‘Superman IV’ Is a Potential Hit Debuting on Nov. 25; ‘Angel Heart’ a Provocative Mystery With Sex, Violence

The latest Superman movie, “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace,” didn’t really fly high at the box office but it’s potentially a big rental hit. Starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, it will make its home video debut on Warner Video on Nov. 25.

“Harry and the Hendersons,” which plunks the legend of Bigfoot into a family comedy format, is due on MCA on Nov. 12.

Next week: “Star Trek IV,” “Swimming to Cambodia,” “Ernest Goes to Camp” and “Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn.”

NEW MOVIES: IVE’s “Angel Heart,” directed by Alan Parker, is a racy detective story on one level and a puzzling plunge into the occult on another. Moving at a lazy pace, the film is laced with eccentric characters and spiced with sordid sex and extreme violence. It’s a provocative mystery, but some critics dismissed it as exquisitely photographed mumbo-jumbo.

Back in the mid ‘50s, a New York private eye named Angel, superbly played by Mickey Rourke, is hired by a mysterious man (Robert De Niro) to find a missing crooner. His investigation, mostly in the grubby parts of New Orleans, leads him into the occult and, later, to a startling revelation. This is a good film for home video because you can rewind parts of it to ferret out the clues you invariably missed.

This gloomy movie features one of Rourke’s better performances and the sizzling debut of “The Cosby Show’s” Lisa Bonet, coolly projecting languid sensuality. The furor over 10 seamy seconds cut from an ultraviolent love scene between the detective and Bonet’s raunchy priestess didn’t arouse the curiosity of enough movie-goers to make this a huge hit. Both versions--with and without those controversial 10 seconds--are available.

Critics raved about CBS-Fox’s “Raising Arizona,” a high-class low-brow comedy that pokes fun at rednecks and preys upon our passion for cuddly infants. The movie has the endearingly goofy quality and a manic energy that sweeps you along. It’s about a small-time crook (Nicholas Cage) and his infertile wife (Holly Hunter) who kidnap a baby named Nathan Arizona, one of a set of famed quintuplets. While two dimwitted ex-cons try to lure the husband back into a life of crime, he’s being stalked by a bounty hunter (Randall Cobb) who looks like a refugee from a “Mad Max” movie.

Much of the humor comes from the contrast between Nathan’s charming innocence and the madness--brawls, robberies, car-chases--surrounding him. It’s another artistic triumph for the Coen brothers--Joel (writer-director) and Ethan (writer-co-producer).

Many critics didn’t find CBS-Fox’s “Burglar,” the Whoopi Goldberg comedy, very amusing. She plays a retired San Francisco cat burglar who’s blackmailed into resuming her crooked ways. After one of her capers, stealing jewels for a dentist (Lesley Ann Warren), she becomes a murder suspect and spends most of the movie tracking down the real killer--aided by her bizarre buddy (Bob Goldthwait).

Goldthwait, who talks in the tortured way Joe Cocker sings, got great notices for his small role. But Goldberg was slighted--rather unfairly. Critics like to talk about her expansive talents being untapped. Meanwhile, many of them didn’t notice that Goldberg--as the tough, resourceful, free-wheeling burglar--is often funny here. This movie did well at the box office ($16-million gross) and, partly because Goldberg is popular in the rental market, should be a sizable rental hit.

ROWAN AND MARTIN: If the death of Dan Rowan this week made you think about renting or buying home videos of Rowan and Dick Martin’s pioneering “Laugh-In” TV show, don’t bother. They’re not available on home video. Though the show was popular in the late ‘60s and has undeniable nostalgia value, it might not seem that funny now. Topical humor dates quickly.

All that’s available on home video from “Laugh-In” is “Bloopers from ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Laugh-In’ ” (Video Yesteryear, $49.95).

OLD MOVIES: MGM/UA’s “Anna Karenina” (1935, $24.95), starring Greta Garbo, is based on Tolstoy’s famous novel about a scandalous affair that shocked the Russian aristocracy. This and “Camille” are Garbo’s most famous roles. She excelled at playing noble, elegant, tragic heroines. In this one, Karenina is forced to choose between her lover, a dashing soldier (Fredric March) and her family. She can do without her iceberg husband (Basil Rathbone), but not her young son (Freddie Bartholomew).

Some of the dialogue, which must have sounded romantic to ‘30s film fans, seems hokey now. But this stormy soap opera still has considerable appeal, largely because Garbo seems as enchanting as ever.

The dramatic parts of MCA’s “The Benny Goodman Story” (1955, $59.95) are terrible, as is Steve Allen’s woefully understated performance as the great swing clarinetist. But the glorious music numbers make this one a must for swing fans. You could even fast-forward to the rousing finale, the historic 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall, featuring Gene Krupa and Lionel Hampton.

The last three Fred Astaire movies in the MGM/UA vault will be released in December: “The Barkleys of Broadway” (1949), “Three Little Words” (1950) and “The Belle of New York” (1952).

CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine) TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--” ’Crocodile’ Dundee” (Paramount).

2--”The Bedroom Window” (Vestron).

3--”Black Widow” (CBS-Fox).

4--”The Color Purple” (Warner Video).

5--”The Mission” (Warner Video).

6--”Over the Top” (Warner Video).

7--”Light of Day” (Vestron).

8--”The Three Amigos” (HBO).

9--”From the Hip” (Lorimar)

10--”An American Tail” (MCA).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”An American Tail” (MCA).

2--” ’Crocodile’ Dundee” (Paramount).

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

4--”Top Gun” (Paramount).

5--”Callanetics” (MCA).

6--”Here’s Mickey!” (Disney).

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

8--”Playboy Video Centerfold 6” (Lorimar).