The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 73

wy mm THE OTTAWA CITIZEN SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1988 F5 HOME ENTERTAINMENT Video BY BILL PROVICK eon Amd A LSgifojs Gentle fun 'mms. -fat Steve Guttenberg, left, Tom Selleck, centre, Ted Danson: All three turn in winning performances Three Men and a Baby (PG) The men of the title are Tom Sel-leck, of Magnum, P.I. fame, Steve Guttenberg, an original graduate of Police Academy, and Ted Danson, the resident Casanova of Cheers. They play three swinging bachelors with everything going for them high-paying jobs, a luxurious penthouse apartment and, as David Letterman would say, plenty of gorgeous babes. One day they have something else an abandoned baby on the doorstep.

The confirmed bachelors are suddenly forced to deal with a beautiful female far too young to fall prey to their masculine charms. This little bundle of joy quickly steals their hearts and the movie. A big hit in theatrical release, this slick remake of a French original retains much of its appeal on the small screen. Gone is the communal release of spontaneous, infectious peals of laughter that only a packed theatre can provide. But the lighthearted tone holds up nicely under repeat viewing and the jokes and sight gags are worth savoring.

The situations especially the dangers of doodle and the excitement of improvised child care work precisely because they are predictable. When one of the novice fathers wrinkles his nose and asks, "How can something so small create so much of something so disgusting?" he strikes a funny, familiar chord. Parents with older children are far enough removed from those dirty diaper days to be able to look back with laughter while kids seem to get a kick out of seeing what mixed blessings they were when they first arrived. As for plot, forget it. It's the characters that count.

Left to play second, third and fourth bananas to a tiny tot, Selleck, Guttenberg and Danson actually benefit from not having to carry the movie by themselves and turn in gentle, winning performances. Directed with a gentle touch by Leonard Nimoy (of Star Trek fame), Three Men and a Baby is a light comedy confection that touches the heart and tickles the funny bone. Colors (R) Here's a fine reminder that con- Aria: 1 0 Aria (R) One of the nice things about music is its power to create images in the listener's mind. One of the less appealing aspects of rock videos is the imposing of images upon a set piece of music. At worst, these images are excessively self-indulgent, pretentiously obscure andor simply hung up on sex.

Aria is a collection of 10 opera videos. Unfortunately for the uninitiated, they're even more boring some kind of hero. Seeing him shuffle through the classroom with chest in and stomach out one is tempted to dub this film, Slouch and Deliver. Either way, the key word is deliver. It's what this teacher persuades his students to do.

It's what this entire movie does. There's little drama, and less melodrama, in this story of students in a primarily Hispanic school about to lose its accreditation who are taught to believe in themselves to the point where, with great personal sacrifice, they prove themselves not just capable but adept at learning college-level calculus. Lou Diamond Phillips, star of La Bamba, is the most familiar face in the classroom but, like the challenge of proving narrow-minded educational officials wrong, this is a marvellous group effort. A fine family film, this movie will entertain and inspire even grade school students. Star ratings: Excellent (5); Good (4), Average (3); Poor (2); Awful (1) mixed results passages and narrow escapes along dangerous cliffs but nothing to seriously frighten young viewers.

Appointment with Death (PG) Peter Ustinov makes a barely passable Hercule Poroit in the film versions of Agatha Christie mysteries but this recent outing provides a pleasing enough diversion. Star ratings: Excellent (5); Good (4); Average (3); Poor (2); Awful (1) troversy doesn't guarantee quality. This Dennis Hopper film about gang violence in Los Angeles created quite a stir when it first came out. Amidst the hype and hoopla was the fear that the movie glorified the gangs and their violent ways. Well anyone who'd be attracted to gang life by this film has more than a few problems to begin with.

As for the violence, it seems surprisingly tame and trite compared to other films about urban crime. Stripped of its contemporary camouflage of social significance, Colors comes across surprisingly washed out. Issues and events are simplified to the point of pettiness. It may be an accurate portrait but the so-called realism just doesn't ring true. Neither do the characters, an old street-wise cop played by Robert Duvall and his over-eager young partner played by Sean Penn.

This has to be Duvall's weakest work in years, as if he's here merely to do opera videos than their rock counterparts. The idea of 10 famous directors visually illustrating their individual favorite bits of opera sounds all right on paper but the results are mixed at best on film. Granted I know nothing of opera and perhaps this all has more significance and impact for those who know and appreciate this music, but the film fails to make me want to learn more. Horrors of horrors, the film was almost as stimulating with the sound turned down. ST- Sean McClory Stars in The Dead The Dead, last film from John Huston, Nov.

30. Stormy Monday, romantic thriller with Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones and Sting, Nov. 30. Made in USA, drama starring Christopher Penn, Lori Singer and Adrian Pas-dar, Nov. 30.

Big Top Pee-wee, circus comedy, Dec. 7. Howling IV, werewolf horror, Dec. 8. Casual Sex, comedy with Lea Thompson and Victoria Jackson, Dec.

8. The Rescue, action adventure, Dec. 13. Arthur 2: On The Rocks, comedy with Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli, Dec. 14.

The Great Land of Small, fifth family film in Rock Demers's series Tales for All, Dec. 14. Midnight Crossing, murder drama with Faye Dun-away and Daniel J. Travanti, Dec. 14.

Short Circuit 2, hightech comedy, Dec. 15. Mother, Jugs and Speed, 1976 comedy starring Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch and Harvey Keitel, Dec. 15. License to Drive, comedy starring Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, Dec.

15. The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, live-action children's film, Dec. 15. Young Guns, western with Keifer Sutherland, Jan. 4.

The Blob, horror remake, Jan. 5. Hot to Trot, comedy with Bob Goldthwait, Dabney Coleman and Don the horse, Jan. 18. Operated by format developer Sony Cinema 8 has just mailed the second catalogue since its founding in 1986.

It contains more than 300 titles covering every motion picture genre, as well as sports instructionals, travel videos and cartoon collections. Contemporary films such as those mentioned are well-represented, and a surprising number of foreign classics are also available, including The Blue Angel, Grand Illusion, The Seventh Seal and Yojimbo. Music video is a specialty of Sony's own label, Sony Video Software, and the artists available on 8mm are many, ranging from John Lennon and Tina Turner to Lionel Hampton and Alberta Hunter. In Sony's view, the 8mm owner must be a very different creature from your garden-variety couch potato. How else would you explain the inclusion of such esoterica as Avant Garde and Experimental Films, which contains a short that Orson Welles made in his college days, and Avant Garde No.

2, with shorts by Man Ray and Rene Clair? Meanwhile, Warner Home Video has announced that it would become the first major studio to start distributing 8mm movies into the regular video network of wholesalers and retailers. This new distribution will be in addition to its shipments to Cinema 8. (For a copy of the Cinema 8 catalogue, write to Cinema 8, Suite 1200. 7910 Woodmont Bethesda, Md. 20814 Hopper a favor.

The movie's residual reputation may still attract audiences looking for cheap thrills but for serious, more discerning film fans, Colors just doesn't cut it. Stand and Deliver (PG) Edward James Olmos has built a solid reputation as the sombre, dark-suited boss on Miami Vice whose whispered orders to Crockett and Tubbs are as tough and fair as they are terse. He comes through with a much different but equally compelling performance in this true story of a late-blooming math teacher who takes a class of underachievers and turns them into the pride of the education system. With his hair thinned out on top, his mustache removed and his ramrod posture completely undone, Olmos is almost unrecognizable as the mousy math teacher who becomes staged with Crystalstone (PG) In 1908, two young Spanish orphans set out on a quest for a magic crystal. Along the way they must flee a murderous villain (of the metal-hook-for-hand variety) and solve the riddle of ancient scrolls.

They join forces with a drunken sailor whose mysterious past holds significant secrets, and as is the habit of such adventures, everything turns out well in the end. There are skulls in underground on move sit. The spring-mounted cassette door, in particular, feels vulnerable to breakage. A sturdier plastic carrying case is optional and highly recommended, as is the pouch for storing the AC adaptor and battery charger. Theoretically to improve outdoor viewing, Sony offers a sunscreen with a built-in magnifying lens that blows up the picture to five inches a much nicer screen size.

But even with the shade installed I found the picture very washed out in the outdoors. Making matters worse, the magnifying glass produced annoying reflections and distortion on the picture. So forget about that notion of watching Beach Blanket movies while you're actually sunning on the sand. I've had a terrific time taking a loan-er Video Walkman on trips, to the office, and even (you should pardon the expression) to the bathroom. I also relished using it to review tapes made on my 8mm camcorder.

Sure, it's ruined my book-reading habits, but it's done wonders to keep me up on sit-coms and cable movies, Late Night with David Letterman and my favorite cable news magazine show, CNN's This Week in Japan. (But of course!) Other companies are venturing into the personal video product category. Casio will field three different TVVCR portables using conventional VHS tapes next year. The models reportedly weigh five to six pounds and feature screens in the 3- to 5-inch range. Matsushita (Panasonic to us) now has a 3-inch TVVCR combo on sale in Japan that uses VHS-C tapes.

While almost as small as 8mm cassettes, VHS-C tapes are currently limited to only one hour of playrecord time per cassette, a serious disadvantage. Video Walkman great TV More 8-mm films released but finding them problem By Joanthan Takiff Knight Ridder I've enjoyed full-length films stretched out on a bed, with the Video Walkman propped up on my chest. But it's less satisfying for two people to watch together, as the liquid crystal TV screen has to be angled "just so" to get the optimum picture. Then again, for group viewing sessions you can always feed the Video Walkman's tape playback signal to a TV monitor or (with optional RF adaptor) to a conventional TV. Some meat paws will grouse about the diminutive size of the buttons on the Video Walkman.

Picky, picky, picky. The basic VCR and TV controls are logically laid out and easy to use. Side-mounted buttons for setting the VCR's one event24-hour timer are tiny and recessed. Top mounted dials to adjust the picture color are difficult to grip, but the truth is there's really no reason to move those controls off centre. There are a couple of features Sony should improve on in future models.

The built-in speakers and amplifier are underpowered for noisy environments such as a train and the cheezy headphones supplied with the unit don't improve matters. When using larger and more efficent Sony headphones, I enjoyed much fuller and louder sound. It takes a bit of fiddling to attach the battery pack to the back of this TVVCR, although once snapped into place the battery does feel very secure. The rechargeable battery supplied with the unit holds only enough energy for 50 minutes of playback or recording. An optional double thick battery runs for 100 minutes good enough for most movies, but not for the epics.

Video Walkman is supplied with a soft vinyl pouch that doesn't give this expensive little bab much protection in tran If you're the type of person who has to "steal" time to watch a TV show, you're going to love the Sony Video Walkman. Now hitting U.S. stores at a suggested list of $1,300 U.S., Sony's landmark GV-8 Video Walkman combines a 3-inch color TV and an 8mm video-cassette recorder in an incredibly small (paperback-book-size), lightweight (three-pound) and easy-to-use package. Just as Sony's invention of the Walkman personal stereo freed music lovers from their hard-wire connections to hi-fi systems, so Video Walkman cuts television lovers loose from all constraints. Personal video lets you watch or make videotapes wherever you go.

The Video Walkman isn't just a fascinating concept, it's also an amazing performer. Functioning on either battery or AC power, the unit's high quality VCR transport tapes up to four hours of television programming from the built-in UHFVHF TV tuner. You also can make recordings from cable, dub excellent copies from a VCR or videodisc source, or plug in a palm-size camera and tape your own home viddies. An 8mm tape is about the same size as an audio cassette, yet the 8mm playback picture from the GV-8 is as good as you can achieve on a conventional VHS system. Video Walkman's sound is monaural but hi-fi, thus superior to the audio reproduction on conventional VHS decks.

The tilt-up liquid crystal screen is small and extremely sharp, with color reproduction that's virtually as accurate as a conventional Sony Trinitron TV produces. Keep it close and personal, and Video Walkman viewing can certainly satisfy. By Andy Wickstrom Knighl-Ridder A well-kept secret in the video business is that current feature films are being made available in the underappreciated 8-mm video format, which uses a cassette about the size of an audiocassette. They are so similar that from a distance of a few feet, you might very well mistake an 8mm copy of Paramount's Top Gun for its sound track album. Paramount, along with Nelson Entertainment (formerly Embassy) and Warner are the only studios to issue selected new releases in the 8mm format.

Barfly, Hope and Glory, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Witches of Eastwick and The Whales of August are among the latest selections. Other studios, such as RCAColumbia and MGMUA, occasionally release some of their older catalogue titles on 8mm. These include classic musicals such as Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris, Gigf and High Society. Where does one find these movies on mini-video? It can be difficult.

No mobs are beating down the doors to snap up 8mm features, even though almost all of them sell for less than $30 U.S. As with many specialized items, the business of satisfying a scattered, slowly developing market has been left to the mail-order catalogue people, and 8mm video has had one of its own for almost two years. It's called Cinema 8, the 8mm Video Movie Club. f- -n Ar mtkj i n- i "n-ir-n--- -T.