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

ys a high-ranking executive of a major American booksellers chain . `` Everybody

 knows the potential here is going to be vast and huge .. . but it 's up to cons

umers to make this fly . '' ( Optional add end ) Currently , there are only a li

mited number of CD-ROM book products on the market , ranging from the complete O

xford English Dictionary to a group of children 's stories , including `` Just G

randma and Me , '' which has sold more than 130,000 copies . Customers seeking t

hem out in bookstores may be disappointed because many stores don't yet carry a 

full product line . Indeed , CD-ROM books are more typically found in computer s

tores such as Egghead Software and Comp USA . Booksellers hope to correct that s

o they don't lose the market . And publishers are also feeling the heat , becaus

e they don't want to merely provide the back list of material for others to re-c

reate on CD-ROM . For them , the big bucks will be in marketing and distribution

 . `` We 're rethinking what it means to be a publisher , and we 're trying to m

ove as many products on paper into electronics , '' says Randi Benton , who runs

 the interactive computer division of Random House Inc. . `` But everybody has t

o proceed cautiously , because there are some obvious business concerns . '' Suc

h as : How do you bet the farm on a new medium when fewer than 5 million America

n homes have CD-ROM technology in their computers ? Will enough customers buy el

ectronic books that typically sell for $ 69.99 or more ? Most important , what h

appens if compact disk technology becomes the eight-track tape of the 1990s an o

bsolete hardware that 's overtaken by new gadgetry ? `` I don't think it really 

matters that much , '' says Bob Stein , a creative guru at the Voyager Co. , a N

ew York-based company that creates CD-ROM books . `` Did the Beatles suffer when

 eight-track tapes gave way to cassettes ? They did just fine and so did their a

udience . The point is , change will happen . `` You 're entering a whole new wo

rld . Reading used to be something where you only used one of five senses , but 

now at least we 've added a second , which is hearing . We 've enlarged the band

 width , so to speak . `` And we 're going to see a time when many writers no lo

nger just rely on the printed page to communicate . They 'll be using the comput

er as a larger locus of expression . That 's where you 'll find our forward-look

ing writers . '' The new technology also permits a richer look at the past . In 

the recently published diaries of Richard Nixon presidential aide H.R. Haldeman 

, for example , readers of the printed book can thumb through 684 pages of text 

. But the CD-ROM version just issued by Sony Electronics includes an expanded te

xt as well as 45 minutes of rare home movies of Nixon shot by Haldeman . Booksel

lers are watching and waiting to see how the new medium performs , but there are

 some preliminary indications it will be quite popular . Bernard Rath , ABA exec

utive director , notes that the introduction of on-line encyclopedias has caused

 a 10 percent to 12 percent dip in sales of printed versions . `` It would be a 

shame if we don't seize the advantage and get in the forefront of this , '' he s

ays . `` Our goal is to make the bookstore perceived as the place to go for info

rmation or entertainment in any format . '' And the place to start , many say , 

is with kids . It 's no accident that Random House is emphasizing children 's pr

oducts in its initial CD-ROM ventures . Next year , Dr. Seuss ' works will be av

ailable on disk , through a joint venture with Random House and Broderbund . Thi

s fall , Simon & Schuster will market a Star Trek junkies ' dream the operating 

manual for the USS Enterprise in a bold new computer format , replete with inter

active gizmos , color graphics and vivid sound effects . `` Kids are sponges wit

h computers , '' Random House 's Benton says . `` They absorb this stuff complet

ely , with no fear . They have no barriers . So they 're a natural place for the

 first waves of this new medium to start appearing . ''

 1 . `` Mrs. Doubtfire '' 2 . `` A Perfect World '' 3 . `` Carlito 's Way '' 4 .

 `` Malice '' 5 . `` Cool Runnings '' 6 . `` The Fugitive '' 7 . `` The Remains 

of the Day '' 8 . `` The Joy Luck Club '' 9 . `` What 's Love Got to Do With It 

'' 10 .

 Watching and listening to filmmakers Allen and Albert Hughes talk about their d

ebut 1993 feature film , `` Menace II Society , '' on a new Criterion laser disc

 ( $ 100 ) takes commitment and a strong stomach . First , there is the raw film

 itself , seen for the first time in an unrated director 's cut . From the unspa

ring , `` Sunset Blvd.''-style opening to the literal closing shot of `` Menace 

II Society , '' there is little question of the film 's resolution : violent dea

th amid grinding hopelessness . Then there is the special supplementary material

 on this jam-packed laser disc in which each identical twin is given his own ana

log sound track . To hear what they have to say about the making of `` Menace , 

'' you have to watch the film play out twice to give each brother a chance to ex

plain , scene by grueling scene , how their bold vision was put on film . There 

is little doubt that we 're in the presence of two young , uncompromising filmma

kers with much potential . The Hughes brothers were 20 when they co-directed `` 

Menace II Society , '' a film whose story they say they had thought about since 

they were 15 . The Criterion laser edition leaves almost nothing out : In additi

on to the unrated film featuring material deleted from the theatrical release an

d the two audio commentaries , the package includes the original theatrical trai

ler ; two deleted scenes dropped in the final cut ; two music videos directed by

 the Hughes brothers ; excerpts from Albert Hughes ' Los Angeles City College st

udent film , `` The Drive By , '' and the short , `` Menace to Society '' ; a vi

deo interview with the Hugheses ; storyboards and storyboard-to-film comparison 

of key action sequences , and other production notes and documentation . In this

 home theater version , `` Menace '' unwinds with all the graphic violence that 

the MPAA insisted be removed to avoid an NC-17 rating . Even more than in the mo

vie theater , the assault on the senses in the comfort of your living room ampli

fies the harsh realities of this corner of urban life : young men living a nasty

 , short and brutish `` gangsta '' existence seemingly handed down from generati

on to generation , with little done to break the cycle . For some , the raw lang

uage and bullets tearing apart bodies may be too much ; for others , it may simp

ly underscore the film 's point , in Allen 's words : `` The whole idea of the m

ovie was to make people understand ; we wanted people to know what they 're thin

king . '' And , he cautions , `` People shouldn't read too deep into this movie 

. We just wanted to make a movie that had some kind of morality . '' Albert says

 black audiences often had less trouble dealing with the violent subject matter 

than white audiences : `` They know it 's just a film , '' he says . ( `` Menace

 II Society , '' without supplementary material and deleted scenes , is also ava

ilable in a letterboxed , single-disc CLV edition from Image Entertainment at $ 

35 . ) -0- GROTESQUE CARNAGE : `` Man Bites Dog , '' the 1992 French film by Rem

y Belvaux , Andre Bonzel and Benoit Poelvoorde , offers even more grotesque carn

age than `` Menace '' in a director-approved Criterion edition ( $ 50 ) that inc

ludes disgusting scenes excised by censors . An interview with the filmmakers at

 the end of the single disc makes the point that `` it 's not a film about viole

nce , it 's a film about filmmaking . '' Shot in black-and-white with a hand-hel

d camera as a document of the life and mind of a sociopathic killer , it 's been

 hailed as a sendup of reality-based docudrama films . Liner notes by Holly Will

is also argue that assailing the film for its brutality `` completely misses the

 film 's point . '' That may be so , but it is hard to find much redemption in t

his unrelenting series of murders and graphic rape , and even harder to watch fo

r its full 92 minutes . There is little humanity involved here . In fact , `` Ma

n Bites Dog '' makes `` Menace II Society '' look tame by comparison . -0- LASER

BITS : New Movies Just Out : `` The Three Musketeers '' ( Disney , letterboxed ,

 $ 40 ) ; `` Addams Family Values '' ( Paramount , letterboxed , $ 35 ) ; `` A P

erfect World '' ( Warner , $ 40 ) ; `` Into the West '' ( Touchstone , $ 40 ) ; 

Columbia TriStar 's `` Mr. Jones '' ( Columbia TriStar , $ 35 ) ; `` Flesh and B

one '' ( Paramount , $ 40 ) ; `` The Return of Jafar '' ( Disney , $ 30 ) ; `` R

oboCop 3 '' ( Orion , $ 40 ) ; `` Glengarry Glen Ross '' ( Pioneer , $ 60 ) , wi

th audio commentary by director James Foley and actor Jack Lemmon . Older Movies

 Just Out : `` My Friend Irma '' ( Paramount , $ 35 , 1949 ) with Marie Wilson a

s the dumb blond in the film version of the radio series , featuring the film de

but of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ; `` The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes '' (

 Image Entertainment , letterboxed , $ 60 , 1970 ) , with reconstructed material

 , directed by Billy Wilder and starring Robert Stephens .

 Upcoming video releases : `` Short Cuts '' ( Wednesday ) ; `` Wayne 's World 2 

'' and `` My Life '' ( June 8 ) ; `` Ace Ventura : Pet Detective '' ( June 14 ) 

; `` The Getaway , '' `` Dangerous Game '' and `` The Air Up There '' ( June 15 

) ; `` Six Degrees of Separation , '' `` Geronimo : An American Legend '' and ``

 Tombstone '' ( June 22 ) ; `` The Pelican Brief , '' `` Philadelphia , '' `` In

 the Name of the Father '' and `` Iron Will '' ( June 29 ) ; `` Grumpy Old Men ,

 '' `` Sugar Hill , '' `` House Party 3 '' and `` Romeo Is Bleeding '' ( July 6 

) ; `` Sister Act 2 , '' `` Searching for Bobby Fischer , '' `` Blink , '' `` He

aven and Earth '' and `` Car 54 , Where Are You ? '' ( July 13 ) ; `` On Deadly 

Ground '' and `` My Father the Hero '' ( July 20 ) ; `` Wrestling Ernest Hemingw

ay , '' `` Cabin Boy '' and `` Blank Check '' ( July 27 ) ; `` Beethoven 's 2nd 

'' ( Aug. 9 ) ; `` Tim Burton 's The Nightmare Before Christmas '' ( Sept. 30 ) 

; `` Jurassic Park '' ( Oct. 4 ) ; `` Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs '' ( Oct. 

28 ) .

 Look for the interest in old World Mar II movies to skyrocket in the next few w

eeks . The inspiration is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of D-day , the

 Allied invasion of Normandy June 6 , 1944 . Home-video retailers will be showca

sing classic war movies to capitalize both on the media attention and the Father

 's Day 's gift potential . The tape that 's getting the most attention is FoxVi

deo 's `` The Longest Day , '' which just came out for the first time in a color

ized version priced at $ 25 and featuring some Movietone newsreel footage of the

 invasion . This 1962 movie , probably the most elaborate war epic ever filmed ,

 actually works better in color adding grandeur that 's missing from the black-a

nd-white version . It includes nearly every male star of that era from John Wayn

e and Robert Mitchum to Sal Mineo . FoxVideo also repackaged two other movies . 

One is another first-rate but less heralded film about the Normandy invasion , `

` D-Day The Sixth of June , '' made in 1956 and starring Robert Taylor . Priced 

at $ 15 , it also includes newsreel footage . The other is 1970 's `` Patton , '

' featuring George C. Scott 's Oscar-winning performance in the title role , at 

$ 30 . The hidden gem in this repackaged collection is `` Twelve O' Clock High ,

 '' about American pilots in England during World War II . War-movie buffs love 

this 1949 movie , which has been hard to find in recent years . It stars Gregory

 Peck . -0- JACKIE TAPES : As you might expect , there are some Jackie Onassis v

ideos on the way . Turner Home Entertainment , which markets CNN footage , is fi

rst out of the box with a video homage to the late first lady `` Jackie : A Life

 '' ( Turner , $ 20 ) . You can order by mail , ( 800 ) 799-7676 , or wait until

 it shows up in stores in about a month . Turner is an old hand at rush-releasin

g tapes . A few weeks ago , it marketed `` Richard Nixon : A Retrospective '' ju

st after he died , for $ 20 , but through mail order only that same 800 number .

 Onassis ' death spurred New Horizons Video to change the release date of `` A W

oman Named Jackie , '' the 1992 ABC miniseries starring Roma Downey in the title

 role . Originally scheduled for July 20 , it 's now coming out June 15 . Surpri

singly , this three-tape set isn't bargain-priced for the sales market but will 

be available as a rental only . ABC Video , which rushed out a tape about Nixon 

, has no plans to do the same with Onassis . -0- FATHER 'S DAY TAPES : Sports vi

deos on the market for Father 's Day : A hot one for golfing dads is Monarch 's 

`` Highlights of the 1994 Masters , '' due June 8 at $ 13 , including exclusive 

footage and interviews. .. . Though he 's no longer with the team , Dallas Cowbo

ys ' fans will appreciate the glowing portrait of the notorious former coach in 

`` The Jimmy Johnson Story , '' focusing on his five years with Super Bowl champ

s . Out on June 7 , $ 20 from PolyGram. .. . For the tennis fan who 's also into

 sports-blooper bits , `` Tennis ' Greatest Volleys and Follies '' features some

 good John McEnroe footage . For $ 20 from LIVE . -0- SPECIAL INTEREST : Roger M

oore narrates the excellent biography , `` Audrey Hepburn Remembered , '' origin

ally aired last fall on PBS . For $ 20 from MPI , ( 800 ) 323-0442 , it came out

 Wednesday. .. . Fascinating four-volume set , `` Lost Civilizations , '' from N

ational Geographic for $ 70 . Included are tapes about Egypt and Italy 's Mount 

Vesuvius , but the best of the lot is `` Lost Kingdoms of the Maya. '' .. . Grea

t swing drummer Gene Krupa is profiled in `` Jazz Legend Gene Krupa , '' narrate

d by Steve Allen . Includes some interesting old clips of Krupa in action . For 

$ 40 from DCI , ( 800 ) 628-1528 . -0- WHAT 'S NEW : `` The Piano '' ( LIVE ) . 

In one of last year 's most acclaimed movies , a Scottish mute ( Holly Hunter ) 

journeys to New Zealand in the 1800s with her young daughter ( Anna Paquin ) to 

marry a kindly man ( Sam Neill ) . She loves playing the piano and creates a str

ange romantic triangle when she teaches a lustful peasant ( Harvey Keitel ) how 

to play . Tense , slowly paced , well-acted drama , directed by Jane Campion . H

unter and Paquin won well-deserved Oscars . `` Rudy '' ( Columbia TriStar ) . Se

an Astin plays a scrappy young man who 's not really Notre Dame football materia

l but is determined to make the team anyway .

 This is intended as a personal appeal to a colleague and friend , Supreme Court

 nominee Stephen Breyer . There are so many people who desperately need your und

erstanding and compassion . The sad truth is that you are not only succeeding Ha

rry Blackmun . You are the only potential successor to William Brennan , Thurgoo

d Marshall , Earl Warren , William O . Douglas and the whole line of humanitaria

n justices who understood the importance of compassion and the need to do justic

e , not just administer law . There are lots of able technicians who understand 

law . The nation , however , is entitled to at least one justice with vision , w

ith breadth , with idealism , with to say the word despised in the Clinton admin

istration a `` liberal '' philosophy and an expansive approach to jurisprudence 

. Someone must carry on the work of the court 's great progressive thinkers the 

justices who ended `` de jure '' racial segregation , brought us one man/one vot

e , opened the courts to the poor and needy , established the right to counsel f

or all defendants , gave women true legal equality . It was progressive justices

 with a view of the Constitution as a living , breathing document who gave full 

measure to that instrument not the legal technocrats , not those whose view of t

he Constitution was frozen as of 1789 . You have a wonderful opportunity and an 

awesome responsibility . You can be a narrow , cramped proceduralist like Felix 

Frankfurter , or you can seize the occasion and grow like a Warren , a Brennan ,

 a Blackmun . You can be cold , purely intellectual and wholly technical , or yo

u can become what the president said he was looking for a justice who is compass

ionate , who has a big heart . I hope you will re-examine your judicial philosop

hy . Everyone who goes on the court should . And when you emerge , I hope it wil

l be to assume the mantle of the Brennan-Warren legacy . Otherwise , that voice 

will be silenced perhaps permanently . How ironic if that would be the enduring 

consequence of electing a president supported so strongly by the poor , the need

y , minorities of all kinds . Anyway , I am most hopeful for the court and the c

ountry with you there . Perhaps I 'm influenced by my personal feelings , but I 

believe that you will not let the spirit of liberalism be extinguished , that yo

u will be a strong voice for a philosophy that now has no other means of express

ion . It simply cannot be otherwise not after all that your spiritual predecesso

rs have fought and struggled for , including the marvelous and caring justice fo

r whom you clerked , Arthur Goldberg . You represent an awful lot of hopes , dre

ams and aspirations a vision of a nation . For better or for worse , those who d

epend on the court to protect their fundamental rights must now look to you . Yo

u are their best and last hope . As I listened to the minority leader of the Sen

ate say , `` He 's not as liberal as Blackmun , '' and as I heard Sen. Orrin G. 

Hatch , R-Utah , express his joy over your selection , I thought of how importan

t it is to have scruples and convictions and to stick by them . How I hope that 

those who disdain the expansive and humanitarian philosophy of the Warren/Brenna

n court have misread you . Conservatives who fight for what they believe in dese

rve respect and admiration . It is hard to have those feelings for others who ar

e easily intimidated , who fear controversy , who care only about compromise and

 consensus or their own success . There are plenty of centrists around . They no

w represent the left of the court . While I rarely agree with Chief Justice Will

iam H. Rehnquist , I respect him . When he was appointed to the court , he was a

 lone voice for a judicial philosophy of the right . He was regularly on the sho

rt end of 8-1 votes , but he spoke for an important point of view and he almost 

single-handedly kept alive the principles in which he believed . They now domina

te our judicial thinking . I don't expect you to be that successful , but at lea

st give us a voice . The court has lots of intellect . While you will add to it 

, Justice Antonin Scalia represents abstract rationality well enough . But soul 

is important too . That is what makes greatness .

 HOLLYWOOD What are talk shows if not collections of fleeting moments some of wh

ich are delectable , most of which run together like a monotone buzz that you li

sten to without really hearing ? Drop the buzz , keep the highlights and you rea

lly have something . So. .. . He-e-e-e-e-re 's `` Johnny Carson : His Favorite M

oments from ` The Tonight Show. ' ' ' Carson has described his nearly 30 years o

f bending America 's ear as `` just a helluva lot of fun . '' That also applies 

to this four-tape set from Buena Vista Home Video . It goes on sale Friday , iro

nically just as Carson 's once-energized competitor Arsenio Hall is ending his o

wn , skimpier run as a late-night host . Nothing gets more inflated than a eulog

y . Celebs have been dropping by the syndicated `` Arsenio '' in advance of Frid

ay night 's finale to assure him that he 's a giant of entertainment who will be

 widely missed . Carson heard much the same thing in 1992 during his last days ,

 and , three decades earlier , so did the man Carson succeeded on `` The Tonight

 Show , '' Jack Paar . Judging by his dive in the Nielsen ratings , though , Hal

l 's departure has been preceded by a fade to anonymity . The `` indelible '' me

mory of Paar lasted only as long as it took Carson to launch his first one-liner

 . And the worshiped Carson himself despite his enormous impact as a television 

icon and a thread of continuity during momentous change in the United States was

 missed only a little longer . Like television itself , we 're creatures of the 

moment with short memories . There are just too many distractions . As TV-driven

 zombies , most of us are easily diverted by bells , whistles or any other loud 

noises . Nothing has been noisier of late than the duel of television 's late-ni

ght commandos , Jay Leno and David Letterman . On CBS , `` Late Show With David 

Letterman '' has been a true phenomenon , and Leno on NBC has at at times creati

vely used `` The Tonight Show '' to tap sources of humor distinct from the late-

night talk and comedy of the Carson era . Just how distinct is evident from watc

hing the Carson tapes , which , says an accompanying publicity blurb , will be t

he only video retrospective of his show to be released . The first three tapes c

an be purchased separately ( $ 15 each ) , but you have to buy the entire set fo

r $ 60 to get the fourth tape , which is Carson 's final `` Tonight Show , '' br

oadcast two years ago this week . The tapes opening with `` The Tonight Show '' 

originating from New York in black and white are a kick on several levels , one 

of which is historical . In only a few moments you 're returned to an earlier un

iverse in which such names as Ethel Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey surface in Carso

n 's monologues , and smoking was still the nasty habit of the TV multitudes ( B

uddy Hackett , Flip Wilson , Dean Martin , George Gobel and the host himself are

 seen blithely puffing away ) . And who is that androgynous falsetto freak that