OUT ON VIDEO

September 29, 1994

* DR. PETIOT - This dark drama is based on the true exploits of a French physician who conducted a private Holocaust during the World War II era, murdering Jews after enticing them with promises of escape from Nazi terror. Vigorously directed by Christian de Chalonge, and featuring an astonishing performance by Michel Serrault as the evil doctor. (World Artists Home Video)

* HARD LABOUR - With recent films like ``Naked'' and ``High Hopes,'' director Mike Leigh has earned recognition as an acute and witty observer of contemporary life. The title of this early work, made for British television in 1973, refers to the dehumanizing jobs of its working-class characters; more broadly, it also points to the harsh realities that plague their private lives, bred and encouraged by social inequities. Sad, scathing, and sometimes remarkably funny. (Water Bearer Films)

* THE MOON IS BLUE - Today this comedy would have a PG rating, but in 1953 its use of words like ``pregnant'' and ``virgin'' made the Hollywood censors withhold their seal of approval. Otto Preminger released it anyway, and emerged with a box-office hit, which showed how dimly the Production Code authorities understood the American public they were supposedly serving. For all its historical importance, the movie doesn't stand the test of time very well, quickly running out of steam with its conspicuously snappy dialogue and paper-thin plot about the whirlwind romance of a sophisticated architect and a would-be actress. William Holden and David Niven have their usual class as the hero and his slippery upstairs neighbor, but Maggie McNamara is more irksome than ingratiating as the relentlessly perky love interest. This cassette includes the original coming-attractions trailer, which is weirder and more interesting than anything in the picture itself. (Warner Home Video)