.95. women. 89m. (PG) Hi sub. (also abuse. 73m. $69.95. Academy. shyness. 59m. $59.95. Vestron. dubbed version) $29.95. Embassy. An Early Frost. 1985. Aidan Quinn, Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Media. Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara. Tough Guys. 1986. Burt Lancas- Young lawyer tells family he’s both Gloom Beam. 1987. Made-for- vid- One Crazy Summer. 1986. John ter, Kirk Douglas, Charles Durn- gay and dying of AIDS. Produced eo feature with Jim Varney, star of Cusack, Demi Moore. Teenagers’ ing. Two train robbers released for NBC-TV. 97m. Hi $69.95. from 30-year jail term resume life TV’s “Ernest” commercials. 92m. summer on Nantucket Island. of crime. 103m. (PG) Hiss $79.95. RCA/Columbia. Touchstone. (PG) $59.95. KnoWhutIMean? 94m. (PG) Hi cc $79.95. Warner. The Fourth Wise Man. 1985. Mar- Under the Doctor. 1976. Barry Ev- tin Sheen, Eileen Brennan, Alan Home Video, 1219 McGavock St., Poison Ivy. 1985. Michael J. Fox, ans, Liz Frasier. British sex farce: Arkin, Ralph Bellamy. Physician in Nashville, Tenn. 37203; 615-254- Nancy McKeon, Robert Klein. psychiatrist imagines he is object ancient Persia sets out to find baby 0119. Made-for-TV; Fox as summer of female patients’ fantasies. 84m. Jesus. 72m. $69.95. Lightning. (R) $59.95. Academy. George Carlin: Playin’ with Your camp counselor. 97m. Hi $69.95. From Here to Eternity. 1954. Variety. 1985. Sandy McLeod, Will B&W. Burt Lancaster, Montgom- Head. 1987. Stand-up show taped RCA/Columbia. Patton. Ticket-taker at porno the- ery Clift, Donna Reed; dir. Fred ater becomes involved with mafia Zinnemann. Life at Hawaii army at Beverly Hills Theater, Los An- Recruits. 1986. Alan Deveau, An- leader. 101m. $69.95. Media. barracks on eve of Pearl Harbor geles. Includes “Sports,” “Ear- nie McAuley, “Thor.’”’ Over- attack. 118m. Hi $29.95. RCA/ When Comedy Was King. 1959 Columbia. worked06wCsac8'€obS2©02CS+:e.12l'1:i.-/bPae660w0oeOe.60ba096e6iS0'l1a.(e1.ci10n6eS00e62w0..)610'e6e56e16s9le police department takes comp. B&W. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Getting Even. 1986. Edward Al- John Cusack (left) races to victory in ‘One Crazy Summer.’ Fatty Arbuckle. Clips from silent bert, Audrey Landers. Extortion- classics. 84m. $39.95. Vid- ist demands $50 million, threaten- America. ing Texas with lethal nerve gas. 90m. (R) $79.95. Vestron. Wild in the Streets. 1968. Christo- The Hired Hand. 1971. Peter Fon- pher Jones, Shelley Winters, Rich- ard Pryor. Teen rock star elected da, Warren Oates, Verna Bloom; President. 97m. Hi $79.95. dir. Fonda. Cowboy returns to wife and daughter he had aban- HBO/Cannon. doned. 93m. $19.95. Kartes. You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man. In Name Only. 1939. B&W. Cary 1939. W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen. Grant, Carole Lombard. Grant Fields as circus impresario Larson plays married man in love with wid- E. Whipsnade. 76m. $19.95. ow Lombard. 94m. $19.95. RE Kartes.oSaascei0WceTfgp#a6sibpO/,©8\\(ilSa1eSuil1e»naiS2eoye©90sSbea'svpeiSets9'nr.kseer\\.(cjelShA0eieng)6s9eae.al9eeli'\\-n9ediseeS9.sl.'isSa9uC9e.':\\'0eS¥:\\6S9 RKO.eeSeeecsmcccwseeeeeeeeesecccreeeeSeeseesesreseseeceseseceesr 92 Video May 1987

Interval. 1973. Merle Oberon, singer in love with legionnaire Umberto Eco novel: unexplained umnist who libeled him. 60m. Robert Wolders; pr. Oberon, dir. Cooper. 92m. $19.95. Kartes. Daniel Mann. Woman travels to murders in 14th-century monas- $59.95. Prism. Mexico to forget painful romance, Murder Elite. 1986. Ali MacGraw, tery. 128m. (R) Hi ss cc $79.95. falls in love with younger man. Billie Whitelaw. Killer stakes out Embassy. The Photographer. 1975. Michael 84m. (PG) Hi $59.95. Charter. English countryside. 98m. $69.95. Callan. Shutterbug begins murder- Vestron. J.C. 1971. William F. McGaha, No Comebacks. 1984. Dan O’Her- ing his models. 94m. (PG) Hi Slim Pickens; dir. McGaha. Lead- The Name of the Rose. 1986. Sean lihy, Cyril Cusak, Milo O’Shea. $59.95. Charter. er of motorcycle gang decides he’s Connery, F. Murray Abraham, a new Christ, uses violent conver- William Hickey. Adaptation of Pair of suspense stories. A Careful Priest of Love. 1981. lan McKel- sion tactics. 97m. (R) Hi $59.95. Man: dying millionaire. Privilege: lan, Ava Gardner, John Gielgud. Charter. Le oftimid man’s revenge on gossip col- Jacko and Lise. 1982. Laurent Writer D.H. Lawrence’s last Malet, Annie Girardot. Love turns youth into responsible worker. NEW VIDEODISC RELEASESstrCeeeesorsneeeessre eseeee 92m. (R) Hi sub. (also dubbed ver- sion) $29.95. Embassy. Argerich/Freire. 1982. Piano con- $39.95; CAV version (2 discs) CX Lady Jane. 1985. Helena Bonham cert with Martha Argerich, Nelson $79.95. Criterion. Carter, Cary Elwes. Drama. Kanal. 1956. B&W. Dir. Andrzej Freire. CAV format. 60m. St CX 140m. (2 discs) (PG-13) ss CX cc Wajda. Polish soldiers in Nazi-oc- $29.95. Pioneer. High Noon. 1952. B&W. Gary $39.95. Paramount. cupied Warsaw attempt escape Cooper, Grace Kelly. Drama. through sewer system. 96m. Hi Black Orpheus. 1959. Breno Mel- CAV format; includes original trail- Last Resort. 1986. Charles Grodin, sub. (also dubbed version) $29.95. lo, Marpessa Dawn; dir. Marcel er, production stills, storyboards, Robin Pearson Rose. Comedy. Embassy. Camus. Drama. CAV format. 98m. more. 83m. (2 discs) $74.95. 84m. (R) $34.95. Vestron. (2 discs) sub. CX $69.95. Criterion. The Lady’s Maid’s Bell. 1983. Criterion. Lola Montes. 1955. Co-wr. /dir. Joanna David, Norma West. Brit- History Mix: Godley and Creme. Max Ophuls. Drama. CAV format; ish TV program adapted from Deadly Friend. 1986. Dir. Wes 1986 comp. Videos featuring Eric image banded to retain wide- Edith Wharton story: spirit of de- Craven. Horror. 91m. (R) CX Clapton, Sting, others. 18m. (8” screen frame. 140m. (2 discs) sub, ceased domestic lingers on. 60m. $34.98. Warner. disc) St CX $14.95. Vestron. CX $69.95. Criterion. $59.95. Prism. Man of La Mancha. 1972. Peter Las Vegas Strip Wars. 1984. Rock O'Toole, Sophia Loren. Musical, Hudson, James Earl Jones. Casi- 129m. (2 discs) (PG) $44.98. CBS/ no’s ex-owner wants new manager Fox. dead. 96m. $69.95. Lightning. Motorhead: Another Perfect Day. Last Year at Marienbad. 1962. 1986 comp. Music videos. 23m. B&W. Delphine Seyrig; wr. Alain (8” disc) St CX $12.95. Pioneer. Robbe-Grillet, dir. Alain Resnais. Temporally ambiguous French film Never Too Young to Die. 1986. of man starting affair with woman Gene Simmons, John Stamos. Ac- he’s sure he met before. 93m. sub. tion. 97m. (R) St cc $34.95. $24.95. Cable. Embassy. Lola Montes. 1955. Martine Carol, One Crazy Summer. 1986. John Cusack, Demi Moore. Comedy. Peter Ustinov, Oskar Werner; co- 94m. (PG) CX $34.98. Warner. wr./dir. Max Ophuls. Circus star attracts audiences eager to hear of Out of Bounds. 1986. Anthony Mi- her affairs with Liszt and Bavarian chael Hall, Jenny Wright. Action. ' King. 110m. Hi sub. $29.95. 93m. (R) ss cc $29.95. RCA/ Columbia. Embassy. Lost Horizon. 1937. Ronald Cole- Jon Lovitz (right) serves Charles Grodin in ‘The Last Resort.’ Peter Tosh Live. 1983. Perform- man, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett ance from African tour. 55m. St Horton; dir. Frank Capra. Brilliant Der Rosenkavalier. 1985. Dir. The Horse’s Mouth/Tunes of Glory. CX $24.95. Pioneer. melodrama of Western politician John Schlesinger. Solti opera per- 1958/1960. Alec Guinness; dir. _ brought to utopian community in formed at Covent Garden by Aage Ronald Neame. Pair of vintage The Quintessential Peggy Lee. Tibet. 132m. (restored from Haugland, Kiri Te Kanawa. Disc 108m.) Hi $29.95. RCA/Columbia. only. 196m. (2 discs) St CX Guinness films, plus excerpts 1984. Atlantic City concert. Disc }| $49.95. Pioneer. from documentary on his career. Love Songs. 1986. Catherine De- 93m./106m. (2 discs) CX $69.95. only. 57m. St CX $29.95. Pioneer. neuve, Christopher Lambert. Ro- A Fine Mess. 1986. Ted Danson, Criterion. mance between beautiful agent and Howie Mandel. Comedy. 100m. Robin Williams. 1986. Comedy. singer she handles. 108m. $79.95. (PG) ss CX ce $29.95. RCA/ Invasion of the Body Snatchers. 60m. St CX $34.95. Vestron. Vestron. Columbia. 1956. B&W. Kevin McCarthy, Da- Thompson Twins: Into the Gap _ Miracle of the White Stallions. Hardbodies 2. 1986. Brad Zutaut, na Wynter; dir. Don Siegel. Sci-fi. Live. 1984. Concert. 80m. St CX 1963. Robert Taylor, Eddie Al- Brenda Bakke. Comedy. 89m. (R) CAV format; includes interview $29.95. Pioneer. bert, James Franciscus; dir. Ar- $29.95. RCA/Columbia. with Siegel, original trailer, pro- thur Hiller. Attempt to smuggle duction stills, commentary on sec- Top Gun. 1986. Tom Cruise, Kelly stallions out of Vienna during Nazi Help! 1965. The Beatles; dir. ond audio track. Image banded to McGillis. Action. 110m. (PG) ss invasion. 92m. $69.95. Disney. Richard Lester. Musical. CLV or retain wide-screen frame. 80m. (2 CX $29.95. Paramount. discs) $74.95. Criterion. Visions of Diana Ross. 1985 comp. Music videos, 31m. 8” disc. St CX $16.95. Pioneer. Morocco. 1930. B&W. Marlene CAV format; latter includes trailer, Jane Fonda’s New Workout. 1985. What Comes Around. 1986. Jerry Dietrich, Gary Cooper; dir. Josef outtakes, extensive photo file of | Fitness. 90m. St CX $34.95. Reed, Bo Hopkins. Action. 92m. von Sternberg. Dietrich’s first cut scenes, more. CLV version CX Pioneer. $34.95. Charter. American film casts her as cabaret ePeeeeemomrseeemrseeeeseeeeseeeeseeeeeeeseeseaseseeeeeeeeeesserseeeesresoeeeseroes serereeeseeeeee May 1987 Video 93

years. 125m. (R) Hi $79.95. Steaming. 1986. Vanessa Red- Vagabond. 1986. Sandrine Bon- HBO/Cannon, grave, Sarah Miles; dir. Joseph Losey. Adaptation of Nell Dunn naire; dir. Agnes Varda. Stunning Rebel. 1986. Matt Dillon, Debbie play about women who meet Byrne. American marine in WWII weekly at London bathhouse. feature about young Frenchwoman Australia falls in love with married 102m. (R) B Hi cc V cc $69.95. whose wanderings end in tragedy. nightclub singer. 93m. (R) Hi cc New World. 105m. Hi sub. $79.95. Pacific. $79.95. Vestron. The Sundowners. 1960. Deborah ) Red the Half-Breed. 1970. Daniel Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Peter Pilon, Genevieve Deloir. Outcast Ustinov. Australian sheepherder AFAA Workout Series. 1987. | son of white father, Indian mother. moves family from farm to farm. 103m _B Hi V $59.95. New World. 133m. Hi $24.98. Warner. Aerobic routines: The Best Fat | Burners, The Tush and Tummy - Toner, The No Stress Workout. 28m. ea. V only Hi St $11.95 ea. Rocket to the Moon. 1986. John Terror by Night. 1946, czd. 1987. Prism. | Malkovich, Eli Wallach. Adaptation Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce. of Clifford Odets play about mid- Holmes and Watson track down Berserk! 1967. Joan Crawford, American Health Video Magazine killer aboard train. 63m. $29.95. Judy Geeson. Crawford accused of dle-aged man involved with secre- B&W version $14.95. Roach. Vol. 2: Fitness—Getting ItAll Back. © tary. 110m. $59.95. Academy. gruesome murders at circus. 95m. + $69.95. RCA/Columbia. 1987. Exercise program aimed at / men who've let themselves go. |; ; Seven Sinners. 1940. Marlene This Lightning Always Strikes 75m. $39.95. Karl. Dietrich, John Wayne, Broderick Twice. Yr. n.a. Claire Bloom, Tre- | Crawford. South Seas cafe singer involved with Navy commander. vor Howard. Murder mystery pro- Dario Argento’s World of Horror. : Basic Massage. 1986. Instruction /| 83m. $19.95. Kartes. duced for British TV. 60m. 1985. Profile of the producer/di- < by Don Wright. 60m. $19.95. $59.95. Prism. rector; includes clips from Sus- + Academy. piria, Demons, Creepers, more. Behind the Wheel with Jackie 76m. $59.95. Vidmark. Shadow Play. 1986. Dee Wallace Stewart. 1987. Car racing instruc- Stone, Cloris Leachman. Play- Three Brothers. 1980. Phillipe Deadly Friend. 1986. Matthew : wright sees her dead lover beckon- Laborteaux, Kristy Swanson; dir. * tion: braking skills, cornering, ing from mirrors. 98m. (R) B Hi V Noiret; dir. Francesco Rosi. Wes Craven. Teen scientist resur- maintenance. 60m. $59.95. Karl. | Brothers return to village for rects girl killed in accident, but $69.95. New World. brain damage is apparent. 91m. Bill Johnson’s Pre-Ski Workout. mother’s funeral. 113m. (PG) Hi e-eeee1987. Exercises to reduce fatigue, sub. $29.95. Embassy. Sid & Nancy. 1986. Gary Oldman, ATime to Live. 1985. Liza Minnelli, (R) Hi cc $79.95. Warner. improve control. Approx. 55m. Chloe Webb; dir. Alex Cox. Gritty Jeffrey DeMunn, Swoosie Kurtz. Diary of the Dead. 1978. Hector : $29.95. Morris. romance of Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious Mother learns her son has muscu- Elizondo, Geraldine Fitzgerald. : Bob Rosburg Golf Tips. 1986. and Nancy Spungen. 111m. (R) Hi eseseereeseeeesseelearr dystrophy. 97m. $79.95. Vista. Murderer haunted by victim’s spir- * Pointers on chipping, putting, es- ss cc $79.95, Embassy. To Love Again. 1980. Lynn Red- ee it. 93m. (PG) $79.95. Vista. caping sand traps, more. 60m. grave, Brian Dennehy. Handy- The Silence. 1963. B&W. Ingrid The Fly. 1986. Jeff Goldblum, : $19.95. Academy. Thulin. Gunnel Lindblom; wr./dir. man’s wife threatens to leave un- Geena Davis; dir. David : Bunnetics: The Buttocks Workout. Ingmar Bergman. Lyrical story of less he ends affair with professor. Cronenberg. Botched genetic ex- : 1986. Cal del Pozo leads workout. woman staying at hotel in strange 96m. Hi $59.95. Charter. periment changes scientist into gi- ¢ 30m. $19.95. Parade Video, 88 St. country with her son and sister. The Toast of New York. 1937. ant insect. 96m. (R) Hiss $89.98. : Francis St., Newark, N.J. 07105; 95m. Hi sub. (also dubbed version) 201-344-4214. CBS/Fox. $29.95, Embassy. B&W. Edward Arnold, Cary Stand by Me. 1986. Wil Wheaton, Grant, Frances Farmer. Bio of The Fury of the Wolfman. 1974. : California Wines. 1987. Winemak- 19th-century businessman Jim River Phoenix, Richard Dreyfus; Paul Naschy, Perla Cristal. Full : ers Robert Mondavi, Louis Marti- dir. Rob Reiner. Four boys in Ore- Fiske. 109m. $19.95. RKO. moon turns professor into beast, ni, others offer counsel on selec- gon town search for body of miss- delighting his cruel ex-girlfriend. tion, aging, more. Two cas.: Red ing teenager. 87m. (R) Hi cc 85m. Hi $59.95. Charter. Wine Vanetals, White Wine Var- $89.95. RCA/Columbia. eeeeeeeresens Honeymoon Horror. 1982. Bob ietals. 60m. ea. $14.95 ea. Kartes. Wagner, Cheryl Black. Axe mur- Jane Powell’s Fight Back with Fit- chioe Webb and Gary Oldman iP derer roams newlywed vacation ness. 1987. Powell leads exercises isle. 90m. Hi $69.95. Sony. designed to lessen effects of arthri- Link. 1986. Elisabeth Shue. Zoolo- : tis. 50m. $24.95. Karl. gy student becomes prisoner of Judy Rankin Golf Tips. 1986. How to play your best short game. 60m. apes she’s experimenting on. 103m. Hi St $79.95. HBO/Cannon. eeeeeee$s1e9e.9e5. Academy. Midnight. 1982. Lawrence Tier- Ken O’Brien’s Quarterback Clinic. : 1987. New York Jets QB demon- ney, Melanie Verlin. Woman hitch- strates passing, hand-offs, more. hiker crosses paths with Satanist eeeeeene30m. Price n.a. Congress. cult. 88m. $79.95. Vidmark. Simon, King of the Witches. 1971. Let’s Draw with Capt. Bob. 1986. Andrew Prine, Brenda Scott. Ma- : Beginners technique demonstrat- gician believes he is divine being. : ed in animal drawings. 51m. 89m. $59.95. Unicorn. $19.95. Academy. Terror in Toyland (originally Christ- : Non-Impact Aerobics. 1987. Carlos mas Evil). Yr. n.a. Brandon Mag- : and Debbie Ross. Minimum strain git, Jeffrey Dinunn. Axe murderer ; workout: yoga, dance. 60m. masquerades as Saint Nick. 92m. : $29.95. Vestron. (R) $39.95. Academy. San Francisco Firemen’s Video Werewolves on Wheels. Yr. n.a. : Cookbook. 1986. Six fire depart- ment chefs illustrate meal prepara- Stephen Oliver, D.J. Anderson. Cyclists take on rival gang under a tion, from single servings to large full moon. 86m. $59.95. Unicorn. groups. 60m. $19.95. Academy. May 1987

Simply Sushi. 1987. Guide to : marest. Sequel to Jolson Story, fo- preparation, including proper uten- : cusing on singer’s later career. sils, sauces, eating etiquette. 50m. 96m. Hi $29.95. RCA/Columbia. $19.95. Karl. Kid Galahad. 1962. Elvis Presley, Spectacular Roses. 1987. Ed : Lola Albright, Charles Bronson. Hume on raising variety of breeds. Elvis as rising boxer in remake of 55m. $19.95. Morris. 1937 film. 95m. Hi $69.95. A Toast to Hosting. 1987. Mixing * MGM/UA. drinks and preparing party dishes. The Kitchen Presents Two Moon 50m. $19.95. Gems. July. 1986. Avant garde music and Tune-Up America Car Care Video : dance; works by Philip Glass, David Byrne, Brian Eno, more. Series. 1987. Rick Mears. 7 titles, : 60m. $39.95. Pacific. including Replacing Shocks, Body : Media. 1987 comp. Short subjects & Fender Repair, Tune-Up and Maintenance. Approx. 30m. ea. directed by Academy Award win- $19.95 ea. (except Tune-Up, ner Zbigniew Rybczynski. Includes $29.95). Morris. Media, Zupa, Soweto, more. 60m. ..-Until Help Arrives. 1986. First : $39.95. Pacific. aid for heart attack, broken bone, poisoning, etc. 60m. $19.95. Napoli. 1986. Royal Danish Ballet Academy. performs work choreographed by A Week with Raquel: 7-Day Wake August Bournonville. 100m. Hi St Up and Shape Up Program. 1987. $39.95. Home Vision. Raquel Welch. Morning workouts for tight schedules. 120m. Hi St Natasha. 1985. Profile of ballerina $29.95. HBO/Cannon. Natalia Makarova. Performance excerpts from On Your Toes, Ro- meo and Juliet, Carmen, more. Yardening Vols. 7-12. 1987. Jeff : 70m. Hi St $39.95. Kultur. Ball hosts final installments in se- The Romantic Era. 1980. Conver- Aetna volcano, more. 90m. Hi ries on home gardening: How to sation and performance with balle- (PG) $24.95. Embassy. Design a Flower Garden, How to rinas Alicia Alonso, Ghislaine Grow Roses, How to Grow Thesmar, Eva Evdokimova. 89m. Hands Down. 1987. Highlights of Charles Ives: Good Justice Like a Cool-Weather Vegetables, How to Hi St $39.95. Kultur. 25th Annual World Wristwrestling Man. 1977. Award-winning bio of Grow Plants in Sunspaces, How to Championship held in Petaluma, avant-garde composer. 60m. Grow Plants in a Greenhouse, How Sherrill Milnes at Juilliard: An Op- California. 60m. $29.95. Active. $39.95. Home Vision. to Care for Your Lawn. 60m. ea. era Master Class. 1986. Renowned $17.95 ea. Kartes. baritone Milnes critiques a dozen Maltese Flamingo. 1986. Amateur Cocaine Blues. 1983. Frank Zappa, advanced students, who in turn skiers tackle resort slopes in Eu- Paul Krassner, Jim Abrahams. Ce- evaluate him. 75m. Hi St $39.95. rope, U.S. 75m. $39.95. Active. lebrities discuss their drug experi- Home Vision. ences. 52m. $59.95. Lightning. Power Profiles: The Champs. : Shockwave. 1987 comp. Heavy 1985. Color/B&W. Boxing careers Fried Shoes, Cooked Diamonds. metal bands in concert; Black 1978. Allen Ginsberg, William Bur- Lace, Venom, Crossfire, Lion’s of Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis. roughs, Timothy Leary. Gathering Pride, others. 58m. Hi St $29.95. eece5c0eme.e $39.95. VidAmerica. of “Beat generation” poets at Nar- MusicVideo. opa Inst., Colorado. 55m. $60. Sports Collectors Series. 1987. Six Mystic. Calamity Jane. 1953. Doris Day, Spandau Ballet: Live Over Britain. baseball programs: The History of Howard Keel. Musical bio of West- 1987. London concert includes the Chicago Cubs, The History of In Search of Noah's Ark. 1976. Nar. ern sharpshooter. 101m. Hi : “True,” “Communication.” 51m. Brad Crandall. Exploration of evi- $24.98. Warner. Hi St $29.95. MusicVideo. the Chicago White Sox, 100 Years: dence that Ark exists on Mt. Arar- The Pittsburgh Pirates, 100 Years: at in Turkey. 95m. (G) $39.95. Clambake. 1967. Elvis Presley, : Stations. 1982. Robert Wilson The Philadelphia Phillies, The His- VidAmerica. Shelley Fabares. Rewrite of Prince wceeecrtcocryceofthe San Francisco Giants, 25 and the Pauper has wealthy Elvis dance produced for video. 60m. Years, The Los Angeles Dodgers. The Many Faces of Sherlock trading places with water skier. $39.95. Pacific. 60m. ea. $19.95. 3M. Holmes. 1984. Life and times of 100m. Hi $69.95. MGM/UA. Conan Doyle’s fictional sleuth. In- Stormy Weather. 1943. Lena cludes interview with author, clips Elvis: That’s the Way It Is. 1970. : Horne, Bill Robinson, Cab Callo- from film versions. 58m. $79.95. Concert tour. 109m. (G) Hi : way, Fats Waller. Revue loosely Prism. $69.95. MGM/UA. : based on Robinson’s show biz ca- : reer. 77m. Hi St (re-channeled Missing in Action. 1986. Five Freddie Jackson: You Are My Lady. ‘ mono) $59.98. Key. 1987 comp. Videos “Rock Me To- Americans travel to Vietnam to re- night,” “You Are My Lady,” “He'll Windham Hill in Concert. 1986. Never Love You,” “Tasty Love.” : Music of William Ackerman, Scott cover remains of MIAs. 58m. Hi 20m. Hi St $16.95. Sony. + Cossu, Michael Hedges, Shadow- $29.95. Sony. a fa xe 68m. Hi St $29.95. Joe Cocker: Shelter Me. 1987 : Paramount. Bad Girls in the Movies. 1986 Museum Without Walls Vols. 1-8. comp. Videos “You Can Leave comp. Color/B&W. David Carra- 1986. Analysis of great works in Your Hat On,” “Civilized Man,” Windham Hill—Seasons. 1987 dine, Yvonne de Carlo, Gene Au- “Don’t You Love Me Any More,” comp. Highlights from previous re- try. Excerpts from women’s pris- art and architectural history. Eight “Shelter Me.” 20m. Hi St $16.95. : leases Western Light, Autumn on flicks. 56m. $59.95. Lightning. cas.: Picasso: War, Peace, Love; Sony. : Portrait, Winter, Water's Path: The Cubist Epoch; Giotto and the footage of outdoors set to Wind- Catastrophe. 1977. Nar. William Jolson Sings Again. 1949. Larry ham Hill music. 46m. Hi St Conrad. Documentary on natural Pre-Renaissance; Goya; Germa- Parks, Barbara Hale, William De- $19.95. Paramount. disasters; footage of Hindenburg ny—Dada; The Greek Temple; explosion, Hurricane Camille, Mt. Crete and Mycenae; Le Corbusier: Approx. 50m. ea. $14.95 ea. eecKeacrctees. May 1987 Video 95

Power Profiles: The Legendary La- ing middle ages to present day. dies. 1985, ’86. Color/B&W. Sa- 107m., 105m. $39.95 ea. Home Vision. lutes to Bette Davis, Carole Lom- bard. 50m. $39.95. VidAmerica. T.V.’s Greatest Bits. 1987 comp. Gary Owens, Bob Denver host A Program for Vietnam Veter- look at 1964 TV programs, com- ans...And Everyone Else Who mercials. Clips from Lassie, Be- eeeSehroeucledseCsacree.ce1985. Anti-war testi- witched, Beverly Hillbillies, more. 53m. $39.95. Karl. monials from vets, first aired live Television's Vietnam: The Impact on public TV. Moderated by of Media/The Real Story. 1984. Nar. Charlton Heston. Pair of pro- Charles Haid. 90m. Hi $29.95. grams criticizing TV coverage in Sony. general and PBS’s Vietnam: A Television History in particular. The Queen’s Birthday Parade. Produced by conservative group 1981. Historical origins of annual Accuracy in Media. 120m. Hi Trooping of the Colors at Bucking- $29.95. Sony. ham Palace. 88m. $29.95. Home Vietnam Requiem. 1985. Profiles Vision. of five vets still struggling to adjust to civilian life. 48m. Hi $29.95. Salvador Dali: A Self Portrait. Sony. Into the rain fore st courtesy of Nati onal Geographic. 1969. A look into the mind of the When| Think of Russia. 1980. Por- + traits of exiles Mikhail Barysh- master surrealist. Nar. Orson ee nikov, Vladimir Askenazy, others. Welles. 60m. $39.95. Pacific. 54m. $60. Mystic. New World Visions: American Art Soldiers in Hiding. 1984. Vietnam National Geographic: The Great and the Metropolitan Museum. vets made unstable by combat ex- Whales, Rain Forest, Born of Fire. 1983. Museum tour by Yale Prof. periences. 60m. Hi $29.95. Sony. 1986. Trio of programs from ac- Vincent Scully. 2 cas.: 1650-1840; eeee e e claimed TV documentary series. 60m. ea. cc $29.95 ea. Vestron. up to 1914, 58m. ea. $39.95 ea. The Story of English Furniture Vols. Home Vision. 1, 2. 1981. BBC production cover- PROGRAMMING SOURCES Academy Home Entertainment, Sixth Ave., New York, N.Y. : Ave. New York, N.Y. 10019; 212- Sony Video Software, 9 W. 57 St., Box 788, Pinehaven Shore Rd., 10019; 212-977-8990. : 408-0600. New York, N.Y. 10019; 212-371- Shelburne, Vt. 05482; 800-972- 5800, 800-847-4164. 0001. Hi-Tops Video: see Media. : Morris Video, 413 Ave. G #1, Box 3M Scotch Home Video, 3M Cen- Active Home Video, 211 S. Bever- Home Vision, 5547 N. Ravens- 443, Redondo Beach, Calif. 90277; ter, St. Paul, Minn. 55144-1000; ly Dr., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212; wood Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60640- 213-379-2414. 612-733-1110. 213-850-1757. ceccee1199; 800-826-3456; in Ill. 312- 878-2600. Vestron MusicVideo: see Vestron. : Thriller Video: see IVE. Cable Films, Box 7171, Kansas City, Missouri 64113; 913-362- IVE, 21800 Burbank Blvd. #300, Mystic Fire Video, 24 Horatio St., : Touchstone Home Video: see Dis- 2804. Box 4062, Woodland Hills, Calif. New York, N.Y. 10014; 212- 645- : «Mey. 91365-4062; 818-888-3040, 800- 2733. CBS/Fox Video, 1211 Sixth Ave., 423-7455. > Unicorn Video, 20822 Dearborn New York, N.Y. 10036; 212-819- New World Video, 1440 S. Sep- :* 9St1.8,-40C7h-a1t3s3w3o,rth, Calif. 91311; 3200. Karl-Lorimar Home Video, 17942 ulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. Cowan Ave., Irvine, Calif. 92714; 90025; 213-444-8100. : Vestron Video, 60 Long Ridge Rd., Charter Entertainment: see Em- 714-474-0355. : Box 4000, Stamford, Conn. 06907; bassy. Pacific Arts Video, 50 N. La * 203-968-0000. Kartes Video Communications, Cienega Blvd., Suite 210, Beverly Congress Video Group, 4520 7225 Woodland Dr., Indianapolis, Hills, Calif. 90211; 213-657-2233. VidAmerica, 235 E. 55 St., New Beech St., Cincinnati, Ohio Ind. 46278; 800-331-1387. York, N.Y. 10022; 212-355-1600. 45212; 513-351-5577, 800-VHS- Paramount Home Video, 5555 TAPE. Key Video: see CBS/Fox. Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. Vidmark Entertainment, 2450 Wil- 90038-3197; 213-468-5000. shire Blvd., Suite #1, Santa Moni- The Criterion Collection: see Voy- ca, Calif. 90403; 213-829-4359. ager. Kultur International Films, Ltd., Pioneer Artists, 200 W. Grand 121 Hwy. 36, West Long Branch, Ave., Montvale, N.J. 07645; 201- Vista Home Video, 645 Madison Walt Disney Home Video, 500 S. N.J. 07764; 201-229-2343. 573-1122. Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022; 212- Buena Vista St., Burbank, Calif. 486-7272. 91521; 818-840-1111. Lightning Video: see Vestron. Prism Entertainment, 1875 Centu- ry Pk. East, Suite 1010, Los Ange- The Voyager Co., 2139 Manning Embassy Home Entertainment, Magic Window Video: see RCA/Co- les, Calif. 90067; 213-277-3270. Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90025; 1901 Ave. of the Stars, Los Ange- lumbia. 800-446-2001; in Calif., 800-443- les, Calif. 90067; 213-553-3600. RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Vid- 2001. MCA Home Video, 70 Universal eo, 3500 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, Family Home Entertainment: see City Plaza, Universal City, Calif. Calif. 91505; 818-953-7900. Warner Home Video, 4000 Warner IVE. 91608; 818-508-4315. Blvd., Burbank, Calif. 91522; 818- RKO Home Video, 1900 Ave. of the 954-6000. Video Gems, 731 N. LaBrea Ave., Media Home Entertainment, 5730 Stars, Los Angeles, Calif. 90067; Box 38188, Los Angeles, Calif. Buckingham Pkwy., Culver City, 213-277-3133. World Video Pictures, 12401 Wil- 90038; 213-938-2385. Calif. 90230; 213-216-7900, 800- : shire Blvd. #102, Los Angeles, 421-4509. Hal Roach Studio Films Classics, + Calif. 90025; 213-820-6100. HBO/Cannon Home Video, 1370 : 1600 N. Fairfax Ave., Hollywood, MGMIUA Home Video, 1350 Sixth ¢ Calif. 90046; 213-850-0525. ee ee 96 Video May 1987

LRN ROM NOBODY BEATS | INTL?)bo OUR DEALS! | ELECTRONICS ¢ FIXED SHIPPING COSTS ¢ DELIVERED TO DOOR WHOLESALERS ¢ BRAND NAMES ¢ FACTORY FRESH U.S. GOODS NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ¢ PRICES GUARANTEED! (No hidden charges} (MAIL ORDER ONLY) ¢ NO CREDIT CARD FEES ¢ OPEN 7 DAYS ¢ YOUR ORDER SHIPPED IN 24 HOURS WE GUARANTEE TO MEET OR BEAT ANY LEGITIMATE DELIVERED PRICE VCR'S CAMCORDERS PROJECTION TVS COMPACT DISCS RECEIVERS CASSETTE DECKS RADAR DET. WALKMANS YOU CAN FIND CAR STEREO & SPEAKERS TELEVISIONS TYPEWRITERS TVs VIDEO TAPES KEYBOARDS CORDLESS PHONES MICROWAVES SURROUND SOUND PROCESSORS = SONY = PANASONIC 1. All merchandise is factory fresh USA goods backed by full USA spi pila warranty. No grey goods. = SHARP 2. Integrity—we are a NASDAQ publicly traded company in business a SANYO since 1948 with over ‘140,000,000 in sales. =RCA 3. Courteous knowledgeable sales professionals. = ZENITH 4. Returns learned accepted within 30 — VIDEOS = PANASONIC # NEC = QUASAR ‘aUJ“a#p/4Oj0GUEaedNo4UOpudIOeJNaONaesIyUPOpJeU) =RCA = FISHER aGE a JVC = SONY = SANYO @ HITACHI = TOSHIBA ZENITH = SHARP = MAGNAVOX VIDEO & AUDIO TAPES You will see all of After years of research, Video | the following: Yesteryear has uncovered a * Charlie Chaplin in THE rare collection-the best of NEW JANITOR, 1914. comedy classics-and put it : Chaplin’s first year on together on one 90 minute feature length video cassette! the screen. One of the movies (the Marx Brothers) is being released to * Harold Lloyd in // ON the public for the first time. Others are the classics that you CALL FOR LOWEST PRICES MgrYeatWAmYa,ste1r9s1-9y.ouOrnefaomfil; tyhe have loved, and fnaomwilyyd oaundcafnriesnhdasr.e * wnesv.eCr. sFaiwelds in THE tNohtemavawiil:tahbleyoui: rn stores, you ON ALL MAJOR BRANDS DENTIST, 1932. Going to can only purchase it through WE ALSO CARRY the dentist will never be A FULL LINE OF the same, when you see this this advertisement. ORDER a * VIDEO ACCESSORIES uncensored version. — TODAY, and have a good hearty § By * The Three hap ge an * WALKMANS old time laugh in approximately d : & « MICROWAVE OVENS DISORDER IN THE COURT, three to six weeks! = S \"|STEREO EQUIPMENT * L1a93u6r.elPur&elHyarhdilyariionus“!7be BOVideo Yesteeryeaer Box C-1002, Sandy Hook, CT. 06482 Mil3& Bo d An FO] init [| He Aa ile oec i @ f Please rush me —_ copies of sey 4Classics at a3 ine = 37 W 17 St., New York, NY 10011 hilari past Rice sie B YES e $14.95 each plus $1.95 shipping and handling charge. 212-807 -7680 alert fel sort ae Check Format: VHS BETA 838MM 3 in history! | 1 have enclosed check or money order (with applicable sales tax.) a° For out of state 1-800-227-1294 DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED x pintrinecec hah | Bill my credit card: il 2 For additional information, circle No. 53 on Reader Service Card tackles the Third Reich. Pa Pepbngme okay fe Os LL dl a Cap2iol ee pieaon | Fs * The Marx Brothers, Fe | Signature 3 1932. Never released to & oO eeethe abl, this @ Send tapes to ::| = sent to theatre & a8 boookwneMrs OtoNKEY.Address RESCE AL Seen SD eteYDna; : a wg:o BUSINESS. | Wren. ce ea raare : 5is dae ites Gees ©)gare ow |-800-243-0987 a® (20C3O)NN.4,26-25AK., 74 May 1987 Video 97

Bene eae I cD. RDA x we a ~ 4a| a |Ben.e oaee clr] @ oO = od ef ee Seah. 6 Jee oi » Cae AAa Sharp VC-C20UA VHS HQ Camcorder with Stereo Sound Toshiba CZ2697 26-Inch TV with Digital Processing JVC HR-D570U VHS HQ Hi-Fi VCR with Digital Effects Showtime Video Ventures Studio-in-a-Suitcase Sharp VHS Camcorder With Stereo Sound camcorder but also acts as a breakout for video and stereo audio output signals through three RCA-type pin jacks at its front. The Sharp VC- handle. Not including the handle and view- Operation. Basic operation of the VC- C20UA VHS HQ finder, it is 7-5/8 inches high by 5-1/8 wide C20UA is very easy. Turn on the power, camcorder is the by 14-5/8 deep; add another 1-1/8 inches insert a cassette, and the camcorder is in third stereo cam- record pause, ready to shoot. If the cas- corder we've re- for the battery. sette safety tab is missing, it will be in play viewed—following The body consists of a box containing mode. If the three switches on the left are the Kodak MVS- in their forward position, white balance is 5000 (February, the tape transport with a projection on the automatic, backlight is off, and autofocus is front for the camera section. The grip with 1986) and the Zenith VR7100 (February, its support strap bulges from the right on. Make necessary adjustments and 1987). Stereo recording gives directional- alongside the lens, with the telephoto and ity to sound sources, a simple difference wide angle zoom buttons on top and the press the run/pause with your right thumb that lets you better isolate the sounds you record run/pause under the thumb. Next to . want to hear from those you don’t. The the grip is the lens with the usual manual to begin record. realism stereo brings also adds to the im- The built-in stereo mic yields quite good mediacy of home videos. Carefree use of focus and zoom rings. Sharp’s microphone yields good results, On the left side of the lens cowl is a panel results, but external mics should be used but carefully placed microphones and for more spectacular sound. One use for attention to detail yield sound of which a with more camera controls. Two gray but- professional could be proud. tons on its top edge control counter reset the stereo capability that may not be obvi- and counter memory, which doubles as an ous is to add music or narration on one The three available stereo camcorders on/off switch for some of the viewfinder differ in the quality of their sound. On the displays. The counter shows on the CRT. track while preserving the original sound Sharp camcorder the two audio tracks are on the other. Mixing the tracks on playback linear, which restricts frequency response The supplied AC adapter/battery charg- produces a mono soundtrack, although the er does triple duty. In charge mode, it can charge a battery in about 90 minutes. In its result is more polished. Because of the AC adapter mode, it not only powers the simplicity of the controls and their appro- priate placement, we rate ease of opera- tion as excellent. to about 8000 Hertz with the slight hiss common to linear track recordings. The Kodak MVS uses digital tracks with a wide dynamic range limited to about 14,000 Hz, while the Zenith offers Hi-Fi and linear tracks with wide dynamic range and fre- quency response up to 20,000 Hz. The Sharp features simple, easy-to-use controls. There are automatic circuits for white balance, focus, and iris operation, with alternate manual or semi automatic modes for each. The single point stereo mic takes care of the basic sound pickup with automatic level control. The battery powers the camcorder for up to two hours of continuous use, though battery life is shortened by a lot of zooming and start- stop use. So even though the Sharp may not be number one on audio quality, it’s easy to operate and comfortable to use. Description. The VC-C20UA weighs 5.2 pounds, with another 0.4 lbs. for the electronic viewfinder (EVF), 1.6 Ibs. for The Sharp VC-C20UA is the least expensive stereo VHS camcorder yet. the battery, and 0.2 lbs. for the carrying 98 Video May 1987

‘SOUND-TE The VIDEO & AUDIO 1-800-221-1977To Order Call Toll Free: pEALER INQUIRIES WELCOME ADVANTAGE! MINOLTA 1200Camcorvdiers ||590\"_ ssuateainOUR PRICES INCLUDE || cou. Full Manufacturer’s OLYMPUS ||FAMOUS MAKE Se 8mm _Y Sram CCCaDm,co7rdLuexr, PN of) 4-3-0) 31/5) AMBICO, AZDEN, BESCOR, BIB, COASTAR, ESCORT, HARWOOD, RECOTON, SHOWTIME, STAR’D CCDV110 lg =ee) &. >CCAALLLE 4) 9610 as a a : ee ACZADMECNORDER ACCESSORIES CCDV1....... aS,eayieiy L ht Psy é : nror CoDvaarU Price a WKIiWrIe,leTsEsMBMAi,crCoOpShToAne&s BO. G. E$N72 & UP Soft Cases & Hard Cases$39 & UP PANASONIC MINOLTA . Lights from 100 Watts PPPVVV--'120S2000.0..M(yaeneteein:-s-.--t..--..-TOO]} ps) ee ’ y , - CALL FOR | to 1000 Watts.......... CALL |ensFilters........ $9.99 & UP 38000000...... 0M..j.as LeeOWEST Wide Angle Lens . . $39 & UP VERT a MAGNAVOX BLOWOUT! Telephoto Lens ....... $59 & UP VIR8203 Cs as SHO eae rere TOO LOW Character Generators VIRB292 ik ier antacne TO ADVERTISE for all Camcorders. . .AVAILABLE ZENITH cheb pa ExftorraallBaCtatmecrioersders... AVAILABLE 6200... ). LOWEST VX801 Car Chords for 7100 . eee All Camcorders ... . . AVAILABLE oe ee ia y.....PRICES | PENTAX = a Tripods for eee CMR300..... eer) GeV Closy Vers tre SS EY pci Gehe ACAl/lDCCamLciogrhtdsers............AAVVAAIILLAABBLLEE ABE AG INSTOCK | Pv800........... j OTHER ACCESSORIES MEMOREX CeTDK T-120 (High Standard) 43.1495° BELALUT¢HOURNIIDZEEND ¢ DWEHAILSETRL:ER TSeloe/CisneaiCognvegrter... $ .. ..$24.79 Maxell High Grade T-120 4.89 FCIASTNHOOESNRH,,IBJAHV,ICT,ASCSOHHNIA,YR,PM,IANKANOIEL,CT,AP,ARCNASA,ASMOZSNEUINNICGTH,, Empty VHS Case... ree Bree cer on ¢ EXPERT SERVICE ¢ FAST SERVICE All Car $.99 FujiHi-Fi 7-120 ee AC/DC Cords - ey. eee ¢ LOWEST PRICES Lights... CALL Fuji Professional 451 8.49 4.29 6 | WE OFFER EXTENDED WARRANTIES ON SUPERDUPOP sis: h-0-dheradeones 28.00 Scotch T-120 EG Headphones ...... ALL BRANDS a749 | Decathlon Power Pack . Saedre EtKeGCEamyenEG + IN STOCK ';| Flood Spot Video Lights RHO BoMSceoitpc:ohreEsXGProPrPolfuesssTi-on1a2l0 IN STOCK 723 =| [QU So7.99 & SBAoSnFy1T-11220d Chrome aye S ALL MERCHANDISE - CALL FOR INFO! Barndoors....... . . AVAILABLE 2: SS ee eneDubbing Cables, Goldends $19.99 rere &! i|AKNXST2W6E2R2,INGKXT1M4A2C2H,INKEXST3135, TVideo Ligoht Standes . . . AVAILABLE 3.89 BASF 2 ied sist 5.49 4] |KXT3150, KXT1426, KXT2422 TVATUTOR CARAS1.40k cng 6.99 2 CALL FOR LOWEST PRICES Camera Cables, 10 Pin, TDaKteT-160 6.oa99 a=d CORDLESS PHONES 25'Ft to 1OO}Rt 28 » Fuji ai fi.te Aas 8.49 [s CODER EEONE é SHOWTIME, VIDICRAFT & MFJ Sn A Tapes °°) S| IN STOCK - LOWEST PRICES! SONY L-500 3.79 = e BELL FREEDOM PHONE BAAGONC \"Ne (mm MeatSSOONNYY LL--873500 mame35..9959 aE>&| icrowa ou|*° PANASONIC ¢ !GE Ad e SONY L=-.830 UHG HiFi: 7.is15 2aw MICROWAVE OVENS © TOSHIBA ° need SONY L-500 Professional ..7.99 = e SHARP e SAMSUNG H6R0eaemdinC’,le9am0nienr’..l,.a120LmidnO.a.W.PARsTItLCoOEcWS,k =§|| ||°* AALLIMLTATNOINAN*S*TOQECUMKAESRA-SRCOANL*L!GE * PIONEER * NEC £ ALL IN STOCK! All Manufacturer's Rebates Apply. Tapes & CAMERAS IN STOCK! sold by case lot only. “After Rebate ALL INDUSTRIAL VIDEOS Full U.S. Warranty Open Mon Tues Wed Fri 10-7 Thurs 10-8 Sat 10-6. Sun 10-5 MasterCa&rVdisa an pv ardt 1122 accepted We sip most aus within 24 to 48 hrs COD on deposit Factory Fresh on all Products! Warranty Ship Hand & Ins extra Not responsible for Typo Errors For Cust Serv call Oo ’ Ve 9 (718}.646-1230 Cash & Carry for walk-in customers 'Wat:)) 332-5687 For additional information, circle No. 35 on Reader Service Card.

Videotests —————________————————————————————————— Performance. The VC-C20UA deliv- primary colors are rendered with less digital or Hi-Fi tracks deliver much higher ers 270 lines of resolution from the camera and 240 to 250 lines from the recorder. Its than full saturation. sound quality. video signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is 43.6 Conclusion. Of the stereo camcorders decibels, unweighted; 45.2 dB, weighted; The Sharp camcorder records stereo and 47.3 dB, weighted with sag compensa- available the Sharp is the weakest audio tion. Chroma AM S/N is 34.6 dB, and chro- audio on the linear track only, and while the ma PM S/N is 39.8 dB, for an overall pic- sound is more realistic, the frequency re- performer, but it is $200 less expensive ture quality rating of good. The camera has sponse and S/N suffer the limitations ofa a low light sensitivity of 10 lux for an un- linear track. Frequency response is 63 to than the Zenith and $400 less than the specified contrast range. Color intens- 8000 Hz at the —3 dB points. Audio S/N is Kodak. Mono camcorders in the Sharp’s ity at 0.633 V is typical, but strong 44.5 dB, stereo separation of the electron- price class offer advanced features like ics is 38.4 dB, and the total harmonic dis- fade and more sophisticated controls. We tortion is 2.3 percent. By linear track stan- can recommend the VC-C20UA as the dards audio performance is average, but least expensive stereo camcorder, but be prepared to give up some features. THEDIRECT LINE TO SUPER DEALS SUPER FAST DELIVERY 1-800-524-15967.1088=5 Ly7 : WE SELL VCR's, Video Cameras, TVs, Monitors, ; Answering Machines, Telephones and Accessories, Car Audio, Industrial Equipt., PalSecam-NTSC, 110/220. RED LABEL 1-day delivery, extra charge BLUE LABEL 2-day delivery, extra charge Super Low Prices 24-hour processing/shipping on Red Label and Blue Label on Panasonic. oe SUPER VIDEO INC., 245 Paterson Plank Road, Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072 SC6RNciaFooeai3endo.rrfdacvdoidlirteecmireaotniaoln, Thi STATE CAMERA ©CALL1T-O9LL0F0R-EE221-O1RD9E2RS6 ONLY 160 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10038 (Between Liberty St. & Maiden Lane IN THE HEART OF THE FINANCIAL DISTRICT) FREE SUNDAY PARKING (212) 349-2555. For Alaska. Hawau. NY Orders. Open Weekdays 9-7, Sundays 10-4 —Egy information call (212) 349-2555 Camcorders (HQ) PANASONIC (HQ) RCA (HQ) JVC (Ha) SONY CANON ee? sob panPvP20v02.0. 0...799gy.a0'e8s°. “PPVVII3S6I0DRRs,.).. 22e6g9K.S9.5 VVMMTT29RO5S..... e3e1n2.985S HHAADD i1e9d0..<.<.. 235199..9955 SSLLHEF #S0000...<..298789..0955 VVRR--3400 a597Mp4s451e9eap9999,ep...e9o999e5s555, mvGevawea,'eeap(ge,2yne09HMe6E8As5EGErNAaVtOXare57eiCe4eaAA,elL99L5 CRVCaMAnECBCPC-oMyMLe2A3nRRS0e22O00D00,0...e-9i8i.V1098Me4a8Cte'EAg90e-L9'[email protected] |PPPPPPpVVVVvvV1I11I13S535S61E644S2640.50~4..2...,.2..,...8.-..¢4.9.8308.453:497299C94.600A.95-0.L955-9L5.5 HH\"HHGHRXHRAAAANDSDDSD-SS76725710660505.060................... 563999..6955 .-VVVVVVVEMMMLLLTTTTTTT33663G3892S9O8505O5R5HH...0EFF..0............... 223463804437190999999.....9.9999995555555 . SS-XSCBS‘CSLSrLCaDMMBLeHiHDn'CCHHFEEVdRS6hE58y16Sc-94750S0aA0505O0KmF0000-...8..........».457.9B87199494931t9027499999n99949.9.-.......9.999992299595555558559, VVCC--4500 119999..9955 OLYMPUS VVVVKLKLPPPP939950000000................58c629a88.9l9.9.l99555 579.95 VVLLPP9Q5V0OHF ....6$4899..9955 746384854999....99905555 COV110....1199.95 |vTNVoCREs-Hh2Fi0-bS0a7P2EOOC0D0IXA-L57S ........6... 59623989.9999...9995555 GGGGXXXRNNNC----878900 ..... 429.95 Fisher 4hd mts OMiinyomlptauHsQH .9.9.998.99.955 PPVV11774420 | iSFooncnuygSsysCUtanepdmseruwl-aeterL-aw,8HoAusuLeta-ow Com128.... SPeonntyaxCCHDOV8 PPVV58850000 .... 1176318999...999555 CALL .... Sony BMC-660 979.95 PPyVo866u000 ........ 464099..9955 ZHeRDn4i7t0h.6.2.0.0. 499899..9955 1Ko5d7a1v/i0sio.n.-M..VS.209s.ys9,5 VC 105 349.95 427493999...999555 Sony CDV110 19.95 PPKK998509 .......... 763399..9955 VVMMTT569350.H.F.. . 551639..9955 Zenith5H1I00TACH CALL || cCoamnpolnePtpeCC1200 95..964996..4.999555 VVVCXX 331000786 CALL NEC1199.99 PPkK445502 .c.s..i. 329999.9.599 VVMMTT675O9H0Fsabe . 461599..9955 Aft deeCHI399.95 PC25 .679.95 VX403 PK975 .... 95 aes ? VIVQTAs oo: 479.95 aADlnaldyitpehMmosonneseuyobjredcetrBsatcokCObOaGsuaMaarnsatinettreeeCshSa&rHgpeNr.onteodnV-MIrSraAee.hsfupenoSedn&aesHbilcbeelexetraOfofrwatvyimpaonyggrabpFehacaidtcdoairtlyionFarlee.rsrhoMrasi1l0 CLC021.... 759.95 965HO - 669.95 —PVv300 1159.95 CL020 359.95 VT 98A ..... 699.95 QISHO ..... 289.95 — AG155 961HQ ..... 639.95 PV100 1239.95 C030 589.95 Hitachi HQ .... CALL . CALL CPR100 999.95 0x2000 674.95 aG160 VVMM25100000A........1,805499..9955 1279.95 CSR6NcioFaaeoei4nod.rafrdcdvodiliretecmireaotniaoln, 100 Video May 1987