"Tale of Tales" Comes to DVD & Blu-ray in the US

I'm always astonished at how much fairy tale news there is to report so, forgive us if we miss the exact release date of things as they happen. We are just back-logged with fairy tale awesome in our newsroom!

This last Tuesday, a movie we have been very much looking forward to seeing, Tale of Tales, was released on DVD and Blu-ray. We still await our copy, so won't be able to review for some time yet, but we have unearthed some additional video footage which will give you a good idea of the tone of the movie, especially if you've been following the promotion we covered as the movie was originally released in Italy.

A quick refresher: this movie was an independent film, though it stars many luminary actors (including Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, and John C. Reilly along with many other familiar faces) and has a well known director, Matteo Garrone. It was a passion project, filmed in remote locations around the director's home country of Italy in English. (No subtitle reading required.) The film is based on the oldest known written collection of fairy tales by Giambattista Basile, Il Pentamerone or The Tale of Tales, Or Entertainment for Little Ones (aka Lo cunto de li cunti overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille or Il racconto dei racconti), focusing on 3 of the tales. And yes, this film, is not for children, though are definitely sections a child would very much enjoy (giant flea anyone?).

Description:

Discover a grim, gorgeous, grown-up fairy tale full of princes and princesses, sorcerers and fairies, and monsters and ogres in the epic fantasy horror film Tale of Tales. Based on three spellbinding stories of magic and the macabre by 17th-century folklorist Giambattista Basile, Tale of Tales unleashes a barrage of mind-bogglingly exquisite and fantastical imagery as it brings to life the misadventures of three kings. 

Starring Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, John C. Reilly, Toby Jones, and Shirley Henderson, this captivating film makes its Blu-ray and DVD debut on September 6, 2016, from Shout! Factory and Sundance Selects. This critically acclaimed film from celebrated director Matteo Garrone also includes the featurette “The Making of Tale of Tales” and the theatrical trailer as bonus features. 

A rich sensory experience featuring exquisite cinematography and a score by Academy Award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat, Tale of Tales interweaves three enchanting sagas about universal themes of life, death, and love. Overflowing with surreal, dazzling surprises, this intoxicating cinematic spectacle is a delirious excursion into the dark heart of fairy tales.

The three new clips available touch on three of the stories in the film:

• the barren queen (and king) find out an unusual way they could finally have a child
• a king obsessed with a giant flea offers the hand of his daughter in an ill-advised way
• a woman is not quite what she seems (which the sex-obsessed, love struck ruler of Strongcliff will rue)

Be intrigued:
#1: "A Life for a Life"

 #2" "The Flea"

#3: "The Flayed Old Lady"

While there is nothing which isn't rated 'G' in the clips, you may be surprised at what is implied, so perhaps view away from any children for a first look.

I can see how this movie is polarizing viewers - some are a little freaked while others hail it a masterpiece. We guess that we will lean toward the latter, though without a proper viewing we can't say that definitively. However, we are very familiar with the source material so are unlikely to be bothered by any of the aspects that those giving negative reviews focus on.

We are only disappointed that we can't view it on the big screen as it was intended to be seen.

In the meantime, please enjoy these alternate posters, including a couple of foreign language variations. I'm surprised I hadn't seen some of these before - they're quite striking.

We hope to bring you a review in the coming weeks.