Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Tale of Tales Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 3, 2016

Winner of multiple David di Donatello Awards, including Best Director and Best Cinematographer, Matteo Garrone's "Tale of Tales" a.k.a. "Il racconto dei racconti" (2015) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Shout Factory. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; TV spots; and documentary feature with cast and crew interviews. In English, with optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The new beauty

Italian director Matteo Garrone’s first English-language film borrows material from three short stories that appear in Giambattista Basile’s seventeenth century novel The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones. It is widely accepted that the novel was the first literary source to introduce such popular folk tales as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

In all three stories the main protagonists are women. In the first, a King (John C. Reilly) and his beautiful but depressed Queen (Salma Hayek) meet a mysterious prophet (Franco Pistoni) who reveals to them that they can become parents if the future mother would eat the heart of a strange sea creature. The Queen becomes pregnant, but so does one of her servants, and years later their sons develop an unusual bond that forces the Queen to reevaluate her entire life. In the second story, a lecherous King (Vincent Cassel) becomes obsessed with a very attractive young woman (Stacy Martin) after he is tricked to spend a night with a not so attractive older woman (Hayley Carmichael). Eventually, the king marries the beauty, but after the wedding ceremony then makes a shocking discovery. In the final story, a mentally unstable king (Toby Jones) becomes emotionally attached to a giant flea while ignoring his daughter’s requests to find her a husband. When the flea becomes seriously ill and dies, the King proceeds to choose a husband for his daughter but makes a terrible mistake and she ends up marrying a vile ogre (Guillaume Delaunay).

The main theme that binds the three stories together is obsession, though in each story it is a different form of obsession that unleashes a series of tragic events. The popular notion that for every action there is a reaction -- and not always a predictable one -- also keeps reappearing throughout the entire film.

Garrone reportedly made numerous adjustments to the original stories, but it is difficult to criticize the end result because it should appeal to a very diverse group of viewers. For example, while it is easy to see that the film’s budget was not astronomical, the period visuals have a degree of finesse that instantly make it comparable to the likes of Willow and Labyrinth. On the other hand, there is enough subversive and thought-provocative material that keeps it firmly into R rated territory. So while Garrone certainly lets his imagination run wild, the film does not quite evolve into the outlandish fantasy piece some early promotional materials made it look like.

The large international cast also helps Garrone’s vision. There is a wide range of acting styles (and accents) on display that gives the narrative a unique exotic flavor and ultimately makes the film quite fascinating to behold.

Garrone and Polish cinematographer Peter Suschitzky (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back) worked with the Arri Alexa camera and as a result the period visuals are quite striking. If there ever was a neo-Baroque genre in mainstream cinema, then what is on display here probably would have been frequently mentioned to characterize its unique qualities.

The very beautiful orchestral score was created by Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (A Prophet, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1).

Tale of Tales Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory.

It is quite clear that the release is sourced from the same master that Curzon Artificial Eye accessed when they prepared their release of Tale of Tales for the UK market. (Since the film was shot digitally with the Arri Alexa XT camera, almost certainly there was only one digital master that was prepared in the lab, and this is the same master that distributors around the world are offered for licensing). Predictably, there are no notable discrepancies in terms of detail, clarity and depth. It is possible that the brightness levels may appear a tad lower, but I did some direct comparisons on my projector and it is virtually impossible to see a meaningful difference. There are sporadic fluctuations during a few darker sequences, but these fluctuations are inherited. Colors appear natural and remain stable throughout the entire film. Image stability is terrific. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Tale of Tales Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film has a fully digital soundtrack. Clarity and depth are excellent, but overall dynamic intensity is unlikely to impress folks that appreciate the aggressive audio mixes of big-budget blockbusters. The dialog is always clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow.

Tale of Tales Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Tale of Tales. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Making of Tale of Tales - presented here is an elaborate documentary feature that chronicles the production history of Tale of Tales. In English, not subtitled. (57 min, 1080p).

• TV Spots - two original TV Spots from IFC Films for Tale of Tales. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

Tale of Tales Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Matteo Garrone's first English-language film is a very stylish period piece that will pleasantly surprise a lot of people. It probably fits somewhere between Willow and The Name of the Rose, though my feeling is that the people that will enjoy it the most will be the ones that appreciated the dark elegance of Brotherhood of the Wolf. Shout Factory's technical presentation of the film is outstanding. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.