MCA TO RELEASE FOUR KIRK DOUGLAS OLDIES

MCA has released videocassettes of four old Kirk Douglas movies--”Man Without a Star” (1955), “Spartacus” (1960), “Lonely Are the Brave” (1962) and “The List of Adrian Messenger” (1963), with “Spartacus” priced at $79.95 and the others at $59.95. In his office one morning, Douglas reminisced about these oldies.

“ ‘Lonely Are the Brave’ is probably my favorite of all the movies I’ve made. The picture was handled badly but it still made money. They treated it like a little Western but it’s not really a Western. It’s about a man who should have lived a hundred years earlier.”

On “The List of Adrian Messenger,” a mystery featuring a bevy of stars heavily disguised in character roles:

“It’s a real camp movie that shouldn’t have been mixed with serious elements. The fun of it was figuring out which character was Robert Mitchum or Frank Sinatra or Burt Lancaster. It could have been even better camp.”

Of all these, he’s most proud of “Spartacus,” a star-studded spectacular about a slave rebellion in ancient Rome, directed by Stanley Kubrick.

“Kubrick really came into his own on this film. I had helped him get his start in ‘Paths of Glory’ (1956). He was available because he had been fired from a Marlon Brando movie, ‘One-Eyed Jacks.’ . . . There was five to seven minutes of footage cut out of the movie, a scene with me and Laurence Olivier and one with me and Peter Ustinov. I hoped we could restore this footage on the videocassette but we couldn’t find it.”

NEW RELEASES: The period between theatrical and videocassette release is getting shorter and shorter. Movie companies are obviously anxious for those videocassette profits. The major April releases include two movies, “Cotton Club” and “Dune,” that came out last Christmas. Both were box-office disappointments. Another notable April release is “Supergirl,” a box-office failure last fall. . . . The hit of the month will probably be “The Terminator,” which will be in the stores next week. This science-fiction thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was a smash hit in the theaters. It could be the No. 1 rental by the end of the month.

Next week, “Dance on Fire,” the eagerly awaited collection of the Doors’ on stage and off stage footage, will be available. . . . As part of its new music video series, RCA/Columbia will put out “Randy Newman Live at Odeon,” “Kiss-Animalize Live Uncensored” and “Pat Benatar in Concert” this month. All are $29.95. . . . A 30-minute version of the making of “We Are the World,” the USA for Africa single, is coming in June, also on RCA/Columbia.

Fans of old TV series might get a kick out of “Night Gallery” (MCA, $59.95), featuring three episodes from the series. One was directed by a promising newcomer named Steven Spielberg. . . . Episodes 10-12 of the acclaimed “Prisoner” TV series, starring Patrick McGoohan, are being released by MPI for $39.95 each.

CHARTS: U2, the Irish rock quartet, has the most fanatical fans. They could make “U2 Live at Red Rocks” a fair-sized hit. It debuted on the Billboard magazine videocassette sales chart at No. 21. . . . Those “Star Trek” profits keep rolling in. “The Corbomite Maneuver,” one of the ‘60s TV episodes now available in videocassette, entered that chart at No. 32. Another TV episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” is No. 23.

In the rental market, “Flash Point,” No. 15 in its second week, is doing quite well. The Kris Kristofferson-Treat Williams movie was a box-office flop. . . . Renters aren’t going wild over “Impulse,” the Meg Tilly-Tim Matheson film. It slipped to No. 36. . . . New on the rental chart: “The Little Drummer Girl” (No. 19), “The Razor’s Edge” (No. 22) and “Terror in the Aisles” (No. 35).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES

1. “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (Paramount).

2. “Gone With the Wind” (MGM/UA).

3. “Jane Fonda’s Workout” (Karl Video).

4. “Purple Rain” (Warner Bros.).

5. “Prime Time” (Karl Video).

6. “Tina Turner’s Private Dancer” (Sony).

7. “Lionel Richie All Night Long” (Brockman).

8. “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (Paramount).

9. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (Paramount).

10. “Raquel Total Beauty and Fitness” (Thorn/EMI).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS

1. “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (Paramount).

2. “Revenge of the Nerds” (CBS-Fox).

3. “Bachelor Party” (CBS-Fox).

4. “Red Dawn” (MGM/UA).

5. “Gone With the Wind” (MGM/UA).

6. “The Woman in Red” (Vestron).

7. “All of Me” (Thorn/EMI).

8. “Police Academy” (Ladd/Warner Video).

9. “Once Upon a Time in America” (Ladd/Warner Video).

10. “Crimes of Passion” (New World).