FALL MOVIE PREVIEW : Welcome to the Post-’Jurassic’ Era : After a summer full of action and dino-mania, Hollywood gets serious with a fall season that features directors like Altman, Scorsese and, yes, that guy Spielberg

F ollowing are capsules of upcoming fall movies, listed by opening dates, according to the latest available information. Unscheduled movies are listed at the end of each month.

SEPTEMBER 10

The Ballad of Little Jo. Maggie Greenwald wrote and directed this gender-bending Western starring Suzy Amis as Little Jo, a wealthy outsider who tries to survive the life of guns ‘n’ whiskey by pretending to be a man. (Fine Line)

Into the West. This Western follows two young brothers who hop on a magical horse and embark on an adventure across Ireland. Husband and wife Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin star for director Mike Newell; Jim Sheridan wrote the screenplay. (Miramax)

The Last Party. Robert Downey Jr. is at the center of this documentary shot during the 1992 presidential election. Famous folk--both inside and outside the two major political parties--are interviewed. (Triton)

Money for Nothing. Unemployed longshoreman John Cusack happens upon $1.2 million in untraceable cash. Cusack keeps it--and learns that his new, lavish lifestyle costs him some old friends. Michael Madsen and Debi Mazar co-star. (Hollywood)

The Real McCoy. Kim Basinger is cat burglar Karen McCoy, who wants to go straight--but only after a last gig cracking one of the most secure banks in the United States. Val Kilmer is her bumbling partner. (Universal)

The Seventh Coin. An American teen and a streetwise Arab boy are pursued through Jerusalem over a priceless coin. With Peter O’Toole, Alexandra Powers and John Rhys-Davies. (Hemdale)

True Romance. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette flee Detroit for L.A. with precious Mafia contraband, but a mob boss wants it back. Quentin Tarantino wrote the script, and Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt have brief roles. (Warner Bros.)

Undercover Blues. Herbert Ross directs Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid as spies with a new baby who try to thwart an international terrorist ring. (MGM)

SEPTEMBER 17

The Age of Innocence. Edith Wharton won a Pulitzer for her story of love, guilt, passion and fashion in New York circa 1870. Martin Scorsese directs Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. (Columbia)

Airborne. Shane McDermott is a surfing, roller-blading California youth who’s sent to Cincinnati for the winter to stay with nerdy relatives. (Warner Bros.)

Morning Glory. Christopher Reeve is an ex-con in 1941 Georgia who answers a newspaper ad for “husband wanted.” When he moves in with the ad’s author, a mother of two, townspeople frown upon the arrangement. (Academy Entertainment)

Striking Distance. Bruce Willis, Pittsburgh river cop, is convinced that a serial killer is the same man who killed his father a couple of years back. Partner Sarah Jessica Parker does her best to control him. Dennis Farina co-stars. (Columbia)

Warlock: The Armageddon. Julian Sands returns to pick up the story, in which Satan’s son plots to get dad released from Hades. (Trimark)

SEPTEMBER 24

Baraka. Ron Fricke has directed and photographed (in 70 millimeter) a veritable world journey--shot in two dozen countries. It tells of Earth’s evolution and how we have affected it for both good and bad. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Bopha! Executive producer Arsenio Hall’s project is also Morgan Freeman’s directing debut. The true story, set in 1980 South Africa, deals with a black police officer whose son opposes his line of work. Danny Glover, Malcolm McDowell and Alfre Woodard star. (Paramount)

Crush. Marcia Gay Harden stars in a modern fable touching on the lives of an awkward girl, a femme fatale , an invalid critic and a novelist who’s known more prosperous days. (Strand Releasing)

Dazed and Confused. “Slacker” director Richard Linklater serves up this ensemble piece set in 1976. Remember the bicentennial? Drugs? “Charlie’s Angels”? Drugs? Linklater’s high schoolers bring it all back. (Gramercy)

Deadfall. Michael Biehn and Nicolas Cage star for director Christopher Coppola (Cage’s brother, Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew) in this story of a con game with the deadliest of stakes. James Coburn, Talia Shire (Cage and Coppola’s aunt), Peter Fonda and Charlie Sheen co-star. (Trimark)

The Good Son. Macaulay Culkin is Elijah Wood’s evil cousin in this psychological drama from director Joseph Ruben (“Sleeping With the Enemy”). (Fox)

The Program. James Caan lives and breathes college football. But as head coach of Eastern State U., he must compromise his morals to appease the faculty and win games. Halle Berry co-stars; David S. Ward directs. (Touchstone)

SEPTEMBER 29

A Bronx Tale. Robert De Niro directs the story of a boy whose loyalties are pulled between his working-class father and a magnetic crime boss. Playwright and screenwriter Chazz Palminteri and De Niro star. (Savoy)

OCTOBER 1

Bad Behaviour. This comedy of North London domestic life stars Stephen Rea (“The Crying Game”) and Sinead Cusack. (October Films)

Cool Runnings. Leon (one of the “Cliffhanger” bad guys) stars in this look at a Jamaican track star who stumbles during his 1988 Olympic qualifying heat. He then takes up . . . bobsledding. Ex-champ John Candy helps him find gold. (Walt Disney)

Death Wish V: The Face of Death. Charles Bronson returns as big-city architect-vigilante Paul Kersey, and more bad guys regret they’re not good guys. (Trimark)

For Love or Money. Michael J. Fox plays a hip concierge at a plush New York hotel. He takes some investment money for his own hotel, with a string attached--he must look after the investor’s mistress. Barry Sonnenfeld directs. (Universal)

Freaked. “Bill & Ted” dude Alex Winter co-directs and stars in this surreal tale of a brat-packer who turns into the star attraction of a carnival sideshow. (Fox)

Household Saints. Butcher Vincent D’Onofrio wins the hand of Tracey Ullman in a pinochle game in this story spanning three generations of an Italian-American family. (Fine Line)

Malice. Bill Pullman is a professor, Nicole Kidman his wife and Alec Baldwin a gifted surgeon in this thriller set in a college town. Aaron Sorkin (“A Few Good Men”) wrote the script; Harold Becker directs. (Columbia)

M. Butterfly. David Cronenberg’s version of the hit play stars Jeremy Irons (as Gallimard) and John Lone (as Beijing Diva). Shot in China, Canada, Hungary and Paris. (Warner Bros.)

Me and the Kid. Danny Aiello hits the road with a neglected rich kid. Aiello’s ex-partner Joe Pantoliano (“The Fugitive”) hopes to interrupt this friendship. (Orion)

OCTOBER 8

Demolition Man. The year is 2032, and cop Sylvester Stallone has been frozen in Cryo Prison for 36 years for causing the death of 30 civilians while apprehending villain Wesley Snipes. When Snipes escapes, Stallone is defrosted and set on his trail. (Warner Bros.)

Gettysburg. Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Sam Elliott and Martin Sheen take us back to three pivotal days of the Civil War. Based on Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Killer Angels.” (New Line)

Mr. Jones. Richard Gere is the title character, a troubled but dangerously charming guy. Lena Olin is the psychiatrist who tries to stabilize him but instead gets involved with him. Mike Figgis (“Internal Affairs”) directs. (TriStar)

Mr. Nanny. Hulk Hogan and Sherman Hemsley star in this comedy, with the Hulk in the title role. The two kids he’s hired to handle make him long for the serenity of the wrestling ring. (New Line)

Short Cuts. Robert Altman’s three-hour-plus film--nine stories and 22 principal characters--is inspired by the writings of Raymond Carver. Tim Robbins, Andie MacDowell, Jack Lemmon and Lily Tomlin are part of the big-name cast. (Fine Line)

OCTOBER 15

The Beverly Hillbillies. Director Penelope Spheeris segues from “Wayne’s World” to Jed’s World in this redux of the hugely popular TV series. Jim Varney, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman star. (Fox)

Farewell My Concubine. Noted Chinese director Chen Kaige brings us a drama that follows two actors whose own tumultuous relationship mirrors their work. Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi and Leslie Cheung star. (Miramax)

Fearless. Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez survive a plane crash and afterward get to know each other to deal with their anguish. Peter Weir directs. (Warner Bros.)

A Home of Our Own. Kathy Bates and her six kids leave Los Angeles for Idaho. Edward Furlong (“Terminator 2”) reluctantly becomes man of the house as they literally build their new home. Tony Bill directs. (Gramercy)

Josh and S.A.M. Just a couple of kids who leave their dysfunctional family and head out on a cross-country trek. Noah Fleiss and Jacob Tierney star. (Columbia)

Mother’s Boys. Jamie Lee Curtis abandons her three sons, then returns three years later. But hubby Peter Gallagher has a new love, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer. Vanessa Redgrave plays Curtis’ mother. (Dimension)

The Nightmare Before Christmas. Producer Tim Burton’s offering is part stop-motion animation, part state-of-the-art character movement. Henry Selick directs this look at a town that experiences a terrifying Dec. 24. (Touchstone)

Ruby in Paradise. Ashley Judd is a young woman who strikes out from the Tennessee hills to try life out in Panorama City, Fla. Todd Field plays her lover. (October Films)

OCTOBER 22

Flight of the Innocent. Poignant fare deals with the violence of a family at war with itself, as seen through the eyes of a young boy. Manuel Colao stars. (MGM)

Jamon Jamon. Penelope Cruz stars in this comedic romp dealing with two young lovers and a meddling mother. This Bigas Luna film won the Silver Lion at Venice. (Academy)

Judgment Night. Four buddies take a very wrong turn off the expressway. When they witness a mob-style hit, they become the hunted. Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Stephen Dorff and Jeremy Piven star with Denis Leary. (Universal)

Mr. Wonderful. When Matt Dillon is dumped by his wife (Annabella Sciorra), he concocts a plan to find a “Mr. Wonderful” for her and use his alimony payments to buy a bowling alley. Mary-Louise Parker and William Hurt co-star. (Warner Bros.)

Rudy. “Hoosiers” director David Anspaugh tries out the college gridiron with Sean Astin as a tireless Notre Dame football aspirant. Ned Beatty and Charles S. Dutton co-star. (TriStar)

OCTOBER 29

A Dangerous Woman. Debra Winger is a brutally honest misfit in a small California town. Barbara Hershey plays her aunt and David Strathairn the town lowlife whose thievery causes Winger to lose her job. Then Gabriel Byrne comes to town . . . (Gramercy)

Fatal Instinct. Armand Assante stars for director Carl Reiner in a spoof of film noir . Kate Nelligan, Sherilyn Fenn and Sean Young take turns trying to beguile or kill the hapless Assante. (MGM)

UNSCHEDULED

Ghost in the Machine. Director Rachel Talalay brought us the “final” Freddy Krueger film, and now she’s made a techno-thriller about a serial killer who transforms himself into a computer virus. Karen Allen stars. (Fox)

House of Angels. Helena Bergstrom is a cabaret singer who has inherited a small Swedish farm, but she doesn’t quite fit in with the surrounding village. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Philadelphia Experiment 2. Turns out the Nazis won World War II by obtaining a Stealth bomber from the future. Brad Johnson heads back in time to make sure the good guys win. (Trimark)

Return of the Living Dead III. Curt and Julie are teen-agers in love. So, when Julie dies in a motorcycle crash, Curt brings her back to life. Mindy Clark stars. (Trimark)

Ruby Cairo. When Andie MacDowell’s husband dies in a Mexico plane crash, she sets off to learn the truth. Liam Neeson plays a doctor who helps her. (Miramax)

NOVEMBER 3

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Tom Robbins’ novel is directed by Gus Van Sant, with Uma Thurman as the woman who travels from New York to an all-girl ranch in the Dakotas, encountering Lorraine Bracco, Roseanne Arnold and Keanu Reeves. (Fine Line)

NOVEMBER 5

Flesh and Bone. Steve Kloves (“The Fabulous Baker Boys”) directs real-life husband and wife Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan in this story of a Texas drifter who must confront his past. James Caan co-stars. (Paramount)

Look Who’s Talking Now. The two tots can talk, but now a couple of dogs have joined the household. Guess how they communicate? John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Olympia Dukakis and George Segal return. (TriStar)

Man’s Best Friend. Ally Sheedy’s the investigative reporter who gets the scoop on Max, a genetically created guard dog with bionic capabilities. Sheedy releases the dog and all heck breaks loose. Lance Henriksen co-stars. (New Line)

The Remains of the Day. Director James Ivory and his longtime screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala tackle the Kazuo Ishiguro novel. Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson star in this drama of a perfect English butler and his master (James Fox). (Columbia)

RoboCop 3. Shot years ago, ol’ Robo must be feeling like the rusty Tin Man by now. Anyway, Robert Burke takes over for Peter Weller and helps the locals when corporate villain OCP tries to bulldoze them away. (Orion)

NOVEMBER 12

Carlito’s Way. Al Pacino is Carlito Brigante, a powerful mob man just released from prison. Sean Penn plays his attorney and Penelope Ann Miller the woman who can’t prevent Carlito’s climb back to the top. Brian DePalma directs. (Universal)

The Three Musketeers. Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O’Donnell, Oliver Platt and Rebecca DeMornay foil Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) as he plots to overthrow the king of France. Based on the Alexandre Dumas classic. (Walt Disney/Caravan)

We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story. Steven Spielberg is executive producer of a John Patrick Shanley adaptation of Hudson Talbott’s children’s book about intelligent dinos transported to New York. With the voices of Walter Cronkite, John Goodman and John Malkovich. (Universal)

NOVEMBER 17

The Saint of Fort Washington. Tim Hunter directs this look at two unlikely New York soul mates. Danny Glover becomes homeless when a brother gambles away their business. He takes disturbed loner Matt Dillon under his broken wing. (Warner Bros.)

NOVEMBER 19

Addams Family Values. Practically everyone returns: director Barry Sonnenfeld, Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, the kids. Baby Pubert is the cuddly new addition to the clan; Fester has a crush on new nanny Joan Cusack. (Paramount)

The Piano. Jane Campion’s drama tied for top honors at Cannes in May. Holly Hunter, Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel star in a dangerous love triangle set in 19th-Century New Zealand. (Miramax)

Romeo Is Bleeding. Gary Oldman is a philandering cop who gets involved with some nasty mob guys. Also starring Lena Olin, with Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis, Roy Scheider and Peter Boyle. (Gramercy)

NOVEMBER 24

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Emile Ardolino directs Macaulay Culkin as the Nutcracker Prince in this live-action family film. (Warner Bros.)

Gunmen. Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles head to the Amazon with hopes of finding a $400-million treasure. Each holds half of the key to the booty. (Dimension)

A Perfect World. Clint Eastwood directs and stars with Kevin Costner, who plays a criminal who develops a friendship with an 8-year-old boy he takes hostage. Eastwood’s the cop who wants to break the bond. (Warner Bros.)

NOVEMBER UNSCHEDULED

Love After Love. Isabelle Huppert stars in director Diane Kurys’ story of Lola, an author whose highly personal journals make her the talk of the town. (Rainbow Releasing)

The Snapper. “The Commitments” author Roddy Doyle has written a second installment, directed this time by Stephen Frears. What happens to the Curley family when 20-year-old Sharon reveals she’s expecting? Colm Meaney stars. (Miramax)

The War Room. Documentarian D. A. Pennebaker takes us on an inside look at Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, focusing on strategist James Carville and his cohorts. (October Films)

Wild West. Zaf is a Pakistani living in London’s West End. Someday, he daydreams, his band, the Honky Tonk Cowboys, will be a hit in Nashville. Sarita Choudhury and Naveen Andrews star. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

DECEMBER 10

Sister Act 2. The Divine Divas track down Whoopi Goldberg in Las Vegas, where she’s now a headliner, and persuade her to don her habit and go undercover at her alma mater, St. Francis High. Kathy Najimy and Maggie Smith return for director Bill Duke. (Touchstone)

Wayne’s World 2. Wayne and Garth come up with the idea of holding Waynestock right there in their own hometown of Aurora, Ill. Christopher Walken co-stars with the returning Tia Carrere. (Paramount)

DECEMBER 15

Schindler’s List. Steven Spielberg brings the story of Oskar Schindler to the screen. Though a Nazi, the wine-loving, woman-chasing and power-hungry fellow risked much to save at least 1,300 Jews. Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley star. (Universal)

DECEMBER 17

The Accompanist. Claude Miller’s World War II saga centers on a singer whose partner greatly admires her but has a keen interest in her secret trysts. Elena Safonova stars. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Beethoven’s 2nd. Charles Grodin returns in the sequel to one of 1992’s sleepers. This time the shaggy hero rescues a Saint Bernard named Missy and her four puppies. Do the two canines fall for each other? (Universal)

DECEMBER 25

Mrs. Doubtfire. Robin Williams in drag? Director Chris Columbus directs him as an out-of-work voice-over artist who dresses up as an old woman to toil as the nanny for the family that booted him out. Sally Field is the estranged wife. (Fox)

My Life. Bruce Joel Rubin, who wrote “Ghost,” directs Michael Keaton and Nicole Kidman as a couple expecting their first child when they learn he has advanced cancer. He learns much about himself while making a video gift for the child. (Columbia)

Shadowlands. Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger play C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. Gresham was a New York writer whose life began to steam up when she met her hero, Lewis. Richard Attenborough directs. (Savoy)

DECEMBER 29

In the Name of the Father. Daniel Day-Lewis and “My Left Foot” director Jim Sheridan re-team in this depiction of one of Britain’s most compelling court cases, in which a man forced to confess to a gruesome murder struggles for vindication. Emma Thompson also stars. (Universal)

HOLIDAY UNSCHEDULED

Angie, I Says. Martha Coolidge directs Geena Davis as a funny, irreverent Italian-American whose loving family and friends offer their version of what’s right when Angie gives birth out of wedlock. Stephen Rea co-stars. (Hollywood/Caravan)

Batman: The Mask of Phantasm (The Animated Movie). Phantasm is the new villain in Gotham, and he bears an eerie resemblance to the Dark Knight. Kevin Conroy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Mark Hamill and Dana Delany provide voices. (Warner Bros.)

Blue. Juliette Binoche plays a woman who loses her composer husband and child in an accident. She must then pick up and sort out the unfinished pieces--personal and professional--of her husband’s life. (Miramax)

Far Away, So Close. Wim Wenders continues his “Wings of Desire” saga, as Angel Cassiel becomes a man to try to save a little girl. Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz and Willem Dafoe star. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Heaven and Earth. Oliver Stone’s take on the odyssey of Le Ly Hayslip, a Vietnamese woman who survives three wars. She marries an American but returns, very emotionally, in 1986. Tommy Lee Jones and Joan Chen star with newcomer Hiep Thi Le as Hayslip. (Warner Bros.)

I’ll Do Anything. James L. Brooks writes and directs this musical in which character actor Nick Nolte is suddenly in charge of his 6-year-old daughter. Albert Brooks, Julie Kavner, Joely Richardson and Tracey Ullman round out the cast. (Columbia)

Intersection. Richard Gere, a successful architect with both a wife (Sharon Stone) and lover (Lolita Davidovich), finds that his beloved teen-age daughter is also affected when fate deals a nasty blow. Mark Rydell directs. (Paramount)

The Pelican Brief. Alan J. Pakula directs the John Grisham bestseller. Law student Julia Roberts writes a speculative legal brief about Supreme Court assassinations that puts her in harm’s way. Denzel Washington is an investigative reporter who helps her. (Warner Bros.)

Philadelphia. Tom Hanks is a successful lawyer who’s canned from his firm when he contracts AIDS. Denzel Washington is the brilliant though homophobic attorney who fights to have him reinstated. Jonathan Demme directs. (TriStar)

Six Degrees of Separation. Stockard Channing reprises her Broadway role in this tale of a well-to-do white Fifth Avenue couple who are conned by a young black man. Will Smith plays the dupester, Fred Schepisi directs; Donald Sutherland plays Channing’s hubby. (MGM)

The Summer House. Julie Walters and Joan Plowright are respective mothers of the groom and his reluctant bride. Since the groom’s a most unappetizing fellow, the bride-to-be does her best to wriggle out of the situation. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Tombstone. Kurt Russell is Wyatt Earp in this look at Oct. 26, 1881: the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Dana Delany, Bill Paxton and Jason Priestley are the young, Robert Mitchum and Charlton Heston the old. (Hollywood)

Untitled Geronimo Project. Jason Patric, Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman star in director Walter Hill’s film about the legendary Apache warrior who fought the U.S. government’s attempt to displace his people. Wes Studi plays Geronimo. (Columbia)

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Director Lasse Halstrom (“My Life as a Dog”) directs Johnny Depp and Juliette Lewis. Gilbert is a small-town Iowa supermarket stock boy with an eccentric family. When a well-traveled young woman arrives in town, his life changes. (Paramount)

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. Robert Duvall and Richard Harris play a couple of retirees in a small Florida town. Duvall’s a Cuban immigrant, Harris an ex-sea captain who actually did wrestle the great author. Randa Haines directs. (Warner Bros.)