TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“Street of Shame.” Embassy. $29.95. The last film by one of Japan’s greatest directors, Kenji Mizoguchi, “Street of Shame” enjoyed an improbable 1956 success--seen then as a spicy movie about Tokyo prostitutes. Actually, it’s another of Mizoguchi’s poignant ruminations on the plight of Japanese women--idealized, victimized and forced into debasing roles--and the film spins a variety of moods, from gentle satire to devastating tragedy. Mizoguchi intended to shoot in Tokyo’s red-light district; an election controversy forced him back into the studio. But his visual style--full of virtuosic long takes and subtle camera movement--survived the last-minute switch and keeps the film remarkable today. Information: (213) 553-3600. 1/2