VideoView -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

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MOVIES

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" -- Having soundly conquered America's box office, the resourceful boy wizard and hero of J.K. Rowland's phenomenally popular books carries his enchanting tale of magicians and malevolents to video where it's bound to be a huge hit all over again. Closely following the novel, director Chris Columbus has unleashed a high-flying supernatural adventure fantasy, a sort of Indiana Jones for the young. It might seem aimed largely at the 10-15 age group but, like the books, the movie has enough plot and pizzazz to attract viewers of all ages. On his 11th birthday, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) learns he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and has magical powers of his own, earning him unwanted fame. At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where everybody seems to know his name before he arrives, he's plunged into a strange new world of magic and mischief and a cat and mouse game with enemies bent on destroying him. Special effects are everywhere and often quite impressive with things getting scary at times but not too scary. Young Radcliffe is just right as Harry and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are well cast as his companions in adventure. They're surrounded by a solid acting ensemble that includes Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman. John Hurt and John Cleese.

The two-disc DVD release houses a horde of Hogwart extras with games, puzzles, tours, deleted scenes, cast interviews (the kids are never out of character), a DVD ROM special and lots more "Easter eggs" (features hidden throughout the discs).

2001. 152 minutes. Warner Home Video. Rated PG (some scary moments and mild language).

"The Dark Blue World" -- Czech director Jan Sverak and his father Zdenek, who did the screenplay, have joined forces for a sweeping World War II epic about two combat pilots and the woman who came between them. In that respect, it's basically the same plot used in "Pearl Harbor," but there's considerably more in the framing story. As the Nazis storm into Czechoslovakia in 1939, the two pilots, Franta (Ondrej Vetchy) and his young protégé Karel (Krystof Hadek), escape to England where they join the RAF and return to fight Germans in their homeland. Soon they become Involved with the same woman (Tara Fitzgerald), whose husband is away at war, leading to dangerous consequences. In a bitterly ironic twist, much of the story is told in flashback from a Czech prison camp where some of the survivors are imprisoned after the war by the new Communist regime. An interesting film, though much is familiar, with outstanding aerial sequences. 2001. 115 minutes. In Czech (with English subtitles) and English. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. Rated R (sexuality, nudity).

"The Boondock Saints" -- An ultra-violent tale of twin, deeply religious brothers who take it on themselves to rid Boston of all evil men in the city that police can't or won't touch. Almost gleefully, Conner MacManus (Sean Patrick Falnery) and his brother Murphy (Norman Reedus), considering themselves the instrument of God's vengeance, go about their twisted task in a series of grisly massacres. First they deal with the menacing Russian mob trying to move in and then widen their scope for all miscreants, much to the delight of the neighborhood where they're revered as heroes. On their trail is a flamboyantly gay FBI agent (Willem DaFoe) who has a problem deciding whether to arrest them or join them. 1999. 110 minutes. Fox Home Entertainment. Rated R (strong violence, language, sexual content).

"Slackers" -- Another gross-out teen sex parody set this time in college in which the smart but obnoxious school geek (Jason Schwartzman) catches three seniors cheating and blackmails them into setting him up with the girl of his dreams (played by a young beauty with the improbable name of James King). Some laughs but the raunch factor is high. 2002. 87 minutes. Columbia TriStar Home Entetainmnet. Rated R (strong language and sexual content, brief drug use).

VIDBITS

Coming up next: "The Mothman Prophecies" and "Shallow Hal" ... "Ocean's Eleven," the glossy, all-star remake of the old "Rat Pack" caper, is the No. 1 video rental across the land this week...

"Legend," Ridley Scott's handsomely mounted 1986 fairy tale and cult favorite, has finally made its way to DVD as a two-disc set featuring the 113-minute director's cut, with the Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack, a version never shown theatrically in this country. It's a simple yarn of pure good vs. foulest evil, with a cast that includes Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry and a few unicorns...

Also new on DVD: "The Man From Snowy River" (1982), one of Australia's finest movie exports. It's a rousing outdoor saga, based on an Australian poem, about a strong-willed young man (Tom Burlinson) who goes to work for a tough empire-building cattleman (Kirk Douglas) and falls for his daughter (Sigrid Thornton). Visually arresting with some fantastic action scenes with wild horses...

Video stores will be getting "Rambo'ed" next week. To mark the 20th anniversary of the rambunctious Sylvester Stallone series, Artisan Entertainment is releasing the "Rambo Trilogy" containing the three movies, "First Blood," "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Rambo III," with a fourth disc containing seven featurettes and three documentaries.