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MOVIE MAGIC: DISASTERS AT SEA
Image Entertainment
45 minutes, $14.98
Answering the question "How'd they do that?," this video goes to model shops and digital-special-effects houses to uncover movie-making secrets for three current or recent hits. To no one's surprise, most of the video focuses on "Titanic" and includes footage of undersea dives director Jim Cameron made to the wreckage to carefully reconstruct the mammoth ship. Also included are segments on how special-effects artists made the sinking of the ship look so real. "Titanic" was the first film to use a digital-water effect, and in the video computer artists are shown creating the ocean that the ship sails through in the movie. It's fascinating stuff that every moviegoer will enjoy. A submarine implosion from "Crimson Tide" is also highlighted, as well as a wrestling match between Treat Williams and a giant sea monster in "Deep Rising."

STOMP OUT LOUD
HBO Home Video
50 minutes, $19.98
As clever and innovative as this group of percussionists and dancers is, "Stomp Out Loud" is a concept that wears thin after about 10 minutes. The show starts out on a giant scaffold on which performers bang on assorted hubcaps, pipes, tubs, and just about anything that makes noise. Visually spectacular at first, but it quickly takes on a "now what?" quality. The troupe uses basketballs, playing cards, and apples as rhythm instruments in two unappealing segments. The production, though, is first rate. Instead of just filming the performance, the director takes viewers out onto the street, into a kitchen, and into the sewers for some of the video's most interesting numbers. The show moves well from one segment to the next, but tediously long numbers exhaust viewers' eyes and ears.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK: MASTER OF SUSPENSE
WinStar Home Entertainment
55 minutes, $19.98
Alfred Hitchcock makes more than his stereotypical cameo appearance in this video, narrated by Oscar winner Cliff Robertson. The tape zigzags around a fascinating and frank interview with Hitchcock, who sits behind a desk and looks straight into the camera, revealing some of the secrets of his oft-mimicked cinematic technique. He also tells the stories behind some of the most dramatic moments in film history, as well as childhood experiences that manifested themselves in his movies. Film buffs will revel not only in this chance to glean information from the master himself, but in the opportunity to view a kaleidoscope of clips from such classic Hitchcock films as "Psycho," "North By Northwest," "The Birds," and Hitchcock's favorite, "Shadow Of A Doubt."

SILK ROAD II: COLLECTOR'S BOXED SET
Central Park Media
900 minutes, $149.95
Clocking in at a whopping 15 hours, this boxed set provides more information than most people probably thought was available on the mythos and culture surrounding the Silk Road. A historical trade route, the Silk Road allowed merchants to transport metals, religious icons, and other rare materials from the Far East to Rome and other points West. The video uses interviews, sketches, and beautifully filmed footage to illustrate the story. The programs invite viewers to follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo, and by the time they finish viewing the entire collection, they will feel like they have arrived in some otherworldly destination. Central Park is also repricing to $99.95 the initial two "Silk Road" collectors' sets, which contain the first 12 volumes of the collection. Individual tapes will be available for $29.95 suggested list price.

TOM JONES
A&E Home Video
300 minutes, $99.95
Author Henry Fielding's notorious 18th-century playboy comes to irreverent life in the adept hands of up-and-coming British actor Max Beesley. Although it is not quite as majestic as the original 1963 feature film that starred Albert Finney and won Oscars for best picture and best adapted screenplay, this six-tape set, filmed entirely in the U.K., is just as grandiose and much more humorous than its predecessor. The swashbuckling antics of the charming Jones, whose death sentence sends him on an intriguing search for salvation, make for some great family entertainment. A&E is also offering an abridged, two-tape rental version of "Tom Jones."


BUGS BUNNY'S FUNKY MONKEYS
Warner Home Video
30 minutes, $9.95
Who better than Bugs Bunny and his pals to help children learn about the real-life animal kingdom? After viewing this first episode in a new hybrid animated/live-action series, youngsters will likely say "No one!" The line between entertainment and education completely vanishes as Bugs and company get into the swing and help expose various primate secrets, such as why gorillas pound their chests and why orangutans prefer to hang out in trees. The juxtapositioning of "Looney Tunes" footage and live-action segments results in loads of learning and laughs. The price point is also unbeatable. Also new from Kids WB are "Bugs Bunny's Elephant Parade" and "Bugs Bunny's Silly Seals."


THE LEGEND OF SU-LING
Sony Wonder
45 minutes, $9.98
The Eastern fairy tale of a nightingale who refuses to sing and a prince who refuses to marry a coquettish princess selected to be his bride comes to life in this latest title in Sony Wonder's "Animated Tales" series. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the intimidating Emperor Chao when his son runs away after rebuffing an arranged marriage and then his caged bird stops making her beautiful and soothing music. But the emperor--and viewers--are in for a powerful lesson in faith and freedom. Disguised as a commoner, the prince falls in love with a peasant woman whose grandfather just happens to know the secret to the nightingale's song. When the emperor learns of this, he kidnaps the old man and tries to force him to reveal his secret. However, the emperor discovers that a bird cannot be forced to sing, just as two people cannot be forced to love each other. The tape is packaged in a clamshell case and includes a mini jigsaw puzzle.


COLORS AND SHAPES CIRCUS
Mazzarella Productions
25 minutes, $12.95
Learning about the world of colors and shapes is the central activity under the big top in this live-action tape. One in a series of kids' titles from Mazzarella, the video features energetic clowns as teachers. In this program, the two funny men, aptly named Colors and Shapes, respectively run through various circumstances that make us come into contact with colors and shapes every day. The clowns explain their names and relationships as they go along. The program's format and the original songs that accompany each segment are a little hokey, but they're likely to keep young audiences duly engaged. Contact: 800-583-1988.