FIRST OFF . . .

Martin Scorsese’s film “The Last Temptation of Christ” will not be on the shelves of Blockbuster Video when the home video version is released June 29. Blockbuster is the nation’s second largest video store chain with 666 outlets. Mark Hayden, the company’s marketing director, told Daily Variety on Tuesday that the decision was made after shareholders, employees and customers registered complaints. “This movie was enough of an insult to our senses that we chose not to carry it. We think there are insulting implications,” he said. The film was surrounded by controversy last year as it was released across the country, with protesters charging that it was blasphemous. Scorsese, however, received an Academy Award nomination for his direction of the film.