New on DVD: 'The Hateful Eight' is Quentin Tarantino at his worst (but the acting, music and vistas are swell)

Quentin Tarantino indulges in some of his worst impulses in this widescreen western, loading it up with violence and vulgarity to an almost nihilistic degree. Yet as tone-deaf and ugly as the film often is, it's also beautifully shot (by Robert Richardson) and masterfully acted (by an all-star cast that includes Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins and an Oscar-nominated Jennifer Jason Leigh), with a stirring Oscar-winning score from Ennio Morricone. And it's always a pleasure to listen to Tarantino's dialogue, with its winding speeches and stories within stories. He bites off more than he can chew with this claustrophobic tale of post-Civil War animus, boiling over at a snowed-in Wyoming trading post, but while the movie is uneven, it's often thrilling. Buyer beware, though: While the film itself is certainly worthy, this first DVD and Blu-ray release contains the shorter, nonroadshow cut, with just a couple of featurettes.