HTF EXCLUSIVE: Twilight Time July and August 2012 Release Announcements (1 Viewer)

[Danny Burk]

The one I'm really hoping for is THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933). A "notorious" and long-suppressed pre-code, based on William Faulkner's novel "Sanctuary", it was produced by Paramount but is presently owned by Fox due to a remake around 1960. It was recently restored from the camera neg and shown on TCM a few months ago. It's a masterpiece of chiaroscuro lighting, and stars Miriam Hopkins in one of her best roles. A blu-ray would be gorgeous, and would seem a good choice for the TT lineup.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

The one I'm really hoping for is THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933). A "notorious" and long-suppressed pre-code, based on William Faulkner's novel "Sanctuary", it was produced by Paramount but is presently owned by Fox due to a remake around 1960. It was recently restored from the camera neg and shown on TCM a few months ago. It's a masterpiece of chiaroscuro lighting, and stars Miriam Hopkins in one of her best roles. A blu-ray would be gorgeous, and would seem a good choice for the TT lineup.

Was not aware that Fox owned TEMPLE DRAKE...it shoots to the top of my list for Fox requests. Of course, much as I like what Twilight Time is doing, I can't say I wouldn't prefer that Criterion have at it.
Other Fox Pre-Codes I would like to see:
Walsh's SAILOR'S LUCK.
Films of Spencer Tracy including, but not limited to QUICK MILLIONS (directed by Rowland Brown), THE POWER AND THE GLORY, FACE IN THE SKY.
CALL HER SAVAGE and HOOP-LA with Clara Bow.
Brown's BLOOD MONEY.
Film Forum did a "Fox Before the Code" series about six years ago...I'll take pretty much anything that played in that retro.

 

[Danny Burk]

Thanks for the link, Jon. A good article that I hadn't seen before. I'd seen the film years ago, in a poor quality 16mm print owned by a collector, and wasn't terribly impressed. The restoration is really a thing of beauty for the photography and lighting alone, and my overall opinion of it has increased a great deal since seeing it again on TCM.
Agreed, some pre-code Fox films would be wonderful. Most are so difficult to see; CALL HER SAVAGE and HOOP-LA would also be near the top of my list. I've heard good things about BLOOD MONEY but haven't seen it. Another obscure but quite good title is PASSPORT TO HELL; as far as I know, it's never been aired on television, but I saw a 35mm print at a film festival a few years ago and thought it deserves to be better known.

 

[Rob W]

I saw the restored TEMPLE DRAKE in 35mm at last year's TCM Classic Film Festival ; it was a spectacular restoration and one of the highlights of the festival. HOOP-LA was also premiered in a new restoration that year. This year I saw the restored CALL HER SAVAGE at the Egyptian as part of the 2011 TCM Fest.

 

[mark brown]

As i recall, I read several years ago that Fox commissioned a 2K transfer of both Magnificent Men and Agony and Ecstasy. At the time there was some controversy about the quality of the 2K for the Todd-AO negative transfer. Does anyone know if these transfers are the 2K and what will they look like? Also, does this mean Agony is on the slate for later in the year? mdb

 

[DownfallChild]

Wow, what a double edged sword. BYE BYE BIRDIE is finally seeing a blu-ray release. I'm kind of disappointed Sony is licensing this out instead of releasing this title themselves. That's a pretty high price. I'm hoping there are at least some extras in this release. It would be really nice if they could get Van Dyke, A-M and Bobby Rydell to provide commentary or maybe produce a "Making of" documentary as a bonus...anything extra to set this release apart from any other release of the film.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

I saw the restored TEMPLE DRAKE in 35mm at last year's TCM Classic Film Festival ; it was a spectacular restoration and one of the highlights of the festival. HOOP-LA was also premiered in a new restoration that year. This year I saw the restored CALL HER SAVAGE at the Egyptian as part of the 2011 TCM Fest.

Being in NY, I was fortunate enough to see the restored TEMPLE DRAKE at MoMA's Save and Project series in 2010 and HOOP-LA in the 2011 version of that series. That new print of CALL HER SAVAGE was at Film Forum last year and I missed it, unfortunately.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Some cover art to whet your appetite...

 

[Charles Smith]

Woo-hoo!!

 

[Robin9]

Last night I watched the DVD of The Best Of Everything, a 20th Century Fox movie with a really melodic score by Alfred Newman. This would be an ideal film for Twilight Time to release on BRD with an isolated music soundtrack as an "extra".

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by Robin9 /t/320203/htf-exclusive-twilight-time-july-and-august-2012-release-announcements/30#post_3935135
Last night I watched the DVD of The Best Of Everything, a 20th Century Fox movie with a really melodic score by Alfred Newman. This would be an ideal film for Twilight Time to release on BRD with an isolated music soundtrack as an "extra".

It's also one of my favorite melodramas of that period. The DVD upconverts very nicely, but a HD transfer would really make it look spectacular.

 

[haineshisway]

Some cover art to whet your appetite...

I can continue the whetting of the appetite, as I've just had a little preview of both discs - Magnificent Men looks spectacular off the large format elements - sharp as a tack, great color (the one place where the marvelous transfer of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fails - too brown, which is immediately apparent when compared to Magnificent Men), and I think folks will be VERY pleased. Cover Girl looks very nice, too.

 

[Charles Smith]

Oh man, bring it on! An evening will be specifically set aside for that.

 

[OliverK]

As i recall, I read several years ago that Fox commissioned a 2K transfer of both Magnificent Men and Agony and Ecstasy. At the time there was some controversy about the quality of the 2K for the Todd-AO negative transfer. Does anyone know if these transfers are the 2K and what will they look like? Also, does this mean Agony is on the slate for later in the year? mdb

I remember this, too. The company who back then handled both movies also "improved" the look of Patton or Spartacus iirc and I shuddered to think they had gotten these two from Fox and hoped they would go back and do them right. Seems I was at least wrong about going back and redoing them!
Oh well, screencaps and reviews will be posted soon I guess and haineshisway seems to be happy so it cannot be a complete stinker, hopefully a bit more filmic looking than Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Still it is too bad that no other Todd AO title from Fox seems to get the Sound of Music treatment.

 

[haineshisway]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang isn't filmic looking? News to me. What, do you think it should have heavy grain? The point of 65mm and other large formats was virtually almost no grain and certainly not grain that would be overtly viewable. The "window to the world." Magnificent Men looks pretty magnificent to me.

 

[David Weicker]

I realize its probably too late for the July Twilight Time releases (since they went on sale today, and I'm too paranoid to wait too long), but for future releases, is it possible that HTF post links to the SAE site, so that HTF can get some money off these sales like they do from Amazon?
Or is that financial arrangement unlikely to happen.
David

 

[Ronald Epstein]

 

[Charles Smith]

Need I say it?

SOLD.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Originally Posted by Chas in CT /t/320203/htf-exclusive-twilight-time-july-and-august-2012-release-announcements/30#post_3944824
Need I say it?

SOLD.

x2

 

[haineshisway]

I just spent a wonderfully enjoyable evening watching High Time and Bye Bye Birdie on Blu-ray. I'll just give you the Reader's Digest version: I was concerned about High Time - I believe this is its home video debut, but every time I've seen it on FMC it just didn't look good - too brown, fuzzy, and nothing like it should. I'm happy to say that the new Fox transfer is pretty terrific, with perfect color, pleasing sharpness for a Cinemascope film of that era and pretty much looking like it should. Just because one has to point out these things these days (as silly as it is), there are a lot of opticals in the film and they look just like they should. I'm very fond of the film and have been since I first saw it at a sneak preview five months before it came out, at the Village Theater in Westwood. It sounds great in stereo, too. Charming, funny, and sweet, with a great score by Henry Mancini.
And then there's Bye Bye Birdie - I can make that even shorter - simply put, one of the best Blu-ray transfers I've ever seen of a film of that era. I'd seen this a year or so ago at the Academy but I was not impressed by that showing - perhaps it was their digital projection or just blowing the thing up that big, but it looked flat and not nearly colorful enough. But the Blu-ray's color is breathtaking as is its sharpness - even the many opticals look better than they ever have - I don't know how they did that, but whatever it was Universal should take lessons from Sony. There is no artificial DNR used in the opticals - that will be obvious to anyone with eyes. I cannot imagine anyone not being bowled over by this disc, save for the screen cap brigade who will judge solely on bad screen caps.
You heard it here - if you haven't ordered, do.