Romantic Rentals for Valentine’s Day

This Valentine’s Day forget the classy classics like “Casablanca,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Wuthering Heights” and “Roman Holiday.” On Sunday do something different--rent a real romantic tear-jerker.

Who needs subtlety? Go for a movie that goes for an amorous jugular, that has the power to reduce you to romantic rubble. The sledgehammer approach, complete with cornball music and predictable situations, can be a pure delight.

Here are some the most unsubtle romantic movies ever made--movies that are easy to find in most stores:

“Love Story” (Paramount, 1970): A full-throttle romantic tear-jerker, with Ryan O’Neal as the preppy who falls for a beauty (Ali MacGraw ) with leukemia. This one really works on your emotions.

“Dark Victory” (MGM/UA, 1939): The “Love Story” of its day. This unvarnished weeper stars Bette Davis as a dying socialite married to a brain surgeon (George Brent). Get out your handkerchiefs.

“Now, Voyager” (MGM/UA, 1942): Davis again, this time as a mousy spinster who falls for her suave shrink (Claude Rains). Unsubtle but very effective melodrama, often has the intensity of opera.

“A Star Is Born” (Warner, 1954 and 1976): James Mason and Judy Garland are paired in the first one while the second teams Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. In both, a rising female star falls for a male star who hits the skids. Both are over-the-top romantic dramas, but the 1954 version is the bigger tear-jerker.

“Somewhere in Time” (MCA, 1980): A writer (Christopher Reeve) goes back in time to find love with an actress (Jane Seymour). Dreamily romantic hokum.

“Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” (CBS-Fox, 1955): A Eurasian doctor (Jennifer Jones) has a tragic affair with a married war correspondent (William Holden) during Korean War. Heavy-duty schmaltz, underscored by famed love theme, has almost operatic intensity.

“Summertime” (Nelson Entertainment, 1955): One of the best-crafted romantic soapers ever made, forcefully tugging at the heartstrings, with Katharine Hepburn as the lonely secretary on vacation in Venice getting involved with a married man (Rossano Brazzi).

“Dying Young” (FoxVideo, 1991): A rich young man (Campbell Scott) dying of leukemia falls for hired companion (Julia Roberts). Obvious and corny, this is a perfect Valentine’s Day movie that’s not given enough credit for being an effective romantic tear-jerker.

“Always” (MCA/Universal, 1989): A ghost (Richard Dreyfuss) helps his former girlfriend (Holly Hunter) in her romance with a young pilot (Brad Johnson). Sappy Steven Spielberg drama that will generate a gusher of romantic feelings.

Back to ‘Basic’: The anxiously awaited, unrated version of the sex-and-violence thriller “Basic Instinct” finally has a release date--April 7 on LIVE Video, priced at $50. According to Stuart Snyder, LIVE’s senior VP of sales and marketing, it will feature those famed 47 seconds removed to reduce the rating from NC-17 to R.

He said the extra footage was added in several spots but wouldn’t say which sequences. The video also includes interviews with stars Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone as well as director Paul Verhoeven.

The R-version of the movie came out last fall and has been a huge rental hit. LIVE shipped a whopping 545,000 copies to retailers and, some distributors speculate, will send out about 100,000 copies of the unrated version.

Also on April 7, Pioneer is shipping a fancy laser-disc version, priced at $70, including a track with Verhoeven’s commentary.

What’s New on Video: Among new releases: “Death Becomes Her” (MCA/Universal, no set price): An actress (Meryl Streep) and a writer (Goldie Hawn) battle over a wimpy man (Bruce Willis). What begins as a promising satire about the fear of aging degenerates into a muddle of special effects.

“The Waterdance” (Columbia TriStar, no set price): A paraplegic (Eric Stoltz) in a rehab center deals with a married lover (Helen Hunt) and other paraplegics (Wesley Snipes and William Forsythe). Absorbing, informative drama that nicely sidesteps the usual sentimental pitfalls.

Upcoming on Video: The comedy “The Mighty Ducks,” with Emilio Estevez, on April 14; “Night and the City,” featuring Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange, on April 21.

Also: “A League of Their Own” (Wednesday); “Honeymoon in Vegas,” “Sneakers” and “Cool World” (Feb. 24); “Singles,” “Of Mice and Men” and “Whispers in the Dark” (March 3); “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Wind” and “Bebe’s Kids” (March 10); “Mr. Baseball” and “Candyman” (March 17); “Mr. Saturday Night,” “Pure Country” and “Captain Ron” (March 24); “Pinocchio” (March 26); “Under Siege” March 31; “Consenting Adults” April 7; “Sarafina” April 14.