A Temporary Drought in New Releases

THIS WEEK’S MOVIES

This week’s movies? On video? There aren’t any. Apparently the video companies are afraid everyone’s too busy picnicking, waving the flag, ducking fireworks or tolerating relatives to take time out to rent a tape.

What? Don’t we even get “Born on the Fourth of July”? Sorry. That videocassette doesn’t arrive until Aug. 9.

Just to keep your spirits up during this brief VCR drought, here are some other upcoming releases:

Thursday--”Tremors,” “Internal Affairs.”

July 18--”Men Don’t Leave.”

July 25--”Blaze.”

July 26--”Valmont.”

Aug. 1--”Driving Miss Daisy,” “Enemies, A Love Story,” “Flashback,” plus these vintage films: “Stanley & Livingstone,” “The Great White Hope,” “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.”

Aug. 8--”Revenge,” “Blue Steel.”

Aug. 15--”Joe Versus the Volcano.”

Aug. 16--”Sweetie.”

Aug. 23--”Nuns on the Run.”

Aug. 29--”All Dogs Go to Heaven,” “Rosalie Goes Shopping,” “Bad Influence.”

Aug. 30--”Lord of the Flies” (most recent version), “Madhouse,” “Mountains of the Moon.”

Sept. 13--Two Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals never on video before (“Carousel” and the 1962 version of “State Fair”) plus re-releases of the same composers’ “The Sound of Music” (Silver Anniversary Edition), “The King and I,” “Oklahoma” and “South Pacific.” The bargain price: $19.98 each, except for “The Sound of Music” ($24.98).

Sept. 21--Disney’s “Peter Pan” (the Mary Martin TV version flies in Aug. 28).

OTHER NEW VIDEOS

Just can’t wait? Gotta have something new? OK, here are some releases that didn’t make recent columns due to lack of space.

Crazy about “Dick Tracy”? Your video store won’t have Warren Beatty’s fun-filled new movie for some time, of course, but it may be stocking “Dick Tracy, Detective” (1945), the first film made about Chester Gould’s detective, and its 1947 sequel, “Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome.” They’re $19.98 each from Media. Meanwhile, Paramount just brought out six volumes ($12.95 each) of early-’60s cartoons titled “The Animated Adventures of Dick Tracy.”