CRITICS' PICKS FILM.

Virgin filmmaking: ``The Virgin Suicides'' is a delicate and haunting achievement. This feature directing debut of Sofia Coppola (yes, Francis' daughter) captures an elusive, specific tone - the mystical nostalgia of adolescent boys' first infatuation with the opposite sex - and sustains it through a story rich with behavioral humor, repressed psychology and alarming sadness.

Kirsten Dunst stands out as one of the five blooming Lisbon sisters, whose coming-of-age is frustrated by their controlling, hysterical mom (Kathleen Turner) and square, ineffectual father (James Woods).

Set in the anything-goes 1970s, the movie unfolds like a dream walk down a tightrope strung between desire and depression. Coppola keeps the story tense yet somehow loose enough to accommodate any possibility at the same time, beautifully evoking a youthful mindset that isn't so much recalled as it is still felt.

- Bob Strauss

Music

A prelude: In the weeks leading up to the Playboy Jazz Festival, you can count on a series of free events throughout the city.

Sunday, the stylized sounds of jazz pianist Pete Jolly and his trio along with the hot rhythms of the Bobby Rodriguez Salsa Orchestra will surely have them dancing in the aisles at the Beverly Hills Civic Center Plaza.

Part of Beverly Hills' Sundays in the City program, the concert is the first in Playboy's series of seven free community events taking place in conjunction with this year's festival at the Hollywood Bowl on June 17 and 18.

A veteran of the jazz club circuit and countless soundtrack sessions, Jolly plays a mixture of standards and popular tunes like ``While My Lady Sleeps'' and ``You and the Night and the Music,'' plus lighthearted original fare such as ``Little Bird.''

His signature style can be heard on such classics as Frank Sinatra's ``Theme From New York, New York'' and the TV themes to ``Archie Bunker's Place,'' ``The Love Boat'' and ``Moonlighting.''

Known for a sizzling style and penchant for improvisation, Rodriguez trumpets up a storm, weaving a musical trail that includes blues and reggae with a Latin twist. The band leader was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for his latest album, ``LatinJazz Explosion'' and was named best new Latin jazz artist by jazz radio KLON-FM (88.1).

The Civic Center Plaza is at 450 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. Show time is 3 p.m., and there is no charge. Free parking is available at the Civic Center parking structure, adjacent to the plaza. Information: [phone].

- Fred Shuster

Television

Before they become pros: While the Lakers continue their inexorable march to the NBA Championship - that's how good they are, someone can say something like that and it still won't jinx them - you might want to check out some showtime on TNT. ``On Hallowed Ground: Streetball Champions of Rucker Park,'' a documentary from Emmy winners Carl H. Lindahl and Kip and Kern Konwiser and narrated by Andre Braugher, examines a Harlem street basketball tournament that has produced players from Julius Irving to Allen Iverson and boasts a flashy, often jaw-dropping style of play.

Created 50 years ago by the late Holcombe Rucker as a means of getting young African-Americans off the streets, the league features such colorfully named characters as Captain Nappy, The Future (because that's when you'll see his moves in the NBA), The Main Event, Half Man Half Amazing and I'll Be Right Back (inspired by his ability to disappear on flat-footed opponents). The documentary also introduces us to Pee Wee Kirkland, who had the gifts 30 years ago to play in the NBA but wound up scoring 135 games in a penitentiary semi-pro game; today, inspired by Rucker's goals, he runs a basketball program for kids.

We watch a tournament - now appropriately named the Entertainers Basketball Classic - in which teams, often sponsored by hip-hop labels (the games also not only prove their basketball mettle, but earn their hip-hop credibility, as well), compete in contests of flagrant showmanship, and the score counts for something, as well. Crowds routinely pour onto the court during games to congratulate players for particularly dazzling moves - and, in one instance, to settle gang frictions.

Toronto Raptors sensation Vince Carter shows up and dominates a street game, but the guys you've never heard of have impressive skills all their own. As Indiana Pacer Mark Jackson observes of Harlem's brand of streetball, ``It's something that should be bottled and shipped all over the country.''

``On Hallowed Ground'' airs Saturday at 10:05 p.m. (and on May 13 and 17) on TNT.

- David Kronke

Stage

It's human nature: What's jazz bassist/composer Charlie Haden doing this weekend at the Getty Center? Theoretically, he's illustrating what the Getty's high-minded overseers are billing as ``a fine example of humanistic performance.'' But come 8 p.m. Saturday, you may want to cast those conceptions to the Santa Monica Mountain breezes and simply immerse your senses in this unusual fusion of Haden's Quartet West, a 24-piece orchestra and renowned jazz vocalist Bill Henderson. Expect deeply intelligent, beautifully imaginative readings of pieces by Cy Coleman, Leonard Bernstein, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and, of course, Haden and Quartet West pianist Alan Broadbent. Tickets are $28 and are available by calling [phone], Ext. 9. Parking reservations are included with ticket purchase; parking is an additional $5 per car. Humanists welcome.

- Reed Johnson

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo: (1) Sofia Coppola makes her feature directing debut in ``The Virgin Suicides'' - a 1970s tale about five beautiful yet brooding sisters.

(2) TNT presents ``On Hallowed Ground: Streetball Champions of Rucker Park,'' a documentary about a Harlem street basketball tournament, which has produced great NBA players.

(3) Larance Marable, left, Charlie Haden, Alan Broadbent and Ernie Watts perform at the Getty Center at 8 p.m. Saturday.

(4) JOLLY

(5) RODRIGUEZ