John Turturro’s blue-collar musical Romance & Cigarettes, a film that has had nearly every obstacle thrown in its way — from completion up through a halfhearted theatrical release — finally gets a DVD release two days before Valentine’s Day. Watching it, one can see why studios were flummoxed by its combination of grand emotions, gritty setting, and explicit sexual talk. The film represents a unique and singular vision – there really hasn’t been anything quite like it. The film’s closest relative might be Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York, another film that attempted to collide naturalism with artificial theatricality. But where the Scorsese picture kept the characters grounded in reality while serving up the most stylish sets and photography imaginable, Romance & Cigarettes keeps a gritty, street-level feel while allowing the performers to play in a grand manner. The actors all commit to this material in the best sense – nobody plays it safe. Kate Winslet continues to explore new aspects of her prodigious talent; her sexually charged underwear salesgirl makes perfect sense as the object of a middle age construction worker’s lust. James Gandolfini brings an endearing pitiful quality to his portrayal of a man without the ability to express how he feels. His has the best musical sequences in the film simply because they are the only times he gets to release the feelings that normally come out only in the form of anger. Since actors respect Turturro, he has filled the supporting bit parts with gifted talents like Mary-Louise Parker, Eddie Izzard, and Steve Buscemi, and each of them are granted enough time to make an impression without ever stealing the focus away from the leads or from Turturro’s specific intentions. Turturro enjoys the operatic emotions his actors work up, and although he probably puts them on a high wire too thin to support them, you get the feeling he catches them when they fall, smiling the whole time and telling them how wonderful they are. Romance & Cigarettes misses, but it is the most honorable and fascinating kind of cinematic failure made with charming modesty and an uncompromised honesty.