TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“William S. Burroughs: Performance and Interview.” Research/Dossier. $33. This is not an introduction to the king of the psychic frontier. The 1984 interview with the venerable author and counterculture hall-of-famer that takes up most of the 100 minutes gets so arcane that only advanced grad students need apply. Still, the conversation’s often provocative, and it’s amusing to see Burroughs break his unsmiling image--he looks like a stern New England parson--by petting a cat. There’s not much visual dimension, though, and the project would make more sense as an audiocassette. Save the video format for a full-scale Burroughs documentary that better suits the price tag. Information: (213) 662-3304. 1/2