‘Joe vs. the Volcano’ Tops the List

THIS WEEK’S MOVIES

One of those offbeat comedies that you either love or hate, “Joe vs. the Volcano” (Warner, $92.95, PG) stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in a story that might put film buffs in mind of the ‘30s comedy/dramas “Nothing Sacred” and “Meet John Doe.” Hanks plays a young man who’s thought to have a fatal disease and is offered the chance to live out his last days in style--as long as he eventually jumps into an active South Seas volcano.

Also very quirky in a more disturbing way is the brave Australian comedy/drama “Sweetie” (IVE, $89.95, R), a psychological tug-of-war between two sisters.

OTHER RECENT FILMS: “Flashback” (Paramount, priced for rental, R), “Istanbul” (Magnum, $89.98, PG-13), “Secret Weapon” (Turner, $79.98, unrated), “Downtown” (CBS/Fox, $89.98, R), “Watchers II” (IVE, $89.95, R), “The Forgotten One” (Academy, $89.95, R).

VINTAGE VIDEO: “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” (1956, starring Gregory Peck), “Stanley and Livingstone” (1939, Spencer Tracy), “The Great White Hope” (1970, James Earl Jones), and “Soldier of Fortune” (1955, Clark Gable) are $39.98 from CBS/Fox. The same company has two Frank Sinatra detective flicks, “Tony Rome” (1967) and “Lady in Cement” (1968) for $59.98 each.

OTHER NEW VIDEOS

CARTOONS: The most famous of the many great Warner Bros. cartoon characters is celebrated in “Happy Birthday, Bugs: 50 Looney Years” (Warner, $14.95), a 42-minute salute featuring the usual, annoying celebrities--in this case including Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg and Hulk Hogan.

MUSIC: For young children, Random House has two more musical “Sesame Street” videos. “Rock & Roll” and “Dance Along” are a half-hour long and $14.95 each. For older kids and adult fans, there’s “Elvis: The Great Performances” (Buena Vista, $19.99 each), a two-volume collection featuring rare footage, and “Cheap Trick: Every Trick in the Book” (CMV, $19.98), a 65-minute compilation of the uneven but often exhilarating rock band’s video-clips spanning 1977’s “I Want You to Want Me” to a song from the latest album.