Retailers Nervous Over Porn Victims’ Bill : Legislation: A proposed measure currently in Senate committee could hold filmmakers, distributors and retailers liable if a viewer was motivated to commit violent acts after seeing it.

Imagine not being able to rent “The Silence of the Lambs,” “The Accused,” “Thelma & Louise” or the porn classic “The Devil in Miss Jones.”

Opponents of a bill now pending in the U.S. Senate contend that, if the measure is enacted, many video retailers might stop stocking films like these, which feature graphic sex and violence.

The bill, called the Pornography Victims’ Compensation Act, proposes that if someone who commits a sex crime testifies that he or she was incited by the content of a video, film, record, book or magazine that is judged obscene by community standards, the victim can sue the producers, distributors or retailers for damages. Such a civil suit would be possible even if the accused was found innocent.

In other words, if a man testified that watching “The Devil in Miss Jones” motivated him to rape, the video store that rented it to him, as well as the filmmakers and the distributors, could be sued for damages and potentially found liable if the video was found to be obscene.

“This kind of third-party liability is scary,” said Rick Karpel, vice president of government relations for the Video Software Dealers Assn., which has been lobbying against the bill. “Video retailers are very nervous about this one.”

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee. If it is approved there, it will be sent to the full Senate for a vote and then, if it passes, to the House.

Karpel said that the bill has undergone some modifications since its introduction last spring, and he believes more may be in store.

“But the danger still exists,” he said. “It would have a devastating effect on home video.”

The Record Industry Assn. of America and the American Booksellers Assn. also oppose the bill.

TV Shows on Video: MPI just released three volumes of excerpts from Liberace’s 1950s TV show. Each 75-minute video costs $20. It’s the first time they’ve been available on video--officially anyway. Pirated tapes have circulated--particularly on college campuses in the ‘80s, where students would give “Liberace” parties featuring the shows they regarded as hilariously campy.

The late pianist shamelessly serves up gobs of gooey Americana--corny even for the ‘50s. But many of his fans, who take him quite seriously, might enjoy his grandiose versions of pop standards and classics--with his famed candelabra perched on his piano.

Episodes of the TV series “MASH,” which ran from 1972-83 and is still seen in reruns, are available for the first time on video--through mail order only. By contacting Columbia House (800 638-2922), you can get the first volume of three episodes for $5. Future volumes cost $20.

Caution: This is run like one of those record clubs. After you get the first volume, the company will continue to send you others until you order it stopped.

New on Video: Here are some recent video releases:

“Other People’s Money” (Warner, $95). Based on Jerry Sterner’s acidic play celebrating greed, this comedy, many critics said, was drained of much of that acid--and even given a happy ending. Now it’s basically a fairly amusing vehicle to show off the expansive talents of Danny DeVito, who plays an unscrupulous takeover specialist.

“An American Tail: Fievel Goes West” (MCA/Universal, $25). That spunky mouse Fievel is back, this time trekking across country with the Mousekowitz clan. Despite the dazzling animation, this feature-length cartoon was a box-office disappointment, possibly because the complex story line and the scary villians didn’t quite click with the kiddies.

“Twenty-One” (Columbia TriStar, $90). This meandering movie is strictly for fans of British blonde Patsy Kensit, who’s terrific in a poorly written movie about a daring young woman looking for love in all the wrong places.

“Tom Jones” (HBO, $60). Though this best-picture Oscar winner, directed by Tony Richardson, seemed brilliant and irreverently bawdy in 1963, it’s now merely good entertainment. Albert Finney plays the young rogue caught up in romantic entanglements in 18th-Century England. This letterbox version of the slapstick comedy is about eight minutes shorter than the original--an early ‘80s video release that’s now a collector’s item.

“Bullets or Ballots” (MGM/UA, $20). Fast-paced, underrated, black-and-white gangster film from 1936, starring two of the greats: Edward G. Robinson in a rare good-guy role as an undercover cop infiltrating the mob, and Humphrey Bogart in a rare bad-guy role as gang boss.

“Blood Clan” (Monarch, $80). In a B-movie mystery set in a village in turn-of-the-century Canada, a young Scotswoman (Michelle Little) from a clan of killers is suspected of a series of murders. A few scares but generally slow.

“Sarah, Plain and Tall” (Republic, $90). Acclaimed made-for-TV drama, set in 1910, about a New England spinster (Glenn Close) adjusting to Kansas farm life with her new family after answering a “mate wanted” ad placed by a widower (Christopher Walken) with two children. One of Close’s most lauded performances.

Upcoming on Video: The release date of “The Commitments” has been moved from early April to May 7. Warner just announced that “The Last Boy Scout,” starring Bruce Willis, is coming out April 15. Others: “The Fisher King” (Wednesday), “Rambling Rose” (Wednesday), “The Super” (Thursday), “The People Under the Stairs” (April 23).

New on Laser: The widescreen, uncut version of director Michael Cimino’s “Heaven’s Gate” (Image, $50), the infamous 1980 Western starring Kris Kristofferson that went way over budget and triggered a studio’s financial disaster.

“The Tender Trap” (Pioneer, $40). A likable, 1955 romantic comedy starring Frank Sinatra as a bachelor who’s “trapped” into marriage by a pretty young woman (Debbie Reynolds). The title song is now better remembered than the movie.