Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Russhole]

I ordered 5 sale titles Ive been wanting for a while.
The Purple Rose of Cairo
Love and Death
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
Shadows and Fog
The Blue Lagoon

[Page14]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Not many recent posts about the SAE sale. I intended to get three titles, as the Criterion 50% event is just around the corner, but ended up ordering five... With less than three days left, I hope everyone got what they wanted. These $10 TT discounts are fantastic.

I ordered 5 the first day of the sale. I plan to place 1 more order, but am having a hard time deciding which ones. There are so many that I want.

EDIT: Just placed a second order. (There isn't much rhyme or reason for what I picked, as my wish list is pretty large. I could have easily chosen other titles).

The Eddy Duchin Story
Exodus
The Roots of Heaven
Shadows and Fog

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Not many recent posts about the SAE sale. I intended to get three titles, as the Criterion 50% event is just around the corner, but ended up ordering five... With less than three days left, I hope everyone got what they wanted. These $10 TT discounts are fantastic.

I'll be placing an order on Friday. Not sure how many, since (a) as you say, the Criterion sale is around the corner, and (b) my wife and I are going to be ordering a bunch of stuff (mostly books, but I'll sneak in a few region-free BDs) from amazon.uk with the drop in the £/$ exchange rate).

[Page14]

Just passing along a note that 2 greats who are both represented in Twilight Time's films share a birthday today ... Ray Harryhausen and Bernard Herrmann. Very cool.

[bcbarker1066]

Finally placed an order, just The Big Heat and Crimes and Misdemeanors this time around. Need to save some for the Criterion sale...

[drb124]

I am putting together a final sale order at SAE. I have a few that I know I want, and a few that I am on the fence about. Any comments or recommendations on the following titles?

The Song of Bernadette (I read that the transfer is lackluster, but I do like Price in dramatic roles)
Roots of Heaven
Cover Girl
Equus
Anastasia

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by Pondosinatra

Just ordered Mysterious Island and Romeo Is Bleeding...

Grrrrr. Who knows when I'll get it. Stupid Canada Post is supposed to go on strike on Saturday.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by drb124

I am putting together a final sale order at SAE. I have a few that I know I want, and a few that I am on the fence about. Any comments or recommendations on the following titles?

The Song of Bernadette (I read that the transfer is lackluster, but I do like Price in dramatic roles)
Roots of Heaven
Cover Girl
Equus
Anastasia

It is a shame that the The Roots of Heaven has been a slow seller for Twilight Time. Although one of director John Huston's more obscure efforts, it is by no means a lesser one and most definitely deserves more recognition. I bought it when it went up for pre-order four years ago.

I found The Roots of Heaven to be a very enjoyable movie. The Cinemascope presentation is gorgeous and the colors really pop. My only PQ complaint is also identified in the blu-ray.com review - color shifts during optical dissolves. It is a problem baked into the source elements, so no getting around it for the first half hour, when dissolves for a scene change have a brief color shift for a second at the beginning of the new scene. It does go away early on and is not an issue for the majority of the run time.

The acting on display here is well done, and the story works dramatically to draw the viewer in. The Roots of Heaven was ahead of its time and a bit of an oddity for 1958 for its portrayal of confrontational wildlife activism. The online reviews I have read sometimes refer to it as a misfire from John Huston, but I don’t see it that way. While not one of his best, it is still a very good film. Driven mainly by dialogue and acting, the plot pulls the viewer along between sporadic action sequences. The film is about a small ragtag group of crusaders out to save the elephants using disruptive tactics against the French colonial government and the ivory hunters allowed to pay the government for permits to kill elephants to harvest their tusks.

There is suspense and some intrigue to keep things interesting. Orson Welles gives a great cameo performance, and Juliette Greco is gorgeous and does fine work with her limited role. Trevor Howard does an excellent job in a difficult leading role, as a WWII veteran and POW turned elephant savior. He is the fiery defender of wildlife who cajoles and convinces the others to rally to his cause. Initially I found his character borderline over the top, but came to accept his portrayal as fitting for someone whose passionate beliefs lead him into adopting violence to prevent violence. He is deeply flawed and Howard makes him both attractive and repellant to the audience, a war veteran fighting a new war who is both heroic and mad. Errol Flynn plays a very believable drunk, which from what I have read did not require much of an acting stretch from him during the making of the movie. His performance is one of the film’s highlights. Shot on location in West Africa, the film is something of a legend for cast and crew falling ill, drinking excessively, overcoming miserable field conditions including terrific heat, and ironically going game hunting regularly (in fact, I have read several opinions - only half joking - that Huston and some of the cast and crew made the film mainly as an excuse for an extended hunting trip to Africa). Despite all of this, the final product works.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by drb124

I am putting together a final sale order at SAE. I have a few that I know I want, and a few that I am on the fence about. Any comments or recommendations on the following titles?

The Song of Bernadette (I read that the transfer is lackluster, but I do like Price in dramatic roles)
Roots of Heaven
Cover Girl
Equus
Anastasia

I posted my thoughts on Equus a few weeks back. Equus is one of the highlights of TT's collection. A top shelf release all the way.

[Show spoiler]I bought Equus as a blind buy two years ago. Not sure what I was expecting, but what I got was something extraordinary, very intense, and layers deep. One of the most superbly acted films I have ever seen, with Richard Burton giving a Shakespeareian quality performance. Peter Firth is mesmerizing as the deranged youth Alan Strang who becomes a patient of Burton's psychiatrist Martin Dysart after committing an inexplicable and horrific act of animal mutilation. Firth portrays Alan with a combination of lunacy and heartbreaking pathos. Through his interactions with Dysart, we begin to understand just how twisted his young psyche has become as the motives behind his actions are brought to light. The relationship between Strang and Dysart is so well developed that divisions between the two characters become blurred; we realize before long that Dysart is also on the couch next to his patient. And to top it off the movie also stars my teenage crush Jenny Agutter.

Sensuality plays an integral role in the plot. There are frequent references to stimulation of the senses through our proximity to natural beings, represented by horses with their muscular power, spirited temperament, and their symbiotic relationship to Man and his development since ancient times. This theme is transposed onto the human characters and is reflected in the sexual tensions in their lives. The intermittent nudity actually fits into the narrative in a way that makes sense to the thematic elements, and the camera doesn't shy away from showing us just about everything from dangling sausages to Jenny's naughty bits on full display.

Equus is a dark film, and one of the few of its type I have seen where I can say I benefited from a second viewing, especially in terms of the multiple themes and the dense dialog. Beautifully lensed, its cinematography is worthy of praise and shines on Blu-ray. Burton is a tour de force in this. I swear the man could read a cereal box on camera and make us tremble as if we are witnessing Hamlet.

Other main themes intertwined with natural sensuality are societal and religious conformity, the demands of faith, and the fragility of human beings. This is a film that keeps me glued to my seat throughout each viewing. It is not an easy film to comprehend, but everything in it is there for a reason and in the end it all makes sense.

And in case I wasn't clear, beyond the superb acting and dialogue, Jenny Agutter makes this film rewatchable X 10.

[Alfredlynch]

Twilight Time should try and get a hold of Neighbor's, starting Dan Akroyd and John Belushi. This type of release would suit their model well, and I don't see anyone else ever releasing it. It's such an underrated, ahead-of-its-time comedy - The Cable Guy has a similar vibe to it.

[Rory]

Originally Posted by oildude

It is a shame that the The Roots of Heaven has been a slow seller for Twilight Time. Although one of director John Huston's more obscure efforts, it is by no means a lesser one and most definitely deserves more recognition. I bought it when it went up for pre-order four years ago.

I found The Roots of Heaven to be a very enjoyable movie. The Cinemascope presentation is gorgeous and the colors really pop. My only PQ complaint is also identified in the blu-ray.com review - color shifts during optical dissolves. It is a problem baked into the source elements, so no getting around it for the first half hour, when dissolves for a scene change have a brief color shift for a second at the beginning of the new scene. It does go away early on and is not an issue for the majority of the run time.

The acting on display here is well done, and the story works dramatically to draw the viewer in. The Roots of Heaven was ahead of its time and a bit of an oddity for 1958 for its portrayal of confrontational wildlife activism. The online reviews I have read sometimes refer to it as a misfire from John Huston, but I don’t see it that way. While not one of his best, it is still a very good film. Driven mainly by dialogue and acting, the action is sporadic. The film is about a small ragtag group of crusaders out to save the elephants using disruptive tactics against the French colonial government and the ivory hunters allowed to pay the government for permits to kill elephants to harvest their tusks.

I have the TT Blu-ray. I watched it again a few months ago. Nearly sixty years after it was made, it's message means more today than it did back then.

I hate remakes, but this one maybe should be looked at, especially since it looks like in the wild, elephants will soon be gone.

[drb124]

Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to get Roots of Heaven, Equus, and Cover Girl. I may leave Song of Bernsdette until the next sale provided that it stays in stock.

[davidsal]

Got Roots of Heaven. Thanks.

[Rory]

Originally Posted by drb124

Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to get Roots of Heaven, Equus, and Cover Girl. I may leave Song of Bernsdette until the next sale provided that it stays in stock.

Between SAE and TT themselves, the sales seem to be coming every three months or so. There's still ones I want to get, but I figure I can afford to wait.

[drb124]

Originally Posted by Rory

Between SAE and TT themselves, the sales seem to be coming every three months or so. There's still ones I want to get, but I figure I can afford to wait.

It also helps that they are being good about putting out low stock updates. I am now more likely to pick up older releases and wait on newer ones unless they are ones that I really want.

[HitchcockLang]

I'm a recent convert to Twilight Time. I already own The Big Heat (both versions), The Sound and the Fury, all the Woody Allens, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Bunny Lake is Missing, The Remains of the Day, and I had, watched and sold Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.

I'm torn on this sale. The movies I'm interested in (but I can't afford them all):
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Bonjour Tristesse
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Exodus
Swamp Water
Rapture
Experiment in Terror
When the Wind Blows

Most of the above would be blind buys. Any thoughts, advice, recommendations. Maybe some of the above just aren't that good? Some may be safer to wait until the next sale than others? All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by HitchcockLang

I'm a recent convert to Twilight Time. I already own The Big Heat (both versions), The Sound and the Fury, all the Woody Allens, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Bunny Lake is Missing, The Remains of the Day, and I had, watched and sold Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.

I'm torn on this sale. The movies I'm interested in (but I can't afford them all):
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Bonjour Tristesse
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Exodus
Swamp Water
Rapture
Experiment in Terror
When the Wind Blows

Most of the above would be blind buys. Any thoughts, advice, recommendations. Maybe some of the above just aren't that good? Some may be safer to wait until the next sale than others? All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Gee, if you liked The Big Heat enough to buy two versions, then I would suggest Where the Sidewalk Ends. Personally, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner would be my choice (if I didn't already own it). Classic film with some great extras.

[warrian]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Gee, if you liked The Big Heat enough to buy two versions, then I would suggest Where the Sidewalk Ends. Personally, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner would be my choice (if I didn't already own it). Classic film with some great extras.

And though I could be wrong, I thought Exodus wasn't eligible for the sale, so that might eliminate one for you.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by HitchcockLang

I'm a recent convert to Twilight Time. I already own The Big Heat (both versions), The Sound and the Fury, all the Woody Allens, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, Bunny Lake is Missing, The Remains of the Day, and I had, watched and sold Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.

I'm torn on this sale. The movies I'm interested in (but I can't afford them all):
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
Bonjour Tristesse
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Exodus
Swamp Water
Rapture
Experiment in Terror
When the Wind Blows

Most of the above would be blind buys. Any thoughts, advice, recommendations. Maybe some of the above just aren't that good? Some may be safer to wait until the next sale than others? All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

All of them are worth getting. In decreasing order of preference, I'd rank them as follows:

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Experiment in Terror
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Rapture
Swamp Water
Bonjour Tristesse
Exodus
When the Wind Blows
The Secret of Santa Vittoria

You might want to give some priority to Experiment in Terror, however, as it's the only one of these titles currently on the Low Quantity list.

[HitchcockLang]

Thanks for all the advice! I went with everything but When the Wind Blows and Secret of Santa Vittoria. Oddly those and Exodus were the ones I was least interested in before they turned up at the bottom of your preference list. I want all the Otto Preminger and all the Stanley Kramer but Secret of Santa Vittoria doesn't seem to be flying off the shelves so it can probably wait. Since Exodus is on the hot selling list on the sidebar on the SAE website, thought I should go ahead an bite (and I can confirm, Exodus is definitely on sale).

And I bought both copies of The Big Heat because I got the original one first and then wanted the commentary and special features as I am currently working on a book on the films of Fritz Lang. I will probably end up offloading the first edition Big Heat. In fact, if anyone wants to trade something for it, I'd be down for that.