FIRST OFF . . .

America will have to wait until next year to see “The Milagro Beanfield War” directed by Robert Redford and distributed by Universal Pictures. Originally scheduled for a Nov. 20 release, “Milagro”--a drama chronicling one Latino farmer’s fight against the Establishment over water rights in the mountains of New Mexico--has officially been pushed back by Universal to early 1988, a Universal spokesman confirmed Wednesday. According to unofficial reports, several scenes in the film, which marks Redford’s directorial follow-up to 1980’s “Ordinary People,” were reshot earlier this summer after bad weather plagued the original shoot. Also, a Redford spokesman said Tuesday that Universal wanted to give “Milagro” more marketing attention and to showcase Richard Attenborough’s “Cry to Freedom,” the studio’s other prestigious late fall release.