‘Gremlins’ Pair Is a Fan-Pleaser

“Gremlins” (Warner Home Video 12169, wide-screen edition, digitally processed stereo sound, extended play laser video disc, 106 minutes, $24.95) and “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” (Warner Home Video 11886, wide-screen edition, digitally processed stereo sound, extended play laser video disc, 107 minutes, $24.95).

If you enjoyed director Joe Dante’s exuberant comedy nightmares in theaters, you’ll find these special laser video disc editions bring the slimy monsters home in a way guaranteed to delight--or disgust--the most jaded home video viewer. Here’s what you get on laser that you don’t get on videotape:

* Both films are presented in a wide-screen format that preserves the aspect ratio of their original theatrical presentation. The black bars at the top and bottom of the screen “letterbox” the image into its original format. The pan-and-scan videotape version misses more than it catches.

* “Gremlins” has 26 “chapter stops” and “Gremlins 2” goes it half a dozen better with 32, letting you revisit your favorite scenes of mayhem and madness quite effortlessly, including the clever show-stopping “technical difficulties,” in the middle of No. 2.

* The Dolby Surround, digitally processed stereo offers the kind of sound that you only get in the newest urban theaters. Since Dante uses sound to heighten his visual special effects, the lifelike noises and Gremlin giddiness give the films an added dimension on laser that make for memorable aural experiences. (Be warned: The movie homages can be ear-shattering). If you have a surround-sound system at home, you may think the gremlins have moved in for the duration, an experience more pleasant than you might expect).

“Gremlins 2,” with its many wry inside jokes is funnier--and somewhat less grisly--than the original. Be sure to let the disc play through the final credits--or fast-forward to them, if you’re that impatient.