VIDEO : Celebs Tag Films as Top Gift Idea

Still looking for a holiday gift idea? These days video is being aggressively marketed as a col lectible and not just as an evening’s entertainment, ranging from family films and classics to broad-demographic box-office hits such as “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Speed.”

An average video is affordable, one size fits all (unless you’re still into Beta), and there’s no worry about color (unless you want it in black-and-white). Video is also versatile, with movies and other programs to match every taste and interest.

And video affords you, the giver, an opportunity to share a viewing experience that touched, inspired or influenced you.

Looking for last-minute suggestions, we asked some well-known people: “If you were going to give a movie on video as a gift, what would it be?” The results:

President Clinton: A spokesperson said, “The President, history buff that he is, would highly recommend ‘Schindler’s List’ for its historic and artistic significance.”

Leonard Maltin: The “Entertainment Tonight” movie critic says, “An ideal video gift is an old Hollywood musical, be it ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ ‘The Pajama Game,’ ‘Down Argentine Way’ with Betty Grable or ‘Calamity Jane’ with Doris Day. There’s nothing more cheering, more certain to lift a person’s spirits, and there are few film genres that can be enjoyed so completely by every member of the family.”

Jack Lemmon: “The choice is very difficult, obviously, but having seen it again recently, I think I might pick ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ The entire production, the writing and the direction were of the very finest, and the performances were universally superb. Overall, it is without question one of the finest and most effective films I have ever seen.”

Charlton Heston: “Citizen Kane,” “The Bridge on the River Kwai” or the Laurence Olivier version of “Henry V.”

Charles Grodin: “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”

Homer Simpson (as told by several “Simpson” writers): “Although I remain skeptical that you can ‘buy’ a ‘video’ for use in your home, I recommend Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Fanny and Alexander.’ It’s the only Bergman film I managed to see only once during its commercial release.”

Ariana Richards: “There is this little movie out there about dinosaurs that might be of interest,” says the young actress who happened to appear in that movie, “Jurassic Park.” “I usually like anything by Steven Spielberg. But I would also give ‘Roman Holiday,’ my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie.”

Cybill Shepherd: “My favorite movie is ‘Rules of the Game,’ directed by Jean Renoir. I like the way it sneaks up on you. You think it is light, but it turns out to be very sad and profound.”

Susan Sarandon: “ ‘Bob Roberts,’ so then you don’t have to watch the news,” says the woman who shares her life with that movie’s star and creator, Tim Robbins.

John Waters: The iconoclastic director says, “I’d give ‘Mademoiselle,’ the arty 1966 ‘shocker’ written by Jean Genet and directed by Tony Richardson. A horny, repressed schoolteacher (Jeanne Moreau) in a remote French village poisons the farm animals, sets fires, crushes baby bird eggs in the nest and licks the boots of a woodcutter, all in the name of Gallic frustration. I guess I’m just a romantic at heart.”*