VideoView -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

What's new on the home video scene...

MOVIES

"Made" -- In this amusing crime caper, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, who worked so well together in 1996's "Swingers," are reunited as a couple of construction workers and low-level crooks courting trouble with the mob. Favreau, who also directed and wrote the script, is Bobby, a mediocre boxer and protector of his blowhard buddy Ricky (Vaughn), whose big mouth is a major problem, especially in the circles they're traveling these days. Bobby gets a job that could mean big bucks when his mob mentor (Peter Falk) sends him to New York on an errand with Ricky tagging along and, as expected, picking the wrong time to pop off. 2001. 94 minutes. Artisan Entertainment. Rated R (pervasive language, some drug use and sexuality).

"Pootie Tang" -- Taken from a skit on HBO's "The Chris Rock Show, " this is a silly sendup of superhero crimefighters. That's what Pootie is -- and his actions speak louder than words because you can't understand a thing he says. But he walks cool, is a hot number with the ladies and a role model to kids. Lance Crouther has the title role as a man with extraordinary abilities, thanks to a magical belt given him by his dying father (producer Rock, who shows up in several other cameos). Raunchy, some funny moments but overall, another example of an over-stretched sketch. 2001. 81 minutes. Paramount Home Entertainment. Rated PG-13 (sex-related material, language and drug content).

"Bride Of The Wind" -- In this tale of a legendary muse, Alma Schindler (Sarah Wynter) sallied forth into Viennese society at the beginning of the 20th century, setting her sights on some of the era's artistic giants. She married composer Gustav Mahler (Jonathan Pryce) though he was twice her age. After his death she married a former lover, architect Walter Gropius, had a tempestuous affair with expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka and eventually settled into an enduring marriage with author Franz Werfel with whom she came to America. A remarkable woman, a pretty period piece but ponderous and somewhat shallow. 2001. 99 minutes. Paramount Home Entertrainment. Rated R (sexuality, nudity).

"Divided We Fall" -- Mixing humor, pathos and potential tragedy, this is the well-done, Oscar-nominated film about a Czech couple who risk all by hiding a Jew from the Nazis who have taken over their village during World War II. The house "guest" is David, son of a once-wealthy Jewish industrialist, who has just escaped from a concentration camp. He returns home secretly and is taken in by old friends, half against their will, and as expected, there are complications. 2000. 122 minutes. In Czechoslovakian with English subtitles. Columbia TriStar Home Video. Rated PG-13.

"Calle 54" -- Spanish director Fernando Trueba sets before us a "musical banquet" featuring pulsating music by his favorite Latin jazz musicians in back street clubs and recording studios from Miami to Havana, the Bronx to Andalusia. The result is very tasty. 2000. 105 minutes. Miramax Home Entertainment. Rated G.

"Santa Who?" -- Leslie Nielsen is Santa Claus, or at least he used to be, in this Disney comedy aimed at kids. Problem is, Santa tumbled out of his sleigh, bumped his noggin and lost his memory just a few days before Christmas and now a Grinch-wannabe has him hidden away while his elves search high and low. Originally shown on TV. 2001. 90 minutes. Walt Disney Home Video. Rated PG.

VIDBITS

Coming up: "Pearl Harbor," "American Outlaws" and "Ghosts Of Mars" ...

"Shrek," "Legally Blonde" and "Swordfish" are favorites this week with the nation's videoviewers, three of the current rentals getting a lot of attention over this Thanksgiving weekend. Among the others, "Planet Of The Apes," "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," "The Mummy Returns," "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace," "Dr. Dolittle 2," "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "Along Came A Spider." Yet to come in 2001: the aforementioned "Pearl Harbor" (Dec. 4), "Jurassic Park III" the following week and Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" on Dec. 29...

Warner's "The Matrix Revisited," advertised as a "cutting edge companion" to "The Matrix," is aimed at the devoted fan of that remarkable 1999 sci-fi extravaganza. It offers more insights on how the film was made, how the actors trained for such strenuous roles, illuminating discussions with the moviemakers, including writer-directors Andy and Larry Wachowski, more behind-the-scenes stuff and peeks at the two upcoming sequels...

If you're a "Dirty Harry" fan, a trip to the video store could make your day. Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood's maverick detective who always rubbed the brass the wrong way while rubbing out the bad guys, burst onto the screen scene 30 years ago. Saluting that milestone, Warner has reissued the 1971 original plus four sequels in their DVD debuts, "Magnum Force," "The Enforcer," "Sudden Impact" and "The Dead Pool." There's also the documentary "Clint Eastwood: Out of The Shadows"...

New on the video racks this week, from Kino: "The Blue Angel," the recently restored early German cinema classic that made Marlene Dietrich a star. Dietrich is truly remarkable in Josef von Sternberg's 1930 film as the sexy nightclub singer Lola-Lola whose rendition of "Falling In Love Again" is still a showstopper. Emil Jannings is also terrific as the repressed college professor who tragically falls for Lola-Lola...