TWILIGHT TIME 4th Birthday Celebration...The titles! (1 Viewer)

[David Norman]

I love "Inherit the WInd" and I will be extremely interested to hear your take on the film once you see it.


I'm making an assumption that you grew up in Brazil and I wonder how some of the US History and specifically mid 20th century Southern History will translate. I do realize there are lots of philosophical/cultural overlaps in certain events, but this film based on real political events will be especially interesting.

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

I love "Inherit the WInd" and I will be extremely interested to hear your take on the film once you see it.


I'm making an assumption that you grew up in Brazil and I wonder how some of the US History and specifically mid 20th century Southern History will translate. I do realize there are lots of philosophical/cultural overlaps in certain events, but this film based on real political events will be especially interesting.

To be honest - and this will not reflect well on me - I've seen so many American movies about American history and politics that it is possible Inherit the Wind will be more familiar to me than any given Brazilian film about long past local events.


On the other hand, the discussion about Evolutionism x Creationism in the context of public education is pretty much a current topic in my country, where a vocal part of legislative politicians is keen on putting their personal faith above the interests of the people, disregarding the separation of Church and State. But I digress...

 

[SAhmed]

Picked up "Used Cars" along with a preorder on Zardoz. Will probably do another 3 or 4 next week on payday


Regards,

 

[Flashgear]

I'm getting a number of these TT blu-rays...a number of naturals for me, but I'm a little hung up on whether to get Fate is the hunter...I remember it being melodramatic and soapy, but I'm a big Glenn Ford fan and have always liked Ralph Nelson as a director...Rains of Ranchipur is another maybe for me...with a quality blu-ray, it's almost like seeing a formerly familiar film for the first time...eye popping, you know...


I'd appreciate any input and opinion...thanks.

 

[Rob_Ray]

I'm getting a number of these TT blu-rays...a number of naturals for me, but I'm a little hung up on whether to get Fate is the hunter...I remember it being melodramatic and soapy, but I'm a big Glenn Ford fan and have always liked Ralph Nelson as a director...Rains of Ranchipur is another maybe for me...with a quality blu-ray, it's almost like seeing a formerly familiar film for the first time...eye popping, you know...


I'd appreciate any input and opinion...thanks.

FATE IS THE HUNTER is rather soapy (which doesn't bother me at all), but if you're on the fence about it, I'd recommend it because of the excellent audio commentary with Nick and Nancy Kwan, who has lots of interesting observations.

 

[David Norman]

To be honest - and this will not reflect well on me - I've seen so many American movies about American history and politics that it is possible Inherit the Wind will be more familiar to me than any given Brazilian film about long past local events.


On the other hand, the discussion about Evolutionism x Creationism in the context of public education is pretty much a current topic in my country, where a vocal part of legislative politicians is keen on putting their personal faith above the interests of the people, disregarding the separation of Church and State. But I digress...

In that case it will be especially interesting to see how a century of time and different cultures/Religious background handle similar events.


I grew up in the general region of the the Scopes trial and even 3-4 decades later many of the same issues were still rampant in my school years. Many of my science teachers still seemed to tip-toe around the subject matter at least until my teen years, Sadly over the last decade the tiptoe routine seems

to have returned to many schools particularly in the younger grades.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

I ordered Man Hunt and The Secret of Santa Vittoria.

 

[RMajidi]

Ordered the following:

Drums Along The Mohawk
Khartoum
Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather was not on sale, but I couldn't resist any longer, even though with exchange rates and shipping to Oz, it came to $50. Couldn't risk missing out on this gem, which has received stellar reviews. The Nicholas Brothers dance routine to Cab Calloway's Jumpin' Jive will be worth it alone!

Also tried to order Leave Her To Heaven, but this has now sold out!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I picked up "Equus" and "Inherit The Wind" - I've almost bought Equus half a dozen times over the past year so it seemed like the right time to do it.

 

[ROclockCK]

I'm getting a number of these TT blu-rays...a number of naturals for me, but I'm a little hung up on whether to get Fate is the hunter...I remember it being melodramatic and soapy, but I'm a big Glenn Ford fan and have always liked Ralph Nelson as a director...Rains of Ranchipur is another maybe for me...with a quality blu-ray, it's almost like seeing a formerly familiar film for the first time...eye popping, you know...


I'd appreciate any input and opinion...thanks.

FWIW I've always had a soft spot for The Rains of Ranchipur. As imperfectly written, cast, and directed as it was, this early CinemaScope* potboiler nevertheless has a strange allure which continues to draw me back every few years.


Among a sub-set of 'Scope films, The Rains of Ranchipur had its genesis in the golden era as a full frame B&W picture (The Rains Came), which the studio probably considered a 'proven' property, thus an ideal candidate for reimagining in widescreen and colour, with stereophonic sound. Some of these expansive 'Scope remakes worked very well (e.g. Leo McCarey's 1957 An Affair to Remember vs. his own 1939 Love Affair, or Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea vs. the silent versions), while others seemed miscalculated (e.g. Irwin Allen's 1960 lizard/dino The Lost World vs. the 1925 silent era stop motion classic, or State Fair 1945 vs. 1962)...while for others it ended up being more or less a draw (e.g. Silk Stockings vs. Ninotchka or King of the Khyber Rifles vs. The Black Watch). IMO, The Rains of Ranchipur falls somewhere within the middle range of all that...


Among its virtues:

• Eugenie Leontovich's sage, yet world-weary performance as the Maharani...I just love every frame she's in
• Hugo Friedhofer's exquisite score...beautifully isolated on TT's disc
• Milton R. Krasner's exotic and sometimes haunting first unit cinematography
• Ray Kellog's mixed bag of very ambitious earthquake, rain, and flood effects...especially for the era. The FX were generally well designed, marred only by some matting issues with the anamorphic colour opticals.

I guess the best that could be said for this remake would be "They sure don't make them like this anymore." As I conceded up front, Ranchipur has an odd vibe, but nevertheless fascinating throughout.


* presented here in its full 2.55:1 aspect ratio.

 

[Flashgear]

Thank you Rob_Ray and ROclockCK for your valuable and kind input to help me decide which of the TT sale blu-rays to add to my collection...I've mined TT for most of my most wanted already...but, at these sale prices, there's a few too many among the rest to decide upon...so any help from the many deep cinemaphiles on HTF is a great help...this really is the place to come to!


I'll be ordering both Fate is the Hunter and Rains of Ranchipur.

 

[ROclockCK]

I'll be ordering both Fate is the Hunter and Rains of Ranchipur.

Problem solved!


The thing is, The Rains of Ranchipur is not a fluke in TT's catalogue. They've released several other chronically under seen/under appreciated 'Scope era gems* like Désirée, High Time, The Wayward Bus, and The Roots of Heaven. I happen to be kind of a junkie for that post-war period in American filmmaking...simply because so much of it has remained locked away in the vaults for so long, many not even released on widescreen Laserdisc or DVD. In particular, 2.55:1 'Scope** has been so routinely butchered via panned and scanned TV broadcasts and early home video, it often feels like I'm seeing such films for the first time. And as a big fan of golden and silver era film scoring, this period also represents some of the very best soundtracks ever produced.


* Not included in TT's 4th Birthday sale but also worth considering is their release this month of another long lost 'Scope picture April Love, recently remastered from a 4k source.


** Another 2.55:1 title worth considering is Sony's 4k remaster for The Man From Laramie. Big W-O-W there, and at $20 bucks one of the best bargoons in this sale.

 

[Charles Smith]

My feelings exactly.


I'd never seen The Rains of Ranchipur (and a few of the others) until the TT release, and I loved it. These films were very much the initial mission of TT which was so exciting to me. I'll continue to jump for every one that comes along.

 

[JohnMor]

Problem solved!


The thing is, The Rains of Ranchipur is not a fluke in TT's catalogue. They've released several other chronically under seen/under appreciated 'Scope era gems* like Désirée, High Time, The Wayward Bus, and The Roots of Heaven. I happen to be kind of a junkie for that post-war period in American filmmaking...simply because so much of it has remained locked away in the vaults for so long, many not even released on widescreen Laserdisc or DVD. In particular, 2.55:1 'Scope** has been so routinely butchered via panned and scanned TV broadcasts and early home video, it often feels like I'm seeing such films for the first time. And as a big fan of golden and silver era film scoring, this period also represents some of the very best soundtracks ever produced.


* Not included in TT's 4th Birthday sale but also worth considering is their release this month of another long lost 'Scope picture April Love, recently remastered from a 4k source.


** Another 2.55:1 title worth considering is Sony's 4k remaster for The Man From Laramie. Big W-O-W there, and at $20 bucks one of the best bargoons in this sale.

The Man From Laramie was the sole title I picked up on the sale. It was a blind buy for me. I pretty much have every other TT title I've ever wanted.

 

[Brent Avery]

I too love those early Cinemascope and other widescreen films - ordered Khartoum not just for the fact that it is good but also 2:75 and looking forward to Hombre and perhaps The Young Lions in May/June.

 

[ROclockCK]

The Man From Laramie was the sole title I picked up on the sale. It was a blind buy for me. I pretty much have every other TT title I've ever wanted.

You're in for a treat John.

 

[John Hermes]

I too love those early Cinemascope and other widescreen films - ordered Khartoum not just for the fact that it is good but also 2:75 and looking forward to Hombre and perhaps The Young Lions in May/June.

I'm in for the latter two. I'm especially looking forward to The Young Lions.

 

[Joel Arndt]

Luke, Rich and Rick, thanks for your thoughts regarding Cover Girl. I bought this sale title along with Funny Lady and non-sale titles, Stormy Weather and Journey to the Center of the Earth. In addition, I purchased the Stormy Weather soundtrack from Kritzerland, If it's half as good as the Centennial Summer soundtrack I'll be very pleased. BTW, any updates on the status of Centennial Summer's release through TT on blu?

 

[RJ992]

MAN IN THE DARK. A noir film in 3D at a great price...sold!

 

[JohnMor]

You're in for a treat John.

After reading a few posts here, I went back and also blind-bought The Rains of Ranchipur. Looking forward to that as well. Love those 50's CinemaScopes.