Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by Page14

As long as we're talking about most wanted MGM releases, I'll go ahead and put in a plug for an old favorite ... Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. I don't know how to post a picture, so here's a link to the DVD:

http://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Erne...nest+hemingway

Love this movie!

EDIT: Or is it MGM after all??? The studio shown on the cover is WB, but the studio listed in the "Product Details" is MGM. I don't know how that works.

That is still a Warner title, looks like Amazon made a error.

[Pirate King]

The Lion in Winter

A brilliant film. With one of our finest actors, Peter O'Toole... and the great Katherine Hepburn.... and it introduced us to Sir Anthony Hopkins in his film debut. I would LOVE to have this movie on Blu-ray.

[GreatGonzo]

I want 1941. And I know I'm not alone...

[GxyExpress999]

[Arkadin]

MGM/UA films wanted on bd
(to name just a few)

The Train
Birdman of Alcatraz
The Defiant Ones
They Shoot Horses Don't They?
The Miracle Worker
Inherit the Wind
Darling
Billion Dollar Brain
Charly
Run Silent, Run Deep
How I Won The War
Burn
Topkapi
Lilies of the Field
Judgment at Nuremberg
Witness For The Prosecution
Irma La Douce
Separate Tables
Elmer Gantry
The World of Henry Orient
The Bridge at Remagen
One, Two, Three
Never on Sunday

.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Pirate King

The Lion in Winter

A brilliant film. With one of our finest actors, Peter O'Toole... and the great Katherine Hepburn.... and it introduced us to Sir Anthony Hopkins in his film debut. I would LOVE to have this movie on Blu-ray.

Superb John Barry score too (I've always been particularly moved by Eleanor's Arrival):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swPc4BU4OwA

Other than more Peckinpah (Junior Bonner & The Killer Elite) I would bet The Lion in Winter was one of the first MGM/UA titles TT considered Pirate King.

Alas, in MGM's recent post-bankruptcy years, they haven't had anyone comparable to Grover Crisp (at Sony) or Schawn Belston (at Fox) committed to asset restoration and remastering*, nor presumably the budgets to realize any ambitions they did have (The Great Escape was pretty hoo-hah on Blu-ray). So it must be like tip-toeing their way through a minefield trying to evaluate the HD-readiness of that company's catalogue. I just hope they find enough gems to make this deal worthwhile.

For me, the B-I-G coup from that catalogue (also the most recent) would be Shane Carruth's brilliant Primer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nj5MMURCm8

FTR, I'd also be in for Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond's One, Two, Three or Irma La Douce - can never have enough Cagney or Lemmon as I always say.

* Most of MGM's catalogue - especially their UA titles - were letterboxed (incorrectly at 1.66:1) for DVD.

[SpartanIre]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've been wanting for somebody...anybody...to put this out on Blu-ray, or even on DVD.



Not sure what the licensing dynamics are that would put this in the hands of Twilight Time, Olive Films, or another distributor, but I'm tired of my "unofficial" DVD-R with the VHS transfer that I bought online about a decade ago. The movie deserves a cool treatment.

I loved this movie growing up. I would also like to see the MGM vehicle from 1979 - The Champ also with Rick Schroder...

[Ellis Hugh]

Originally Posted by GxyExpress999

[Show spoiler]

Nice collection there. I just got shipping confirmation for The Driver which will be my first TT title.

[rkolinski]

Well, this is my MGM/UA Wish list (items in bold I own original motion picture art):

King Solomon's Mines (1950)
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Moulin Rouge (1952)
Above and Beyond (1953)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Brigadoon (1954)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Lust for Life (1956)
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
The Wings of Eagles (1957)
Raintree County (1957)
The Vikings (1958)
Tom Thumb (1958)
Never So Few (1959)
On the Beach (1959)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)
The Time Machine (1960)
Village of the Damned (1960)
Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961)
The Children's Hour (1961)
Sunday in New York (1963)
Tom Jones (1963)
The Americanization of Emily (1964)
Operation Crossbow (1965)
A Patch of Blue (1965)
Khartoum (1966)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966)
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
Everything You Aways Wanted to Kow About Sex* (But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972)
Man of La Mancha (1972)
Rollerball (1975)
The Wind and the Lion (1975)
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
Eye of the Needle (1981)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
Always (1989)

[oildude]

I get confused on what MGM and United Artists back catalog titles are still MGM properties, and who has what from previous culls sold off to other studios. Don't Fox and Warner own transfer and distribution rights to a bunch of them, even though they are still listed as UA/MGM?

I want upgrades of some of my MGM-logo DVD titles:

The Lion in Winter
Eye of the Needle
Gorky Park
Khartoum
The Last Valley
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Vikings
....among others

As excited as I am at the possibility of seeing more MGM on blu-ray, I have to admit it pains me to think that if TT releases them they will be limited to 3000 copies for three years. In my opinion, the MGM catalog is a true gold mine, the holy grail of missing-in-action blu-ray titles, with timeless and popular classics deserving not to be limited to such small runs for that length of time.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by Page14

As long as we're talking about most wanted MGM releases, I'll go ahead and put in a plug for an old favorite ... Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. I don't know how to post a picture, so here's a link to the DVD:

http://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Erne...nest+hemingway

Love this movie!

EDIT: Or is it MGM after all??? The studio shown on the cover is WB, but the studio listed in the "Product Details" is MGM. I don't know how that works.

Originally Posted by Brad1963

That is still a Warner title, looks like Amazon made a error.

Thanks for the clarification. If I really want it, I might have to go for the DVD as I'm not sure it's a popular enough title for WB to release (on bluray) on their own.

[Ruemorgue10]

If it's still with MGM, they should try and license this Walter Hill classic!

[Show spoiler]

[GxyExpress999]

Originally Posted by Ellis Hugh

Nice collection there. I just got shipping confirmation for The Driver which will be my first TT title.

Thanks yeah it looks like The Driver arrived late and SAE was backed up from all the orders.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Ruemorgue10

If it's still with MGM, they should try and license this Walter Hill classic!

[Show spoiler]

Great idea Ruemorgue10! Judging by the brisk performance of Hard Times and The Driver, interest in Walter Hill's films seems to be heating up again.

Icing on the cake though: we'd be getting another* Ry Cooder isolated score!

* along with the upcoming Alamo Bay.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by oildude

The Vikings

I would be all over a release of The Vikings.

Odin! Odin! Odin!

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by oildude

I get confused on what MGM and United Artists back catalog titles are still MGM properties, and who has what from previous culls sold off to other studios. Don't Fox and Warner own transfer and distribution rights to a bunch of them, even though they are still listed as UA/MGM?

I want upgrades of some of my MGM-logo DVD titles:

The Lion in Winter
Eye of the Needle
Gorky Park
Khartoum
The Last Valley
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The Vikings
....among others

*Sigh*. I'd buy all of those in a heartbeat oildude. But again, what's the condition of the elements and transfers? All of those titles were at best mediocre on MGM DVD...with most of them letterboxed incorrectly to boot.

Originally Posted by oildude

As excited as I am at the possibility of seeing more MGM on blu-ray, I have to admit it pains me to think that if TT releases them they will be limited to 3000 copies for three years. In my opinion, the MGM catalog is a true gold mine, the holy grail of missing-in-action blu-ray titles, with timeless and popular classics deserving not to be limited to such small runs for that length of time.

Well, we're halfway through 2013, now 7 plus years into the Blu-ray format, and not one of those titles has been released even once in HD by MGM (or anyone else that I'm aware of). Even all of MGMs legacy DVDs have been out of print for several years with no signs of remastering and re-release. So at this late date, how would anyone be denied a thing if TT steps in battlefield 'triage'-style, reviving select titles with the best chance of surviving the transition to 1080p?

My concern is actually just the opposite; that there will be such high demand and pressure on TT to release some of these classic MGM/UA catalogue titles, the temptation will be too great to go out with iffy or sub-standard product. After TT's bell-ringing run of mostly 4k remasters from Grover Crisp and Sony, and the rising tide of quality HD remasters from Schawn Belston and Fox, releasing a series of problematic, middle-rung, legacy MGM/UA transfers could quickly undo much of the genuine goodwill this label has built up among fans and collectors. Which would be bad for both them and us, not only in the short term but also over the long haul. I mean, are you really champing at the bit for another make-the-best-of-a-bad-element release like TT's Demetrius and the Gladiators just to have a particular favourite on Blu-ray? Or like some of Olive's severely distressed, dirt and scratch-ridden titles like China Gate or Cloak and Dagger? Even the latter label has recently pulled some previously announced titles from their slate because the elements were too far down the food chain in terms of quality. At this point in the Blu-ray format, no matter how desirable a title, if it's not truly HD-ready, then it's simply not ready for the now mercilessly unforgiving Blu-ray market. Just look at the hoo-hah reaction to another MGM crown jewel indifferently transferred to Blu-ray, The Great Escape. Is that the kind of treatment you're truly advocating for those catalogue classics on your list?

By now, I implicitly trust TT's taste and standards, so I seriously doubt they would risk trashing their niche rep with a run of mediocre, half-arsed discs from masters requiring the kind of work that MGM wasn't able to afford during its bankruptcy years, and probably still can't. The good news is, an anchor deal with TT, plus some overseas labels, might provide MGM with just enough economic incentive to restore and remaster more of these titles...especially some of their OOP 70mm roadshows, which likely require the most expen$ive work to bring up to spec. In that sunny day scenario, the studio would still see revenue from DCP, Cable and Streaming, while leaving their Blu-ray distribution to a mix of niche labels like TT, Shout, and Criterion...pretty much as Sony has been doing lately with its catalogue.

So if something akin to that is what is actually happening behind the scenes with this deal, then by all means bring it on...I'm still cautiously hopeful.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

For me, the B-I-G coup from that catalogue (also the most recent) would be Shane Carruth's brilliant Primer:

I think MGM only have the rights in Canada, and New Line/WB have them in the US.

[Yami]

Do ABC still have the rights to Sam Peckinpah's TV film Noon Wine? It would be good to see that get a release and TT seem to love him.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Seymour

I think MGM only have the rights in Canada, and New Line/WB have them in the US.

You might be right Seymour, but it was an MGM DVD in both the U.S. and Canada...

EDIT: Oooops, I just checked Amazon and they list the U.S. edition as New Line. Big "DRAT" there...

[Seymour]

One of my most wanted "wish list" MGM/TT blu-rays would have to be this demented classic:



Edit: Some others on my wish list:

Across 110th Street (1972)
Hickey & Boggs (1972)
Coffy (1973)
Onion Field, The (1979)
Foxes (1980)
True Confessions (1981)
Still of the Night (1982)
10 to Midnight (1983)
Blame It on Rio (1984)
Once Bitten (1985)
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
52 Pick-Up (1986)
At Close Range (1986)
F/X (1986)
River's Edge (1986)
Best Seller (1987)
Dead of Winter (1987)
No Man's Land (1987)
No Way Out (1987)
Betrayed (1988)
Colors (1988)
Married to the Mob (1988)
Stormy Monday (1988)
Kill Me Again (1989)
Mighty Quinn, The (1989)
Package, The (1989)
Miami Blues (1990)
Russia House, The (1990)
State of Grace (1990)
Rush (1991)
Shattered (1991)
Lover, The (1992) [aka L'Amant]
Dark Half, The (1993)
Hackers (1995)
Lord of Illusions (1995)
Mulholland Falls (1996)
Undertow (2004)

I would also throw in Thief (1981), House of Games (1987), and Wild at Heart (1990)--but I figure those are probably coming from either MGM or Criterion.