TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : Excellent Good Fair Poor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“Gate of Hell.” Embassy. $29.95. Throughout the ‘50s and early ‘60s, this 1953 Teinosuke Kinugasa film--a winner of both the Cannes Festival grand prize and the best foreign-language film Oscar--was widely regarded as the most beautifully photographed of all color films. Its subtle hues and lighting (caught by cameraman Kohei Sugiyama) were unique in its time, and though color cinematography has improved since 1953, this film’s exquisite reconstruction of 12th-Century Japan retains its power. So does the story: a stylized period romantic tragedy about a samurai who becomes wildly obsessed with a married noblewoman and loves her--unto death. Playing these choice parts: the doll-like Machiko Kyo and the darkly furious Kazuo Hasegawa. Information: (213) 553-3600. 1/2