OUT ON VIDEO
* JOHNNY MNEMONIC -
He's a sort of futuristic Fedex agent, carrying a lode of crucial information in a memory implant that's displaced all recollections of his childhood. Based on a story by William Gibson, who wrote the screenplay, this science-fiction adventure will please moviegoers who enjoy hearing terms like ''wet-wired'' uttered with great frequency, but others will find it more frenetic than refreshing. Aside from the snazzy computer effects, there's little evidence it was directed by Robert Longo, a reputable painter who shouldn't let this assignment lure him from his day job. Keanu Reeves and Dolph Lundgren head the cast, which also features Dina Meyer, rap star Ice-T, and Henry Rollins. (R; Columbia TriStar Home Video)
* PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN - This genuinely weird Hollywood romance blends a 1950s love story with elements from two ancient myths: that of Pandora, who changed the world by opening a forbidden box the gods had given her, and that of the Flying Dutchman, doomed to wander the earth until he captures the love of a woman who'll sacrifice her life for him. Ava Gardner and James Mason play the protagonists, an American entertainer and a brooding mariner who pilots his yacht with a ghostly crew. Also on hand are a Spanish bullfighter and two Englishmen, a scholar, and a race-car driver, all skulking around a small Mediterranean town and wondering who the lovely Pandora Reynolds will marry in the end. Albert Lewin wrote and directed the 1951 release, which has a delirious charm despite its slow pace and pretentious mood. (Not rated; Kino Video)
* SIGNS OF LIFE -
A paratrooper named Stroszek goes extravagantly mad while recovering from an injury on a sleepy Greek island where the main occupation is guarding an ammunition dump from meddling hands. German filmmaker Werner Herzog's first feature foreshadows many aspects of his extraordinary career, including his fascination with abnormal mental states, and the talent for capturing hallucinatory landscapes, which makes him an inimitable stylist. First released in 1968. (Not rated; New Yorker Video)
