HOME ENTERTAINMENT : Roundup of Westerns, ‘Star Wars’ Videos

It’s a virtual smorgasbord of video delights this week for film buffs.

For Western fans there’s MCA/Universal Home Video’s “The Western Collection,” which features four sagebrush sagas ($15 each) set deep in the Lone Star State of Texas.

Directed by the legendary King Vidor, the entertaining 1936 “The Texas Rangers” finds Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie playing devil-may-care outlaws who join the Rangers as a means of hiding from the law and end up becoming heroes. Lloyd Nolan plays their old partner who sticks to a life of crime. Later remade as the 1949 William Holden movie “Streets of Laredo.”

The 1940 sequel, “Texas Rangers Ride Again,” is a standard oater. John Howard and Ellen Drew head the cast of the low-budget actioner, which finds modern-day Texas Rangers uncovering a conspiracy of deception, theft and murder on a huge Texas cattle ranch. Anthony Quinn plays the ranch’s slick, devious cattle boss--and look for a young Robert Ryan in a bit part.

“The Texans” aspires to be an epic drama, but a mediocre script and so-so direction prevent the 1938 release from being anything more than pleasant but undistinguished entertainment. Handsome Randolph Scott plays a former rebel soldier battling the Union soldiers to stake a claim for himself. Joan Bennett and Walter Brennan also star.

The great Budd Boetticher helmed the compelling 1953 Western “The Man From the Alamo.” Glenn Ford plays a freedom fighter who is branded a coward after he leaves his post at the Alamo so he could warn his family and neighbors of approaching Mexican armies. Hugh O’Brien, Julia Adams, Chill Wills and Victor Jory also star.

For those with more esoteric tastes, there’s Water Bearer Films’ new releases--the delightful Rene Clair fantasies “Beauty and the Devil” and “Beauties of the Night” ($30 each). French heartthrob Gerard Philipe and Michel Simon (“Boudou Saved From Drowning”) are a delight in 1950’s “Beauty and the Devil,” Clair’s clever retelling of the story of Faust and the devil Mephisto. Philipe, who died of a heart attack in 1959 just shy of his 37th birthday, also gives a winning performance in 1952’s charming “Beauties of the Night.” This time around, Philipe plays a shy young composer and music teacher, who, eager to escape his drab life, dreams of romantic adventures in different time periods and locations. As his dreams turn to nightmares, he realizes his life isn’t so bad after all. Martine Carol (“Lola Montes”), Gina Lollobrigida and Magalia Vendeuil also star.

The prints, though, are mediocre at best. To order, call (800) 551-8304.

Home Vision Cinema is releasing the original Italian-language version of Fedrico Fellini’s Oscar-winning, semi-autobiographical classic “Amacord” ($40). Previously, the 1974 film was only available in a dubbed version on Warner Home Video.

Also new on Home Vision is the 1951 comedy-drama “The White Sheik” ($30), Fellini’s first effort as solo director, starring Alberto Sordo and Fellini’s wife, Giulietta Masina. For more information, call (800) 323-4222.

And coming Tuesday is a new release by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment of “The Star Wars Trilogy”: “Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” ($50 for the set). These are the first home video titles to feature Lucasfilm’s THX Digital Mastering Process for picture and sound. Fans take note: Fox says that this original version of the 1977 “Star Wars” won’t be available after Jan. 31 because a new version is being released theatrically with additional footage, and it’s that one that will be marketed on video thereafter.

*

News Flash: MCA/Universal Home Video has finally lowered the price of Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning 1993 epic “Schindler’s List” to $30. The film, which stars Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, is available in regular and letterbox formats.

*

Documentary: Sam Waterston narrates “Lost Civilizations” ($20 each; $160 for a boxed set), a 10-part documentary series from Time-Life Video & Television, inspired by the Time Life Book series. Each episode tells the story of a great civilization from the dawn of time to the present day. An edited version of “Lost Civilizations” has been airing Sundays this summer on NBC. To order, call (800) TIMEVID.

*

New This Week: Christopher Lambert and Joan Chen star in “The Hunted” (MCA/Universal Home Video), an action-thriller about a Western businessman in Japan on the run after he witnesses the murder of a mysterious woman.

Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti and a pre-”Clueless” Alicia Silverstone star in “Hideaway” (Columbia TriStar), a devilish thriller based on a Dean Koontz story. Goldblum plays a man who returns from the dead only to discover he’s telepathically connected to the brutal killer after his nubile teen-age daughter. Directed by Brett Leonard (“Virtuosity”).

Andrew Clay, the comic formerly known as Andrew (Dice) Clay, is less than a stand-up guy in “No Contest” (Columbia TriStar). He plays the leader of a band of international terrorists who take over an international beauty contest and demand $10 million in ransom. Shannon Tweed and ex-wrestler Roddy Piper also star.

Just in time to cash in on the enormous success of the feature “Mortal Kombat” is New Line’s “Mortal Kombat: The Animated Video” ($15). The heroes from the popular video game travel to a mysterious island to participate in an ancient ritual that will decide the fate of the human race.