Key Oscar-Winning Movies Are Targeted for Release; ‘Blue Velvet’ Is Finding Its Way Into the Adult Section

Here are the answers to the inevitable questions about the home video debuts of the key Oscar-winning movies.

Paramount’s “Children of a Lesser God,” featuring Marlee Matlin’s best-actress performance, is due May 13. Touchstone’s “The Color of Money,” starring best-actor winner Paul Newman, is due May 12. But Newman won’t be the primary reason this will be a big rental hit. Co-star Tom Cruise will be the main attraction.

HBO/Cannon’s “Hannah and Her Sisters,” sporting the best-supporting performances by Michael Caine and Diane Wiest, is scheduled for summer, although the exact release date hasn’t been announced yet.

What about the best picture, “Platoon”? There isn’t an answer to that question yet. Vestron is battling the Hemdale Film Corp. for the home-video rights to Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War drama. They’ve taken their fight to court, so whether cassettes will make it to the stores by this summer, as originally planned, is anybody’s guess.

NEW RELEASES: If you’re looking for Karl-Lorimar’s “Blue Velvet” in a video store and don’t find it, check the adult section. It’s an R-rated movie, but some retailers apparently plan to stock director David Lynch’s controversial drama with the Xs. It features some of the raciest, raunchiest scenes ever in an R-rated movie.

Set in a small town, it’s about the turmoil of a young man (Kyle MacLachlan) who indulges his dark side with a sexy singer (Isabella Rossellini) while carrying on a normal love affair with a cop’s daughter (Laura Dern).

With its kinky sex and nightmarish feel, this movie is open to interpretation. When it was in the theaters last fall, it was one of those rare movies, like “Angel Heart” recently, that many people were arguing about. Dennis Hopper, as the slimy sadist, got great reviews. The consensus was that Hopper’s performance was one of the best ever in a sleazy-character role.

New World’s “Soul Man” is a lowbrow comedy about a college student (C. Thomas Howell) who uses tanning pills to darken his skin so he can claim a Harvard Law School scholarship limited to blacks. Though it doesn’t seem to be mean-spirited and has liberal leanings--his girlfriend (Rae Dawn Chong) is black--some critics and fans called it racist. Though many critics found some of it funny, mostly it was rapped for largely avoiding some harsh realities and going for laughs.

Warner’s “Deadly Friend” is a horror tale about a boy genius (Matthew Laborteaux) who turns the corpse of his girlfriend (Kristy Swanson) into a vengeful robot. Though not as scary as director Wes Craven’s acclaimed “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” it’s regarded by some critics as a commendable fright film. It will probably go down in horror-movie history for a grisly scene in which a basketball is used as a murder weapon.

Touchstone’s amusing adventure, “Tough Guys,” is the ultimate star vehicle. The main attraction is watching veteran stars Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster work together. The lightweight plot concerns two train robbers trying to survive in the ‘80s after being in jail for 30 years. Soon they’re up to their old tricks. This is primarily for fans, middle-aged and older, who grew up watching these two dashing actors in their heyday.

OLD MOVIES: Film buffs will appreciate the full-length version of “Lost Horizon,” the 1937 fantasy-drama starring Ronald Colman and Jane Wyatt, just out on RCA/Columbia at $29.95. This is not the standard, 108-minute TV version but one that’s fully restored, running 132 minutes--including the complete sound track. The six minutes still missing are filled by stills.

Detractors have griped about the addition of lost footage to a movie they charge was too long at 108 minutes. Yes, it’s a bit long-winded and somewhat hokey, but parts of it--particularly the finale--are still genuinely stirring.

It’s about a small group of people who discover Shangri-La, a nifty never-never land where peace reigns and a universal dream--long life and youthful appearance--is fulfilled. Some critics say Colman was never better, except in “A Double Life” (1947), a performance that won him an Oscar.

In case you’ve forgotten how good Doris Day was in movie musicals, Warner’s “Calamity Jane” ($24.98) will refresh your memory. The plot of this 1953 movie, of course, isn’t much. All that really happens is that the lady sharpshooter and Wild Bill Hickok (Howard Keel) slowly realize that their combative relationship is really love.

Day singing “Secret Love,” which won the best-song Oscar, is arguably the highlight of her movie-musical career. Some fans contend that she sings better in “The Pajama Game” (1957), but don’t believe it. Though “Pajama Game” has a superior score, Day’s singing is much more appealing, with lesser material, in “Calamity Jane.”

“Shoes of the Fisherman” (MGM/UA, $69.95) is one of the best bad movies around. Fans of terrible films will rent this one from 1968 strictly for laughs. It is pious nonsense about a Pope (Anthony Quinn) battling atomic war and Red Chinese famine. The cast, including Laurence Olivier, Oskar Werner, John Gielgud, David Janssen and Vittorio De Sica, is one of the most impressive in the annals of bad movies.

On May 7, MCA is releasing two classics--”Double Indemnity” (1944) and Preston Sturges’ “The Lady Eve” (1941) at $29.94. Film buffs have been eagerly awaiting the release of “Double Indemnity,” written by Raymond Chandler and director Billy Wilder and regarded as one of the finest movies of the war years.

Three Cary Grant movies--”Holiday” (1938), “Talk of the Town” (1942) and “The Howards of Virginia” (1940)--are due from RCA/Columbia on May 28 at $69.95. The real gem of this bunch is director George Cukor’s “Holiday.”

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine)

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

2--”Aliens” (CBS-Fox).

3--”Ruthless People” (Touchstone).

4--”Back to School” (HBO/Cannon).

5--”Running Scared” (MGM/UA).

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

7--”About Last Night” (RCA/Columbia).

8--”Stand By Me” (RCA/Columbia).

9--”Heartburn” (Paramount).

10--”Big Trouble in Little China” (CBS-Fox).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

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

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

4--”Callanetics” (MCA).

5--”Sleeping Beauty” (Disney).

6--”Aliens” (CBS-Fox).

7--”Star Wars” (CBS-Fox).

8--”Kathy Smith’s Body Basics” (JCI).

9--”Secrets of the Titanic” (Vestron).

10--”Help!” (MPI).