Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[johnny]

Originally Posted by Page14

Has anybody had any problems playing Emperor of the North? I ask because I've tried playing it twice just now and both times the picture freezes at about the 8:26 mark.

(*** FLASH *** I just hit the pause and play button again and it started playing. I might be in luck after all).

(*** FLASH #2 *** The picture just froze up again a few seconds further along and now it seems as if it's really stuck. My player is an old Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD. I recently had problems with my Spartacus blu-ray too, so it might be time to invest in a new player. But if anybody else has had problems with this blu-ray, it would be nice to know).

I had no problems with My Copy....I've always enjoyed this Movie, I thought Keith Carradine's performance was great and of course I love Lee & Ernie.

[tallrichard]

Originally Posted by The Crimson King

Hi, has anyone ordered from Twilight Time's new website? How does it compare to SAE? I'd like to directly give Twilight Time my money, but I'am wondering how their service is.

TT seems to care, they listen to feedback....respond quickly to concerns...

SAE never seemed to care...had more of a not my problem kinda attitude....

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by Page14

Okay, I just finished watching the movie by re-starting at the scene break immediately following the point where the blu-ray was freezing up (scene break #3). From there I was able to back up to about the 9:26 mark, where the blu-ray played flawlessly from that point to the end of the movie.

So does this sound like a player issue or a disc issue? Or could it be either?

Anyway, I'm glad I only had to miss about a minute of the movie. This was a blind buy for me. It's an interesting film that I'm glad I bought. I thought the picture and sound were great. I still need to listen to the audio-commentary.

Have you started the movie from the beginning a few times to see if the issue repeats itself? I'd guess if it does then it's a disc issue. Otherwise it might be time to invest in a new player. If you can wait a couple of months you can get a 4k uhd player.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Have you started the movie from the beginning a few times to see if the issue repeats itself? I'd guess if it does then it's a disc issue. Otherwise it might be time to invest in a new player. If you can wait a couple of months you can get a 4k uhd player.

Thank you. Yes, I started it 4 or 5 times and it always freezes in approximately the same spot. I tried another time while playing the audio-commentary, and got the same results. I don't see it as a real big deal because once I find my way past the freezing point, everything seems to play fine after that (as described in my first post). I don't know if it's worth fussing too much about when I'm not really sure what's causing the problem. I still fully enjoyed the movie.

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by Page14

I'm not really sure what's causing the problem. I still fully enjoyed the movie.

That's the main thing. Perhaps it's just a firmware issue for that one movie. If that's the case there's no need to buy a new player. Like you I have an older Pioneer bd player (09fd) that couldn't play one particular movie (can't recall which one...but it worked after a firmware update). I'm waiting to see if they release a new reference uhd player this spring.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

That's the main thing. Perhaps it's just a firmware issue for that one movie. If that's the case there's no need to buy a new player. Like you I have an older Pioneer bd player (09fd) that couldn't play one particular movie (can't recall which one...but it worked after a firmware update). I'm waiting to see if they release a new reference uhd player this spring.

A firmware issue is possible, as I don't think I upgraded to the last firmware that's been released for my player. I need to look into that. I've been extremely happy with my player so far ... would definitely consider buying another new Pioneer if the reviews are good.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Couldn't agree more, except on the remake bit (both are adaptations of the novel by Stanislav Tem). I would really go for a Solaris blu-ray. If TT gets it they should please try to retain the feature commentary with Soderbergh and James Cameron.

Perhaps its Cameron who is responsible for denying us cinephiles the chance to watch this film in glorious HD? He was the Producer of Solaris after all.

Plus, he still has yet to deliver The Abyss and True Lies on blu-ray. What's he waiting for? Must be the head of Fox Home Entertainment that's behind this delay.

[Page14]

Watching Emperor of the North got me to thinking of Robert Aldrich films. Other Aldrich films that I'd love to see come out on blu-ray (through TT or anybody else, if the transfer is good) are Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Flight of the Phoenix, and a personal favorite, The Longest Yard.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Page14

Watching Emperor of the North got me to thinking of Robert Aldrich films. Other Aldrich films that I'd love to see come out on blu-ray (through TT or anybody else, if the transfer is good) are Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Flight of the Phoenix, and a personal favorite, The Longest Yard.

Aldrich made so many good to great films in a lot of genres. I'd love to see The Big Knife and Ulzana's Raid, to name two completely different movies.

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by jw007

Perhaps its Cameron who is responsible for denying us cinephiles the chance to watch this film in glorious HD? He was the Producer of Solaris after all.

Plus, he still has yet to deliver The Abyss and True Lies on blu-ray. What's he waiting for? Must be the head of Fox Home Entertainment that's behind this delay.

In addition to those three, don't forget "Strange Days" which Cameron co-wrote and co-produced, with Kathryn Bigelow directing.

Fox/Cameron need to get going on all four of those movies coming to Blu-ray IMO.

[StingingVelvet]

Oh man Strange Days. Really want that one, probably should have imported it by now.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

That's the main thing. Perhaps it's just a firmware issue for that one movie. If that's the case there's no need to buy a new player. Like you I have an older Pioneer bd player (09fd) that couldn't play one particular movie (can't recall which one...but it worked after a firmware update). I'm waiting to see if they release a new reference uhd player this spring.

I had that issue with Snowpiercer. The extras disc played fine on my Sony BDP-S550, but the movie disc wouldn't. It did play on the BD-ROM drive in my laptop, though. I looked to see if there was a firmware update for the Sony player, but it's up to date.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Page14

Watching Emperor of the North got me to thinking of Robert Aldrich films. Other Aldrich films that I'd love to see come out on blu-ray (through TT or anybody else, if the transfer is good) are Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Flight of the Phoenix, and a personal favorite, The Longest Yard.

My most wanted Aldrich title is Ulzana's Raid, a grim and gritty early 1970s western starring Burt Lancaster in a great late career performance. I think Universal holds the rights so could be a long time coming to blu-Ray. This is one of my desert island DVDs I still have

[solovoyager]

Originally Posted by Page14

Has anybody had any problems playing Emperor of the North? I ask because I've tried playing it twice just now and both times the picture freezes at about the 8:26 mark.

(*** FLASH *** I just hit the pause and play button again and it started playing. I might be in luck after all).

(*** FLASH #2 *** The picture just froze up again a few seconds further along and now it seems as if it's really stuck. My player is an old Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD. I recently had problems with my Spartacus blu-ray too, so it might be time to invest in a new player. But if anybody else has had problems with this blu-ray, it would be nice to know).

Watched the first 15 minutes of my copy and no issues so far with mine.

Sorry to hear you are having some problems. Hope you get it cleared up.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by solovoyager

Watched the first 15 minutes of my copy and no issues so far with mine.

Sorry to hear you are having some problems. Hope you get it cleared up.

Thanks. It might take me a few days, but I'm going to try playing it in a few different players to try and determine if the problem is my player. And as suggested earlier, I also need to make sure I have the latest firmware installed.

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by Page14

Thank you. Yes, I started it 4 or 5 times and it always freezes in approximately the same spot. I tried another time while playing the audio-commentary, and got the same results. I don't see it as a real big deal because once I find my way past the freezing point, everything seems to play fine after that (as described in my first post). I don't know if it's worth fussing too much about when I'm not really sure what's causing the problem. I still fully enjoyed the movie.

Try checking with Pioneer to see if there is a firmware update.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by oildude

My most wanted Aldrich title is Ulzana's Raid, a grim and gritty early 1970s western starring Burt Lancaster in a great late career performance. I think Universal holds the rights so could be a long time coming to blu-Ray. This is one of my desert island DVDs I still have

I keep on hoping for a Criterion with both cuts - Robert Aldrich's cut, which was released on one side of the Atlantic, and Burt Lancaster's, which was released on the other. The running time is pretty much the same but there are some interesting differences between the two cuts.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Aclea

I keep on hoping for a Criterion with both cuts - Robert Aldrich's cut, which was released on one side of the Atlantic, and Burt Lancaster's, which was released on the other. The running time is pretty much the same but there are some interesting differences between the two cuts.

I never knew there were two cuts. I first saw Ulzana's Raid when I was a kid living on an army base in West Germany. It came to the base theater in 1973, six months to a year after its release which was about how long it took back then for most stateside films to make their way overseas to the military bases. It was rated R but my folks took me anyway. For its time, it was a shockingly brutal western. Even by today's standards it is still a harrowing film to watch.

In hindsight, I was no doubt too young at the time to be seeing such a violent film, but I recall being fascinated by it. I was aware that I was watching a different kind of western, one that broke boundaries for its realistic depiction of the savagery of the Apache wars. This was my first Burt Lancaster film and it put him on my cinematic map at an early age. Bruce Davison, who plays the green and devoutly religious lieutenant leading the cavalry detachment chasing Ulzana, was familiar to me from having seen him a year before in Willard (a favorite childhood horror film I would also like to see released on Blu-ray).

Ulzana's Raid was one of the first films I ever bought on DVD around 2000, a pan and scan treatment released by GoodTimes Video in a snapper case. If not Criterion, then I wish Twilight Time would cut a deal with Universal and bring this powerful film back to life on blu-ray.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by oildude

I never knew there were two cuts.

There's an account of the differences here:

http://tlweb.latrobe.edu.au/humaniti...00/bsfr10c.htm

- though Brad is completely wrong when he says that Alan Sharp 'reluctantly' worked with Lancaster on the re-edit: as I've told him (and the people who run the site), in the interview he refers to, Sharp was very clear that he had no reservations about doing it.

For its time, it was a shockingly brutal western. Even by today's standards it is still a harrowing film to watch.

The scene where the cavalryman goes back for the woman is still genuinely shocking today. Apparently it was one of those moments that really helped turn audiences against the film at the time.

It's a stark, brilliant film that is a notable influence on Walter Hill's Geronimo (which even borrows from it directly on a couple of occasions), but has a level of cruelty that the later film lacks. Unlike its contemporaries which took up the Native American cause, this never idealises or demonises either side: even Lancaster's scout proves catastrophically less competent in matters of strategy than in tracking or attempting to explain the enemy's way of thinking. For the most part it's a conflict between two different cultures that can never understand or tolerate each other, carried out almost without malice despite its brutality. As Lancaster points out, "It's just the way they are. It's like hating the desert because there ain't any water in it."

With a superb screenplay by Alan Sharp, a fine Frank De Vol score and muscular, unsentimental direction by Aldrich that takes no prisoners, it's one of the key Westerns of the Seventies, even if parts of it proved too shocking for audiences for it to gain much of a reputation at the time. It's strong meat, but it's more than worth the price of admission.

[Mrdamron]

For those who have ordered from Twilight in the past, what time of the day do they usually put their titles on sale on day of release/pre-order?

Thanks in advance