VIDEO : HISTORIC SEXUAL HIGH JINKS REVISITED.

Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Entertainment Editor

``God made sin so we might know his mercy,'' declares a character in ``Dangerous Beauty,'' a historic sexual romp that's out on video this week.

So, it seems, we're talking wickedness and redemption here.

``Dangerous Beauty'' tells the story of a young woman, Veronica (Catherine McCormack), who falls in love with the wrong man (Rufus Sewell) - the son of a wealthy aristocrat - in Venice in 1583. Unable to marry him because her family could not provide a sufficiently rich dowry, her mother (Jacqueline Bisset) offers an alternative - become a courtesan like she was in her youth. A courtesan, her mother says, has the best of both worlds - she can be educated, have the man she wants when she wants and not be a slave to stifling convention that the good wives of Venice are. Veronica, though repulsed at first, quickly outdoes her mother, becoming the darling of Venice and even saving the city with her particular skills.

For much of ``Dangerous Beauty,'' the tone is light and fun as the couple perform their sexual dance, with enough witty rapartee, swordplay and boudoir high jinks to be entertaining. At other times, though, the film can't seem to decide if it is itself sexploitation or is about the serious theme of the suppression of women. (There is some irony that one of ``Beauty's'' main commercial selling points is that there are a number of scenes with women with their clothes off.)

The lovely McCormack (Mel Gibson's doomed wife in ``Braveheart'') gives a lively performance, and Sewell (``Hamlet'') is appropriately uppercrust while still being a hunk. The rest of the cast, including Moira Kelley and Oliver Platt, is solid, and the scenery is sumptuous.

The last part of ``Beauty'' grows predictably serious as forces of the Inquisition catch up with our heroine, and she becomes a scapegoat for the ills of a city hit by the plague. This being the Middle Ages, her accomplices (male clients) were not accused. Although it is called a true story, the film's ending is a bit too contrived, which undermines its earlier tone.

Of course, the most famous and successful historic sexual romp of all time was ``Tom Jones'' (1963), which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Directed by Tony Richardson and written by playwright John Osborne, ``Tom Jones'' may seem a little overly cute today with its Keystone Kops-style chases, officious off-screen narrator and silent-film-style titles, but there is still much fun in this bawdy satire in which the hypocritical prigs get their comeuppance.

Based on Henry Fielding's 1749 sprawling episodic novel, ``Tom Jones'' tells the story of the bastard son of the sister of a wealthy country squire. Jones (played with delightful wit by Albert Finney) is a wild youth whose love of drink and carnal pleasures can't hide his good heart. Eventually he falls in love with Sophie (Susannah York), the daughter of a neighboring squire (Hugh Griffith).

Being a bastard, Jones is not high on the squire's list of perspective sons-in-law, and forces soon conspire against ``our hero,'' as the narrator refers to him.

Fielding's intent was to skewer all levels of English society at the time, but Richardson's film makes it timeless. There are hypocrites in every age after all.

For those of you who would like to see a more fleshed-out version of ``Tom Jones'' (we're not talking literally only length), earlier this year A&E released on videotape its miniseries version, starring Max Beesley.

Here are a few other films that fall into the historic sexual category that you might want to rent:

``Queen Margot'' (1994), starring Isabelle Adjani, revolves around the intrigues and incestuous relationships of the French court in 1572. It's not much of a romp, since the film tells the story of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of thousands of Protestants, but Adjani is stunning.

``Moll Flanders'' (1996) is a feminist retelling of Daniel Defoe's 18th-century novel about an orphan girl who triumphs over her impoverished upbringing and servitude in a house of ill repute. Robin Wright (Moll) is luminous, but there is not much humor. The story never gets too sudsy, though.

``Restoration'' (1996), starring Robert Downey Jr., is a true sexual romp, at least for the first half. Set in 1660 England, ``Restoration'' is the story of a hedonistic physician (Downey) whose debauched life leads him to ruin (this is where the romp stops), but he eventually finds redemption. Meg Ryan has a nice turn as a slightly mad woman who helps Downey recover.

And then there's the soon-to-be-released videotape of Bill Clinton's grand jury testimony. Not exactly a historical romp, but historical anyway.

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Photo: Catherine McCormack falls in love with the wrong man, played by Rufus Sewell, in ``Dangerous Beauty.''