Video Reviews and News : MORE NEW RELEASES

Movies

After last week’s barrage of big movies--led by “The Last Emperor,” “Moonstruck” and “Broadcast News”--this week’s trip to the video store may be a little less exciting, but not for lack of violent/scary action in the films being tape-released.

“Frantic” (Warner, $89.95, R) leads the way; the film failed at the box office early this year despite the potent combination of star Harrison Ford, director Roman Polanski and some good press. Several reviewers thought it was the expatriate director’s best film since “Chinatown,” and like that 1974 work, “Frantic” is a suspense-thriller. Harrison plays an American heart surgeon whose wife disappears during their visit to Paris.

The emphasis is on the bizarre in “American Gothic,” a 1987 horror film starring Rod Steiger (Vidmark, $89.95, R) that was filmed in British Columbia, and in several infamous gross-out works by blood-and-guts cult director Herschell Gordon Lewis: “Blood Feast,” “2000 Maniacs,” “Color Me Blood Red,” “Gruesome Twosome” and “Wizard of Gore” (New Star, $29.98-$39.98, unrated). Set on a remote island, “American Gothic” is described by Vidmark as being “a never-ending nightmare of murder and bizarre behavior,” but don’t worry, folks, it actually does end after 89 minutes. The campy horror of Lewis’ films is beyond description--in a family newspaper, anyway.

What, you say that’s still not enough violent video? Then CBS/Fox offers “Urge to Kill” ($59.98, R) an obscure leftover from 1984 about (you guessed it) murder and intrigue, with some unobscure actors--Karl Malden, Holly Hunter and William Devane. Of course, anyone who’d like to skip all this rough stuff can catch up with whichever of the releases they weren’t able to rent in last week’s rush, including a look at Hunter’s more notable appearance in “Broadcast News.”

Other Videos

This week’s new non-movie tapes offer fitness set to music and music on its own terms.

Exercise mavens Kathy Smith and Judi Sheppard Missett both have new tapes: “Kathy Smith’s Fat-Burning Workout” (Fox Hills, $19.95) is aimed at taking weight off while maintaining body tone, while Missett’s two new videos, “Fast & Fit” and “Stretch & Tone” (JCI, $19.95 separate, $29.95 for the two-pack) concentrate on, respectively, an “upbeat and fun” aerobics workout and a program using graceful, slow motions.

HBO Video, meanwhile, offers four musical programs shown on the cable channel earlier this year: “James Brown & Friends,” “Carly Simon: Live from Martha’s Vineyard,” “The All-Star Reggae Session,” and “Sass & Brass: A Jazz Session” ($19.99 each).