Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The extent to which this kicks some serious tail cannot be overstated.

It has one of my favorite death sequences ever, and one of my favorite quotes (regarding said sequence, which I am possibly paraphrasing as I don't recall the exact lines): 'By God, he knew how to die.' Beautiful Scope/color, a superb performance by the always excellent Robert Ryan, and fascinating subtext(s). What's not to like?

[Brad1963]

Very happy about The Fabulous Baker Boys.

[Pirate King]

As always, another great set of films. I will probably get most all of them. Thanks Twilight Time !!

[Henke007]

Another release that SONY has released in other part's of the world...

[RICKBONDOO7]

I wonder if Guess who's C t Dinner will be the same Transfer as my Italian Blu ray from last year ??? I'll Buy it anyway for the Artwork , Score,and Booklet !

[oildude]

House of Bamboo!!!

A color noir set in Japan with cinematography in gorgeous CinemaScope by Joseph MacDonald (who also shot The Sand Pebbles, The Young Lions, Bigger Than Life, Mackenna's Gold, and Pickup on South Street, among many others).

House of Bamboo was, I believe, the first post-WWII American film to be shot entirely on location in Japan.

And best of all......directed by Samuel Fuller. His name alone in front of a film makes me weep tears of joy.



In my years of seeking out Fuller's movies, here is what I have learned: I suggest sitting down in front of your display with a fat stogie between your teeth, a glass of whiskey in your hand, and letting the world of Sam Fuller engulf you. Scratch the surface of his awesome two-fisted dialogue, gripping action, tough guys and even tougher dames, dramatic stories often revolving around combat and crime, and you will uncover remarkable social commentary. He was ahead of his time and his filmic voice spoke from a place of authority based on his own life's experiences. Few filmmakers could match him for the stylistic and narrative poetry that elevated his stories of the evil that men do. He takes us on a journey into the heart of darkness, into the absurdity and hubris accompanying the crash and burn of modern society, shows us the bitter depths of conflict and alienation, casts his camera's eye onto the lives of the lost and the damned wandering amid the wreckage, and makes us love it all. Fuller's frequent in-your-face attitude and carefully crafted subtlety in dealing with central themes such as the brutality of war and the corrosiveness of bigotry are like a fist slamming down on a table. He just might topple your whiskey bottle while making his point.

House of Bamboo - YouTube

[Rory]

Originally Posted by docc

...and that wonderful nostalgic Alfred Newman score

Yes, indeed! And since I've never had it on CD, the isolated score will be most welcome.

[Snl40boi]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Don't worry. They only put a hold on your credit card and it probably expired because they are backed up on shipping. They will catch up and your order will be delivered. You can pretty much count on that.

Well let hope nothing else gets charged causing me to be over drawn

[Arkadin]

SO happy to see Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy on the release schedule.
my most wanted Woody Allen film that's still unreleased on blu, and I'm stunned it's finally getting released, and actually ahead of some other good ones.
if you aren't familiar with this one, I highly recommend it--it is a perfect example of how smart, charming, and engaging a well done romantic comedy can actually be.
one of my favorite films ever.

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Personally, I thought Hickman came off like a stupid, self-centered jerk on the Leave Her to Heaven commentary. He may not have realized it at the time, but all these years later, he should certainly know after the fact that during the shoot (filming took place in early-to-mid 1945 and the film was released on Christmas Day that same year), Miss Tierney was grappling with the final confirmation that her baby daughter Daria, born in October 1943, was mentally enfeebled and would have to be permanently institutionalized. His lack of pity and compassion for Tierney, and his own self-involvement, did not (and do not) speak well of him at all.

Despite the trauma she was going through in her private life, Tierney gave an iconic, Oscar-nominated performance that has not only withstood the test of time, it has grown both in stature and reputation. Hickman's performance in a key supporting role is notable only because of its importance to the plot, rather than anything he brought to it; more than one critic suggested that he made Danny such an obnoxious interloper that his ultimate fate was more a relief than a tragedy. I agree wholeheartedly.

We'll have to 'agree to disagree,' especially about Danny's death being more relief than tragedy.

I think many an actor might opine that it's the hallmark of a good craftsman when one can embody another character regardless--if not because--of whatever meshugas is going on in their own personal life. I felt Hickman's comments re Tierney were sufficiently technical/analytical as to not be dismissed as "stupid" or "self-centered." In other words, just because he didn't speculate that the faults he finds in her work might be attributable to issues in Tierney's personal life at the time doesn't IMO render meritless his perspectives about what it means as an actor to embody a character versus "indicating" and giving a "presentational" performance.

Furthermore, Hickman's comments sometimes were directed at other actors' work in the picture as well. So unless it's your perspective that what Hickman felt are deficiencies/issues with others' performances are attributable to personal issues in those actors' lives as well and they should thereby be afforded "pity and compassion," it doesn't quite hold much water to opine that Hickman's observations are off-base because he's not sensitive enough to Tierney's daughter's medical issues.

This bit of business about citing Tierney's perf being Oscar-nommed is of course problematic, too. There are plenty of "iconic" performances over the decades that the Academy has failed to recognize, and many perfs that were recognized by Oscar which are arguably less-deserving than others in any given year. Indeed, what I understood to be part of Hickman's critique--namely, that Tierney was a beautiful woman who was out of her league/overwhelmed--isn't invalidated just because the Academy perhaps nommed someone as much for their looks as their skills as a performer. Hollywood shocker! I'd opine that the scene which likely won Tierney the Oscar nom is the one where she is speechless and motionless and we don't even see her eyes: When she's

[Show spoiler]wearing the sunglasses watching Danny drown

. Ironically, it's Danny who is giving us more as an actor here given what you might recall we learn from Hickman on the commentary about this scene--namely, that the water was extremely cold, the stuntman didn't do the scene, so it's Hickman who was repeatedly asked to dive as deeply as possible so as to not be visible on camera. A crew member ended up jumping in to pull him outta the water when he said he had a cramp and he was nevertheless directed to keep performing.

Personally, I found the redness of Tierney's lipstick--and the ways it is highlighted by Leon Shamroy's lensing--just as if not more iconic than anything about her acting. Hopefully we can at least agree that everyone is fabulously overdressed in this picture.

[ChromeJob]

Originally Posted by Snl40boi

I have a question I just looked right now and the processing on my bank account is gone and looks like the money was put back into my bank account. I looked at the Twilight Time site and my order still says pending. So what happened, should I be worried did they cancel my order with out letting me know?

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Don't worry. They only put a hold on your credit card and it probably expired because they are backed up on shipping. They will catch up and your order will be delivered. You can pretty much count on that.

Originally Posted by Snl40boi

Well let hope nothing else gets charged causing me to be over drawn

Some credit card and bank online account activity will show "credit holds" placed on your account prior to the actual charge. Sometimes it's not the final charge amount (e.g. the restaurant's tab BEFORE your tip amount), sometimes a bit more. This is done to ensure that the transaction is covered and not blocked by a subsequent over-credit transaction. (There're other reasons, I just know that one.) Some banks will indicate these holds explicitly, I guess some show them as "pending" without explanation.

Call your bank to clarify. No need to freak and worry that you're being double-dipped by a retailer.

There ARE occasions when you want to watch this closely. Many, many years ago, the university that I was taking night classes from credited me back for a class payment that I made a month or so earlier. Then later, put a new charge on my card. ... All without contacting me or getting authorization. Which is not allowed, even though (their point of view) they were fixing an incorrect charge and charging me less, and had my authorization (signature) on file for the class fees. Their finance office was repentant and understood my concern, but didn't seem committed to changing their practices, essentially thought that I signed once to play for classes, and they could use that again. WRONG. I ensured they did understand the issue by lodging a formal complaint with the credit provider, which probably resulted in the university's charging privileges being suspended briefly while it was examined.

I mention this because I was obliged to get my facts right before raising the alarm. I did talk to the university finance office over the phone and in person before lodging a complaint. Moral of the story: please don't yell "fire!" in the crowded theater until you're sure being charged twice. It can give a retailer a really hard time.

HEY GUYS, HOW ABOUT SPOILER TAGS ON PLOT DETAILS? PLEASE?

[hammer99]

I'll get Guess & Bamboo. Yet another much lesser Woody Allen movie is released before Bananas.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Snl40boi

I have a question I just looked right now and the processing on my bank account is gone and looks like the money was put back into my bank account. I looked at the Twilight Time site and my order still says pending. So what happened, should I be worried did they cancel my order with out letting me know?

That charge you saw was a pre-authorization that SAE makes to ensure that it's a valid account. It typically disappears within a few days depending on your bank or credit union. Mine typically disappears after 24 hours. The actual charge will show up once they actually ship your order.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

10 releases? Can that be right? If so that's tremendous

It's the same as usual. Five titles per month.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by hammer99

I'll get Guess & Bamboo. Yet another much lesser Woody Allen movie is released before Bananas.

Bananas is terrific...that one and Sleeper are my favorites from him .

Terrific news in House of Bamboo getting released .

[jayembee]

A good slate of films for July and August. I'm not sure any of the July titles are Must Get Immediately, but I'll no doubt pre-order the Allen, the Fuller, the Kramer, and the Yamada from the August slate.

[Herry Dunston]

This is unusual for me.

I ordered from TT on April 3rd. I've yet to get a shipping confirmation from them. Should I be worried?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

This is unusual for me.

I ordered from TT on April 3rd. I've yet to get a shipping confirmation from them. Should I be worried?

No. They've been backed up because of the Birthday Sale orders. I got a shipping notice from them on 4/8 (and it arrived two days later) for an order I placed on 3/29.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by jayembee

It's the same as usual. Five titles per month.

Yeah, I blame my blurry eyes early this morning. I didn't notice that two months were posted.

[cakefactory]

Well, got my second shipment of sale titles in, now my backlog of TT movies is REALLY bad. I just watched Broadway Danny Rose, it was kind of a nice change of pace in that it was sort of a warm, friendly Woody Allen movie. It's missing most of the cynicism of something like Annie Hall, most of the personal anguish characters go through in something like Hannah & Her Sisters, and completely lacks the real darkness of something like Deconstructing Harry or Crimes and Misdemeanors. At the same time, it's much less goofy than the other "light" Woody Allen movies like Manhattan Murder Mystery or Scoop or Sleeper or Bananas or whatever. I liked it quite a bit. Mia Farrow is very good in it. It was maybe a little bit slight in the depth department, but it's a fun watch and looks good (though I don't entirely get why it's filmed in black and white, unlike Manhattan which really seemed to take advantage of the format). Radio Days is up next!