BLACK & BLUE ‘VELVET’

Mama-mia! The Italian ad campaign for “Blue Velvet” sure ain’t like the American campaign.

Posters in Rome for “Velluto Blu” use an illustration of a woman apparently subjected to serious sadomasochism--she’s shown straight-on, draped over the corner of a pool table, her legs bound, a handcuff dangling from one arm. . . . Well, you get the idea.

Dominated by dramatic blue tones (with lots of shadows), the poster has her in red spikey high heels. Red blood splatters just above the title.

“You know it isn’t a musical--right?” said an American film publicist, based in Rome, who shrugged off the campaign as “typically Italian.”

But what about those provocative spots on Italian TV, which flash continuous shots of star Isabella Rossellini--bloodied, battered and nude. Isn’t that rough treatment for the daughter of Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman?

“No--it’s the usual treatment for an actress who appears in a movie that has sex and violence,” said an American trade journalist working in Rome. “She (Rossellini) could be the daughter of the President and it wouldn’t make any difference. It’s just no big deal in Italy.”

Italian audiences, he pointed out, flock to sexy screen fare. “ ‘9 1/2 Weeks’ did better here than anywhere else in the world. It was the year’s No. 3 film, after ‘Rambo’ and ‘Rocky IV.”’