FLICKS : FILM AND VIDEO FILE : Stars ‘n’ Strikes : Some major motion pictures will be released on tape this month. The Prueter Library offers a martial arts program.

As they say in the video business, “Beta late than never.” And four days into the month, there are some major video releases to look out for:

“Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” stars Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Stephen King’s “Misery” features James Caan and Best Actress Oscar-winner Kathy Bates; “L.A. Story” stars Steve Martin; “Look Who’s Talking Too” features John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and the voices of Bruce Willis and Roseanne Barr; Julia Roberts stars in “Sleeping with the Enemy”; “The Russia House” features Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Connery; and “Robin Hood” is animated by Walt Disney Studios.

For those who don’t want to go out tonight, local video store operators have some suggestions for appropriate Fourth of July home viewing:

“Yankee Doodle Dandy,” the 1942 musical about the life of George M. Cohan, features an Oscar-winning performance by James Cagney. Also recommended is anything with Bing Crosby and/or Fred Astaire.

Academy Award-winning war movies include “Patton” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Mike Williams, manager of Video 4 You and Video Depot in Thousand Oaks, suggests Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July,” “for the cynics among us,” rather than for patriotic fervor.

Movies about immigrants include “Avalon,” an Academy Award nominee this year, and “Once Upon a Time in America,” the 1984 film starring Robert De Niro and James Woods that centers around two Jewish gangster buddies in New York City’s Lower East Side.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” is about an all-American family, and it’s new. What more could you ask for? “Welcome Home” is about an Air Force officer who, after 17 years of being presumed dead in Cambodia, returns home to find his wife remarried. It stars Kris Kristofferson, JoBeth Williams and Sam Waterston.

The Roy D. Prueter Library’s family film night Wednesday will highlight self-defense and the martial arts. First up is a video titled, simply enough, “Karate,” which emphasizes self-control and inner strength.

The second video is “Mugging: You Can Protect Yourself.” Liddon Griffith, a police officer, provides tips and simple self-defense techniques.

The Prueter Library is at 510 Park Ave., Port Hueneme. The program will begin at 7 p.m. and admission, as always, is free. For information, call 486-5460.