Twilight Time Announces January/February 2014 Releases (1 Viewer)

[Lromero1396]

Not very quickly, unless they've added zombies or other horror/sci-fi elements to them. It took some time for THE EGYPTIAN to sell out, and I think another somewhat comparable epic, NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA, is still available.

Keep in mind that Twilight Time has grown in popularity and that Khartoum and Zulu are hugely wanted titles. Controversy over Twilight Time has also exploded in the blu-ray.com forum, thus drawing lots of attention to this release slate.

 

[Ejanss]

So, absolutely no love for "Titus"?
I probably wouldn't buy it either, but for those who can't place it, it's worth a rental for fans of updated non-Branagh Shakespeare films.

(Julie Taymor actually manages to put Titus Andronicus's over-the-top excesses into an appropriately stylistic over-the-top environment, and gives it a little tension, thanks to the increasingly crazy-for-real Anthony Hopkins.)

 

[haineshisway]

A great batch of releases. "Hugely wanted titles" - I don't think so, not in the scheme of things. I'm sure they will do well, but I don't really think either will be an instant sell out. Of course, one never knows, but I'd be surprised.

 

[Lromero1396]

A great batch of releases. "Hugely wanted titles" - I don't think so, not in the scheme of things. I'm sure they will do well, but I don't really think either will be an instant sell out. Of course, one never knows, but I'd be surprised.

Well, no non-sci-fi/horror title has sold out on the first day yet. The Screenarchives site is susceptible to crashes on preorder dates, though. I heard that caused some problems when Christine was released last year, thank heavens I wasn't interested in that one.

 

[JoHud]

YES! Great selections. Khartoum, Zulu, Man In The Dark, The Front, Thunderbolt and LIghtfoot, The Blue Max, The Eddy Duchin Story...they will all be very welcome purchases.

We finally get a real dark horse that never managed to get a DVD release (Man In the Dark). And the promise of an HD anamorphic Khartoum + a (very likely) DVNR-less Zulu is particularly good news.

Of course the real mystery are the MGM transfers. MGM has always been a wild card when transfers are concerned any we can only trust TT's judgement in how good these will be. However, I don't expect Sony quality overall (much like TT Fox titles these days).

 

[Douglas R]

KHARTOUM looks great on MGM HD so I'm sure it will look superb on Blu-ray. As a 70mm roadshow fan that interests me the most, even though, admittedly, the film is a bit plodding.

 

[Bob Cashill]

What Haines said. I'll be on line for a few of these, including KHARTOUM and ZULU, so let the race begin...

 

[Wade Sowers]

Yes, I am in for probably seven of these - not a great fan of TITUS and not too keen on EDDY . . . I do hope ZULU has a 5.1 DTS sound track; the Criterion laser disc of days gone by had a much better presentation of the beautiful score and, of course, the noisy battle action than did the British Blu as mentioned a couple of pages back.

 

[John Hodson]

The Blue Max will be a brand new transfer apparently (thus trumping the German release); one of Jerry Goldsmith's finest scores, which, of course, puts it right up there...

 

[ROclockCK]

Lost in the excitement over the new MGM titles is the news that TT will be getting The Blue Max...and it will be from a new HD master.

We've already seen several remastered former Fox 'Studio Classics' go to TT (Leave Her to Heaven, The Song of Bernadette, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing), plus at least one from their 'Cinema Classics' line (Demetrius and the Gladiators), but I believe The Blue Max will be TT's first Fox 'War Classics' title. With the release of Von Ryan's Express earlier in '13 it looked like Fox wanted to run with their 'War Classics' themselves under the home label.

So does this open the Fox vault a little wider to other titles from that series, including The Desert Fox, Sink the Bismarck!, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, The Enemy Below, To the Shores of Tripoli, Morituri, or 13 Rue Madeleine, etc.)? Many fine pictures went to DVD under the Fox 'War Classics' brand...

 

[John Hermes]

Lost in the excitement over the new MGM titles is the news that TT will be getting The Blue Max...and it will be from a new HD master.

We've already seen several remastered former Fox 'Studio Classics' go to TT (Leave Her to Heaven, The Song of Bernadette, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing), plus at least one from their 'Cinema Classics' line (Demetrius and the Gladiators), but I believe The Blue Max will be TT's first Fox 'War Classics' title. With the release of Von Ryan's Express earlier in '13 it looked like Fox wanted to run with their 'War Classics' themselves under the home label.

So does this open the Fox vault a little wider to other titles from that series, including The Desert Fox, Sink the Bismarck!, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, The Enemy Below, To the Shores of Tripoli, Morituri, or 13 Rue Madeleine, etc.)? Many fine pictures went to DVD under the Fox 'War Classics' brand...

Don't forget The Young Lions. A neglected title these days.

 

[haineshisway]

Yes, I am in for probably seven of these - not a great fan of TITUS and not too keen on EDDY . . . I do hope ZULU has a 5.1 DTS sound track; the Criterion laser disc of days gone by had a much better presentation of the beautiful score and, of course, the noisy battle action than did the British Blu as mentioned a couple of pages back.

I don't believe the true stereo tracks for this film exist anymore.

 

[ROclockCK]

Don't forget The Young Lions. A neglected title these days.

Ubetcha. Knew I would miss some of the biggies from that series...

Other 'War Classics' titles include The Desert Rats, The Frogmen, D-Day the 6th of June, Guns at Batasi, What Price Glory etc. etc. As I said, a lot of fine pictures went out under that Fox banner...it just seemed that series might be off-limits for licensing since only Fox appeared to be taking them to Blu-ray.

 

[JoHud]

The Longest Day was also originally part of the "War Classics" DVD line. Unfortunately its blu-ray is heavily DVNR'd and really needs a Patton-style redo.

 

[ahollis]

I guess I better get a second job.

 

[dana martin]

So, MAN IN THE DARK was the "mysterious" 50's golden-age 3D TT had kept us in the dark about for a year?
Well. it's a....sign of good things, if they can do................more vintage 3D titles down the road.

On the upside, I guess I can go ahead and get Mad Magician from PSN now, after all.

Fox, Sony and MGM, so lets see what the next 3D from them could be..... Gorilla at Large?

 

[Todd J Moore]

Fox, Sony and MGM, so lets see what the next 3D from them could be..... Gorilla at Large?

I only wish. Though there is a DCP of Inferno, so that one shouldn't be ruled out, perhaps. I suspect The Mad Magician might be next, though.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

Very excited about some of these -- particularly CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS and TITUS. Cimino tweeted sometime last year that THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT was going to Criterion and, frankly, I'm surprised CRIMES... didn't go that way either. Hoping the Fox extras on TITUS (including a stunning documentary) carry over. I have the region-free UK BR of ZULU, which I think looks great, so curious how this is going to look.

 

[lionel59]

What has happened to Twentieth Century Fox CinemaScope movies, the initial publicized purpose of Twilight Time? Nothing wrong with adding other genres/studios etc, but a shame to appear to be abandoning the original "raison d'etre" of this series.
I think TT could do a great service to Fox 'Scope lovers and seek HD masters of two Fox films recently restored and screened in L.A. which were given horrendous pan+scan transfers by Fox Cinema Archives: THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE and APRIL LOVE. The latter was announced as a TT release when they began but apparently the master offered was unacceptable (because it was pan+ scan? A Wide Screen transfer used to be broadcast on AMC years ago but I did not see it). I am sure that HD masters in stereo must have been manufactured from the restored elements of these movies. Much online outrage has been spewed forth over the shoddy Archive copies of these long-awaited titles. Fox would-in fact- boost their public image if they allowed TT to release Blu Rays of these musicals. Many have simply- and publicly- refused to buy the cropped versions.
Another idea worthy of consideration for the TT "powers-that-be" would be to release the Samuel Goldwyn PORGY AND BESS on Blu Ray. Originally a Columbia release, the Gershwin estate withheld it for decades but have finally lightened up to-sadly- little or no effect.I read that MGM/UA held the rights for a period in recent days but let them lapse, believing the restoration costs would be prohibitive. Legions have been expressing their desire for this 70mm Oscar-winner and -I believe- would settle for a less-than-perfect image, such as that presented in the clip employed in the (excellent) documentary on Samuel Goldwyn.A 70mm print was shown in NY a few years ago which must be in watchable condition. Joe Caps states on a HTF forum topic dealing with MIA musicals : "Tom Bodley,who was head of postproduction for Goldwyn did a restoration of the 70mm neg and the 6 track of PORGY around 1983. No prints have been made since then. I don't see why it should not be in good shape now". I believe it's very worth looking into and would be a much-heralded, monumental home video release

 

[JoeDoakes]

Fox, Sony and MGM, so lets see what the next 3D from them could be..... Gorilla at Large?

The Mad Magician and the Stooges shorts are what I want the most.