Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by mja345

I watched the BD of "Who'll Stop the Rain" after catching it on TV about 5 or 6 years ago. Wow, what a film that is. Just incredible. It manages to make a profound statement about the way we treat military vets without being simplistic, which modern films seem to be completely incapable of doing. It's a nuanced, fascinating piece of work. The entire cast is great. Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld and Michael Moriarty are outstanding as the three leads. Richard Masur and particularly Ray Sharkey just exude sleaze in memorable supporting roles. And Anthony Zerbe does a brilliant job as a crooked cop. The incredibly underrated director Karel Reisz manages to tie a number of different elements (friendship, love, drug addiction, coming back from war, violence) together beautifully. If you haven't seen this film, please check it out.

Wow, that's a movie that has totally flown under my radar until now. It looks really interesting. I'll have to check it out now. Thanks for mentioning it!

[tisdivine]

Just received my order for

Scream And Scream Again
Peyton Place
The Hounds of Baskerville

I paid full price but its Christmas. Its the time of the season to spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave lol

[senseabove]

Question for anyone who has The Big Heat:

[Show spoiler]after Bannion has the old woman ID the gangster, then knocks on the door himself,

is there a frame missing mid-punch, at 1:05:53, between when the fist connects and the follow-through?

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by senseabove

Question for anyone who has The Big Heat:

[Show spoiler]after Bannion has the old woman ID the gangster, then knocks on the door himself,

is there a frame missing mid-punch, at 1:05:53, between when the fist connects and the follow-through?

It's an intentional jump cut to startle you just a bit in the middle of a quick motion. Here are a couple of other examples:

The Day the Earth Caught Fire, with commentary explaining the effect (1:45):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_ChMlEYZ5Q&t=104s

The famous "Let's go home, Debbie" scene from The Searchers (2:18):

The Searchers (1956) - Let's Go Home, Debbie Scene (9/10) | Movieclips - YouTube

This isn't used much anymore, if at all, and I don't think it was ever that common, but just off the top of my head, I've noticed examples in:

Major Dundee
To Kill a Mockingbird
Two English Girls
Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Tati fell in love with the technique in this film and uses it over and over, but I don't think he ever used it in any other film afterwards)

There are probably hundreds of other examples.

As you noted, this would be exactly what unintentional missing frame(s) look like, but if it is happening in the middle of a quick punch or movement (it's an arrow hitting someone's leg in Major Dundee) then it's probably intentional.

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by obscurelabel

It's an intentional jump cut to startle you just a bit in the middle of a quick motion. Here are a couple of other examples:

The Day the Earth Caught Fire, with commentary explaining the effect (1:45):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_ChMlEYZ5Q&t=104s

The famous "Let's go home, Debbie" scene from The Searchers (2:18):

The Searchers (1956) - Let's Go Home, Debbie Scene (9/10) | Movieclips - YouTube

This isn't used much anymore, if at all, and I don't think it was ever that common, but just off the top of my head, I've noticed examples in:

Major Dundee
To Kill a Mockingbird
Two English Girls
Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Tati fell in love with the technique in this film and uses it over and over, but I don't think he ever used it in any other film afterwards)

There are probably hundreds of other examples.

As you noted, this would be exactly what unintentional missing frame(s) look like, but if it is happening in the middle of a quick punch or movement (it's an arrow hitting someone's leg in Major Dundee) then it's probably intentional.

Oh, fascinating! I've noticed similar things for trick shots before, of course, but never just to give some umph to a punch like that. Makes sense. Thanks for the informed reply!

Not the same thing, but on the subject of simple filming techniques to improve fights, it reminds me of a B-movie serial I saw the other day, Alias Boston Blackie, where one of the fight scenes was filmed at a slower speed, but played back slightly fast, allowing the actors to be a little less obvious about pulling their punches while filming and making it look more natural when played at regular speed. It was surprisingly effective, and the "silent film at the wrong speed" effect was not too noticeable.

[redxrebellion]

Goddard used jump cuts a lot as well, watch Breathless

[Jobla]

I believe that technique was used during the climactic boat chase in THUNDERBALL. The director or the editor later commented, perhaps in an audio commentary track, that he wished that the technique had not been used.

[RCRochester]

According to a Facebook post, Heaven & Earth is now $6.95 and will absolutely go OOP on January 1st. Only about 50 copies left.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

According to a Facebook post, Heaven & Earth is now $6.95 and will absolutely go OOP on January 1st. Only about 50 copies left.

And she's gone...

Originally Posted by Twilight Time Movies

Just a heads-up that HEAVEN & EARTH is now SOLD OUT - this is our 114th Blu-ray title to do so - and we especially appreciate this time your fantastic support in saving Oliver Stone's rare, and beautiful film from an ignominious fate!

https://www.facebook.com/twilighttim...11032955582029

[benbess]

I'm an easy touch for melodrama, and I really liked Kings Go Forth, starring Frank Sinatra (in one of his finest performances), Tony Curtis (wonderful, as always), and Natalie Wood (lovely in a challenging role). This film stirred some emotions for me. It also has some good World War II action, and the score by Elmer Bernstein is first rate. Finally, a perceptive and eloquent essay by Julie Kirgo, as always, is included. Image quality is also very good. Recommended....

[antennahead]

Originally Posted by benbess

I'm an easy touch for melodrama, and I really liked Kings Go Forth, starring Frank Sinatra (in one of his finest performances), Tony Curtis (wonderful, as always), and Natalie Wood (lovely in a challenging role). This film stirred some emotions for me. It also has some good World War II action, and the score by Elmer Bernstein is first rate. Finally, a perceptive and eloquent essay by Julie Kirgo, as always, is included. Image quality is also very good. Recommended....

Can't believe I've never seen this. Sounds like a really good movie. I was in a "Frank" mood tonight myself, and decided to watch "Tony Rome" and "The Lady in Cement" .......... fun late 60's gumshoe whodunnit set in 1968 Miami

[ravenus]

Among the last few things I watched on blu-ray:

Bandit Queen

My experience of watching Bandit Queen at the cinema in India during the late 90's was a queasy one since I had the dubious pleasure of loutish fellow audience members cheering and whistling during the film's stark rape scenes and whenever anyone mouthed abuses, which was often. Watching it on the Twilight Time blu-ray I confirmed my impressions of the film, which is, despite its brutal and unglamorous presentation, essentially a well-made Bollywood revenge drama. Phoolan and her lover Vikram Mallah are glorified as Robin Hood style emancipators of the poor, and various characters (like Rajesh Vivek's Baba and Manoj Bajpai's Man Singh) appear in Deus Ex Machina fashion; there's even an unintentionally funny wrong-note cameo by director Shekhar Kapur himself as a truck driver. But Seema Biswas' lead performance is incredibly courageous and the film is made with a lot of conviction. TT's blu-ray gives a faithful presentation of the film's gritty look. Night scenes are very grainy while daytime gives a dried up ugly brown-scape, but this is true to the film-maker's intentions (Kapur shifted from a Brit DoP Giles Nuttgens to Ashok Mehta because he was not interested in generating exotic India landscapes). The audio is clear, subtitles are forced. There's a director's commentary as an extra.

Devil in a Blue Dress

I remember reading a review of this film in Time Magazine at the time of its release and that was in the back of my mind when I tagged the TT blu-ray for my wishlist and bagged it during their sale. Devil... recreates the late 1940's where whites and blacks were still segregated in America. Denzel Washington has just been laid-off from a job that paid well enough for him to own a house (a symbol of his 'made' status) and so jumps at Tom Sizemore's paying assignment to track a white woman, even though he knows he hasn't been told the whole story. This being a noir picture, of course things get murkier as he wades further, and few of the people he meets are as they seem. Director Carl Franklin helms with a steady hand and the film has a modest period look with the visuals edging towards a brown/sepia tone. Don Cheadle plays a hilarious sidekick to Washington, a sort of Joe Pesci to his De Niro. TT's blu-ray gives a solid presentation of the film with lossless stereo and surround tracks. An isolated score track and director's commentary are provided as extras.

[Rory]

A review is up at Home Theater Forum for FOREVER AMBER. The problems with the picture quality are about what I expected. The original three-strip black&white camera negatives are no longer in existence, so the transfer is from Eastmancolor interpositives that leave much to be desired, especially in dark scenes. I'm going to pass on this one at $29.95, but I'll probably pick it up if it's ever discounted to around $15.

[antennahead]

^^ Devil in a Blue Dress was a quick purchase for me after it's release. Being an old fart I saw it back in 1995 and remembered how much I liked it back then

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by antennahead

^^ Devil in a Blue Dress was a quick purchase for me after it's release. Being an old fart I saw it back in 1995 and remembered how much I liked it back then

I guess that makes me an old fart, too. Does anyone remember One False Move? It was Carl Franklin's movie before Devil in a Blue Dress. It would be great if Twilight Time could release it.

[antennahead]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

I guess that makes me an old fart, too. Does anyone remember One False Move? It was Carl Franklin's movie before Devil in a Blue Dress. It would be great if Twilight Time could release it.

Yes, I have the DVD of One False Move

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

I guess that makes me an old fart, too. Does anyone remember One False Move? It was Carl Franklin's movie before Devil in a Blue Dress. It would be great if Twilight Time could release it.

GREAT movie. It would be great if anyone could release it.

[RICKBONDOO7]

Barabbas, this Easter ??? I hope so !

[bdgking]

It looks as if SAE has only 19 more copies of the Purple rose of cairo & then they are sold out if I am correct .

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by bdgking

It looks as if SAE has only 19 more copies of the Purple rose of cairo & then they are sold out if I am correct .

It’s also been added to the 7/70 bundle along with a couple other titles.