Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[oildude]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Whats everyone's thoughts on The Dectective? Sounds kind of interesting and cant really go wrong with Sinatra but it doesnt seem like anyone is really all that excited about it?

I think that is because most are excited about the sale titles. Also likely many have never seen or heard of it. I am one of those who hasn't seen The Detective, but it is definitely on my "hit" list for a future order. I am a huge fan of Frank Sinatra's film output in the 1960s.

The Detective was groundbreaking in its day as a gritty and more realistic style of police procedural dealing openly with what up to that time was generally considered taboo subject matter, in this case a gay homicide, that in older films might have only been implied if not excised or changed entirely. You could say it is "frank" in its dialogue and depiction of sexual themes, vice, and murder. I have read it described as among the earliest in a new category of detective films that would grow to include movies like Bullitt, The French Connection, and Dirty Harry, although I have also read it has more noir-ish elements than these examples. Sinatra stars with the always lovely and talented Lee Remick, along with Robert Duvall, Jacqueline Bisset, and Jack Klugman, wrapped in a seductive jazz-infused musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. This was Sinatra's fourth collaboration with director Gordon Douglas (the others are Tony Rome, Lady in Cement, Young at Heart, and Robin and the 7 Hoods).

Sinatra's character in this film is better known for a future version from the 1980s. The author of the book The Detective wrote a sequel in the late 1970s, and the plan was for Sinatra to reprise his role in the new film. Sinatra turned it down, so the sequel was recast, the character's name changed, and certain plot elements re-written. Bruce Willis accepted the role and that sequel became Die Hard.

All that is enough for me to get excited about it.

Here is a trailer:

The Detective (1968) - Theatrical Trailer - YouTube

EDIT: Looks like Aclea and I both appreciate a good (or is it a bad?) Frank pun.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by benbess

Anyone have any thoughts on House of Bamboo to share?

House of Bamboo is a film that seems to get better each time I see it, and it's certainly the most lavish looking of Sam Fuller's career. Robert Stack's hardboiled lead is pure teak - he actually makes his Elliot Ness look hip and laidback by comparison - but luckily Robert Ryan is on hand to dominate proceedings with his sheer presence and talent. Graced with a great entrance, Ryan makes much more of his quietly hubristic, gay gangster than was probably ever on the page: his monologue to a man he has just murdered as he gently, sensitively holds the corpse's head above water is genuinely shocking. Both the audio commentaries talk quite a bit about the way that Ryan was in on the fact his character was gay and Stack apparently wasn't in on the fact that he's basically the femme fatale who ends up luring him to his doom. All of which you can just as easily choose to ignore (hey, it was the 50s and nobody was going to come out and say what was really going on under the surface) and just take it as a terrific gangster movie.

Throw in a great use of colour and the wide screen (this was from the days when CinemaScope really WAS CinemaScope), and you may not have a 100% classic, but you've certainly got a visual treat that's got enough going on in its dark heart to reward a rewatch or three.

[tisdivine]

Thanks Aclea & Oildude. You two sold me. I love Bullitt, Dirty Harry and the first couple of Die Hards. Plus Sinatra as a bad ass detective. Seems almost perfect. Going to pick it up with The Last Detail preorder.

[Sy-Klone]

I haven't ordered anything from Twilight Time in a while (I think Zardoz was the last release I got), mostly because they haven't done anything really high priority for me of late.

But I blind bought Harlock: Space Pirate and 1984. Bought the former based on some clips and trailers I watched online - it looks really fun (and the animation looks great). Bought the latter because 1984 is one of my favorite books of all time, but I've never seen this film (and I'll try just about anything John Hurt is in).

Of course, getting those means the week of December 8 is gonna be a monster...

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Sy-Klone

Bought the latter because 1984 is one of my favorite books of all time, but I've never seen this film (and I'll try just about anything John Hurt is in).

You're going to be astonished.

[dsman71]

As long as are endorsing movies , count me in for two thumbs up for The Detective and House of Bamboo

And Scorpio, another great gem of a film !

[dragon53]

Frank Sinatra was supposed to star in DIRTY HARRY, but he injured his hand in the fight scene in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE which would have interfered with shooting the 44 Magnum, so Clint Eastwood got the role.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by dragon53

Frank Sinatra was supposed to star in DIRTY HARRY, but he injured his hand in the fight scene in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE which would have interfered with shooting the 44 Magnum, so Clint Eastwood got the role.

and a legend was born!

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Whats everyone's thoughts on The Dectective? Sounds kind of interesting and cant really go wrong with Sinatra but it doesnt seem like anyone is really all that excited about it?

it's a tough, gritty crime drama with excellent performances. I'm in for this title plus I'd love to see a couple other Sinatra late 60's titles like TONY ROME and LADY IN CEMENT... lighter fare but very entertaining!

[BAKA]

Couldn't resist House Of Bamboo any longer, especially at that price. I paired it with The Bride Wore Black, which is a complete blind buy, but sounds very much like something I'd enjoy. I've actually seen very little of Truffaut's work, so I'm looking forward to it. These will be the first Twilight Time titles I've purchased. Didn't really want to spend anything before Black Friday, but I'd been meaning to get House Of Bamboo since its release, and it seems silly to miss it at this price, especially when these promotions are few and far between.

[The Great Owl]

I came close to ordering The Detective this time, since Lee Remick is enough to draw me into any movie.

In the end, though, I decided to hold off on it, since December will be a light month for me, and I can order it then if I want.

[benbess]

Thanks noirjunkie and Aclea for the reviews of House of Bamboo. Got that along with Judgement at Nuremberg.

[AgentOrange]

Great timing! I was going to pre-order the new Mysterious Island regardless, but there were a bunch of titles that at the $19.99 price I couldn't resist. A couple I didn't expect to be $19.99 this soon. I was just hoping they'd last until the next "birthday sale".

House of Bamboo.
Young Lions
Fat City
Hombre
Man for All Seasons.

There were a few more I was debating, but as my order was pushing over $200 I decided it would be better to wait. Anyone think there is any risk to 1984 selling out?

[spargs]

Placed my order yesterday:

Mysterious Island (preorder)
Nineteen Eighty Four (preorder)
The Young Lions

I still have a few October and November releases to catch up on (Devil in a Blue Dress, Black Widow, Broken Lance, Scorpio), but as those titles weren't included in the sale, and they're very unlikely to sell out anytime soon, I can wait until the next anniversary sale. I'll also be adding The Detective into that group as well.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by BAKA

Couldn't resist House Of Bamboo any longer, especially at that price. I paired it with The Bride Wore Black, which is a complete blind buy, but sounds very much like something I'd enjoy. I've actually seen very little of Truffaut's work, so I'm looking forward to it. These will be the first Twilight Time titles I've purchased. Didn't really want to spend anything before Black Friday, but I'd been meaning to get House Of Bamboo since its release, and it seems silly to miss it at this price, especially when these promotions are few and far between.

I decided not to order House of Bamboo because I already own the Fox DVD. Figure I should at least watch it once before I decide to double dip, so that's what I'll be doing this afternoon.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by belcherman

I decided not to order House of Bamboo because I already own the Fox DVD. Figure I should at least watch it once before I decide to double dip, so that's what I'll be doing this afternoon.

So, I watched my DVD of House of Bamboo today. Great flick: starts off with a bang, drags a bit in the second act, but finishes with a flourish. A unique film -- the style, setting and story are unlike anything else, and all in glorious Cinemascope and Technicolor. I think this is one of Samuel Fuller's best movies and it stars a couple of under-rated hard guys, Robert Stack and Robert Ryan, who are so tough it almost hurts to watch them, There are a couple plot developments where the audience is required to suspend disbelief, but otherwise the writing and dialog are top notch. Highly recommended.

This image was a snapshot of my TV. My wife came home near the end of the movie and the dogs started barking, so I paused the movie. When I came back to the room, I was struck by the composition of this scene. There are a lot of scenes like this in House of Bamboo. Hats off to the cinematographer, Joseph MacDonald.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by dragon53

Frank Sinatra was supposed to star in DIRTY HARRY, but he injured his hand in the fight scene in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE which would have interfered with shooting the 44 Magnum, so Clint Eastwood got the role.

Although no-one at Warner Bros. believed his story about the hand at the time (after all, he had no problem handling a handgun in The Detective and other then-recent films) and seriously investigated suing him for breach of contract. The assumption was that he was having serious second thoughts about the film, which isn't entirely unlikely considering Dirty Harry was completely different in almost every way when it started life as a Sinatra picture directed by Irvin Kershner, written by Terrence Malick with an uncredited rewrite by Walter Hill (for which Warners gave him a sportscar). It's not just that there was no "Do you feel lucky, punk?" moment or that Audie Murphy was cast as Scorpio. Harry was an ageing cop nearing retirement who liked playing street chess with old Jewish guys and who got all the dirty jobs because he didn't want to make waves and lose his pension - he's basically just a bag man in the script, something the trade ads emphasised:



Harry doesn't even take out Scorpio in the airplane hijack finale - a police sniper does it while Harry lures him to look out a plane window. The style of the film was going to be semi-documentary, with Kershner planning to shoot the street scenes with hidden cameras. And that was the version that John Wayne also passed on when Sinatra dropped out, yet a lot of people still think Wayne and Sinatra were offered exactly the film that Don Siegel made, even though that was completely reworked the moment Eastwood signed.

[Mateo Sanboval]

Awesome post, Aclea. I honestly never knew any of that and I've seen Dirty Harry at least a half dozen times. I love coming here for stuff like this. Cheers!

[dragon53]

When John Wayne passed on DIRTY HARRY, he recommended Clint Eastwood for the role.

[RalphoR]

With the success TT has had with Sony's Harryhausen titles what are the chances we'll get The 3 Worlds of Gulliver? I'm also holding out hope the uncut version of One Million Years B.C. from Fox is a good possibility as well.