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* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals. (Commentary by Times critics.)

1. “Sleepy Hollow” (1999). An exquisitely mounted (if ghoulish) retelling of the Washington Irving short story (with Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane and Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel) created to the exact specifications of bizarre-meister Tim Burton. How pleased others will be depends on their tolerance for the grotesque. Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon and Casper Van Dien co-star (Kenneth Turan, reviewed Nov. 19). R for graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality.

2. “The World Is Not Enough” (1999). James Bond is back for the 19th time, with Pierce Brosnan effortlessly reprising his splendid take on Agent 007. Not so effortless for the viewer is trying to keep track of a murky plot, involving an arch anarchist (Robert Carlyle) and an oil heiress (Sophie Marceau) supervising construction of a pipeline across western Asia. Sleek and action-packed but its attempt at character complexity lapses too often into confusion. With Judi Dench as M (Kevin Thomas, Nov. 19). PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexuality and innuendo.

3. “American Beauty” (1999). Unsettling, unnerving and undefinable, this examination of the hollow space behind the American dream through the life of one particularly dysfunctional family is a strange, brooding, extremely accomplished film that offers fury, warmth and hope and never goes quite where you think it will. A triumph for first-timers director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball and a cast headed by Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening. Winner of five Academy Awards, including best picture (Turan, Sept. 15). R for strong sexuality, language, violence and drug content.

4. “Eye of the Beholder” (2000). Ewan McGregor plays a surveillance expert, a professional voyeur, who gets drawn out of his high-tech cocoon by a strange obsession with a serial killer (Ashley Judd). He follows her across the country, spying on her and protecting her from harm. This psychological thriller is less interested in psychology than style. It constantly undermines its best intentions with contrivance, heavy-handedness and an over-reliance on cheap thrills. Directed by Stephen Elliott (Eric Harrison, Jan. 28). R for some strong violence, sexuality, language and brief drug content.

5. “The Sixth Sense” (1999). Director M. Night Shyamalan’s startling and nervy film about a child psychologist (Bruce Willis) who tries to help a boy with a disturbing secret (Haley Joel Osment) is one of the creepiest thrillers to arise in years. Off-kilter from the start and rich in a kind of matter-of-fact horror (John Anderson, Aug. 6). PG-13 for intense thematic material and violent images.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. “Sleepy Hollow”

2. “Bringing Out the Dead” (1999). This visually stylish but emotionally cold look at the world of night-shift Manhattan paramedics is a natural for director Martin Scorsese, who excels at capturing the crazed cacophony of lives sustained by adrenaline, coffee and bravado. But the film’s virtuoso style doesn’t compensate enough for an emotional coldness that keeps us at a distance. Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette and John Goodman star. (Turan, Oct. 22). R for gritty violent content, drug use and language.

3. “Dogma” (1999). A raucous, profane but surprisingly endearing and high-energy combination of a breezy save-the-world fantasy with an adolescent sense of humor and a sincere exploration of questions of faith. The eclectic cast includes Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Alan Rickman and, as God, Alanis Morissette. No one but Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy”) could have written and directed (Turan, Nov. 12). R for strong language including sex-related dialogue, violence, crude humor and some drug content.

4. “Galaxy Quest” (1999). A nifty spoof of Star Trekkers and their rabid fans cleverly imagines some actual aliens whisking off the stars of a long-defunct TV space adventure series to save their planet from a dreaded monster--not comprehending that these people are actors and their shows pure make-believe. Now Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman must become heroes for real. The result is a lively and amusing comedy action-adventure of wide appeal. Directed by Harold Ramis (Thomas, Dec. 24). PG for some action violence, mild language and sensuality.

5. “Eye of the Beholder”

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers

1. “The World Is Not Enough”

2. “American Pie” (special edition) (1999). An unexpected hybrid of “South Park” and Andy Hardy that uses its surface crudeness as sucker bait to entice teenagers into the tent to see a high school movie that is sweet and sincere at heart. Not the least bit mean-spirited, and with a cast of likable young people (Turan, July 9). R for strong sexuality, crude sexual dialogue, language and drinking, all involving teens.

3. “Stuart Little” (1999). The shy and pleasant mouse of E.B. White’s famous children’s book has been turned into a rodent whose ready line of patter would make him at home on the “Tonight” show. The computer animation is excellent, but though the film won’t harm tiny viewers, there’s nothing very involving about it either. Stuart is voiced by Michael J. Fox (Turan, Dec. 17). PG for brief language.

4. “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” (1999). Though this prequel to the original “Star Wars” trilogy is certainly serviceable, it’s noticeably lacking in warmth and humor. Its visual strengths are considerable, but from a dramatic point of view it’s ponderous and plodding. “Episode I” stars Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor as the Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala of Naboo and Jake Lloyd as the young Anakin Skywalker. (Turan, May 18). PG for sci-fi action/violence.

5. “Dragon Ball Z: The Mysterious Youth.” Straight-to-video release.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. “Sleepy Hollow”

2. “The World Is Not Enough”

3. “End of Days” (1999). Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Satan on the streets of New York. The latest vehicle to capitalize on the millennial fascination with all things spiritual or apocalyptic is a loud, goofy, roller-coaster ride of a movie. Gabriel Byrne and Robin Tunney co-star (Harrison, Nov. 24). R for intense violence and gore, a strong sex scene and language.

4. “Eye of the Beholder”

5. “The Sixth Sense”

What’s New

In stores this week:

“Girl, Interrupted” (1999). Susanna Kaysen’s exceptional memoir of two years spent in a mental institution is graced by exceptional leading performances by Winona Ryder and Academy Award-winner Angelina Jolie but held back by a plot that verges on the manufactured. Directed by James Mangold (Turan, Dec. 21). Columbia TriStar: no list price; DVD, $27.95; (CC). R for strong language and content relating to drugs, sexuality and suicide.

“Next Friday” (2000). Sequel to the 1995 hit comedy takes Ice Cube’s slacker hero from South Central L.A. to a multicultural suburban enclave. Much raunchier and far less funny than the last “Friday.” Tommy (Tiny) Lister Jr., John Witherspoon and Mike Epps co-star. Written and produced by Cube (Seymour, Jan. 12). New Line: no list price; DVD, $24.98; (CC). R for strong language, drug use and sexual content.

“Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.” (1999). Errol Morris, chronicler of dark and bizarre Americana without peer, introduces us to a man who tells us how his concern for human execution led him to a career in improving or creating electric chairs and gas chambers in America’s state penitentiary. As a result, the man, Fred A. Leuchter Jr., became something of a gas chamber expert whose study of Auschwitz was used to shore up the defense of a neo-Nazi on trial in Canada. Leuchter’s subsequent notoriety, and exposure of his lack of expertise, drove him back into the obscurity from whence he came--until Morris tracked him down for this cautionary survey on our capacity for denial (Thomas, Dec. 29). Universal: no list price; DVD, $24.98; (CC). PG-13 for thematic elements.

“Backlash” (Columbia TriStar), straight-to-video thriller. (R)

“The Reaper” (Avalanche), straight-to-video horror movie. (R)

“The Eel” (“Unagi”) (1999). Shohei Imamura’s unpredictable and captivating film, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year, begins with a man killing his unfaithful wife in a fit of jealous rage, but what happens next is much more than you might expect. Koji Yakusho (“Shall We Dance?”) stars. In Japanese with English subtitles (Kevin Thomas, reviewed Sept. 18). New Yorker: $94.98; (CC). Unrated: brief but graphic depiction of murder.

“Kiss the Sky” (MGM), straight-to-video drama starring William Petersen. (R and unrated)

What’s Coming

Tuesday: “The Green Mile,” “Bicentennial Man,” “The Emperor and the Assassin,” “Play It to the Bone,” “The Third Miracle” and “Light It Up”

June 20: “Topsy-Turvy,” “Sweet and Lowdown,” “Liberty Heights,” “Anna and the King,” “Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo” and “Gun Shy”

June 27: “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Hanging Up”

July 4: “Scream 3”

July 11: “All About My Mother,” “The Hurricane,” “Mansfield Park,” “My Dog Skip,” “Onegin,” “Boiler Room” and “Down to You”

July 25: “Magnolia,” “The Beach” and “Drowning Mona”

Rental video charts provided by VSDA

VidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.