THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 3, 1994 TAG: 9408030036
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
MOST OF THE CALLS made to the Videomatic Infoline Mailbox begin with ``I can't find (fill in blank).'' The old batting average has been good, though, with hard-to-find videos like ``Panic in the Year Zero!'' and ``Mark of the Devil'' no longer hard to find.
So this will be a shocker: I don't know every title out there.
That's because of the millions of movies that have been made, only about 5 percent are in circulation. Which is why you should know about A Million and One World-Wide Videos, a Georgia outfit that bills itself as the Sam Spade of video detectives.
Their resources extend beyond distributors and retailers to a global network of collectors. Looking for a title, one even Videomatic can't find? Call World-Wide Videos at (800) 849-7309 and leave a credit card number and the max you'll pay. One thing: Once you order, you're committed. A lady told me they used to do the legwork for free, but too often, customers didn't call back when they said they would. It got expensive.
Say you know the star or director but not the movie. Send World-Wide $2 for a list of every video made by said star/director. The company also has 435 special-interest titles: how-to's, documentaries, etc. That list is $3. The address is 1980 South Walkers Mill Road, Orchard Hill, Ga. 30266-0349.
Now, none of this should discourage you from using Option No. 1. The Videomatic Infoline Mailbox can be reached at 640-5555, category 2827 (2VCR). It's open 24 hours every day, including holidays.
Speaking of resources, the folks who put out ``VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever'' sent along a copy of their new ``VideoHound's Pocket Movie Guide'' the other day.
The big book is my favorite source, a 1,532-page behemoth with 22,000 entries, director and cast indexes, a distributor's guide and an attitude to admire (sample category: Nazis & Other Paramilitary Slugs), but it wouldn't fit in Captain Kangaroo's pocket. The scaled-down book lists more than 1,000 titles on 128 pages, and it still has the VideoHound bite. It goes for $4.95. If you can't find it, order from Visible Ink Press at (800) 776-6265.
Can't wait for these two: ``VideoHound's That's Amore! Love, Lust & Longing at the Movies'' and ``VideoHound's Worst Nightmares: Vampires, Werewolves & Other Creatures of the Night.''
MAKING A LIST: Christmas is looking like a title fight between video heavyweights Buena Vista and MCA/Universal.
Buena Vista hauls out two big entries: ``Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (Sept. 30) and - at long last - ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (Oct. 28). MCA/Universal counters with - not nearly as long but at last - ``Jurassic Park'' (Oct. 4).
Hold those bets. Last week, MCA/Universal upped the ante with a Nov. 8 release for ``The Flintstones.'' The big-budget, real-actor cartoon started out big, raking in $122.5 million since its May release but has fallen back in the pack. It was No. 15 at the box office last weekend.
The winner? You. Each title lists in the $20-$25 range.
BIG WHEELS: Cabin Fever gets its motor mojo working today with three new volumes in its NASCAR series: ``Tracks: NASCAR's Highest Banks and Toughest Turns,'' ``Stories: NASCAR's Colorful Past From the Men Who Were There'' and ``Champions: NASCAR Winston Cup Champions.'' $9.95 each.
TOP TAPES (in this week's Billboard):
Sales: ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``The Return of Jafar,'' ``Mrs. Doubtfire,'' ``Yanni: Live at the Acropolis,'' ``Aladdin''
Rentals: ```Philadelphia,'' ``The Pelican Brief,'' ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``Tombstone,'' ``In the Name of the Father'' THE COUCH REPORT
``Angie'' (1994, Hollywood). Geena Davis is in nearly every scene as Angie, a girl from New York's Bensonhurst neighborhood who, pregnant and unwed, decides not to do the right thing and marry her boyfriend. The actress is up to the task, too. Angie's story, one of denial, then self-discovery, is funny, heartbreaking and, in the end, triumphant. It's also very real.
(CAST: Geena Davis, James Gandolfini, Aida Turturro, Stephen Rea. RATED: R for language, brief nudity)
``Major League II'' (1994, Warner). After taking the Cleveland Indians to the top in 1989, what do the producers do? Remake the same movie. Seems the Tribe, fat with success, has lost the edge. Easy winner of Most Unnecessary Sequel, but put your brain in park and have fun anyway.
(CAST: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen. RATED: PG-13 for language)
``Lightning Jack'' (1994, HBO). This comedy never clicks, though Paul Hogan, as an egotistical outlaw with bad vision, and Cuba Gooding Jr., playing a mute, bad-guy wannabe, try hard. That's the problem. It gets by on star power, and only just barely.
(CAST: Paul Hogan, Cuba Gooding Jr., Beverly D'Angelo. RATED: PG-13 for language, violence)
Also: James Mason in ``5 Fingers,'' the Joseph L. Mankiewicz thriller taken from a German agent's wartime memoirs, on video for the first time (unrated); ``The Chase,'' with Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson on the lam (PG-13); and ``Unveiled,'' an erotic thriller starring Lisa Zane (R).
Tuesday: ``Beethoven's 2nd''
Next Wednesday: ``Intersection,'' ``My Girl 2,'' ``The Ref,'' ``Chasers,'' ``Far Away, So Close,'' ``It's All True,'' ``The Oak,'' ``Knife in the Head,'' ``Accidental Meeting'' by CNB