All Quiet on the Video Front for April’s New Releases; : Key Video’s ‘Down by Law,’ Vestron’s ‘Secret Honor’ Out

April has been a relatively quiet month for new releases. “Legal Eagles” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” have been the big ones so far.

Of the releases scheduled for the rest of the month, only CBS-Fox’s “Peggy Sue Got Married,” out Thursday, is likely to be a big hit. Embassy’s “Sid & Nancy,” easily the best of the month’s releases, is also out next week. This is the grim tale of a destructive romance between two drug addicts, one the late rock musician Sid Vicious.

In May, however, many major movies will make their home-video debuts: “Mona Lisa” (May 6),”Firewalker” (May 6), “Tai Pan” (May 6), “The Color of Money” (May 12), “Children of a Lesser God” (May 13), “Heartbreak Ridge” (May 20) and “Wanted Dead or Alive” (May 26).

Warner Video recently announced two major June releases. Harrison Ford stars in “The Mosquito Coast”--out June 3-- about an eccentric inventor trying to create a utopia in the wilds of Central America. “ ‘Round Midnight,” featuring an acclaimed performance by jazzman Dexter Gordon and Herbie Hancock’s Oscar-winning score, is due June 17.

NEW RELEASES: Critics were divided on Key Video’s “Down by Law.” Some hailed director Jim Jarmusch as a master of minimalism. Others griped that the black-and-white black comedy, about three low-lifes bonding in a New Orleans jail, was dreadfully slow and uneventful. Many expected great things from Jarmusch after his absorbing “Stranger Than Paradise” (1984), but some have apparently have been disappointed in his latest effort. Another common critical complaint was that Tom Waits is wasted in a barren role as a drifting deejay. He’s a fine actor, some critics insisted, whose time hasn’t yet come. Vestron’s “Secret Honor,” a 2-year-old movie by director Robert Altman, has been a well-kept secret. It didn’t play in many theaters. However, this has long been a favorite of fans of political comedy. It’s a sad, funny version of Philip Baker Hall’s solo theatrical piece about President Richard Nixon going down the drain after Watergate. Hall is remarkable. Clever camera work helps keeps this one lively.

OLD MOVIES: “My Forbidden Past” (Nostalgia Merchant, $19.95), a seamy 1951 melodrama, sports some great catty dialogue. Set in 19th-Century New Orleans, Ava Gardner plays a woman who inherits a fortune from a shady relative. She pines for her secret lover (Robert Mitchum) and grapples with her unscrupulous cousin, portrayed by Melvin Douglas, who makes a chilling villain. The ending isn’t satisfying but the rest of the movie is.

In “They Might Be Giants” (MCA, $$59.95), George C. Scott plays a gentle wacko who thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes. He’s being treated by a psychiatrist (Joanne Woodward) named Dr. Watson. If you think that’s funny, then this movie is for you. The point of all this is that losers can be winners. The cast labors valiantly in a lost cause. This 1971 movie was directed by Anthony Harvey.

“The Girl From Petrovka” (MCA, $59.95) offers Goldie Hawn at her charming, giddy best in a 1974 comedy/drama that’s not up to her talents. If you can believe it, she plays a Russian ballerina who has an affair with an American journalist (Hal Holbrook). The Hawn-Holbrook pairing is one of the strangest in film history. If you’re in the mood for a sentimental movie with an offbeat love story, this one’s OK.

HORROR: Warner’s “Sorority House Massacre” is about yet another homicidal maniac who goes on yet another killing spree--this time in a sorority house. This escaped mental patient is after one of the students (Angela O’Neill) who’s having terrifying dreams about him. They’re linked in a rather interesting way. The movie is, naturally, very gory but, thanks to the work of writer-director Carol Frank, also rather scary for a B-picture horror flick.

“Re-Animator” offers hair-raising horror with a touch of degeneracy. Vestron’s “From Beyond” is the work of the same principals--director Stuart Gordon and stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton--who brought you “Re-Animator.” The new one isn’t quite as wild but it’s still Grade-A B-picture horror. Combs plays a scientist who figures out a way to trigger a human’s sixth sense--with grisly results. He’s being investigated by an uptight psychiatrist (Crampton). Part of the fun is watching her loosen up.

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine)

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

2--”Stand By Me” (RCA/Columbia).

3--”Aliens” (CBS-Fox).

4--”The Fly” (CBS-Fox).

5--”Ruthless People” (Touchstone).

6--”Tough Guys” (Touchstone).

7--”Back to School” (HBO/Cannon).

8--”Legal Eagles” (MCA).

9--”Blue Velvet” (Karl-Lorimar).

10--”A Room With a View” (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--”Star Wars” (CBS-Fox).

7--”Scarface” (MCA).