Tale Of Tales

Combining the beautiful with the macabre is no easy feat. But in "Tale of Tales," that rare mix of disparate film elements succeeds in a lush Blu-ray presentation from Shout Factory. This underrated and sorely overlooked fantasy should be purchased and in conjunction with IFC Films, offers up a solid alternative to those Hollywood blockbusters.

"Tale of Tales" takes its source material from 17th century Italian poetry and weaves three separate stories of Kings and witchcraft. In the premiere tale, a King (John C. Reilly) and Queen (Salma Hayek) conceive their child in an unorthodox way and their albino son becomes a mischievous deviant. Happening at the same time concerns the ruler of Highhills (Toby Jones) who wants to marry his bored daughter off. He picks a murderous giant as his daughter's husband and she must fight for her life as she becomes a prisoner.

Finally, the King of Strongcliff (Vincent Cassel) becomes obsessed with a woman without realizing she's actually a horrid witch. This tale offers up the most laughs of the three, as the witch just won't die.

"Tale of Tales" will take you into another world with its eye-popping cinematography that comes to vivid life on Blu-ray. These are fairly tales not for the faint of heart as the film features copious amounts of blood and nudity.

In "The Making of Tale of Tales," on-set examinations, interviews with the actors, and a look at the costumes are just some of the things that make up this 56-minute documentary. The theatrical trailer for "Tale of Tales" is also on hand to view, and makes one wonder why this highly enjoyable fantasy film didn't fare better with audiences.

"Tale of Tales"
Blu-ray
$22.97
www.shoutfactory.com