Remember When Figure Skating Was Romantic . . . ?

Thanks to Tonya Harding--or at least to the people around her--the image of figure skating has been taking a beating. If you yearn to return to those thrilling days of yesteryear, when figure skaters were wholesome and angelic, try a Sonja Henie movie.

“Who’s Sonja Henie?” many will ask.

She’s the Norwegian Olympic-champion figure skater--a medal winner in the Olympics from 1928 to 1936--who was an American movie star in the late ‘30s and ‘40s. To take advantage of the current focus on skaters, FoxVideo is releasing seven of her movies on home video Feb. 16, at $20 each.

Henie was to figure skating what Esther Williams was to swimming. Tuneful romantic comedies were tailored for her, centering around her skating talents, of course. The showpieces of these movies are spectacular ice ballets--which put to shame anything you’ll ever see in the Ice Capades.

In her prime, Henie was a perky, girl-next-door kind of blonde. She wasn’t much of an actress, but she didn’t have to be. Those fairy-tale plots didn’t require much acting skill. Most of the time all she had to do was look radiant. She invariably worked with actors and performers noted for their strong personalities--like Tyrone Power, Ray Milland, Caesar Romero and Don Ameche.

These movies never pretend to be anything but pure escapism and are generally very charming.

The movies are “Thin Ice” (1937), with Tyrone Power; “One in a Million” (1937), with Adolphe Menjou; “My Lucky Star” (1938), with Richard Greene; “Happy Landing” (1938), with Don Ameche; “Everything Happens at Night” (1939), featuring Robert Cummings; “Iceland” (1942), co-starring John Payne, and “Wintertime” (1943), with Caesar Romero and Cornel Wilde.

The best Henie films were the early ones. Her fabled snow-queen charm was at its freshest in those days and the scripts and direction were much better. By the mid-’40s, the Henie vehicles had started to creak.

“Thin Ice,” a Cinderella tale featuring Power as a prince, may be the most engaging of this group of releases and perhaps her best film. Henie clearly had a special chemistry with Power--probably because he was also her off-screen beau.

Her first film, “One in a Million,” is also a charmer. If you’re into ice ballets, see “My Lucky Star,” which ends with the eye-popping “Alice in Wonderland” production number. Even if you hate the romantic parts, fast-forward to the end and feast your eyes on that ballet.

Add Winter Olympics: With the Winter Olympics just around the corner, retailers will be showcasing Olympics-related tapes--which means Paramount’s “Downhill Racer” will be on prominent display once again. If you’ve never seen this 1969 drama, you’re in for a treat. Robert Redford, in one of the best performances of his career, plays a champion skier who’s an egomaniac. The many pluses include the spine-tingling ski sequences and Gene Hackman’s stunning performance as a tough ski coach. It’s among the best films ever made about a sports figure, up there with the 1963 Richard Harris drama, “This Sporting Life.”

What’s New on Video

“Poetic Justice” (Columbia TriStar, no set price). When director John Singleton’s follow-up to “Boyz N’ the Hood” came out, it was nicknamed “Bored in the Hood.” In this meandering, cliched road movie, a hairdresser/poet (Janet Jackson) heads to Oakland from L.A. with a mailman (Tupac Shakur) and two other friends. The tired old plot is not invigorated by its hip, young, black cast.

“Kalifornia” (PolyGram, no set price). Another road movie, about two couples heading West. This motley crew includes a crazed killer (Brad Pitt), his juvenile girlfriend (Juliette Lewis), an academic (Brad Duchovny) writing about serial killers and his lover (Michelle Forbes). Implausibilities abound and the cast, particularly Pitt, often wildly overacts.

“Un Coeur En Hiver” (Republic, no set price). Enthralling, cerebral French drama (with subtitles) that pulls you into the Angst of a violin craftsman (Daniel Auteuil) who’s an emotional cripple. He’s trapped in a triangle with a violinist (Emanuelle Beart) and his business partner (Andre Dussollier). If you like moody foreign-language dramas, don’t miss this one.

Upcoming

Just announced: Columbia TriStar’s “The Age of Innocence,” with Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer, comes out April 6.

Also: “In the Line of Fire,” “The Meteor Man,” “Amongst Friends,” “The Real McCoy,” “Indochine” and “That Night” (Wednesday); “The Secret Garden” (Feb. 15); “Man Without a Face,” “The Program,” “Benefit of the Doubt” and “Calendar Girl” (Feb. 16); “For Love or Money,” “Son of the Pink Panther,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Son-in-Law,” “Needful Things,” “Strictly Ballroom” and “Boxing Helena” (Feb. 23); “Much Ado About Nothing,” “The Good Son” and “Striking Distance” (March 2); “The Fox and the Hound” (March 4); “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” “Judgment Night,” “King of the Hill” and “So I Married an Axe Murderer” (March 9); “Gettysburg” and “Bopha!” (March 16); “The Fugitive” (March 22); “What’s Love Got to Do With It” (March 23) and “Fatal Instinct” (March 23); “The Joy Luck Club” (March 30); “A Bronx Tale” (April 6); “Malice” (April 13).