STAGE

* The Bacchae -- Euripedes' last play (review p. 2). At the CHARLES, 76 Warrenton (542-3325).

* Benito Cerino--Directors David Wheeler and Frank Cassidy have constructed Robert Lowell's penetration of an American mind into a simple tragedy of racism. An awkward, flat production. At the THEATRE COMPANY OF BOSTON, 136 Mass. Ave. (426-6609). Ends Sunday.

* The Living Theatre -- Four different offerings by the now-notorious Julian Beck-Judith Malina company. At KRESGE AUDITORIUM, M.I.T. (864-6900 ext. 2910).

* Love for Love -- Congreve's masterpiece, or one of them. At BOSTON UNIVERSITY (353-3345). This weekend only.

* The Measures Taken--Brecht. At the HARVARD EPWORTH CHURCH, 1555 Mass. Ave. (491-9579).

* Misalliance--In which a man drops out of the sky, by Shaw. At EMERSON COLLEGE, 130 Beacon (262-2010 ext. 240).

* The Proposition--Local satirical revue. At 241 Hampshire St., Inman Square, Cambridge.

* Tambourines to Glory--The Langston Hughes play, done by the Negro Repertory Theatre of Boston. At NEW ENGLAND LIFE HALL (442-0955).

* Women Beware Women--a fluid and incisive production of Thomas Middleton's play about the destruction of three innocent youths. At the LOEB DRAMA CENTER (862-2630).

* You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown--Which somehow works. At the WILBUR (426-9366).

* The Zoo Story & Dutchman--Edward Albee & Leroi Jones. At the ATMA, 496 Tremont (338-9791).

* Zorba--A flashy, technical tour de force, also a candidate for best serious musical of the decade. At the SCHUBERT, 265 Tremont (426-4520).

SCREEN

* Barbarella--Roger Vadim's very public salute to Jane Fonda; more or less what you'd expect. At the CIRCLE, Cleveland Circle, Brookline (566-4040).

* Belle de Jour--Luis Bunuel in high gear, with Catherine Deneuve. At the WEST END, North Station (523-4050).

* Birth of a Nation--Griffith in sheets, a classic. At 2 DIVINITY AVE. tonight only, 7:30 p.m.

* Le Bonheur--A concise, smartly paced little picture in grand color, about a carpenter's ups and downs. Agnes Varda, who directed it, may well be the best woman moviemaker working. At the HARVARD SQUARE (864-4580).

* The Charge of the Light Brigade -- A movie which argues that mid-Victorian England was a pretty inhuman place, revealing that quality most clearly in its incredibly stupid wars. Not as exciting as the book (Cecil Woodham-Smith's The Reason Why), but for those who like their wars with lots of gory realism and facile satire, may make enjoyable viewing. At the CHERI 3, Dalton St. in Prudential Center (536-2870).

* Color Me Blood Red--Sounds good. At the CENTER, Washington St. near Stuart (426-0889).

* A Day at the Races--Second rank Marx Bros., not to be scoffed at. At the SYMPHONY, 262 Huntington Ave. (262-8837).

* The Endless Summer--The footage is routine, but the narration alternates between the wonderfully ludicrous and the ludicrously wonderful. At the SYMPHONY 1, 262 Huntington Ave. (262-8837).

* Elvira Madigan--For such a beautiful film, pretty ugly. At the SYMPHONY 1, 262 Huntington Ave. (262-8837).

* Duffy--Hoo boy, a clinker. At the CHARLES, 195 Cambridge (227-2832).

* Finian's Rainbow -- A heavyhanded, poorly acted film version of the musical, with nothing but the splendid score and the magnificent Fred Astaire to recommend it. The director, Francis Fred Coppola, has a bad habit of chopping people's hands and feet off; stars Petula Clark and Tommy Steele ought to act their age. At the SAXON, Tremont & Stuart (542-4600).

* Funny Girl--If you like Barbra Streisand, there is no getting round the fact that this movie works. The score, the screenplay, and even Omar Sharif are fine. The photography, on the other hand, is unfortunate, as is the editing. At the CHERI 2, Dalton St. in Prudential Center (536-2870).

* The Graduate--Mike Nichols' second movie, occasionally funny but too big for its britches. At the PARIS, 841 Boylston (267-8181).

* The Heart is a Lonely Hunter--Very weighty stuff, with the sensitive Alan Arkin as a sensitive young man who happens to be blind. At the ASTOR, Tremont St. near Boylston (542-5030).

* I Love You, Alice B. Toklas--A cheap celluloid account of the swinging sixties, atrociously filmed, with Peter Sellers as a representative youth. At the BEACON HILL, Tremont between Beacon St. & Govt. Center (227-6676).

* The Legend of Lylah Claire--Either awful or great, depending on how you feel. In either case, worth seeing. At the PARAMOUNT, Washington Street across from Raymond's (482-4820).

* A Lovely Way to Die--A thriller, they say, with Kirk Douglas and Anna Karina. At the ORPHEUM, Washington St. across from Filene's (542-5557).

* Loves of a Blonde--Poignant comedy, if you like poignant comedy, out of Czechoslovakia. At the BRATTLE (876-4226).

* Major Dundee--Sam Peckinpah directing Charlton Heston directing the Civil War, a picture worth seeing. At the VISUAL ARTS CENTER Sunday night only, 7 p.m.

* A Night at the Opera--Groucho, Chico and Harpo make fools of Alan Jones and Kitty Carlisle. At the SYMPHONY 2, 262 Huntington Ave. (262-8837).

* Paper Lion--An ambitious attempt to depict George Plimpton in all his complexity. Sports columnists seem to like it better than movie reviewers do. At the GARY, Stuart near Tremont (542-7040).

* Prudence and the Pill--Deborah Kerr confronts an academic question. At the FRESH POND, Fresh Pond Shopping Center (547-8800).

* Rachel, Rachel--Paul Newman tries his hand at directing and at stream-of-consciousness, with basically good results. At the MUSIC HALL, Tremont St. near Stuart (423-3300).

* Romeo and Juliet--The Shakespeare play, dressed up for the color screen by Franco Zefirelli, with teenage stars. At the ABBEY, 600 Commonwealth Ave. (262-1303).

* Therese & Isabel--Makes The Fox look like a milk-fed puppy, for whatever that's worth. At the HARVARD SQ. (864-4580).

* The Two of Us--a dog and a little boy loom large in this French-made tale of human understanding, but any cute moments are salvaged by the formidable Michel Simon. At the EXETER, Exeter St. between Commonwealth & Newbury (536-7067).

* 2001--Stanley Kubrick's epic of human adyancement, externally motivated. The special effects must be seen, and can best be seen from the first five rows. At the CINERAMA, Washington St. near Essex (482-4515).

* 2000 Maniacs--No can say. At the CENTER, Washington St. near Stuart (426-0889).

* West Side Story--Much, much worse than the show. Badly dubbed and drippily sung, but funny in places. At the SAVOY. 163 Tremont (536-2120).

* You Are What You Eat--Tiny Tim and friends romp through a small budget. At the ESQUIRE, Mass. Ave. on the Boston side of Harvard Square (491-7730), and the KENMORE, Kenmore Square (262-3799)