Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[captveg]

They probably have all three 90s Sony Woody Allen films.

They also have three remaining MGM titles: Bananas (1971), September (1987), and Alice (1990)

I wish they'd also release the lone Fox owned Allen title: Melinda and Melinda (2004)

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by captveg

They probably have all three 90s Sony Woody Allen films.

They also have three remaining MGM titles: Bananas (1971), September (1987), and Alice (1990)

I wish they'd also release the lone Fox owned Allen title: Melinda and Melinda (2004)

I think I read that the three remaining MGM; Bananas, Alice and September would all be released by the end of this year. September in September I would assume.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Saw this linked to on the Screen Archives site:

https://www.blurayauthority.com/inte...twilight-time/

Nick Redman of Twilight Time hints at a couple of Sony owned Woody Allen films coming from them. I'd assume that's Husbands and Wives and Manhattan Murder Mystery.

Good interview. I was most interested in his comment

...Drums Along The Mohawk which was the only John Ford film that we had at the time. We subsequently have licensed a few more from Fox but we haven’t released them yet.

Of course, they did release Two Rode Together, but that was a Sony title.

[oildude]

That is a great interview and wonderful read.

I perked up over this bit of discussion regarding Asian cinema. As someone who loves films from Japan, this is very exciting news that a few more are on the horizon to join The Twilight Samurai (a fantastic movie that I very highly recommend), The Little House, Harlock Space Pirate, The Bullet Train, and upcoming Brutal Tales of Chivalry.

Nick Redman: I don’t think we’ve ever sort of particularly pursued Sonny Chiba, you know the reason that we have a little bit of a relationship with Japan is because when Brian Jamieson was at Warner Brothers he was the Senior Vice President for International Marketing and Asia was one of his territories. He knows a lot of people in Japan and in some of the other Asian markets, so he and I go to Japan and go to Toei. You know he was actually involved in the making of the film Harlock Space Pirate that came out a few years ago. So the producers of that film are friends with him and we made a deal to pick up some Toei movies and we also picked up some films from Shochiku and a couple of other Japanese companies. But I must tell you that the sales are very disappointing of Japanese films here, or at least the ones that we have put out. We would go broke if we do these type of movies too often! I know that we’ve got the Jackie Chan double bill coming of Drunken Master and Snake in Eagle’s Shadow. And we’ve got a film called The Emperor in August which is a new film, very good film actually. It was made in 2015, about what happened after the nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan. At the end of World War II the military did not want to surrender and were thinking about overthrowing their emperor and carrying on with the war despite the fact that they had been bombed. So this film is about that coup that failed. We are quite proud to have that. It’s a bit of a talk-a-thon, but its a very interesting. We also have another Ken Takakura film coming at the end of the year called The Yellow Handkerchief, which is the director of The Twilight Samurai and The Little House which we also put out.

[Blu Titan]

I have been very busy the last couple of weeks and I totally missed the great announcement for Brutal Tales of Chivalry . Really outstanding news and I will make it a point to pre-order this next wednesday .

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

I have been very busy the last couple of weeks and I totally missed the great announcement for Brutal Tales of Chivalry . Really outstanding news and I will make it a point to pre-order this next wednesday .

Me too! Only Im sad to admit I had never heard of this film until
I noticed it in the next TT preorder list.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by oildude

That is a great interview and wonderful read.

I perked up over this bit of discussion regarding Asian cinema. As someone who loves films from Japan, this is very exciting news that a few more are on the horizon to join The Twilight Samurai (a fantastic movie that I very highly recommend), The Little House, Harlock Space Pirate, The Bullet Train, and upcoming Brutal Tales of Chivalry.

Yes, I meant to cheer at the mention of another Yamada on the horizon, but my enthusiasm for more Ford at Fox blinded me.

[c-murph]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Im going to preorder The Stone Killer. I still want four other titles. Hope they are planning another sale. Doesnt have to be a big sale. I would be happy with $20 a piece for The Detective, Peyton Place & The Best of Everything lol

TT hasn't released too much that's interested me lately. I picked up 10 to Midnight, Chato's Land, and Murphy's Law during the sale because Charles Bronson. Missed out on The Mechanic. Already had Hard Times.

Don't have Miss Sadie or From Noon to Three yet..

But The Stone Killer might be the next new purchase... or I can wait until next year's sale and buy them all.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Good interview. I was most interested in his comment



Of course, they did release Two Rode Together, but that was a Sony title.

I'd be happy to see Young Mr. Lincoln or Tobacco Road. There are several others from the Ford at Fox set that I'd be interested in, but those would be my first two picks.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by belcherman

I'd be happy to see Young Mr. Lincoln or Tobacco Road. There are several others from the Ford at Fox set that I'd be interested in, but those would be my first two picks.

Young Mr. Lincoln will most likely come from Criterion since they released the DVD.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

Young Mr. Lincoln will most likely come from Criterion since they released the DVD.

Yeah, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Yeah, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks.

But, Ford's 1955 film The Long Gray Line has been given a 4k remaster by Sony. That could be a Twilight Time possibility.
th.jpg

[oildude]

Twilight Time has confirmed that Raoul Walsh's Gun Fury 3D (1953) will be coming later this year.

In response to an inquiry on FB:

Twilight Time .....you'll be happy to know Gun Fury is coming later this year!

Never seen this one, but it has some great poster art.

[Bruce Morrison]

I just got 'The Fortune Cookie' and annoyingly it has some really bad lip-sync problems in a segment of the film from chapter 11 (52' 14") up to chapter 18 (78' 55"). The audio is way ahead of the video during this period, and it's quite distracting.

The actual video looks great, so this lip-sync problem is really a shame. I assume TT would have received the transfer from MGM, so I hope they might investigate whether the problem can be corrected.

[The Great Owl]

Last night, I watched my Twilight Time Blu-ray of The Buddy Holly Story.

After watching John Carpenter's Elvis yesterday, I was still in that old school rock 'n' roll frame of mind, so The Buddy Holly Story was the logical choice for a follow-up. This 1978 movie is not the most factually accurate account of the life of Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley), but it does impressively convey the notion that a great many people during the 1950s considered rock music to be a real threat to society and to the youth of America. As I watched this film for the first time, I kept thinking of one of my favorite music box sets, Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of the '50s, that kicks off its first disc by playing recordings of ministers and such denouncing the immoral evil of the songs. It's amusing to see that the same types of people are still railing against rap and hip-hop music today in 2017.

Gary Busey, in the title role, delivers what is perhaps the best work of his career. Like Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's Elvis, Busey does not quite physically resemble the artist, but he brilliantly captures the intensity and the snarl of the performances. My favorite thing about this movie, in fact, is the performances, which actually were recorded live by Busey and company. Don Stroud (Licence to Kill, The Amityville Horror) and Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables, American Graffiti) are excellent as The Crickets.

This Twilight Time Blu-ray delivers the goods when it comes to picture quality and audio quality. The audio commentary is also a blast.

Up next: La Bamba

[billy pilgrim]

Yesterday I watched Nicholas Roeg's incredible film, Eureka. I had previously watched Psychomania earlier in the evening, so now I felt I was in the mood for something completely different; a well made film's yang to the low budget, very enjoyably bad Psychomania's yin.

I had seen this film way back, Mr. Peabody, when it was first released to the theaters. I guess at that time, even though I was a dedicated Roeg fan from Performance and Don't Look Now to Man Who Fell To Earth, I was evidently not ready for this film at that time. I did not enjoy it. Now, 30 plus years later, I revisited this same film and had a completely different experience.

If ever a film required repeat viewings, this one is it (along with other strange, dense endeavors, a la Mulholland Drive). This film is a collection of strange images and wtf moments on top of a story line very similar to the much later There Will Be Blood. In fact, I would call TWBB almost the sibling film in tone and plot to Eureka.

Some basic plot details follow, so be advised.

Gene Hackman gives one of his finest performances as prospector who is driven to find gold in the Yukon. It is his life's passion and total ambition. After 15 years of searching and finding the strike of a lifetime (in a wildly surrealistic scene), he retires and buys his own island and has a life that has everything money can buy, but he becomes more and more unhappy and miserable. The one thing he loves passionately is his daughter, played by Theresa Russell, who is the light of his life and his one weakness. She is married to a philandering French playboy (in an inspired performance by Rutger Hauer) who, Hackman believes, is using his daughter for his money.
On top top of that, there is a Jewish mobster from Miami (a somewhat odd performance by Joe Pesci) accompanied by his slimy Italian American lawyer (a perfectly oily performance by a still handsome pre reconstructive surgery Mickey Rourke) who are threatening Hackman to sell his property for the construction of a casino. That's the basic plot, but there is so much more going on here.

A strange occult theme runs through the entire film and some very graphic images appear at intervals, including a very prescient scene where

[Show spoiler]a failed prospector places a gun in his mouth and commits suicide on the steps of the claim office in the Yukon. His exploding head is revisited several times to great effect in the beginning of this film.

The interwoven violence that permeates this film is brought to a horrific crescendo during the

[Show spoiler] stalking of Hackman in his own mansion by the hired killers he had goaded and insulted a few minutes before. I have no problems with either horror, gore, or graphic violence, however I have to admit that the images of Hackman, rendered defenseless, but alive by multiple brutal blows to the head from a heavy metal wrench, thrown on the bed, tarred and feathered, having his face and body repeatedly burned with a blow torch, and finally being decapitated from multiple blows from a meat cleaver was one of the most shocking and disturbing scenes I have witnessed in film. I think what makes it so disturbing for me was the helplessness of the victim and the way the killers came back to torture and disfigure him over and over.

It shook me and took me totally by surprise. (I had forgotten most of the film from when I first viewed it.)

I'm a bit compulsive on how I like to approach films. I don't want to know much of anything about the plot and therefore studiously avoid watching trailers (which are so poorly made anymore and take all the mystery and adventure out of film watching, giving away almost all plot points along the way). So, when I advise prospective new viewers to watch a commentary first prior to watching the film, you know that there must be a lot going on here.

I had already watched the film on the TT Blu Ray, which had very good PQ and AQ BTW, and felt that although I enjoyed this viewing so much more than the first, this film required a lot of attention and some of the plot points are quite obscure to a first or second time viewer. I subsequently watched the interview with Paul Mayersburg, the screenwriter for the film. Mr. Mayersburg gives a well spoken and a very welcome explanation of the images and themes interwoven in this film. It's rare that I listen to one of these commentaries that I find to be so helpful in understanding and enjoying all the layers of such a difficult, yet fascinating film. I highly recommend watching this either before or immediately after the film, it's that good.

Rarely do I find such a wonderfully challenging film experience. From surrealistic imagery, to great performances (Theresa Russell is the weakest link here), through truly shocking violence, this film wears its weirdness on its sleeve and the whole combines into a flawed, yet magnificent film that takes it (IMHO) to the status of a stone cold classic.

One of Roeg's best and comes highly recommended for those who enjoy strange films with multiple layers of meaning, surrealistic images, and story lines that require some interpretative effort on the part of the viewer.

[Purplenoon]

Originally Posted by billy pilgrim

Yesterday I watched Nicholas Roeg's incredible film, Eureka. I had previously watched Psychomania earlier in the evening, so now I felt I was in the mood for something completely different; a well made film's yang to the low budget, very enjoyably bad Psychomania's yin.

I had seen this film way back, Mr. Peabody, when it was first released to the theaters. I guess at that time, even though I was a dedicated Roeg fan from Performance and Don't Look Now to Man Who Fell To Earth, I was evidently not ready for this film at that time. I did not enjoy it. Now, 30 plus years later, I revisited this same film and had a completely different experience.

If ever a film required repeat viewings, this one is it (along with other strange, dense endeavors, a la Mulholland Drive). This film is a collection of strange images and wtf moments on top of a story line very similar to the much later There Will Be Blood. In fact, I would call TWBB almost the sibling film in tone and plot to Eureka.

Some basic plot details follow, so be advised.

Gene Hackman gives one of his finest performances as prospector who is driven to find gold in the Yukon. It is his life's passion and total ambition. After 15 years of searching and finding the strike of a lifetime (in a wildly surrealistic scene), he retires and buys his own island and has a life that has everything money can buy, but he becomes more and more unhappy and miserable. The one thing he loves passionately is his daughter, played by Theresa Russell, who is the light of his life and his one weakness. She is married to a philandering French playboy (in an inspired performance by Rutger Hauer) who, Hackman believes, is using his daughter for his money.
On top top of that, there is a Jewish mobster from Miami (a somewhat odd performance by Joe Pesci) accompanied by his slimy Italian American lawyer (a perfectly oily performance by a still handsome pre reconstructive surgery Mickey Rourke) who are threatening Hackman to sell his property for the construction of a casino. That's the basic plot, but there is so much more going on here.

A strange occult theme runs through the entire film and some very graphic images appear at intervals, including a very prescient scene where

[Show spoiler]a failed prospector places a gun in his mouth and commits suicide on the steps of the claim office in the Yukon. His exploding head is revisited several times to great effect in the beginning of this film.

The interwoven violence that permeates this film is brought to a horrific crescendo during the

[Show spoiler] stalking of Hackman in his own mansion by the hired killers he had goaded and insulted a few minutes before. I have no problems with either horror, gore, or graphic violence, however I have to admit that the images of Hackman, rendered defenseless, but alive by multiple brutal blows to the head from a heavy metal wrench, thrown on the bed, tarred and feathered, having his face and body repeatedly burned with a blow torch, and finally being decapitated from multiple blows from a meat cleaver was one of the most shocking and disturbing scenes I have witnessed in film. I think what makes it so disturbing for me was the helplessness of the victim and the way the killers came back to torture and disfigure him over and over.

It shook me and took me totally by surprise. (I had forgotten most of the film from when I first viewed it.)

I'm a bit compulsive on how I like to approach films. I don't want to know much of anything about the plot and therefore studiously avoid watching trailers (which are so poorly made anymore and take all the mystery and adventure out of film watching, giving away almost all plot points along the way). So, when I advise perspective new viewers to watch a commentary first prior to watching the film, you know that there must be a lot going on here.

I had already watched the film on the TT Blu Ray, which had very good PQ and AQ BTW, and felt that although I enjoyed this viewing so much more than the first, this film required a lot of attention and some of the plot points are quite obscure to a first or second time viewer. I subsequently watched the interview with Paul Mayersburg, the screenwriter for the film. Mr. Mayersburg gives a well spoken and a very welcome explanation of the images and themes interwoven in this film. It's rare that I listen to one of these commentaries that I find to be so helpful in understanding and enjoying all the layers of such a difficult, yet fascinating film. I highly recommend watching this either before or immediately after the film, it's that good.

Rarely do I find such a wonderfully challenging film experience. From surrealistic imagery, to great performances (Theresa Russell is the weakest link here), through truly shocking violence, this film wears its weirdness on its sleeve and the whole combines into a flawed, yet magnificent film that takes it (IMHO) to the status of a stone cold classic.

One of Roeg's best and comes highly recommended for those who enjoy strange films with multiple layers of meaning, surrealistic images, and story lines that require some interpretative effort on the part of the viewer.

I agree: great film (& review).

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Up next: La Bamba

Esai Morales is so damn good there...should have been nominated.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Twilight Time Blu-ray of La Bamba.

After watching John Carpenter's Elvis (1979) and The Buddy Holly Story (1978) earlier this weekend, La Bamba completes my "oldies trilogy" of sorts, and I have thoroughly enjoyed these cinematic takes on the rise of rock 'n' roll during the 1950s. This was my first time seeing La Bamba since I rented it on VHS tape 30 years ago, and I was surprised at how much of this movie I remembered by heart. This film explores the experience of Hispanic minorities in decades past just as much as it explores the story of a rock icon, and the end result is a story with a universal appeal with regard to cheering for an underdog.

Lou Diamond Phillips, who has enjoyed quite a career since, excels in the lead role as Ritchie Valens, and does what is perhaps the greatest lip-synching that I've ever seen in a film, as the music is performed by Los Lobos. Esai Morales (NYPD Blue television series, Miami Vice television series), however, commands the most attention as Ritchie's volatile brother, Bob. Rosanna DeSoto (Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, Miami Vice television series) lends a lot of emotional heft to the film as Ritchie's mother, while the always gorgeous Elizabeth Peña (Jacob's Ladder) plays Bob's beleaguered girlfriend. Joe Pantoliano (The Fugitive, The Sopranos television series) is awesome as the record company exec who discovers Ritchie Valens. Danielle von Zerneck (My Science Project) is simply beautiful as Ritchie's girlfriend. Brian Setzer is a joy to watch in a brief scene as rocker Eddie Cochran, while Marshall Crenshaw guests as Buddy Holly.

This Blu-ray looks incredible, and the detail is quite amazing, especially during an early scene where Ritchie and Bob chase each other to the top of a hill. The two commentaries are both invaluable when it comes to background info and fun anecdotes.

[BwayJ]

Originally Posted by Bruce Morrison

I just got 'The Fortune Cookie' and annoyingly it has some really bad lip-sync problems in a segment of the film from chapter 11 (52' 14") up to chapter 18 (78' 55"). The audio is way ahead of the video during this period, and it's quite distracting.

The actual video looks great, so this lip-sync problem is really a shame. I assume TT would have received the transfer from MGM, so I hope they might investigate whether the problem can be corrected.

Sorry to hear that. I just checked my copy and it played fine.