Blu-rays of the Week 

The Gruesome Twosome

(Arrow)

Schlockmeister Herschell Gordon Lewis’ murderous 1967 drama plays like a bloody mess of a black comedy, as its atrociously bad acting and inept storytelling let it approach Ed Wood levels of ineptitude. 

Still, the amusingly fake “gore” sequences are worth a look; as a bonus, another Z-level guilty pleasure from Lewis in 1967, A Taste of Blood, is included, as are Lewis’ intros to and commentaries for both films, along with interviews. The movies, unsurprisingly, have not been restored, but look as good as can be expected.

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno

(Arrow Academy)                                

One of France’s greatest directors, Henri-Georges Clouzot never finished his pet project, 1964’s Inferno, which chronicled an extremely jealous husband who believes his young and beautiful wife is committing adultery. 

In 2009, Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea took what was shot, screen tests of performers Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani, interviews with crew members like then-assistant Costa-Gavras and current actors Bérénice Bejo and Jacques Gamblin (to speak the main characters’ dialogue in added scenes) for this illuminating glimpse at what went wrong and what could have been. There’s an excellent hi-def transfer; extras are Bromberg’s introduction and interview, and featurettes about the unmade film.

Viva L’Italia 

In 1961, Roberto Rossellini made this historical drama to commemorate the centenary of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s unification of Italy: like Rossellini’s historical masterpieces that followed—The Taking of Power of Louis XVI, Socrates, Blaise Pascal—it consists of talky polemics, but adds low-key re-creations of the battles Garibaldi fought in Sicily and on the Italian mainland. 

The restoration and hi-def transfer are immaculate; extras comprise a severely cut English-dubbed version (for American release), an interview with Rossellini’s assistant Ruggero Deodato, and a video essay by Rossellini expert Tag Gallagher.

DVDs of the Week

Inoperable

(Cinedigm)

This clumsily-executed dramatization of a clever idea (which might have made a decent Twilight Zone episode) pits a young woman trapped in a hospital during a hurricane, where she finds herself in recurring nightmare scenarios, like Groundhog Day gone fatally wrong. 

Buoyed by the ingratiating dual presence of Danielle Harris in the lead and Katie Keene as another female stuck in this possible time warp, the movie gets a bit of mileage out of its premise before falling apart long before its 85 minutes are up. The lone extra is a cast and crew commentary.

It Takes from Within 

In director Lee Eubanks’ laborious, increasingly oppressive drama—which borrows liberally from David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick and Terrence Malick (among others)—an unnamed couple planning to attend a burial find themselves confronting increasingly malevolent forces from within and without. 

Although the black and white photography is starkly beautiful, the actors are ill at ease with the cryptic and pretentious dialogue, which triggers intermittent snickers throughout. The lone extra is Eubanks’ commentary.

Blu-rays of the Week 

(PBS Masterpiece)

In the second season of this absorbing series about Queen Victoria’s first years of her imposing 63-year reign, the English monarch has her growing family to worry about as well as her dealing with constant domestic and international crises.

Led by the delightfully natural Jenna Coleman as the queen—she particularly shines in a wonderful sequence when Victoria and husband Prince Albert (a solid Tom Hughes) get lost in the Scottish countryside and spend a night in an elderly couple’s modest home—the series has grown into an interesting historical drama. The series’ 10 episodes look spectacular on Blu; extras include a Christmas episode and featurettes.

The Flight of Dragons

(Warner Archive)

Although this 1982 animated feature from TV producers Rankin/Bass (best known for seasonal classics Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town) is based on a book by Peter Dickinson, its dragons, warlocks, wizards and Dark Ages setting make it seem like a Lord of the Rings rip-off. (Rankin/Bass did an animated Hobbit.)

It’s an entertaining adventure with James Earl Jones, Victor Buono, Harry Morgan and James Gregory lending their dramatic voices—but hearing John Ritter as a benevolent dragon (!) is strange. The restored feature looks gorgeous; for comparison, check out the washed-out standard-def TV version, included as an extra.

The Hanging Tree 

A proficient director of westerns, Delmer Daves helmed this 1959 drama with a typically laconic Gary Cooper as a doctor with a secret in his past who sets up a practice in a small mining town.

With an array of colorful supporting characters played by Maria Schell, Karl Malden, Ben Piazza and George C. Scott (in a fine film debut as a fiery preacher), and picturesque Washington State locations, this downbeat melodrama is worth a look. Shot in technicolor, the film looks splendid in hi-def.

The Witches

(Arrow Academy)

This 1966 omnibus film stars Silvana Mangano, then-wife of producer Dino de Laurentiis, who brought together five Italian directors for an extremely hit-or-miss showcase for his talented and beautiful spouse. Mangano is terrific throughout, but is at her voluptuous best in both the first and final sections, directed by Luchino Visconti and Vittorio de Sica respectively.

The latter is also intriguing because Clint Eastwood plays her husband, dubbed into Italian of course. One of the extras—the other is a commentary by critic Tim Lucas—includes an English-dubbed version with Eastwood speaking in his own voice.