VIDEO . . . WHAT’S NEW : ‘Rain Man’ Rolls Into Stores : THIS WEEK’S MOVIES

One of this year’s most anticipated videotapes rolls into the stores this weekend--with a Buick commercial attached.

Winner of the 1988 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, “Rain Man” (MGM/UA, $89.95) is as outstanding a film as indicated by those Oscars (and a $160 million take at the box office).

The premise is simple: two brothers--one a self-centered hustler (Tom Cruise), the other an autistic savant (Dustin Hoffman)--head cross-country in a car because one wants money and the other won’t fly. (Note the similarity of that plot-line to another recent film, “Midnight Run”?) The screenplay, acting and direction (by Barry Levinson of “Diner” and “Good Morning, Vietnam”) consistently fill the screen with details that are brilliant, true, funny and moving.

More quality: “Wings of Desire” (Orion, $79.98, PG-13) is another fascinating, enigmatic work from German director Wim Wenders--filmed partly in color, partly in black and white. Two angels come down to earth and meet Peter Falk in West Berlin. No, really!

Somber and puzzling, “Wings” is worth sticking with for its many moments of ironic humor and mystic revelation. And if that weren’t enough, there’s also a performance by underground-rock singer Nick Cave that’s so mesmerizing his fans may be tempted to buy rather than rent this tape so they can play it over and over. (Our tip: wait a few months for the price reduction.)

Unlike “Wings” and “Rain Man,” “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (Nelson, $89.98, PG) didn’t charm many reviewers, but teen-agers might find the silly premise righteously radical: Two teen guys travel back in time and meet Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln and lots of other weird dudes.

For those who want a little more sophistication from their VCR, there’s two more highly acclaimed foreign films: Eric Rohmer’s “Boyfriends and Girlfriends” (Orion, $79.98, PG) and Jovan Acin’s “Hey Babu Riba” (Orion, $79.98, R).

Or, if you’d prefer old Hollywood movies, Turner offers each of these new releases for $19.98: “The Enchanted Cottage” (1944), a drama about the love affair of two disfigured people (Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young) that’s flawed itself but is also unusual and fascinating; “Break of Hearts” (1934), a little-seen Katharine Hepburn drama; “The Last Days of Pompeii” (1935), which looks just like a DeMille film of the period, but isn’t; “Holiday Affair” (1949), an overlooked Christmas movie with Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh; and “Fighting Father Dunne” (1947), starring Pat O’Brien, cast again as a priest trying to reform bad boys, who weren’t called “dudes” yet.

Coming Wednesday: “Jacknife,” “Dream a Little Dream.”