Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Aclea

Unfortunately I share mine with a veritable rogue's gallery of crooks, scoundrels, scumbags, corrupt and incompetent politicians, unworthy kings and bigoted genocidal fanatics through the ages.

I didn’t know we had the same birthday. 🎂

[AllAboutMatt]

It's great that I get into twilight time for the first time as they are going out of business. Oh well, I just ordered The Best Of Everything off of eBay, it's one of my favorite fox melodramas.

[jmclick]

The Bullet Train [aka Shinkansen Daibakuha] is the latest title to have sold out at Twilight Time.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by jmclick

The Bullet Train [aka Shinkansen Daibakuha] is the latest title to have sold out at Twilight Time.

That's a good one, so glad to see it sold out. Excellent film and a long one. Just wish Twilight Time went deeper into Japanese cinema.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by AllAboutMatt

It's great that I get into twilight time for the first time as they are going out of business. Oh well, I just ordered The Best Of Everything off of eBay, it's one of my favorite fox melodramas.

Given your avatar, I'm surprised you didn't already own it, hopefully you didn't spend too much, it was one of the cheapest titles before the last sale.
I purchased it years ago at full price.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by xspankyxduckx

So I got an email on my order with refunds a bit annoying because I know I ordered earlier as heck lol.
Murphy's Law
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
La Bambola Di Satana AKA The Doll Of Satan
Member of The Wedding
September
Play Dirty

Some of those I can get elseware just upset about La Bambola now lol

I meant to ask before -- you had 7 cancelled out of how many total items.

Are you in the US? The one other poster who had 5+ cancelled was in the UK. I'm interested if there is some correlation?

When you place the order originally?

[SeanJoyce]

The Bullet Train was one I ordered, so I'm hoping it doesn't get nixed.

I've read a lot of reviews, which mostly sang TT's praises for including the uncut Japanese version. However, I've encountered opinions that champion the truncated American cut that removes all of the flashback back stories because it results in a much tighter, meaner film (the original is 2.5 hours.)

Does anybody else share that opinion, and wish that TT had included it for the sake of comparison? Or is it like most movies edited after the fact, and a complete mess?

[onetet]

Two questions about TT closing up shop. (Apologies if these have been much discussed, I'm a once-active member who hasn't checked in on the site in a while -- but didn't see these discussed in last few pages)

1)Do the home-video rights to current TT titles revert to their original studios/producers and hypothetically become available for licensing again as soon as TT officially shutters? Or do the rights continue to be unavailable to other labels until their license's specific expiration date with TT (which I understand to be a 3-year period for most/all titles)?

2)Has there been much speculation here (or even better, a nice informed article on the subject) about which titles currently licensed to TT are most and least likely to get blu-ray editions from other labels in the future?

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by onetet

Two questions about TT closing up shop. (Apologies if these have been much discussed, I'm a once-active member who hasn't checked in on the site in a while -- but didn't see these discussed in last few pages)

1)Do the home-video rights to current TT titles revert to their original studios/producers and hypothetically become available for licensing again as soon as TT officially shutters? Or do the rights continue to be unavailable to other labels until their license's specific expiration date with TT (which I understand to be a 3-year period for most/all titles)?

2)Has there been much speculation here (or even better, a nice informed article on the subject) about which titles currently licensed to TT are most and least likely to get blu-ray editions from other labels in the future?

Just speculation
1) One of the more reasonable explanations to SAE announcing they wer
'acquiring TT name and business and to keep TT alive indefinitely' was to keep that 3 year window alive for thos items it applies to (not just acquiring leftover stock). I'm assuming legally that if TTM went completely dead that those contracts would expire with the company.

2) I'm not sure anything being released on disc by anyone right now is sur to get released, much less a lot of TT more unique titles.

[Flapperdame16]

Jmclick: Wow Oleg Cassini- amazing designer but weird man it seems. How could he cut off his own daughter like that? Your story of meeting Christina sounds spectacular! I was shocked to learn she died back when it happened. Gene is certianly someone who should be remembered for her amazing acting and her life story! Plus she was gorgeous!

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

The Bullet Train was one I ordered, so I'm hoping it doesn't get nixed.

I've read a lot of reviews, which mostly sang TT's praises for including the uncut Japanese version. However, I've encountered opinions that champion the truncated American cut that removes all of the flashback back stories because it results in a much tighter, meaner film (the original is 2.5 hours.)

Does anybody else share that opinion, and wish that TT had included it for the sake of comparison? Or is it like most movies edited after the fact, and a complete mess?

I just couldn't get into this film. For a purported thriller, it felt too slow and bogged down. I wish I'd been able to see a shorter version.

[ShellBeacher]

Originally Posted by onetet

1)Do the home-video rights to current TT titles revert to their original studios/producers and hypothetically become available for licensing again as soon as TT officially shutters? Or do the rights continue to be unavailable to other labels until their license's specific expiration date with TT (which I understand to be a 3-year period for most/all titles)?

2)Has there been much speculation here (or even better, a nice informed article on the subject) about which titles currently licensed to TT are most and least likely to get blu-ray editions from other labels in the future?

I'd bet that 80-90% of TT's catalogue never see disc releases again. They're just too obscure to be worth it for most of their "home" owners/distributors. Perhaps a few of them with Indicator/Powerhouse in the UK, they are really good. But the rest...

...Which kind of makes the first question a moot point. Wherever and whenever the licenses go back to, my gut feeling is that the majority of these titles will never see a disc release again.

[Flapperdame16]

I could see the John Ford titles being picked up by some label, maybe a few select others. But sadly I agree with Shellbeacher. Hopefully the universal mod and sony mod will pick up some of their titles.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I just couldn't get into this film. For a purported thriller, it felt too slow and bogged down. I wish I'd been able to see a shorter version.

I know it was basically Japan's answer to the deluge of disaster flicks that were all the rage at the time, so all of the interconnected stories were pretty typical. Plus the flashbacks helped humanize rather than demonize the villains.

I'm definitely curious about watching it and will form my own conclusions. This just sounds like one of those cases where a longer vs. shorter version would have made for an interesting comparison.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

I know it was basically Japan's answer to the deluge of disaster flicks that were all the rage at the time, so all of the interconnected stories were pretty typical. Plus the flashbacks helped humanize rather than demonize the villains.

I'm definitely curious about watching it and will form my own conclusions. This just sounds like one of those cases where a longer vs. shorter version would have made for an interesting comparison.

Even as a Takakura Ken fan, I found it never picked up any speed. I can see trimming the film could have improved it, but that would depend on how well that was done.



Pop quiz: there's a bomb on board and if you go under 50, it'll go off. What do you do? Well, if you're a Hollywood studio, you move the bomb from The Bullet Train and put it on an L.A. bus and hope that no-one reminds you that Japan did it first in 1975 with this Takakura Ken movie.

More a typical 70s disaster movie than a thriller, with all the stock characters onboard - yes, including the hysterical businessman and obligatory pregnant woman - Takakura Ken broods magnificently as ever as the bad guy with a grudge and a supply of explosive devices while Sonny Chiba is the driver on the train trying to prevent the big bang (no, he doesn't hit anyone for once). Shame it's so dull. There are a couple of mildly interesting plot twists and there's a surprising emphasis on the family of extortionists who are far more sympathetic than the clichéd and irritating passengers or the bungling cops, but there's no reason for it to stretch out to more than two-and-a-half hours. There's also a curious sense of constantly being outside the action, as if a passing spectator rather than a participant. One occasion where Hollywood definitely did it better

[Eschenpod]

Half the reason I bought Bullet Train was for the killer artwork.

[Reddington]

I picked up The Bullet Train in the sale as a blind-buy as I'm a fan of films set on trains, and because Ken Takakura stars in two of my favourites - The Yakuza, and Black Rain. Not sure when I'll get to it, but interesting to read the above comments.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Modman

Are you guys clones living some twisted real life version of The Boys from Brazil?

I guess our mom got around a lot.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

The Bullet Train was one I ordered, so I'm hoping it doesn't get nixed.

I've read a lot of reviews, which mostly sang TT's praises for including the uncut Japanese version. However, I've encountered opinions that champion the truncated American cut that removes all of the flashback back stories because it results in a much tighter, meaner film (the original is 2.5 hours.)

Does anybody else share that opinion, and wish that TT had included it for the sake of comparison? Or is it like most movies edited after the fact, and a complete mess?

I personally like the longer cut more, but I can understand why someone might like the shorter cut. (which is only available dubbed on DVD)

It's not an action packed film, but it's a solid film done by Jun'ya Sato who was the "big budget" director of the late 70's in Japan. I'm a huge Japanese film fan, so there might be a little bit of a bias towards the film, but I love this one. I watched the truncated version maybe 20 years ago and remember not being impressed. Maybe 10 years ago I finally saw the uncut version and liked it a lot more.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Reddington

I picked up The Bullet Train in the sale as a blind-buy as I'm a fan of films set on trains, and because Ken Takakura stars in two of my favourites - The Yakuza, and Black Rain. Not sure when I'll get to it, but interesting to read the above comments.

Ken Takakura is great. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is one of his best as well as Wolves, Pigs, and Men (which Arrow has, but is waiting for Toei to remaster) I'm glad TT gave us Bullet Train as he's really good in it.