‘Dead Poets,’ ‘The Abyss’ Join Tape Parade

THIS WEEK’S MOVIES

Two very good but very different movies from last year make their video debut this week.

“Dead Poets Society” (Touchstone, $89.95, PG) stars Robin Williams as an unconventional teacher at a private boys’ school in 1959. Directed by Peter Weir, the funny and moving film shows--as did “Stand and Deliver”--how much difference a teacher can make when he or she is as daring as caring.

“The Abyss” (CBS/Fox, $89.98, PG-13). You may be disappointed with the ending of this special-effects thriller, but chances are you’ll enjoy the underwater trip that precedes it. Directed with dazzle by James Cameron (“The Terminator”).

Other films fresh on tape:

“The Pajama Game” (1957) and “Damn Yankees” (1958) both star Doris Day, both were co-directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, both feature exciting choreography by Bob Fosse, and both are colorful and lively versions of hit Broadway musicals. They’re $59.95 each from Warner.

“The Incredible Mr. Limpet” (1964) gave Don Knotts his strangest role (yes, even stranger than Barney) as a bookkeeper who turns into a, gulp , fish--who, gulp again, becomes a war hero. The whimsical mix of live action and animation is no “Mary Poppins,” but pretty charming all the same. Also $59.95 from Warner.

“Chocolat” (1988, PG-13), “The Music Teacher” (1988, PG) and “Murmur of the Heart” (1971, R) are three notable foreign films from Orion ($79.98 each). All three feature easy-to-read yellow captions.

“Night Ambush” (VidAmerica, $39.98), originally released in Britain in 1956 as “Ill Met By Moonlight,” a taut World War II thriller, was the last film on which the famous “Archers” team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger worked together.

“The Keys to the Kingdom” (1944), “A Man Called Peter” (1955) and “The Story of Ruth” all featured big Hollywood budgets and plenty of emotional self-sacrificing in the name of religion (Christian, of course), but not much else to recommend them. They’re $29.98 each from CBS/Fox.

“Fear Strikes Out” (1957) is a strong film depicting the battle baseball star Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins) fought with mental illness. “Hell Is for Heroes” (1962) is a fairly decent WWII drama with Steve McQueen and Bobby Darin. Both are only $14.95 from Paramount.

“Cookie” (Warner, $89.95, R) is one of the two crumby “comedies” director Susan Seidelman blessed us with last year (the other was “She-Devil”). This one has Emily Lloyd, Peter Falk, Dianne Wiest and Brenda Vaccaro in the tale of a teen and her racketeer father.

OTHER NEW VIDEOS

CBS/Fox has just released four volumes containing two “Twilight Zone” episodes each. These are the original, b&w; shows from the ‘50s and ‘60s, introduced by Rod Serling. Each volume sells for $14.98.

That’s not all, folks. MGM/UA has some more hourlong collections of those fantastic Warner Bros. cartoons from the ‘30s and ‘40s: “Daffy Duck and Company,” “Porky Pig and Company” and “Bugs Vs. Elmer.” They’re $14.95 each.