Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour.” Warner Music. $29.98. This follows the typical concert video format of putting you in the best seat in the hall and letting the action speak for itself. That means the video is almost always a letdown if you’ve seen the concert itself, because you lose the spontaneity and energy of the live setting. Still, the Queen of Bellybutton Pop has far too much personality to be totally neutralized; sparks do fly at times. More of that personality--as displayed in teasing opening and closing offstage glimpses--documents how much livelier things could have been. 1/2