`Superfly' Sequel Among Several Films Going Straight To Video

Although it flopped at the box office in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles last November, ``The Return of Superfly'' is hitting video stores as a high-priced item this month. Vidmark Entertainment is charging $92.95 per cassette when it turns up March 20.

The original ``Superfly'' (1972), directed by Gordon Parks Jr. and starring Ron O'Neal as a Harlem drug dealer named Priest, was one of the most popular black-exploitation films of the early 1970s. O'Neal directed a flop 1973 sequel, ``Superfly TNT.''

The latest installment, directed by Sig Shore and starring Nathan Purdee as Priest, earned only $650,000 during limited theatrical release last fall. It never played most cities, and most reviews were scathing. Variety criticized its ``laconic direction and routine production'' and predicted that it was ``likely to fizzle even with the target black urban audience.'' The Washington Post called it ``a dog of a film.''

Vidmark executives, however, believe that Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack (released last summer on Capitol) and the familiarity of the title will turn it into a video hit. The company is promoting it as a major release with ``a subtle anti-drug message''; Priest is now an ex-pusher caught up in a drug war. The original ``Superfly'' generated considerable controversy for what many critics felt was a pro-drug stance.

Two other sequels are going straight to video this month: ``No Retreat No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers'' (due Thursday), a martial-arts revenge drama starring Keith Vitali and Joseph Campanella, and ``Bloodfist II'' (March 27), starring kickboxing champion Don ``The Dragon'' Wilson as a kidnapped fighter in Manila. The latter was produced by exploitation veteran Roger Corman.

Also bypassing most theaters and going straight to cassette:

``Good Night, Michelangelo'' (in stores now). A comedy about an Italian immigrant family trying to live under one roof in 1957. The cast includes Giancarlo Giannini (an Oscar nominee for ``Seven Beauties'') and Kim Cattrall (``Mannequin,'' ``Bonfire of the Vanities''). The Miami Herald called it ``witty and offbeat . . . packed with vibrant characters.''

``You're Driving Me Crazy'' (in stores now). A horror film starring Norman Fell as an asylum doctor whose patients include a successful fashion photographer who's addicted to a motivational record.

``Wilding'' (in stores now). Exploitation drama with Wings Hauser and Joey Travolta as detectives who go after a gang of teen-age rapists.

``With Friends Like These . . .'' (in stores now). A sports car takes on a personality and a creature grows out of moldy leftovers in this ``Twilight Zone''-style collection of stories.

``At Gunpoint'' (in stores now). A thriller about an FBI agent on the trail of a maniac.

``Skier's Dream'' (in stores now). Skiing champion John Eaves plays a young executive with an imagination in this adventure film set on the slopes. Music by Jimi Hendrix and Tom Cochrane.

``A Touch of Murder'' (in stores now). A thriller about a psychic who sees a different world in a junkyard.

``Terror in Beverly Hills'' (in stores now). Sly's brother, Frank Stallone, plays an ex-Green Beret who goes after the Arab terrorists who kidnapped the president's daughter and his own wife and child.

``The Last Riders'' (due Thursday). Erik Estrada co-stars with biker-movie veteran William Smith in this road movie about a bike gang that murders Estrada's wife and child.

``Sons'' (due Thursday). Filmed on the Olympic Peninsula, this folksy drama does a much more honest job than Hollywood's contrived ``Distant Thunder'' of dealing with the entangled family relationships of the Pacific Northwest's Vietnam veterans. It was directed by Steven Miller and produced with the cooperation of local veterans. It's available through Baker & Taylor Video and a Portland company, Yes Entertainment.

``The Shrimp on the Barbie'' (March 20). Emma Samms and Cheech Marin (without Chong) co-star in this Australian comedy about an heiress who pays a Mexican vagabond to pretend to be her fiance for a weekend. It was directed by ``Alan Smithee,'' a fake name used by filmmakers who want their names taken off a picture. During its Los Angeles run last year, the L.A. Weekly called it ``an extremely charming film,'' while the Los Angeles Times found Marin ``a consistent delight.''

``Crime Lords'' (March 21). A detective thriller starring Martin Hewitt (the lovesick teen-ager in ``Endless Love'') as a detective who's forced to team up with a policeman who's on the bottom of the police force roster. They track to Hong Kong the gang of car thieves who humiliated them.

``Princes in Exile'' (March 27). Shown at last year's Toronto and Montreal film festivals, this inspirational drama is set in Camp Hawkins, a summer camp for terminally ill children. Variety called it ``a positive, life-affirming experience.'' It won the ecumenical prize at the Montreal festival.

Video Watch by John Hartl appears Sundays in Arts & Entertainment. You can get more video information by calling the Seattle Times' 24-hour free service Infoline. Call 464-2000 from any touch-tone telephone and when instructed, enter the category number 0911 to reach the Video Hotline. You may replay all information by pressing ``R'' (7); back up to previous information by pressing ``B'' (2); and jump over over current information by pressing ``J'' (5).

New videos in stores this week

Wednesday - Clint Eastwood in ``White Hunter, Black Heart,'' John Wayne in ``Big Jim McLain,'' James Stewart in ``The FBI Story,'' Richard Harris in ``The Deadly Trackers,'' Christian Slater in ``Pump Up the Volume,'' Ron Silver in ``Forgotten Prisoners,'' Katharine Hepburn in ``Quality Street,'' Ginger Rogers in ``Romance in Manhattan,'' Robert Ryan in ``Tender Comrade,'' Robert Armstrong in ``The Tip Off,'' ``The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson.''

Thursday - Martin Hewitt in ``Crime Lords,'' Erik Estrada in ``The Last Riders,'' Keith Vitali in ``No Retreat No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers,'' ``Lights, Camera, Hanna-Barbera!''

Friday - ``Fun Down There,'' ``Ducktales - The Movie.''

New laserdiscs: Christian Slater in ``Pump Up the Volume,'' Burt Lancaster in ``Local Hero,'' Anjelica Huston in ``The Witches,'' Gene Wilder in ``Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,'' Bill Murray in ``Quick Change,'' Faye Dunaway in ``Chinatown'' (letterboxed), Jack Nicholson in ``The Two Jakes,'' Robert Forster in ``The Banker,'' ``Amor Bandido,'' ``Whispers,'' ``Floating World.''