Blu-Ray Company: Twilight Time
Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton, Powers Boothe, Joaquin Phoenix, Bo Hopkins, Claire Danes, Jon Voight,
Plot: A young punk drifter heading to Vegas to pay off his gambling debt before the Russian mafia kills him, is forced to stop in an Arizona town where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong for him.
My Review and Thoughts:
Film: 4/5
To be honest, this is only the second time I have seen this film. The first time I watched it, I didn't much care for it. I don't really remember anything about it, so going into this for the second time, was like going into a film, blank slate, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it once again. I don't know why I never really liked it the first time, but now that I got to experience this, on the wonderful, Limited Edition, Twilight Time Blu-ray, I have more of appreciation for it.
I am a huge Oliver Stone fan. Some of my favorite movies, he has directed. From JFK, to Nixon to the often overlooked and unappreciated, Heaven & Earth, which might I add, Twilight Time released on a Limited Edition Blu-ray, and you can read my review for it here: HEAVEN AND EARTH REVIEW
Now one cannot say Oliver Stone without mentioning the unbelievable, one-of-a-kind, Natural Born Killers. He has away with telling a story, capturing perfect direction and sending his characters into some eye-opening, emotional turmoil, sadness or savagery. I do have to clear up that Oliver Stone has been, a hit or miss on his films. I think his later work has not been that great. I think his last great shining epic film was Nixon. U-turn has an extraordinary cast. A film that tells somewhat a personal, sensual darkness. It brings characterizations to life and situations that are truly, of a darker nature. After watching this for the second time, I can actually see Oliver Stone's persona in the film. You see, I believe what makes a good director, is when you witness a film by a director, and you know he is directing it. That is what most all of Stone's older films showcase. You can tell it's directed by a master. I didn't see that with U-Turn the first time I watched it, but after seeing it again, I can feel his persona behind the lens, directing.
Now some of my friends absolutely love this movie and we always get in that debate on what is Oliver Stone's best films, and most all of my friends think this a great movie, which I'm not saying it's not. I'm just saying it's not his greatest, it's just one of those films that to me, is forgettable at times. There are some amazing and utterly flooring shots. The cinematography is breathtaking at times. There are some amazing shocking moments that you would expect in a Stone film. There is a classic Film Noir style stamp all over it. There is also a mix of dark humor.
The movie has an amazing cast. Every single one of the performers are solid. Each actor owns their character and brings them to life on screen. Shockingly what I feel is the weakest problem with the film is the story, or the way it came together, never really knowing what it wanted to do. Is it a crime movie, was it a drama, was it a thriller, or was it a dark comedy. It mixes all those genres together, and in most cases that would be good, it would work, but I don't think it accomplished itself with this film. That does not mean it's a bad film, because I love the movie as a somewhat, odd Cult like status of a film. I do feel it is Stone's lesser piece of his work.
The veteran performers is what makes the film stand out. From Nick Nolte, to Powers Boothe, with those two, I shouldn’t have to mention how great the performances are.
The story is based on the book by John Ridley, titled Stray Dogs. Ridley is an amazing author and can tell, a tight, tensed filled story. If you ever get a chance make sure you pick up some of his books. I highly recommend reading his novels. Now on a side note, Ridley is also an amazing script writer. He also adapts stories into script which most recently Ridley-penned the script for, 12 Years a Slave. Which might I add won him the 2014 Oscar, for Best Adapted Screenplay. This amazing reality placed him at, one of only 2, African Americans to do that in cinema history, as of this writing.
Now I'm not reviewing the movie completely, I'm also reviewing the product. The Twilight Time Blu-ray that this film is released on, and rating it on that, it gets a five. Beautiful product, amazing transfer. Flawlessly done Blu-ray. For fans that are diehard Stone fans, or want to experience this move in a new outlet, then this is a must own Blu-ray. I highly recommend this Blu-ray. I think it's perfect to experience this movie.
Audio/Video: 5/5
The film is absolutely vibrant with colors, crisp, brilliant. The transfer is absolutely stunning. There is no fault in that reality. The audio is also the same, you can hear it perfectly clear. The music throughout this film is a golden ticket of soundtrack perfection. It has to be heard to be understood.
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC (25.00 Mbps)
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (192 kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles
English SDH
As you can tell the major difference:
DVD
TWILIGHT TIME BLU-RAY
Extras: 4/5
Now what makes me giddy with excitement, is who, is behind the music, to the soundtrack of this film. The one and only master himself, extraordinary, top-notch of all things music, Ennio Morricone. And one of the extra features as in most Twilight Time Blu-rays, is the extraordinary isolated music. You get to listen to just the music, and trust me, any music by Morricone is listening perfection, at its, crystal clarity. The special feature's are pivotal to this Blu-ray, and this extra is worth the purchase of the Blu-ray just to listen to the master and his wonderful ways.
Besides the Isolated Score Track, you get Oliver Stone Introducing the film.
Also you get an Audio Commentary with Director Oliver Stone, which is worth gold. Loved this.
Also you get an Audio Commentary with Producer/Production Executive Mike Medavoy and film historian Nick Redman. This is another priceless listen and both commentaries are worth the admission.
You also get the, Original Theatrical Trailer
As always the wonderful film FILM HISTORIAN Julia Kirgo gives us an 8-page little booklet insert.
Overall:
Product: 4/5
A perfect Blu-ray on the technical side. A wonderful experience to this Oliver Stone film that has many mixed critical reviews. Some absolutely love, and some absolutely loath it. I'm in between, I like it, yet I don't think its Stones greatest, and I don't think it achieved anything other than just being a film for entertainment. So if you want to experience this film, there is only one way to do that, and that's to get the Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray, only 3000 units have been created.
INFO:
Make sure you head over to www.screenarchives.com to buy all the wonderful Twilight Time Blu-rays. The main page that gives you these beautiful releases on top quality Special Editions.
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