Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by mmarczi

I must admit my impression of the label is like a mom and pop shop with those who run the label themselves producing a lot of the supplements, and that makes me wonder how valuable they might be rather than turning to experts. I'd be open to having my mind changed.

The owners of the label did produce a lot of the supplements, but Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo were actually the experts many other people turned to over the years. Unlike many other experts who get drafted to do commentary or essay/doc/background who could be knowledgeable but awful, they were well organized, incredibly bright, and usually quite entertaining since they understood what their customers were after. Nick was an extremely good interviewer

"Nick Redman, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, award-winning soundtrack producer and co-founder of the Twilight Time video label"

Julie Kirgo is a very respected Film Historian, Writer, and Journalist who was well known and established long before TT. Harvard educated, worked/ran/edited several Industry magazines, worked for American Movie Channel and other Hollywood entities as well as doing Home Video commentary tracks in the early days.

She comes by her credentials from an early age growing up in the business of film/TV-- her Father George was a screenwriter, exec of the Writers Guild, and cofounded the National Film Preservation Board for the Library of Congress.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

I honestly can't remember ever not being a fan of westerns. My father's favorite film ever is "High Noon", so I'm pretty sure I saw that before I ever even saw "Star Wars". "Shane" would've also been a very early one, and probably one I responded to more, the kid is a good in for a kid, and also everybody loved Billy Crystal and, by extension, "City Slickers". "Unforgiven" was also a big milestone, because up until then, westerns felt a bit dated to me, it didn't feel like a modern genre (not that I could've expressed it that way). "Unforgiven" felt like a movie that was a contemporary of "Reservoir Dogs".

I can't really remember being much of a Wayne fan or Classic Westerns when I was a kid, but I grew up with Rifleman, Big Valley, High Chaparral, Rawhide, Maverick, Wanted Dead of Alive, and tons of other TV stuff. I was never a huge fan of either Gunsmoke or Bonanza -- they were OK, but never my favorites.

I do remember watching a lot of Henry Fonda and James Stewart movies and then esp Magnificent Seven and For a Few Dollars More and Fistful of Dollars stick out. I think The Professionals and Wild Bunch were a bit too violent to be allowed at my house back then, but later those and then Once Upon a Time in the West were big influences.

Clint Eastwood seemed to be bigger in my memory than Wayne though The Shootist and The Searchers do stand out for me. Josey Wales and later Unforgiven and Open Range became major favorites.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

Watch True Grit...

On the subject of John Wayne, I'm with Quentin Tarantino on this one. If you see one Duke film, see Rio Bravo.

Still, I'm more of a Clint Eastwood fan myself. Unforgiven is a masterpiece and it blew me away when he actually won Oscars for it considering how much of a critical battering he and his career had taken over the decades prior to that.

[SeanJoyce]

Rio Bravo is one of the top-10 coolest movies ever made...one of my absolute favorites.

That said, NOBODY should restrict themselves to just 1 John Wayne film.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I can't really remember being much of a Wayne fan or Classic Westerns when I was a kid, but I grew up with Rifleman, Big Valley, High Chaparral, Rawhide, Maverick, Wanted Dead of Alive, and tons of other TV stuff. I was never a huge fan of either Gunsmoke or Bonanza -- they were OK, but never my favorites.

I do remember watching a lot of Henry Fonda and James Stewart movies and then esp Magnificent Seven and For a Few Dollars More and Fistful of Dollars stick out. I think The Professionals and Wild Bunch were a bit too violent to be allowed at my house back then, but later those and then Once Upon a Time in the West were big influences.

Clint Eastwood seemed to be bigger in my memory than Wayne though The Shootist and The Searchers do stand out for me. Josey Wales and later Unforgiven and Open Range became major favorites.

Yeah, good call on "Magnificent Seven", I think I saw that before I was even aged seven. As far as the Clint/Wayne divide, my parents were heavily on the Clint side, except for "Liberty Valance". (To this day, I'm still not a big fan of "The Searchers"; it looks great, but I never believe John Wayne is any threat to his niece, no matter how much the film insists he is.)

Oddly, I remember being unimpressed the first time I saw "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". I think it was just too far from my frame of reference for standard movies. But for a year or two it simmered in my brain, often popping up to compare to whatever I was watching, and when I watched it a second time, it clicked a lot better. I think I only watched the other two Dollars movies after having fully embraced GBU.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

Oddly, I remember being unimpressed the first time I saw "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". I think it was just too far from my frame of reference for standard movies. But for a year or two it simmered in my brain, often popping up to compare to whatever I was watching, and when I watched it a second time, it clicked a lot better. I think I only watched the other two Dollars movies after having fully embraced GBU.

Funnily enough, this is how I felt about Once Upon A Time In The West. The first time I saw it, having read about how great it is, I was extremely disappointed by it. Watching it on pan & scan VHS at the time probably didn't help. But later I gave it another chance and acted like I had never seen it before and it just blew me away how magnificent it was. Now every summer when I'm on my deck, I hear a squeaking / creaking sound coming from one of the swings of a playground near my house and it reminds me of the creaking sound of the windmill in the opening sequence and I want to immediately watch it again.

[thecalm_7]

I may have misspoke on John Wayne, I’ve seen some of his films, but He’s not my go to. True Grit and Rio Bravo I’ve seen and enjoyed. Quiet Man and Brannigan were my first purchases of JW films.

Let’s not turn what I’m about to say into a dispute or political. It is not intended to be that nor should it be. It’s not to offend. I grew up in a small town (<4500 persons)surrounded by cow country and farm lands (<\=3000). Even in the 90’s we were very ethnically divided and there were odd concepts. The country folks didn’t really travel into town aside from a bar and gas station at the end of town and a old Main Street kind of area that was nearly dilapidated when I was a child. Just didn’t happen. My father a prominent member of the county was often heckled as a city slicker/city boy because he had moved away and come back in the 50’s. I don’t know how I picked it up but I didn’t like that, I wanted nothing of it, made me want to be the polar opposite and when I started getting tattoos and piercings at 12, I took my rounds with these folks, my mothers family included. Even the youth league sports, county had a few teams, city had a few. City would have to go play on their fields, they wouldn’t come play on the city fields. Some teams refused to play against each other due to issues. Going to college especially away and not working the local mills, farms, was cause for ridicule instead of celebration. Going to my grandmother’s church in the country, cowboy hats and boots abound, strong opinions too. Gave me a bad stereotype. Unfortunately that town has done damage that has taken years to deal with. Just like the town, I closed myself to many ideas. Westerns being one of them. We all make bad decisions, but at least I can play catch up with this one. I escaped that place and ended up somewhere different yet equally as bad. Thanks for reading my wordy spill.

[thatguamguy]

I eventually came around on John Wayne. I'll never like him as much as Eastwood, but the guy can ride a horse the way Groucho Marx can tell a joke. For me, I had seen the high points, but it was actually "The 3 Godfathers" that converted me. Nowhere near his best movie, but watching a movie star carry a second-rate movie is often a better key to understanding their charm than watching them in movies where they are surrounded by greatness.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Funnily enough, this is how I felt about Once Upon A Time In The West. The first time I saw it, having read about how great it is, I was extremely disappointed by it. Watching it on pan & scan VHS at the time probably didn't help.

I only got to see "West" at college; as far as I remember, I could never find it at any local video stores. I had built it up in my head as "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, but squared!" so what disappointed me was that it was closer to a normal movie than GBU. But then, over four years of film school, we must've watched that opening ten times at least, and that certainly helped me grow to appreciate it.

[dkelly26666]

One of the first movies I ever remember seeing in a theater was "The Searchers". It was so big and larger than life up there, those wide open spaces in vivid color. It may not have been my first theatrical film, but it's the first one I go back to remembering. I didn't fully understand it, either, but I just knew it was grand. Seeing it as an adult, I thought it was a masterpiece.

I've seen many a western over the years, in first run. Classics, too, like "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "True Grit", and "Big Jake", as well as a ton of spaghetti westerns in drive-ins, and lots of Eastwood and the like.

Those were usually, down through the years, the types of films I'd go and see with my late father. We stayed movie buddies well into his later years. Some of the last films I saw with him theatrically were westerns, like "Unforgiven", "Geronimo", and "Wyatt Earp".

I can't think of a film like "Big Jake" or "The Shootist" and not think of my dad. He'd quote them and everything, LOL. He had a lifelong dislike of Bruce Dern because of "The Cowboys", LOL.

I also grew up and came of age around my parents watching "Rawhide", "Rifleman", "Gunsmoke", etc. .

My mother was, funny enough, more of a horror fan. I saw everything from "Psycho" to "Baby Jane" at matinees with her. I got into classic Universal monsters and Hammer Films because of her.

Good times. A lifetime ago.

[Bradsdadg]

Always been a fan of the Duke. True Grit, Rio Bravo, and the Shootist are some of my favs. To be honest though, I enjoy his war films a bit more.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

I only got to see "West" at college; as far as I remember, I could never find it at any local video stores. I had built it up in my head as "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, but squared!" so what disappointed me was that it was closer to a normal movie than GBU. But then, over four years of film school, we must've watched that opening ten times at least, and that certainly helped me grow to appreciate it.

You know, it's funny, just thinking about it. The Wild Bunch is another one I couldn't get into when I first saw it as a teen (this was around the time I was first getting into movies like Deliverance or Midnight Cowboy so it's not because I wasn't mature enough or anything like that) but when it first came out on DVD my girlfriend at the time bought it for me because she thought I'd like it (for Valentine's Day!) and I gave it another watch and now it's one of my favourite westerns as well.

[Reddington]

My first exposure to westerns that I can remember is actually hearing my father's LP of a compilation of covers of themes from the Dollars Trilogy by the awesomely-named Hugo Montenegro and His Orchestra. Can't remember exactly what the actual first western I saw was, but probably a Wayne or Eastwood. The first I remember really getting into was Two Mules for Sister Sara, and then The Outlaw Josey Wales - although I'm not sure I find the former as entertaining now as I did back then.

Not a western "collector" per se, although I have a fair few. And Once Upon a Time in the West is in my Top 20 films of all time.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

I eventually came around on John Wayne. I'll never like him as much as Eastwood, but the guy can ride a horse the way Groucho Marx can tell a joke. For me, I had seen the high points, but it was actually "The 3 Godfathers" that converted me. Nowhere near his best movie, but watching a movie star carry a second-rate movie is often a better key to understanding their charm than watching them in movies where they are surrounded by greatness.

I was never a big fan of John Wayne. I mean John Wayne, the actor. There were films where he did a decent job -- particularly The Searchers but never one where I thought he did outstanding work.

That said, I may well have more movies in my collection with Wayne in them than any other actor. He had a knack for picking some truly great directors to work with and films to be in. Even his pre-Stagecoach were at least entertaining as horse operas (though in that class, I'm partial to the series of oaters done by Tim Holt for RKO).

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

So as a long-time western fan, I have to ask... which one did it? What was the lucky western that turned you into a fan? For me it was Young Guns II of all things, back when I was 14 years old.

I think it was imbedded in me from an early age-I was growing up when Westerns were everywhere on tv. Traditional ones like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, etc.
Modern ones: Sky King, Sheriff of Cochise, The Roy Rogers Show, Stoney Burke, etc.
Warner Brothers had a bunch made at their studios like Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, Bronco, etc. Disney had Zorro, Elfego Baca, and Davey Crocket.
And this is just scratching the surface of what was out there by way of tv series.
TV stations also showed lots of vintage Western films and the movie studios were churning them out so Saturday matinees were often double bills of Westerns. So when I say everywhere; I’m not kidding. As far as genres go; Westerns were my favorite then with Sci-Fi and Horror kicking in as I got into my preteen years.

[Mike_C]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

The owners of the label did produce a lot of the supplements, but Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo were actually the experts many other people turned to over the years. Unlike many other experts who get drafted to do commentary or essay/doc/background who could be knowledgeable but awful, they were well organized, incredibly bright, and usually quite entertaining since they understood what their customers were after. Nick was an extremely good interviewer

"Nick Redman, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, award-winning soundtrack producer and co-founder of the Twilight Time video label"

Julie Kirgo is a very respected Film Historian, Writer, and Journalist who was well known and established long before TT. Harvard educated, worked/ran/edited several Industry magazines, worked for American Movie Channel and other Hollywood entities as well as doing Home Video commentary tracks in the early days.

She comes by her credentials from an early age growing up in the business of film/TV-- her Father George was a screenwriter, exec of the Writers Guild, and cofounded the National Film Preservation Board for the Library of Congress.

Couldn't agree with this more. Would just like to add that the Kirgo/Redman commentaries have always been one of my absolute favorite things about the Twilight Time releases - and I know that I'm not alone in that sentiment. They are an absolute joy to listen to, and it saddens me greatly that there will be no more in the future. I'm glad to have so many of their commentaries on these TT discs, and plan to revisit them often over the years to come.

[Jobla]

THE ALAMO with John Wayne was the first western I ever saw in a theater, back in 1960. I had seen various TV westerns before then. Such a shame that THE ALAMO is not on Blu-ray.

TT released one of my favorite westerns, HOMBRE.

[Blu_Beard]

Originally Posted by Jobla

THE ALAMO with John Wayne was the first western I ever saw in a theater, back in 1960. I had seen various TV westerns before then. Such a shame that THE ALAMO is not on Blu-ray.

TT released one of my favorite westerns, HOMBRE.

I watched Hombre for the first time very recently and thought it was one of the best westerns I had seen in a long time. So refreshingly anti-cliche.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by Blu_Beard

I watched Hombre for the first time very recently and thought it was one of the best westerns I had seen in a long time. So refreshingly anti-cliche.

Hombre is similar in theme to a western I long expected/hoped TT would release, The Last Wagon w/Richard Widmark.

Sadly we'll never get that, but I'm sure glad I grabbed Hombre in time.

[klauswhereareyou]

Can anyone here vouch for the quality (of the movie and the PQ/AQ) of Alamo Bay (1985)?