A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

sh , because you feel like you actually killed people . '' Bud Whitehouse , who 

visited Ultrazone on Friday evening with his son and daughter , said he wasn't w

orried about the violent tone . `` It 's been a long time since I played cowboys

 and indians , but I can remember playing it at the same level of aggression , '

' he said . Joseph Cassius , a Memphis psychologist who has studied high-tech ga

mes and how they affect people , said games such as Ultrazone affect individuals

 differently . `` It can create a numbing effect , from a negative standpoint , 

if the game is a game that emphasizes aggression . On the other hand , it can al

low some expression ( of aggressive impulses ) in a socially acceptable manner .

 '' Peple , a certified public accountant with a background in commercial real e

state , said he and three business associates in their thirties and forties pool

ed $ 500,000 to open the Richmond center . They are about to close on a site in 

Virginia Beach , are negotiating on locations in Northern Virginia and are tryin

g to obtain the Maryland franchise rights , he said . Peple would not provide sp

ecific revenue or profit figures , but said more than 10,000 games have been pla

yed since the site opened in early April . The price is $ 5 or $ 7 , depending o

n time of day , plus a $ 2 membership fee . Peple and his partners are not the o

nly ones seeking to cash in on the Nintendo generation 's appetite for high-tech

 entertainment , but it remains to be seen how much staying power such ventures 

will have . He takes pains to distinguish Ultrazone from an early '80s game call

ed Photon , also a form of light-based tag , which achieved fad status in some c

ities before vanishing . `` There 's no doubt that this is a very hot segment of

 the market today , the laser-tag business , '' said John Latta , president of 4

th Wave , an Alexandria , Va. , consulting firm that follows high-tech entertain

ment .

 A half century ago , when he was the music critic for the New York Herald Tribu

ne , Virgil Thomson used to write about going to `` hear '' an opera . Today , i

n contrast , music lovers are more likely to talk about going to `` see '' Itzha

k Perlman play the violin or Mstislav Rostropovich conduct the National Symphony

 . The difference points up a profound change in the way people think about musi

c : It is now considered a largely visual experience , thanks to the pervasive i

nfluence of television . So it was probably a smart move last year when Peter Ge

lb was appointed president of both Sony Classical USA , which produces audio rec

ordings , and the international Sony Classical Film and Video , which produces b

oth theatrical films and home videos . As a TV producer , Gelb won half a dozen 

Emmys , for Metropolitan Opera telecasts he produced and for music documentaries

 made by CAMI Video , which he founded and which is now part of Sony . During hi

s short time at Sony , Gelb has brought out some of the best items available on 

the classical home video market . Those released only on video include `` Vladim

ir Horowitz : A Reminiscence '' ( laser disc SLV 53478 ; also on VHS ) , part of

 which was shown recently on PBS , and Herbert von Karajan 's sumptuous 1984 Sal

zburg production of `` Der Rosenkavalier '' ( S2LV 48313 , two laser discs , als

o on VHS ) , which appeals to the eye as much as the ear-and very strongly to bo

th . Others can also be heard on audio CDs , including `` Dvorak in Prague : A C

elebration '' ( laser disc SLV 53488 ; compact disc SK 46687 ) and `` John Willi

ams : The Seville Concert '' ( Laser Disc SLV 53475 ; compact disc SK 53359 ) . 

All four of these home videos have one thing in common : They originated as tele

vision programs . Gelb insists that even the giant Sony Corp. could not have pro

duced them without one or more television networks sharing the costs . `` The cl

assical home video market is not sufficient to pay for such productions , '' he 

says . `` We need broadcast partners , and the television link will have to cont

inue for the foreseeable future ; it 's a major source of financial support . ''

 The cost of producing a video recording can be 10 times as high as for audio on

ly , according to Gelb , and the result is that `` for every show I get to do , 

there are 20 or 30 that are considered but not realized . '' There is no questio

n that video can give a strong added dimension to recorded music . `` The Sevill

e Concert '' was videotaped on location in an ancient Spanish castle , with a di

fferent visual background for each number , carefully and sometimes brilliantly 

selected to reinforce the music 's effect . `` Dvorak in Prague '' relies not on

 scenic background but on the performers ' personalities to enhance the video di

mension and since the soloists include Perlman , Yo-Yo Ma and Frederica von Stad

e , this strategy works well . Watching Ma and Perlman play an arrangement of Dv

orak 's `` Humoresque '' intensifies the musical experience . It is wonderful ju

st to hear von Stade sing the lovely `` Song to the Moon '' from `` Rusalka '' o

n the CD , but it is even more satisfying to see her sing it . The case is diffe

rent for a documentary like `` Vladimir Horowitz : A Reminiscence , '' which was

 made for television . It works only in a video format and enjoys the promotiona

l advantage of having been shown nationwide on PBS . Laser video discs , unlike 

CDs , can be recorded and played back on both sides , allowing up to two hours o

f material on a single disc . Gelb takes advantage of this capacity to give home

 video viewers a substantial plus that was not seen on PBS : a superbly played H

orowitz recital in London . Though `` Der Rosenkavalier , '' stylishly conducted

 by von Karajan and beautifully sung , could be enjoyed in an audio recording , 

a lot would be missed . The performers , including Anna Tomowa-Sintow , Kurt Mol

l , Agnes Baltsa and Janet Perry , have acting skills that deserve to be seen , 

and the Salzburg Festival 's sets and costumes reinforce the music of Richard St

rauss in establishing this opera 's unique atmosphere , a substantial part of it

s charm .

 The rankings for books sold in the New York area , as reported by selected book

 stores : HARDCOVER FICTION 1 . THE CELESTINE PROPHECY , by James Redfield . 2 .

 THE ALIENIST , by Caleb Carr . 3 . REMEMBER ME , by Mary Higgins Clark . 4 . IN

CA GOLD , by Clive Cussler . 5 . DISCLOSURE , by Michael Crichton . 6 . WALKING 

SHADOW , by Robert B . Parker . 7 . THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY , by Robert Ja

mes Waller . 8 . `` K '' IS FOR KILLER , by Sue Grafton . 9 . NIGHT PREY , by Jo

hn Sandford . 10 . TUNNEL VISION , by Sara Paretsky . NONFICTION 1 . IN THE KITC

HEN WITH ROSIE , by Rosie Daley . 2 . EMBRACED BY THE LIGHT , by Betty J. Eadie 

with Curtis Taylor . 3 . MAGIC EYE , by Tom Baccei . 4 . MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN 

OF GOOD AND EVIL , by John Berendt . 5 . MAGIC EYE II , by Tom Baccei . 6 . MEN 

ARE FROM MARS , WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS , by John Gray . 7 . HOW WE DIE , by Sherwi

n B . Nuland . 8 . LIFE OF THE PARTY , by Christopher Ogden . 9 . STANDING FIRM 

, by Dan Quayle . 10 . BEYOND PEACE , by Richard Nixon . PAPERBACK 1 . PLEADING 

GUILTY , by Scott Turow . 2 . LISTENING TO PROZAC , by Peter Kramer . 3 . SHIPPI

NG NEWS , by E. Annie Proulx . 4 . CRUEL & UNUSUAL , by Patricia Cornwell . 5 . 

SCORPIO ILLUSION , by Robert Ludlum . 6 . I ' LL BE SEEING YOU , by Mary Higgins

 Clark . 7 . PIGS IN HEAVEN , by Barbara Kingsolver . 8 . AFTER ALL THESE YEARS 

, by Susan Isaacs . 9 . `` J '' IS FOR JUDGMENT , by Sue Grafton . 10 . THE STAN

D , by Stephen King . Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News 

Service

 BERLIN When the big American law firm of Mayer , Brown & Platt decided to trump

et the opening of a new Berlin branch office this spring , it did what big Ameri

can law firms often do to win friends and influence people : It planned a big pa

rty . And what a party . Embossed invitations were sent to hundreds of guests ac

ross Germany and around the world . The mayor of Berlin , the U.S. ambassador an

d the German economics minister all agreed to make welcoming speeches . Chicago-

based Mayer , Brown even booked the Landesgericht , Berlin 's state courthouse ,

 for the occasion . Every detail was considered and reconsidered except , alas ,

 the sensitivities of local attorneys . Roused by outraged German lawyers , the 

Berlin bar swung into action , obtaining a court injunction blocking the party o

n grounds that it violated stringent rules prohibiting law firms from soliciting

 clients . Less than a week before the scheduled March 1 bash , Mayer , Brown wa

s forced to cancel and uninvite some 600 guests . `` We certainly didn't want to

 stick a finger in the eye of local lawyers , '' said C . Mark Nicolaides , the 

firm 's managing partner here . `` We had no idea it would cause that sort of re

action . '' In its own small , humbling fashion , the episode illustrates the ch

allenges and occasional perils U.S. firms encounter when they try to do business

 in a country where custom , regulation and social nuance can create many a stic

ky wicket . An estimated 1,250 U.S. companies operate in Germany . Many of them 

Ford Motor Co. , General Motors Corp. , Coca-Cola Co. have been here for decades

 and have successfully become part of the landscape . But for newcomers trying t

o tap newly opened markets in the east , it doesn't take long to discover that w

hen working here there is a right way , a wrong way and a German way . `` The cu

ltural and bureaucratic barriers can be substantial , '' said Donald Kobletz , f

ormerly the State Department 's senior lawyer in Berlin and now a private attorn

ey here . `` In the States , there 's bureaucracy but it operates basically unde

r a principle of benign neglect . The Germans don't believe in benign neglect th

ey believe in benign harassment . I think it has something to do with the German

 need for security : You surround yourself with rules and regulations . '' Espec

ially troublesome for business executives is a sclerotic system for getting new 

enterprises approved . `` To get a building permit for a major chemical plant in

 Germany now takes an average of 70 months ; in neighboring Belgium it takes 12 

months , '' said Kurt Kasch , senior vice president of the Deutsche Bank office 

in Berlin . There are no precise estimates on how many U.S. firms have abandoned

 Germany and gone elsewhere with their investment dollars , although figures fro

m the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany indicate U.S. investment has been 

flat since the mid-1980s . For those who have plunged into the brave new world o

f former East Germany , the experience often has been bittersweet . In early 199

3 , for example , Kaneb Services Inc. , of Richardson , Tex. , paid Treuhand , t

he government agency set up to privatize or liquidate former East German compani

es , $ 610,000 for an East Berlin engineering firm called Kraftwerks und Lagenba

u . After a year of wrangling with Treuhand over how to restructure the company 

`` to make it a profitable and viable business , '' Kaneb pulled out , according

 to Kaneb Vice President Howard Wadsworth . Kaneb has nine other operations in e

astern Germany , most involving maintenance services for industrial facilities .

 `` Our general experience has been very good , '' Wadsworth said . `` And then 

, like this last case , there 've been some difficult ones . '' `` Difficult '' 

is a word Raymond Learsy uses often in describing his efforts to revive Berlin K

osmetik , a former East German cosmetics firm he paid $ 24 million to take over 

last year . Once a thriving manufacturer of shampoos , lipsticks , skin care pro

ducts and the like , the company 's sales had fallen from $ 60 million a year be

fore East Germany 's collapse to $ 4 million in 1992 . Learsy said he has diffic

ulty getting shelf space in western Germany , a symptom of what Andrew Luedders 

, an American Chamber official in Frankfurt , calls `` the rather well-defined ,

 or constricted , relationships in Germany between producers and distributors an

d retailers . '' `` It appeared to be a level playing field , but it 's really w

eighted toward the status quo , '' Learsy said . For example , shop hours are se

verely restricted by law in Germany , with few stores open evenings , Saturday a

fternoons or Sundays . `` The shortened shopping hours necessitate brand identif

ication buying because people don't really have time to browse , '' Learsy said 

. `` That protects established brands . '' Mayer , Brown 's problems were of a d

ifferent nature . One of the 10 largest U.S. law firms , with 600 attorneys and 

nine offices worldwide , the firm decided to open a branch in Berlin because Fra

nkfurt and Duesseldorf appeared `` overlawyered , '' said managing partner Nicol

aides . Loosely affiliated with a large German law firm , Mayer , Brown envision

ed Berlin as a springboard for dealmaking and legal work throughout Eastern Euro

pe . `` We 're not coming in saying we 're going to take business away from Germ

an lawyers , '' Nicolaides said . `` We don't compete against them we don't want

 to ; we don't need to . '' `` We wouldn't have objected if they hadn't chosen t

hat particular place ( for the reception ) and invited so many prominent people 

, '' said Bernhard Dombeck , president of the Berlin bar . `` That was a little 

too showy . '' As for others looking to crack the German market , Robert F. Smit

h , the American Chamber representative in Berlin , observed : `` Doing business

 in Germany is not that difficult . But you have to follow the rules . ''

 As funny as it was , `` The Honeymooners '' was basically a one-joke show : Ral

ph Kramden , '50s Brooklyn caveman , can't get a break . Its Hanna-Barbera alter

 ego , `` The Flintstones , '' which came along in 1960 , was a one-joke show , 

too : same caveman , flashed back to the Stone Age . The solitary gag that prope

ls the big-budget feature film version of `` The Flintstones '' is the translati

on of cartoon humor into live-action : The mastodon as kitchen faucet ( and Gree

k chorus ) ; the large-beaked bird as Victrola ; the giant crab as pin-changer a

t the Bowl-o-Rama , and Fred , as embodied by the lovably cartoonish John Goodma

n , suspended in midair during an ecstatic yabba-dabba-doo . Directed by Brian (

 `` Beethoven '' ) Levant and produced by Stephen Spielberg 's Amblin Entertainm

ent ( yes , there 's a `` Jurassic Park '' plug in here , too ) , `` The Flintst

ones '' makes relentless puns on the words `` rock '' and `` stone , '' offers p

roof that product placement knows no particular millennium ( Cavern on the Green

 , RocDonald 's , Rolling Rock beer ) and gets mileage out of gags that were old

 when Dino was a pup . The intro , the music , the finale , they 're all straigh

t out of the original Bedrock . In other words , if you loved the cartoon show ,

 you 'll probably love the movie . And did we love the cartoon ? As Fred might s

ay , `` Is the Earth flat ? '' The TV `` Flintstones '' was never that funny , p

erhaps because it didn't have a Gleason . The `` Flintstones '' movie doesn't ha

ve one either , but it has Goodman , who plays the anti-Kramden on `` Roseanne '

' and has done some memorable work in the Coen brothers ' movies . No one 's eve

r been more physically right for a role than Goodman is for longtime Slate & Co.

 brontosaurus-operator Fred Flintstone , and he 's a lot more Ralphy boy than Fr

ed , but he remains throughout the movie an oddly unengaging presence ; rather t

han flesh out the cartoon , Goodman is sucked into the animation vortex . So is 

the rest of the cast . As Fred 's little buddy , Barney Rubble , Rick Moranis cr

eates a more original character , but he 's mugging , too . Elizabeth Perkins as

 Wilma and Rosie O' Donnell as Betty have the right giggle , Perkins certainly h

as the right look , but the actors seem to be striving toward a Saturday morning

-style one-dimensionality that 's epitomized by Elizabeth Taylor 's hammy cameo 

as Fred 's mother-in-law , Pearl Slaghoople . Although nearly devoid of what 's 

usually defined as wit , `` The Flintstones , '' will probably amuse both young 

children and older set designers . The town of Bedrock may look parched and inho

spitable , but it contains a lot of ingenious sight gags , as well as gaps in lo

gic : They have television , for instance ( on which Jay Leno hosts `` Bedrock '

s Most Wanted '' ) but they still write with hammers and chisels . In any event 

, the animals which are the products of either Jim Henson 's Creature Shop in Lo

ndon , or Industrial Light and Magic in California are engaging , more so than t

he actors . Certainly , the pigasaurus garbage disposal has personality , and th

e Dictabird ( voice of Harvey Korman ) has as pivotal a role in the story as any

 human . It 's the Dictabird who gets Fred out of the jam he finds himself in hi

s own bombast , as usual , being partly the cause after the nefarious Cliff Vand

ercave ( Kyle MacLachlan ) promotes him to vice president at Slate & Co. Cliff ,

 a Stone Age yuppie embezzler and one of the two more interesting characters in 

the film the other being Fred 's secretary , Sharon Stone , played by the scene-

stealing Halle Berry needs a dupe to perpetrate the liquidation of Slate & Co. .

 So he invites all employees to take an aptitude test , which Barney aces , and 

Fred fails . But Barney owes Fred big Fred having lent Barney money so the Rubbl

es could adopt Bamm-Bamm ( twins Hlynur and Marino Sigurdsson ) . ( It was easie

r on the cartoon , if you recall , when Bamm-Bamm was left on the doorstep . ) S

o Barney switches their papers . Fred gets the job and becomes insufferable . Ba

rney , with the lowest score , is fired . Friendship , of course , will triumph 

, as will Fred . You may ask yourself : If Cliff needs a stooge to take the rap 

for his insidious scheme , why give the job to the highest-scoring applicant ? B

ut the script by Tom S. Parker , Jim Jennewein and Stephen E. de Souza makes no 

pretense of intelligence . Basically , `` The Flintstones '' simply wants to pla

giarize itself , and the only thing missing is the laugh track . Ultimately , ``

 The Flintstones , '' like many cartoons these days , is little more than a mark

eting tool . That the movie is as insubstantial and vacuous as the products it '

s designed to sell is appropriate : Why else would it have been made ? There 's 

certainly no broadening of the original material , no irony , no reflection . Ev

entually , the people who make these things will realize that there 's really no

 need for a movie at all , just an advertising campaign , the right poster-frien

dly image ( in this case , Goodman/Fred ) and tie-ins with companies like McDona

ld 's . A lot of money will be saved , a lot of eye-strain avoided . Two stars ;

 add a star if you 're under 9 .

 HOLLYWOOD `` Improper Conduct '' is a nifty modest-budget psychological thrille

r pegged to the timely issue of sexual harassment . It is the 15th film by the e

nterprising Dr. Jag Mundhra , who has been a professor of marketing , advertisin

g and consumer behavior and who once operated a theater in Southern California t

hat showcased Indian cinema . `` Improper Conduct '' is the first of Mundhra 's 

films to be released theatrically , his previous efforts having been contracted 

to go straight to video . This movie is the confident work of an efficient filmm

aker who knows the ropes . In a sharp ensemble cast , Tahnee Welch plays a beaut

iful commercial artist newly hired by a Los Angeles advertising agency , where o

wner Stuart Whitman has just appointed son-in-law John Laughlin as head of marke

ting . Laughlin immediately starts hitting upon Welch with increasing persistenc

e and menacing crudeness , refusing to take no for an answer . Welch 's visiting

 sister , Lee Anne Beaman , a feminist law student , persuades her to hire Beama

n 's lawyer friend Steven Bauer to file suit against Laughlin . Bauer feels sure

 that his brisk assistant Nia Peeples willn't have any trouble lining up other w

omen Laughlin has pestered ; besides , Welch has one witness , the office 's mai

l-room worker ( Everette Lamar ) , a gutsy young gay man . Up to this point `` I

mproper Conduct '' plays like a crisp , decently made TV movie , whereupon it ve

ers unexpectedly and effectively in an entirely different direction . Having poi

nted up the pitfalls of women trying to fight back against sexual harassment , M

undhra and writer Carl Austin deftly move the film from courtroom drama to eroti

c suspense . Technically adroit , `` Improper Conduct '' ( MPAA rating : Unrated

 ) is notable for its array of well-defined , well-acted roles . The cast includ

es Adrian Zmed , as a slimy kiss-and-tell type ; Kathy Shower as Laughlin 's flu

ffy , naive wife ; and Patsy Pease , as a Welch co-worker not above using sex to

 get ahead . Laughlin is properly repellent and scary ; Welch , who recalls the 

early Rita Hayworth as much as she does her mother , Raquel , is persuasively vu

lnerable yet determined ; but it 's Beaman , who has worked previously for Mundh

ra , who is the film 's revelation as the deceptively demure sister .

 HOLLYWOOD `` Two Small Bodies , '' a thoroughly captivating film adaptation of 

Neal Bell 's play , seemingly is simplicity itself . A trench-coated police dete

ctive ( Fred Ward ) comes to a suburban house to interrogate a single mother ( S

uzy Amis ) on the disappearance of her two young children . Very early on it 's 

clear that Ward 's Lt. Brann believes that Amis ' Eileen Maloney , estranged fro

m her husband , has murdered her kids and that Brann , who speaks only with love

 of his own two children , will quickly become obsessed with the case . `` Two S

mall Bodies '' ( MPAA rating : unrated ) allows its stars to shine in far-rangin

g , deeply probing characterizations of the kind that actors all too rarely get