Home Entertainment : Want More O.J. Info? Try These Videos

As you might expect, video companies have been trying to cash in on the national obsession with the O.J. Simpson case. Now there’s even a CD-ROM on the way.

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Actually, the videos aren’t bad, most offering solid summaries and analyses of the early days of the double-murder case. It’s not that these are works of art. The events are just so compelling that even a hastily assembled tape is very watchable. The problem, of course, is the constant stream of new developments, which add up to instant obsolescence for these videos.

MPI has cornered the market on Simpson tapes, rushing out shows from ABC News, “The End of the Search for O.J. Simpson” ($15) and “Inside the O.J. Simpson Story” ($20).

The best MPI tape, though, is “A Question of Evidence: The O.J. Simpson Hearing,” which sells for $20. This is a special assembled by the staff at Court TV. The commentary and analyses are first-rate.

Even the 47-minute documentary, “O.J. Simpson: The Juice on the Loose,” has some merit. Filmed when Simpson was still primarily a football hero, it provides an interesting peek at a more youthful, exuberant and less-polished Simpson.

Turner Home Entertainment, with the resources of CNN, is first out with what it’s calling an “instant publishing” CD-ROM (for MPC and Mac users), “The People v. O.J. Simpson: An Interactive Companion to the O.J. Simpson Trial.” The disc, due Wednesday, is an elaborate presentation of information, allowing you to come to your own conclusions. It’s segmented into many different points of view, including the murder, the victims, the evidence, the arrest and the legal debate. Users also get free, daily, on-line access to a service that regularly posts updates on the case.

Undoubtedly as the long trial progresses--and the national obsession intensifies--other news-based videos, and probably more CD-ROMS, will be released. And you can bet that the upcoming Fox TV movie about Simpson will make a beeline to home video after it’s telecast.

Don’t forget Simpson the actor. His most recent theatrical film, the wacky comedy “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult,” is due out in September.

Video Hits

According to a source at Blockbuster, the video chain will offer an exclusive version of the Barbra Streisand tape that’s due out Sept. 27 at $30. At Blockbuster you’ll get an extra song, which hasn’t been selected yet. A spokesman for the singer verified this. The rest of the tape consists of the special that aired last month on HBO.

Since September is generally a slow month for rentals, fewer major films debut in the home-video market. In fact, not one is scheduled for release this week. It’s a fairly dead rental month because people are focused on so many other things--like school starting and the beginning of the football and the TV seasons. Usually the pennant races in baseball are attracting attention too--but not this year.

The most beloved romantic comedy of recent years, Columbia TriStar’s “Sleepless in Seattle,” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, has just been repriced for the sales market, to $20. At the same time, FoxVideo has repriced “An Affair to Remember,” the tear-jerker romance--featuring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr--that’s featured in “Sleepless,” to $10.

FoxVideo is using a similar marketing tactic with “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the 1959 drama about a family in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. With “Schindler’s List” near the top of the rental chart, there’s renewed interest in Holocaust dramas, so FoxVideo is repromoting the title in the rental market. One of its attractions is Shelley Winters’ Oscar-winning performance for her supporting role as Mrs. Van Daan.

Special Interest

“Bill Cosby’s Picture Pages: What’s That Shape?” is both entertaining and educational for pre-schoolers, with Uncle Bill teaching them shapes, letters and numbers. From ABC, at $10. . . . That great BBC documentary “Watergate,” the best summary and analysis around on the early ‘70s scandal, is available through Discovery at $50 (800-922-7800).

Mary Tyler Moore is joining the ranks of celebrities with fitness videos next week with two Goodtimes tapes, “Body Sculpting” and “Aerobics.” The programs, designed by fitness expert Laure Redmond, are geared to the over-35 crowd. . . . If you’re about to plan a wedding and don’t know where to start, you’ll get lots of helpful hints in the informative “The Video Wedding Planner,” a 45-minute tape, priced at $20 from Cornerstone (800-NEWWEDS).