‘Pelican’ Grief for Renters and Retailers

Renters will be happy to hear that Warner’s “The Pelican Brief,” co-starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, is coming to home video on June 29. But there’s some bad news too--for both renters and small retailers.

The wholesale price on that title will be up a few dollars--to the retail equivalent of about $103. Other video companies may follow Warner’s lead, raising their prices too. What’s ominous for renters is that this wholesale price hike may trigger a rise in rental prices this summer. Some retailers may have no choice but to pass the increase on to renters.

Warners hasn’t been commenting on the impending increase, but distributors and retailers have been buzzing about it. Of course, it’s the small retailers, many already operating on tight profit margins, who are most nervous about the prospect of being forced to raise rental prices. They stand to take the biggest hit. The chains that do big-volume business can more easily absorb a wholesale price increase.

Tech News

If you can’t program your VCR, you’re technologically challenged--or just a dolt with machines. Those in this category will be happy to hear that VCR programming continues to get simpler. Once they’re set up, some of these programming gadgets are easy to use. The problem is, though, that you have to be a rocket scientist to set them up.

Sony has a solution for part of the VCR programming hassle--on two new VCRs due in June, you never have to set the clock. The VCRs pick up a continuous time signal from local PBS stations, which always have the correct time. As long as the machine is plugged in, it will automatically read the correct time.

Initially this feature will be available only on two high-end VCRs, selling for $600 and $650. Buyers will have to wait--probably a year or two--until this helpful feature trickles down to the cheaper VCRs.

Special Interest Videos

Orion’s “Super Dooper Baseball Bloopers 2” ($15), part of the flood of baseball videos tied to the new season, showcases the lighter side of the sport. . . . KidVision’s “There Goes a Fire Truck” ($11, 35 minutes) puts kids behind the wheel. A real rush for ages 3-8--and a kick for adults too. . . . Gluttons for punishment who want to relive the terror of the Jan. 17 earthquake will get a jolt from “Quake!”--40 minutes’ worth of chilling CNN footage. On Turner at $15. . . . Despite a long-winded title, “1071 Fifth Avenue, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Story of the Guggenheim Museum” is an intriguing documentary about the architect’s remarkable creation (Home Vision, $30).

What’s New on Video

“Carlito’s Way” (MCA/Universal). This re-teaming of the star (Al Pacino) and director (Brian De Palma) of the camp classic “Scarface” is just OK entertainment if you like gangster movies. It’s the simple story of a New York drug dealer trying to go straight. Its pluses are Sean Penn’s performance as a slimy lawyer and two thrilling sequences--a social-club shootout and the climactic chase.

“Malice” (New Line). Director Harold Becker has made a riveting, glossy B-movie. With a rapist on the loose in a small-town college community, a professor (Bill Pullman) and his wife (Nicole Kidman) take in a boarder (Alec Baldwin), who’s a womanizing surgeon. Hardly anybody is what he or she seems to be. If you roll with the twists--and some of them are real stretches--you’ll have a good time.

“Cool Runnings” (Disney). The adventures of the Jamaican bobsled team in the 1988 Olympics have been fictionalized and turned into an uplifting, kiddie-oriented Disney comedy. The late John Candy plays the has-been coach who has to teach a team of athletes from a hot-weather country a cold-weather sport. The umpteenth reworking of a formula plot--”Bad News Bears,” “The Mighty Ducks,” etc.

“Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography” (FoxVideo). These interviews with cinematographers, illuminating beautifully filmed sequences from such films as “The Grapes of Wrath” and “The Last Emperor,” are a must-see feast for film buffs.

Upcoming

“Mr. Jones,” “Flesh and Bone,” “Ruby in Paradise,” “The Saint of Fort Washington” and “Another Stakeout” (Wednesday); “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” (April 26); “Ernest Rides Again” (April 27); “The Remains of the Day” and “A Perfect World” (May 4); “Addams Family Values,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Orlando” and “Into the West” (May 11); “A Dangerous Woman” and “Look Who’s Talking Now” (May 18); “The Piano” and “Rudy” (May 25); “Short Cuts” (June 1); “Wayne’s World 2” (June 8); “Six Degrees of Separation” (June 22).