Emperor of the North (1973) coming from Twilight Time

[Akijama]

PRE-ORDER http://www5.screenarchives.com/title...HE-NORTH-1973/

A masterpiece of action direction by Robert Aldrich…The movie’s energies are vast.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“A duel to the death, developed with dark humor and nail-biting excitement…brilliantly realized.” – Time Out London

“A fine, elaborately staged action melodrama…almost perfect action-movie characters…a sensational ride.” – Vincent Canby, The New York Times

Director Robert Aldrich and screenwriter Christopher Knopf bring us a spectacular Depression-era tale, Emperor of the North (1973) featuring a pair of stalwart veteran actors, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine, as, respectively, a jaunty hobo determined to ride a train and the vicious conductor equally resolved to prevent this eventuality. Also starring Keith Carradine as the train-jumper’s young protégé, and featuring a potent score by Frank De Vol.


Special Features: Isolated Score Track / Audio Commentary with Film Historian Dana Polan / TV Spots / Original Theatrical Trailer

Release date: September 8, 2015

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

Source

"Emperor of the North Pole" theatrical trailer - YouTube

[tallrichard]

This will be a day one for me...looks like I'll be grabbing 2 in Sept, this and Fat City...

[MifuneFan]

Not familiar with this title, but just read a little about it, and it sounds good.

[BarnDoor]

Fantastic film. Glad I held off on the Japanese release.

[duggie walker]

Not many people know ths film, which is a shame as I think a lot of them would like it. Very bad-ass, gritty drama with an unusual setting and a great cast. Also something quite disturbing about it: I've never forgotten it even though it's been years since I've seen it.

[Dickieduvet]

Probably Carradine's best role, Marvin and Borgnine are on top form too. A must have release.

[The Great Owl]

I owned Emperor of the North on DVD, and have been eager to see it show up on Blu-ray. It's one of Ernest Borgnine's finest moments.

[cakefactory]

I first learned of this movie from an old forum I used to go to that had a moderator that would post pictures of Borgnine's character (Shack) hitting bums over the head with a hammer every time he banned someone.

[Show spoiler]

I did end up buying the DVD just to see what sort of movie would have a character like this. I can't really remember if it was any good or not, but Shack is definitely one of the most memorably weird characters of all time.

[HotRats]

Another good one from TT, I've been meaning to buy the Japanese for months but never got round to it. Nice cinematography which should look good on blu. It would be an oppurtunity to restore the original title Emperor Of The North Pole, which was changed in case it was mistaken for a Christmas film for kids. The soundtrack CD is well worth tracking down. Always ready for more Robert Aldrich, hope to see The Longest Yard, Hustle, Flight Of The Phoenix and The Grissom Gang (with the original ending)

[Professor Echo]

Very hardcore action film that is relentless at times as only Aldrich can be. I highly recommend it to everyone as it runs so contrary to the happy ending, feel good at all cost action crap they produce today.

They really knew what they were doing in early part of the 70's when it came to making movies you could feel in your brain as well as your gut. Nowadays it's all about eyes and ears while everything else is ignored.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by HotRats

Another good one from TT, I've been meaning to buy the Japanese for months but never got round to it. Nice cinematography which should look good on blu. It would be an oppurtunity to restore the original title Emperor Of The North Pole, which was changed in case it was mistaken for a Christmas film for kids. The soundtrack CD is well worth tracking down. Always ready for more Robert Aldrich, hope to see The Longest Yard, Hustle, Flight Of The Phoenix and The Grissom Gang (with the original ending)

Ulzana's Raid is my most wanted Aldrich, and in my top ten most wanted blu-rays. One of the few DVDs I still have. Relentless, grim, non-PC look at the Apache wars, very well acted, starring Burt Lancaster in great late career performance.

[Member-222782]

Unusual title for what sounds like an oddball action drama. Don't know if I should even call it that Sounds more like a foreign period war film. I suppose the soundtrack had something to do with TT licensing the film, which leads me to believe that they wouldn't be interested in FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. Haven't watched FotP in a while but I seem to recall a sparse soundtrack in a mostly dialogue-driven film. As for Emperor, with a cast like that and a synopsis that doesn't sound cookie-cutter at all, I'm definitely down for a blind buy.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

I first learned of this movie from an old forum I used to go to that had a moderator that would post pictures of Borgnine's character (Shack) hitting bums over the head with a hammer every time he banned someone.

[Show spoiler]

I did end up buying the DVD just to see what sort of movie would have a character like this. I can't really remember if it was any good or not, but Shack is definitely one of the most memorably weird characters of all time.

You just reminded me why I found it disturbing. That character's basically a serial killer.

[javi92]

Might be one of the few titles I buy from this underwhelming slate of announcements from TT.

[Akijama]

Probably my favorite announcement from the Sep/Oct schedule. Marvin, Borgnine, Carradine, Aldrich...sounds great.

[Alphamale87]

Haven't seen this in years...glad it's finally getting some attention with a blu release.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by oildude

Ulzana's Raid is my most wanted Aldrich, and in my top ten most wanted blu-rays. One of the few DVDs I still have. Relentless, grim, non-PC look at the Apache wars, very well acted, starring Burt Lancaster in great late career performance.

Same here, but the best hope for a decent version would be through Criterion if they were interested: there are two cuts of the film, one Robert Aldrich's cut which was released in the US, the other Burt Lancaster's which was released overseas, and I can't see any other label doing both (the UK's Masters of Cinema would be unlikely because of mandatory censor cuts in the UK). They both run roughly the same but each have unique scenes and compliment each other quite well.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Release date: September 8, 2015

[Show spoiler]"Emperor of the North Pole" theatrical trailer - YouTube

Thanks for posting the trailer. Looks good!

[Page14]

Originally Posted by HotRats

Another good one from TT, I've been meaning to buy the Japanese for months but never got round to it. Nice cinematography which should look good on blu. It would be an oppurtunity to restore the original title Emperor Of The North Pole, which was changed in case it was mistaken for a Christmas film for kids. The soundtrack CD is well worth tracking down. Always ready for more Robert Aldrich, hope to see The Longest Yard, Hustle, Flight Of The Phoenix and The Grissom Gang (with the original ending)

I agree with your wants. Me too! ... especially the titles I bolded.

I'll eventually be buying Emperor of the North too.

[Akijama]

Just forget the Japanese release. Here is why: