‘Ferris Bueller’ Keeps Playing On-Screen Hooky; The Pistol and the Punk: ‘Sid & Nancy’ Self-Destruct

The notion of junking responsibilities and taking a day off is appealing to just about everyone--particularly students. So young fans went to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and identified vigorously with Ferris, who plays hooky from school for a day.

This was the sleeper hit of the summer, grossing more than $70 million. When Paramount releases it on home video April 8, it should become one of the two big hits of the month. (MCA’s “Legal Eagles,” out a day later, is the other.)

Matthew Broderick stars as the impulsive young hero who has a wild day in Chicago. This is another triumph for writer-director John Hughes (“The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink”), who proved once again that he has an instinct for what appeals to young audiences.

When “Sid & Nancy” came out last year, the feeling at first was that this arty movie about a self-destructive rock ‘n’ roller was too weird and grim to have much mass appeal. But it still became a hit. It should also score in the home-video market when it’s released April 29.

All that critical praise certainly helped the movie, directed and co-written by Alex Cox, find an audience. It’s about a sordid junkie romance--between the Sex Pistols’ late bass player Sid Vicious and Nancy, an obnoxious addict--thriving amid the sleaze of the late ‘70s punk scene. Much of the praise was lavished on the star performances by Gary Oldham and Cloe Webb, though some contended that David Hayman, as viperish manager Malcolm McLaren, steals the movie.

After years of laboring primarily for a large, vocal cult following with his band Talking Heads, David Byrne suddenly became a media superstar last fall. The turning point was his movie, “True Stories,” which led to another turning point, a Time magazine cover story. Suddenly people who had never heard of him were curious. Warner Home Video is banking on that curiosity lingering at least until late April, when the movie will be available in the home-video market.

NEW RELEASES: CBS-Fox’s “Aliens” is regarded by monster-film buffs as one of the finest in the history of the genre, up there with the original “King Kong,” both versions of “The Fly” and John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of “The Thing.” This big-budget smash should be among the top three rentals for the next month at least.

Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver stars as Ripley, the lone human survivor of the original--”Alien” (1979)--who journeys back to that forbidden planet to tangle with more of those slimy creatures. Incidentally, “Aliens” carries an $89.98 price tag, $10 more than the standard. Renting it may also cost a little more than usual.

Touchstone’s “Ruthless People” confirmed Bette Midler’s talents as a film comedienne, proving that her performance in “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” was no fluke. One of last year’s big hits, it’s about the slapstick kidnaping of a millionaire’s wife (Midler) by two kindly, bumbling crooks (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater). The joke is that her husband--played by Danny DeVito, who dominates the movie--doesn’t want her back.

Pacific Arts’ “Vagabond,” directed by Agnes Varda, should be the most popular home video among foreign-film buffs for the next month or two. This acclaimed French drama is uncompromisingly bleak and positively lethal to a good mood. The whole movie is a flashback, showing the last days of an amoral young drifter (Sandrine Bonnaire), who’s dead when the movie begins.

Another Sigourney Weaver movie, Embassy’s “Half Moon Street,” co-starring Michael Caine, is out this week. Many critics said the fascinating heroine--a Ph.D-turned paid escort--made this offbeat thriller, which flopped at the box office, worth seeing.

OLD MOVIES: The original “Little Shop of Horrors,” a 1960 cheapie from the Roger Corman factory, is out this week in both color and black and white at $69.95. Part of the fun of this black comedy is its tacky, B-picture look. It’s about a lowly florist who develops a man-eating plant and turns murderer to provide plant food. This movie is the answer to this frequent trivia question: Name Jack Nicholson’s first movie.

“Justine” (1969), just out on Key Video at $59.98, is an often overlooked, underrated character study of a married, man-hungry socialite who doubles as a revolutionary in Egypt before World War II. Fans of novelist Lawrence Durrell’s “Alexandria Quartet” objected to the fact that it was turned into an elegant soap opera. Anouk Aimee has been praised by some critics for her performance in this complex role. Michael York and Dirk Bogarde co-star. George Cukor directed.

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine)

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS

1--”Back to School” (HBO/Cannon).

2--”The Karate Kid Part II” (RCA/Columbia).

3--”Labyrinth” (Embassy).

4--”Short Circuit” (CBS-Fox).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES

1--”Jane Fonda’s Low Impact Aerobic Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).

2--”Jane Fonda’s New Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).

3--”Sleeping Beauty” (Disney).

4--”Callanetics” (MCA).