Notable videos for the week of April 20

Blue Velvet (1986, Warner, R) Director David Lynch’s mesmerizing, twisted tale of a storybook town with an evil subtext. With Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, and Isabella Rossellini. A

A Cry in the Dark (1988, Warner, PG-13) Meryl Streep portrays Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman tried and convicted for the murder of her infant daughter. Based on a true story. B-

Dead Calm (1989, Warner, R) Philip Noyce’s horror story of love and psychosis on the high seas is cunningly directed, not gratuitously gory, yet very, very scary. A-

Dial M for Murder (1954, Warner) Gorgeous Grace Kelly is the wife and Ray Milland is the husband who plots to kill her in this Hitchcock suspenser. B+

Dinner at Eight (1989, Turner) This story of a housewife and her dinner party is a remake of the 1933 comedy. It’s stale, but a brand-name cast (including Lauren Bacall and L.A. Law‘s Harry Hamlin), warm up these leftovers. B-

The Girl in a Swing (1989, HBO, R) As a mysterious Teutonic cutie who casts an erotic spell on poor Rupert Frazer, Meg Tilly is just silly. You’ll get more chills from Bewitched. C-

Libeled Lady (1936, MGM/UA) When a gorgeous heiress (Myrna Loy) sues a newspaper for libel, the editor and his ace reporter plot to compromise her for real. Also stars William Powell and Spencer Tracy. A

The Lost Stooges (1990, Turner) Ted Turner found them, Leonard Maltin narrates them, and time has not been kind to them. These clips feature the unffnny Ted Healy as the Stooges’ original leader. Watching them interact in these depressing, Depression-era features, it’s easy to understand the death of vaudeville. F

Marie Antoinette (1938, MGM/UA) Norma Shearer as the famed French ruler who lets them eat. . .well, you know.

Strange Cargo (1940, MGM/UA) While escaping from Devil’s Island, a convict and his girl meet the Messiah. The Legion of Decency banned this film on two counts: too much steam between the leads (Clark Gable and Joan Crawford) and too much blasphemy in the plot.

Strangers on a Train (1951, Warner) When Robert Walker meets Farley Granger while traveling on the same train, he offers up a deadly deal that he’s determined to carry out. One of Hitchcock’s most unusual thrillers. A

SPECIAL INTEREST
Mysteries of the Pyramids (1988, Wood Knapp) Omar Sharif guides viewers through the monuments of ancient Egypt.

Norman Rockwell: An American Portrait (1987, Wood Knapp) The painter who put small-town America on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Mason Adams hosts.

LASERDISC
Put It There (PolyGram, 1990)Paul McCartney and his new band performing rock & roll new and old.

The Cream of Eric Clapton (PolyGram, 1990) Retrospective of Clapton’s career.

Sea of Love (MCA, 1989) Erotic thriller with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. B