Colorized ‘34th Street’ a Miracle to Retailers

One of the great stocking stuffers this Christmas season is sure to be “Miracle on 34th Street,” which FoxVideo says will be available at a bargain-priced $10 beginning Nov. 2.

The 1947 comedy-fantasy about Santa Claus working at Macy’s, starring Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn, is second only to “It’s a Wonderful Life” on the list of best Christmas movies.

“Miracle” will even be available in the SP (standard play) mode--unlike most $5-$10 videos, which are duplicated in the less-expensive EP (extended play), resulting in some audio-visual fuzziness.

But there’s a catch.

“Miracle” is colorized.

Though the colorization technique delivers a remarkably sharp, natural-looking picture, purists still regard colorized movies as desecrations. But since most people prefer to watch a movie in color, it’s unlikely that “Miracle” will gather dust on retailers’ shelves.

At the recent Video Software Dealers Convention in Las Vegas, FoxVideo president Bob DeLellis said the company expects to ship about 3 million copies.

This will mark the home-video debut of the colorized version. In black-and-white, priced at $15, “Miracle” sells a few hundred thousand copies each year.

Retailers at the convention were overjoyed by FoxVideo’s move. They’re happy “Miracle” wasn’t offered to a non-video outlet, such as a fast-food chain or a supermarket. Retailers are still smarting about Orion Video’s decision to market a low-priced “Dances With Wolves” through McDonald’s, resulting in the sale of about 7 million units.

Videobits

A new Barney video is coming. The purple dinosaur’s “Homes Sweet Homes” will be in the stores Aug. 25, and the Lyons Group, which markets the tapes, says a Barney theatrical feature is in the works for 1995.

Home Shopping Network addicts can add major home videos to the list of what they can purchase from the TV channel. Next month, the cable network will be offering “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” and more titles will be added if the response warrants. A price has not been announced. If you like exercising to country music, you’ll be pleased to learn that Tanya Tucker will have an aerobics’ workout tape on the market Oct. 6. Priced at $20, the 50-minute tape will feature toning exercises set to Tucker tunes.

What’s New On Video

“Malcolm X” (Warner, no set price). Director/co-writer Spike Lee’s account of the Muslim leader’s life shows his transformation from lawless youngster to brilliant, mesmerizing spokesman for black separatism. It’s worth seeing just for Denzel Washington’s towering performance in the title role.

“Love Field” (Orion, $95). An unhappy, ditsy Dallas wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) treks to Washington for John Kennedy’s funeral and winds up on the run with a kindly black man (Dennis Haysbert) and his 8-year-old daughter. An interracial romance blossoms as they dodge cops and bigots in the hostile South. A leisurely paced road picture that’s sprinkled with engrossing moments and fueled by Pfeiffer’s Oscar-nominated performance.

“1492: Conquest of Paradise” (Paramount, no set price). One of last year’s worst movies, this lavish, frequently laughable, 150-minute epic is about Columbus’ trek to the new world. A low point in the careers of director Ridley Scott, Gerard Depardieu (Columbus) and Sigourney Weaver (Queen Isabella).

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” (New Line, no set price). Further adventures of those four green, sewer-dwelling, half-shell heroes. This time the quartet is transported back to 17th-Century Japan, battling samurai warriors while trying to rescue April (Paige Turco), who’s been whisked back in time by a magic scepter.

“Passion Fish” (Columbia TriStar, no set price). A surly, paralyzed, white soap-opera star (Mary McDonnell) rehabilitates back home in Louisiana with the help of a tough black nurse-caretaker (Alfre Woodard), who is beleaguered by her own demons. They battle each other in this interracial female-buddy drama and heal in the process. Overlong and predictable, but the performances (McDonnell got an Oscar nomination) consistently lift director John Sayles’ movie over the lulls.

“Amos and Andrew” (New Line, no set price). Another interracial buddy movie, but a comedy this time--and a lame one at that. Andrew (Samuel L. Jackson) is a black upper-class playwright who’s taken hostage in his ritzy New England house by a white lower-class crook named Amos (Nicolas Cage) as part of a scheme hatched by a crooked police chief (Dabney Coleman). Promising spoof of racial and class issues fizzles badly in the second half.

“Rich in Love” (MGM/UA, $95). A great cast (Albert Finney, Jill Clayburgh, Kyle MacLachan and Alfre Woodard) and the team that made “Driving Miss Daisy”--including director Bruce Beresford--combine for a draggy, hokey drama. It shows what happens to a family of quirky Southerners after the disgruntled wife (Clayburgh) leaves her husband (Finney) and family.

“King of Marvin Gardens” (Columbia TriStar, 1972, $80). In director Bob Rafelson’s dark character study about small-time hustlers in Atlantic City, Jack Nicholson gives a startling performance as a gloomy radio deejay who can’t deal with people--the opposite of the cocky loudmouths he usually plays. Ellen Burstyn matches him, playing a fading beauty who’s the girlfriend of his con-man brother (Bruce Dern). Slow-paced downer that’s occasionally brilliant and features some of cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs’ best work.

“The Efficiency Expert” (Paramount, no set price). This Australian comedy-drama is incredibly low-key--but not a snoozer because of a masterfully subtle performance by Anthony Hopkins. He plays a stuffy efficiency expert who’s thawed out, humanized and energized by a motley crew in a moccasin factory. Worth a look if you’re in the mood for a small, art-house-style character study.

Upcoming on Video

Just announced: “National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1,” with Emilio Estevez and Samuel L. Jackson, due Sept. 15.

Also: “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (Tuesday); “Scent of a Woman” and “Nowhere to Run” (Wednesday); “Sommersby,” “Sniper,” “Untamed Heart,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “Army of Darkness” and “Swing Kids” (Aug. 4); “Benny & Joon,” “Falling Down,” “Hear No Evil” and “The Vanishing” (Aug. 11); “Chaplin,” “Mad Dog and Glory” and “The Crush” (Aug. 18); “Groundhog Day” and “Boiling Point” (Aug. 25); “This Boy’s Life” and “Point of No Return” (Sept. 1) and “Aladdin” (Oct. 1).