St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 52

4E ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH THURSDAY, JULY 14, 1988 VIDEO AND MORE COMING ATTRACTIONS THE HIT LIST THE COMPUBUG LARRY BLASKO VIDEO REVIEWS You've aid Too Much "PRINCE OF DARKNESS" The week's most popular videocassettes in St. Louis area stores. Figures provided by Sight and Sound Distributors. JL MCA, $89.95 If It's Full Retail Price RENTALS SALES 1.

Wall Street 1. Callanetics 2. Full Metal Jacket 2. Mickey Mouse Commemorative 3. Fatal Attraction 3.

Jane Fonda: Start Up 4. Overboard 4. Duck Tales: Daredevil Ducks 5. Nuts 5. Mickey and the Beanstalk 6.

Like Father 6. Firm Aerobic Like Son Workout 1 7. Throw Momma From 7. Firm Aerobic the Train Workout 2 8. Teenwolf Too 8.

Sing-a-long Songs: You Can Fly 9. Hello Again 9. Star Trek 4 10. The Untouchables 10. Cathy Smith: Body Basics A giant lava lamp in the basement of an abandoned church begins to churn supernaturally, signaling that the devil Is seriously considering making another visit to these parts.

Weird scientist Victor Wong and weird priest Donald Pleasance gather together a singularly attractive group of young graduate students to do inexplicable things with several tons of electronic equipment The devil begins picking off the attractive young graduate students one by one, Including a young black man who reacts by singing spirituals. Meanwhile, Alice Cooper is in charge of a group of ominous-looking bag persons outside. I found this movie, directed by John Carpenter, to be as silly as it sounds. But to be fair, my 14-year-old nephew thinks it was about the best horror movie of last year. He also liked "The Three Amigos" a whdle bunch.

It must have something to do with hormones. Harper Barnes Among videocassettes scheduled for release next week In St Louis-area stores are the following. Release dates, which are subject to change, are provided by Sight and Sound Distributors. July 19 "O.O.A.": Loosely based on the 1949 film of the "same name. A writerprofessor has 48 hours to track down the person who slipped him a fatal "poison.

Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Daniel Stern. Touchstone, $89.95. "Little Moon and Jud A reporter do Ing a story on a ghost town is told by an Indian woman in Utah how the title characters demolished the town overnight in an act of revenge. A 1 1978 movie. James Caan, Stefanie Powers, my Davis Aldo Ray.

Prism, $59.95. "The Manchurian Tingling political thriller about the strange aftermath of a Korean War hero's decoration and his mother's machina-' tions to promote her Joseph McCarthy-like husband's career. A 1962 movie. Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury. MGMUA, $79.95.

"Night A starving writer receives a stolen VCR monitor, which each night shows him demon worship and ritual murder until the killings actually begin to occur. Stacy Carson, Shirley Ross, Tony Carpenter. Prism, $79.95. July 20 "A Return to Salem's An anthropologist and his son discover that a nearby village is inhabited by vampires and are joined by a feisty Nazi hunter in their effort to eliminate them. Michael Moriartv, Andrew Duggan, June Havoc, Evelyn Keyes.

Warner, $79.95. "ACTION JACKSON" Lorimar, $89.95 THOSE WHO BUY computers at full retail price should take a course in remedial math. For almost all machines and their components, "manufacturers suggested retail price" is just that a suggestion. If you're thinking of buying a computer this summer, here are some ways to save money. Read the ads in your newspaper, especially if you live in a large metro area that supports dozens of computer stores.

It will give you an idea of the "going" price for the gear you want. And if you're putting together a system with several components, buying them individually from the store with the best price on that particular part can save you more than one-stop shopping. Check out discount stores and stores that don't sell computers as a main business, particularly if you're looking for popular "package" computers such as Commodore or Atari or some entry-level IBM PC clones and won't require much dealer hand-holding. If you've decided on a product that isn't discounted, such as a Tandy (Radio Shack) machine, remember that waiting a few weeks for the inevitable sale price can save big bucks. Remember to shop the clones if you're looking at IBM or some Apple products.

In some cases, clones not only offer the same package for less money, they offer an enhanced package for less money. about mail order, especially if your needs are straightforward (a Commodore 64 say, or an Apple lie) or if you know exactly what you want in a more complicated system. An article in the July issue of COMPUTE! magazine (COMPUTE! Publications, $3) gives a common-sense discussion of mailorder buying including tips on separating the fly-by-night from the legitimate operators. Reader Roy M. Coughlin of North Haven, has some words on bundled software that present an interesting point of view: "In a recent column, you praised Amstrad's Discover Kit bundled with its PC.

My problem with this column is your admission that none of the programs is suited for advanced users, a situation I believe typical of software provided with computers. "The trouble is you've paid for that software, whether the cost is hidden or not, and yet I believe most first-time users eventually ad-; vance to more sophisticated software of the same functional type. That means they've paid for the beginner software and then must pay again for the advanced." Coughlin has an interesting idea, starting small and growing with the user without the user having to always walk away from an existing investment Lots of software com-1 panies offer upgrades and fixes to registered users for a price but that's on full-price full-function packages. I Have a question or comment of general interest at 3ut microcom-; puters, especially those intended for home use? The address Is The CompuBug, AP Newsfeatures, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10020.

sy overcomes huge obstacles to become a celebrated author. Rachel Levin, Norma Aleandro, Liv Ullmann, Robert Loggia. RCAColumbia, $79.95. "The An amnesia patient is the only witness to a series of brutal murders. She must remember what happened or be killed in return.

Bonnie Bedelia, Peter Riegert. RCAColumbia, $79.95. An overworked district attorney representing a Vietnam vet on trial for murder digs deeper into the case and uncovers a major -scandal with the help of a romantic jurorWashington lobbyist. Cher, Dennis Quaid. RCAColumbia, $89.95..

Carl Weathers, formerly boxer Apollo Creed in the now punch-drunk "Rocky" series, shows a surprising amount of life in this police action thriller. The plot's silly, but the stunts are intricate and no connoisseur of the genre will be able to resist lines like, "There wasn't enough left of him to smear on a pizza." Knight-Ridder Newspapers July 21 "Gaby, A True A victim of cerebral pal JONATHAN TAKIFF SOUND SIGHT Compact Discs Still Being Perfected Moonlight Madness POOL Am Thursday, July 14 10 a.m.-10 p.m. 4 DAYS ONLY SALE ENDS JULY 17 Now the companies are redoing the same titles, this time using the original studio master recordings. But few suppliers feel a responsibility to replace copies already in consumers' hands. Elektra, for example, has not recalled its Inferior Doors recordings, despite the request by group keyboardist Ray Manzarek to do so.

Elektra sales vice president Kenny Hamlin responds: "A car manufacturer introduces a new model in 1980, and every year they improve on it and maybe by 1986 it's a really hot car. They don't take the '80 model back because it's not as good a model as the '87." CBS has been known to offer the consumer a replacement CD, but only if the original has a glaring flaw. For example, early copies of Bob Dylan's classic "Blonde on Blonde" had a truncated version of "Visions of Johanna," because the engineer handling the CD transfer miscalculated the capacity of the disc. At the request of Chrysalis Records, which CBS distributes, customers can trade in their critically panned first-generation CD of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung." However, CBS won't replace the first Japanese-made edition of Billy Joel's "Nylon Curtain" made from an inferior "safety" tape of the album with the U.S.-manufactured version later derived from the true digital studio master. Original CD pressings of the Justin Hayward-John Lodge "Blue Jays" album are being replaced by Polygram because the discs had a flawed left channel.

Polygram's director of catalog development Bill Levenson says he's not eager to swap customers' first-generation copies of Cream's "Wheels of Fire" or the Blind Faith super-session for the significantly improved remasterings. "Even with records and cassettes, you're constantly upgrading and remastering your product" Levenson said. "If you take samples over a period of time, they all sound a little different" by producers of the more complicated "sandwich construction" video discs. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab president Herb Bel-kin says that all optical disc developers "were asking for trouble, by choosing aluminum as the reflective base for their discs. It's a cheap, soft material." Belkin also notes that the label side of some CDs is not coated nearly so well as the sound-carrying side.

Mobile Fidelity's better idea, developed in association with Matsushita, is the gold-plated "ultra disc" but it is hardly a practical solution at $35-50 a pop. Reactions to Nimbus' declarations on CD corrosion have been fast and furious. Essentially denying the problem, a representative of Thorn EMI told the Financial Times of London: "I suppose that if you ran a knife over a disc it would not do it any good, and you might destroy it if you stubbed out your cigar on it. But you could pour jam on it without causing any damage." Sony spokesman Koh Shimizu said last week that "this is not at all a CD format problem, critically speaking. It Is true that materials used for CD production, including ink for the printed label, may show some kind of chemical change over time.

Such changes could damage a compact disc if the materials were not chosen carefully. Sony chooses its materials with the utmost care. And before launching compact discs to the market, Sony conducted accelerated aging tests which showed no change of the product even after more than 10 years time." Badly engineered compact discs are another thorny issue troubling the 1980s' hottest sound carrier. In the rush to put out product some manufacturers mastered CDs from second- or third-generation copies of the studio masters, or made their CDs from tapes that had been equalized for LPs with an exaggerated high-frequency response. WHILE THEY may look alike, not all compact discs are created equal.

Manufacturers are still learning how to perfect this most "perfect" of sound carriers. few suppliers have acknowledged mistakes in the engineering and production of some discs though most claim the problems are isolated or have already been resolved. Most disturbing Is the recent admission by a British compact disc maker that some CDs will begin to "self-destruct" in eight to 10 years. Michael Lee, commercial director for Nimbus Records, told the consumer affairs correspondent for London's Guardian newspaper that "we have been carrying on accelerated life tests and I'm afraid that a lot of compact discs will prove less durable than has been claimed." The sound on CDs, he said, would begin to "fade out after eight years' use." Lee laid the blame for the problem on the colored inks used to print label information directly onto the plastic coating of the discs. "Some of the printing inks have begun to eat into the protective lacquer that covers the aluminum coating of the disc," he said.

When that happens, the aluminum oxidizes and then fails to reflect accurately the laser used by the CD player, causing the music to be distorted. Discs used to store computer data are affected in the same way. Lee said that Nimbus had changed the inks used in its CD labeling and does not expect problems with future pressings. Moreover, the company stands behind its product with a "100-year guarantee," he said. Oxidation of metal-base optical discs also occurs when pockets of air are trapped beneath the clear protective surf ace of the disc.

This situation has been blamed for the so-called laser rot of optical video discs seen as fading of picture or sound after three or four years. Laser rot has been both acknowledged and proclaimed "cured" Horn tfi-Sv HTT-r BUY HOW SWIM HOW SAVE HOW HURRY! LIMITED TO STOCK OH HAND $mshh' suri POOLS ALL REDUCED MARTHA CARR Pool Only Model SalePrioff- 15' Antique Cherry 385 15' Grand Pecan 599 24' Antique Cherry 579 27' Antique Cherry 769 27' Grand Pecan 1149 12 x24'. Antique Cherry 799 15'x24'. Alexandria 799 15 x25'. Grand Pecan 1,099 15'x30'.

Antique Cherry 969 FLOOR SAMPLE POOLS ON SALE Pool Only Size Model Sal Price i. 16' Timberline 519 18' High Country 749 21' High Country 899 24' High Country 999 24' Seawind 1,125 28' High Country 1,399 16 x24'. Cedar Ridge 1,299 12'x40' Timberline 1,599 16'x32'. Cedar Ridge 1,799 18'x34' High Country .1,899 High Country .2,099 16 Cedar Glen 2,299 18x38' Seawind 2,299 21x41' Cedar Ridge 2,699 Terms of Sale: Limited to stock on hand. Hurry in for best selection Sorry, no phone inquiries No layaways Pool must be picked up in 3 days.

'Includes expandable liner rehearsal dinner was a simple supper given to those In the wedding party who miss their supper hours to practice for the wedding on the evening before the actual event It has grown, in some cases, to a full-blown, elegant prenuptial celebration that includes all out-of-town guests who may have come In the day before the wedding, all immediate family members including very, very close family friends, and the inevitable "date" for the unmarried members of the wedding party who are engaged or living with someone who is not otherwise involved directly in the wedding. My suggestion to you is to go back to the original premise of feeding those people who. are inconvenienced by the evening hour members of the wedding party either a simple supper served in your home or at the church. If the church women can cater it you may save both money and personal agony. And having it at the church can even eliminate the need to serve alcohol.

If you have it in your home, you may want to include your own out-of-town guests and family members, and you may want to serve one or two glasses of champagne to toast the young couple. Whatever it is that you, just you, want to do is fine. It is your party, and you should call the shots according to your ability to underwrite the expenses. It is foolish to go into debt for the rest of your life for just one evening that even at best, will likely be forgotten in the glory of the big event the next day. some? My budget isn't huge.

What about drinks? Her family does drink quite a bit. The bar bill may be bigger than the dinner bill. Can I eliminate the drinking without hurting their feelings? Or can I offer them one before-dinner drink and then expect them to pay for the rest themselves? My son said, "That's tacky!" M.C I think you need to sit down with your son and explain your financial status, and tell him you simply cannot jeopardize your economic future for the benefit of his nuptial high jinks. If your son is employed and making a good salary, tell him how much you can afford to pay for this party, and if he wants something fancier, he will have to contribute accordingly. The reason for and origin of the Dear Martha Carr: I hope you can help me.

My son will be married in about six months, and already I am upset about being proper. I am a widow and don't know where to turn for advice. What does the groom's family pay toward the wedding? I know I must have the rehearsal dinner, but am stumped about the rest I don't want to appear dumb to my soon-to-be daughter, who is very lovely, as Is her family. About the dinner: Whom do I invite? I was adding up the attendants and my son said they will probably bring a date. If you include her sister and brothers and dates and grandparents and readers, it comes to about 50 people.

Whoa! That's quite a few. Can I eliminate DOORBUSTER FILTER SPECIAL 1 hp. EC 40DE or 1 hp. Jacuzzi sand YOUR CHOICE fr 4 DAYS ONLY SAVE 10 ON ALL ladders. Lireno a whiter covers t-iood with this ad only.

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Pace granular 16 lb. Pace Slow Tabs 50 lb. HTH granular. $11.99 $49.99 $53.99 $54.99 $75.99 $79.99 $99.99 6.49 $11.99 9.99 $39.99 $47.99 $49.99 $69.99 $74.99 $89.99 4.99 25 lb. Pace granular on selected drapery fabrics.

30 lb. Pace Slow Tabs 7 lb. Pace PH minus 3t a iLfft If 4 SPECIAL BONUS FREE SHOCK Summer Special. White or ivory custom made sheer drapes only $69.75. Size 50" 86" (3-width).

Includes shop-at-home service, measuring, cutting and installation. Sale ends July 23, 1988. yp 1 with Pace Chlorine purchase MAZELVCOD J5 ST. PETERS 59 Suemandy Dr. 1-70 to Mid Rivers So.

2 biks. then Rt. on Suemondy Sony, po phone Hours: Dally 10 9 Sat. 9-5 Sun. 11-4 7S33 N.

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