PRINCE'S TOUR VIDEO EXPECTED TO BE A HOT TICKET

By DENNIS HUNT

July 19, 1985 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

All those who weren’t able to get tickets to any of Prince’s recent concerts will be happy to hear that “Prince and the Revolution Live” will be in the stores July 29. It should be one of the year’s home video blockbusters and could even match the extraordinary success of the cassette of his movie “Purple Rain.”

Warner Music Video has priced “Prince Live” inexpensively, at $29.98. Considering that this is a two-hour video, it’s a bargain--at that price, fans will be buying rather than renting. Available in both Beta and VHS Hi-Fi, the cassette was recorded at a concert last March in Syracuse, N.Y.

This video will be even more attractive to Prince fans since it’s the only source of live music from the “Purple Rain” tour; so far, there’s been no concert album. Though this concert video has been telecast in foreign markets, it hasn’t been shown on American television, so there’s no way for U. S. fans to get a home-taped version.

Another reason for the cassette’s commercial appeal is that Prince has retired indefinitely from touring. So having a video of a concert on his “last” tour will be a must for Prince fans.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t much advance notice for such a hot item. Usually, home video titles are announced as far ahead as two months before release, allowing advertising campaigns to whet customer appetites. But Prince fans won’t need to be coaxed into buying this one. The only problem that Warners will have is keeping up with the demand.

“PINOCCHIO”: The big new movie of the month will be a cartoon that’s nearly half a century old. “Pinocchio,” the 1940 full-length animated movie about a cuddly marionette, was released this week by Disney Home Video at $79.95.

According to spot checks at assorted video outlets, it’s selling briskly. All the publicity focused on the 30th anniversary of Disneyland should help sales and rentals. Disney executives won’t divulge how many copies were shipped, but informed insiders say the figure is about 120,000--quite a bit for a 45-year-old, $80 cartoon.

It’s surprising that Disney didn’t release “Pinocchio” at a much lower price, say $40. According to one store owner, the company could sell three times as many at that price. There’d be a lower profit per cassette, but the increased volume would generate larger profits in the long run.

Even at the high price, “Pinocchio” should be a popular sales and rental item for a long time. As a film classic it will have more enduring appeal than the average contemporary hit movie. At Christmas, “Pinocchio” should really be a big seller.

Fans of Disney’s animated features are still waiting for the release of “Cinderella,” “Peter Pan,” “Snow White” and “Fantasia” on home video.

NEW AND COMING MOVIES: “The Falcon and the Snowman,” starring Sean Penn and Tim Hutton, is in the stores this week (Vestron, $79.95). Another Hutton movie, “Turk 182,” will be released at the end of August on CBS-Fox for $79.98. Also from CBS-Fox, at the same time and price: “Paris, Texas,” starring Nastassja Kinski.

Available this weekend: “The Mean Season,” with Mariel Hemingway and Kurt Russell, from Thorn/EMI/HBO at $79.95.

Thorn/EMI/HBO will release “Desperately Seeking Susan,” the current hit starring Madonna and Rosanna Arquette, on Aug. 21, less than five months after its theatrical release.

Also available in mid-August: “Mrs. Soffel,” the turn-of-the-century love story featuring Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton, from MGM/UA at $79.95.

MOVIES VS. VCRs: Box-office returns from the first half of the summer indicate this has been a relatively cool summer for movies. According to stories in various trade journals, the downward trend started in May, when $72.3 million was registered at the box office vs. $92.7 million last year. On some weekends, ticket sales have been down 20%. Barring a surprise blockbuster movie, some experts are forecasting a 10%-15% decline by the end of the year.

Though there are no surveys to verify it, the speculation in video circles is that VCRs are probably at fault to some degree. Rather than going to theaters, many people are staying home to watch rented videocassettes of recent movies. VCRs are reportedly selling at a rate of 1 million a month. Since last summer, there has been a marked increase in VCRs in use. Also, there’s a bigger and better selection of videocassettes available.

All this adds up to more people staying home to watch movies. Film executives, who don’t like to admit that the home video boom is slicing heavily into the nation’s moviegoing habits, contend that the decline is merely due to the quality of the movies. That’s certainly another factor, but they shouldn’t ignore the significant VCR inroads into moviegoing.

POP MUSIC: A bargain for Tina Turner fans is “Tina Turner, Nice ‘n’ Rough,” a concert videocassette released two years ago at $59.95 and now being re-released at $19.95.

There’s a big MusicVision release at the end of the month that includes “Rick Springfield--The Beat of the Drum,” “Rush--Through the Camera Eye,” “Scorpions--World Wide Live” and “Go-Go’s--Wild at the Greek,” recorded last August at the Greek Theater. All are $29.95.

Sade, the sultry English-Nigerian singer who may be the best new pop music artist of the year, debuts in the home video market in two weeks with “Sade: Diamond Life Video” (CBS-Fox, $14.98).

In late August, Warner Music Video will release the Al Jarreau concert video that’s been shown on HBO. In late September, “Loverboy,” a one-hour concert video recorded in Vancouver starring the rock group Loverboy, will be out on Vestron for $29.95.

SNIPPETS: According to a marketing report released by Merrill Lynch, 28% of U. S. homes will have a VCR by the end of the year, based on a 38% sales increase. Nearly 40% of homes will have one by next year. The report predicts a peak of 75% of U.S. homes with VCRs.

Learning a foreign language by audiocassette is common. But there’s also a market for instructional foreign-language videocassettes. So far that market has been barely tapped. USA Home Video will be testing it with “Survival Spanish,” to sell at $29.95.

“Honeymooners” addicts, who are nearly as fanatical as the Trekkies--will appreciate this. Maljack Productions Inc. has the home-video rights to those 75 lost episodes of “The Honeymooners” originally telecast on “The Jackie Gleason Show” between 1952 and 1955. In September, MPI will release two one-hour cassettes, at $29.95 each, of “Honeymooners” skits. The episodes vary from 10 minutes to half an hour. For the uninitiated, the “Honeymooners” are Ralph and Alice Kramden, played by Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows. Art Carney portrays sanitation engineer Ed Norton.

CHARTS: “We Are the World: The Video Event” still heads the Billboard magazine sales chart, but according to all reports it should peak in the next week or two.

In the rental market, “The Flamingo Kid” is off to a great start, climbing to No. 6 on the Billboard rental chart in just two weeks. Another newcomer, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (No. 9), isn’t far behind.

“A Soldier’s Story,” released last week, is doing very good business, particularly as a rental. It should debut high on the charts next week.