Curious...The Velvet Underground in Europe The Velvet Underground did it first: the first art band, the first punk band, the first cult band. Tonight's V.U. portrait Curious...The Velvet Underground in Europe, showing in its West Coast premiere, takes us from the first inklings of these Warholian superstars in 1965 to their much-lauded European reunion in 1993. Extensive interviews with not just Lou Reed and John Cale, still important figures in the pop scene, but also Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison recount a history that earlier incarnations of the band were loathe to broach. Glam shots from around the Warhol Factory, a gem-like tribute to Nico, and a mesmerizing solo performance of "Heroin" by Lou Reed make Curious... much more than a curiosity. But the true oddity, a dinner party in Prague with President Vaclav Havel (who smuggled a copy of White Light White Heat into Czechoslovakia in the sixties), adds new meaning to the term Velvet Revolution. (52 mins) Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII is a reducto minimalis rendering of the V.U.'s showcase in Paris, 1993. Lou Reed is there in shimmering deadpan with "I'm Waiting for the Man," "There She Goes Again, "Sweet Jane," "Femme Fatale," a delirious "Heroin" and many others. John Cale, on violin and keyboards, also sings, as does the pioneering female drummer, Maureen Tucker. Then there's "Coyote," a new Velvet Underground song, making this concert film a howling success. (90 mins) -Steve Seid