The Stone Killer (1973) / Inferno (1953) / Brutal Tales of
Chivalry (1965)
Company: Twilight Time
My Review and Thoughts:
This is a triple threat. An afternoon marathon of three
films that have been lovingly brought out on Blu-ray by the company Twilight
Time.
First up: The Stone Killer
Starring in Stone Killer: Charles Bronson, Norman Fell,
Martin Balsam, David Sheiner, Jack Colvin, Paul Koslo, Stuart Margolin
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
First up the one and only Charles Bronson. I was, like
always super excited to hear the announcement from Twilight Time when they are
releasing a Charles Bronson film. As I have stated many times in the passed
reviews, I am a huge Charles Bronson fan. My favorite will always be, the Death
Wish saga. I own every one of his films on VHS, and DVD, and now many of his
films are coming out, or have already came out on Blu-ray. Bronson came from a
time of cinema when, Manly men owned the camera. The tough guy persona ruled,
and operated a no holds bar attitude of dominance in film. There was a time
when the male figure demonstrated a control of the character they were playing.
Now days the white ghost teeth, slick hair, metrosexual, male figure becomes
somewhat laughable in cinema, compared to the brutes of men in the 40’s, all
the way to early 90’s cinema. What happened to the days of the sophisticated
tough guys like, Richard Burton, Yul Brynner, James Cagney, James Coburn,
Bronson, Eastwood, Hackman, Lee Marvin, Gary Cooper. How Hollywood has missed
the mark in not creating the tough guy persona, just amazes me in all its
stupidity. Don’t get me wrong there are still tough guys, but the style, and
approach has changed. The original tough guys did not have to demand your
attention, they already had your attention, and Charles Bronson was that style.
This is directed by one of my favorite directors. Michael
Winner has done some of my favorite guilty pleasure films, starring one of my
favorite tough guys, yes that manly man actor as a mentioned above, Charles
Bronson. Winner was responsible for making the one and only 1974’s Death Wish. Death
Wise is a golden ticket of revenge perfection. Winner also did the two sequels,
Death Wish 2, and 3. I love this series and Winner is a priceless director in
that regard. I loved his no holds bar style of film making with these three
films. The Death Wish series is a perfect example of exploitation, grindhouse
style main stream movies. Solid director behind a series of violent films is
always an eye-opening experience. Winner and Bronson worked together many
times. Winner always had away with capturing his characters in a brutal
fashion. Bronson became somewhat a stable in Winner’s films. Now Winner’s
career was a vast array of movie genera’s. From action, to thrillers, to
comedy, to drama. He directed one of my favorite, underrated horror films of all
time, 1977’s spooky, and disturbing The Sentinel. If you haven’t seen The
Sentinel, I highly recommend.
Also starring a great cast of actors and actresses. The
wonderful Norman Fell that many will know for his often comedy roles in TV such
as Three’s Company. Also starring the amazing Martin Balsam who has starred in
some of the greatest films of all time such as 1957’s 12 Angry Men, 1960’s
masterpiece of suspense Psycho. The amazing Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The brilliant
Cape Fear and so many others, always priceless seeing him.
The plot is about a Mafia Don played flawlessly by Martin
Balsam. He goes about defending a group of Mafia Dons who were killed in 1931.
Now in present day he wants to avenge the killings. Insert Bronson’s character
who happens to be an independent detective that just happens to stumble upon
the plot and the ordeal. He soon figures out that the killings happen to be an
inside job of the Mafia. So, begins an odd and twisty plot that only a Charles
Bronson movie could do.
Next up the: Inferno
Starring: Robert
Ryan, Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Larry Keating, Henry Hull, Carl Betz,
Robert Burton
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Directed by Roy Ward Baker who was a truly wonderful
director in my viewpoint. He gave me so many wonderful films that I grew up
watching at Late Night Drive-Ins and Midnight Movie Screenings. Such Drive-in
B-movie classics like Quatermass and the Pit, Scars of Dracula, The Vampire
Lovers, Asylum, The Vault of Horrors, The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, The
Monster Club that should tell you how fabulous he was to the fan of Drive-In
films and B-movie horrors. Truly a priceless director. Also directed one of my
favorite serious films 1958’s A Night to Remember which I consider a Golden
Ticket film. It’s great seeing his film Inferno on a special edition Blu-ray lovingly
brought out by Twilight Time, they did an amazing job in creating a new
flawless outlet to this film.
Inferno is an American film noir drama thriller, with the
trademarks of being remembered for its wild and wonderful ways such as
Technicolor and it being in 3-D with stereophonic sound when it came out. Now
thankfully Twilight Time has given the 2D and 3D version on one product which
is perfection in my book.
Like in all good Film Noir fashion. Your main character
Donald Carson the 3rd goes about seeking his revenge against his
adulterous wife. To make the scenario even better, Donald is a millionaire and
during a trip into the Mojave Desert he has broken his leg. His wife simply
leaves him in the desert stating she will get help. But as time passes Donald
knows the truth, his wife has left him to die. Donald has now promised himself
he will survive and seek his revenge.
Starring a wonderful cast Robert Ryan who also starred in
another Twilight Time release, House of Bamboo anther fantastic murder mystery
film noir. Robert Ryan was a total guru of B-grade entertainment from countless
Film Noirs to murder mysteries, he was a true acting brilliance.
Next up is: Brutal Tales of Chivalry
Starring: Ken
Takakura, Ryo Ikebe, Yoshiko Mita, Shinjiro Ehara, Hiroki Matsukata,
Michitaro
Mizushima, Nobuo Yana
My Rating: 5 out of 5
I absolutely love this movie. A new favorite of mine. A pure perfection in cinema. Highly Recommened.
I must mention the one and only, masterly performer that is
Ken Takakura. Takakura is what you can consider a master talented actor. He is
one of those performers that should always be remembered for his amazing
talent. I grew up watching his amazing ability to own and perform a brilliant
reality in a cast of characters. Sadly, he is no longer with us, dying in 2014,
but he left a career of cinema importance. He won Four Japanese Academy of
Prize Awards which is equivalent to our Academy Award Oscars. His mastery is
grand. Many of his films are true cinematic moments that should be remembered.
Three of my favorite performances he acted in was 1978’s The Yellow
Handkerchief, 1981’s A Distant Cry from Spring and 1982’s Station. I could go
on and on mentioning acting performances but I just love talking about this
man.
His talent is something to praise. Sadly, many in America
don’t know who he is, and that’s a true shame because his talent is award
worthy, and wonderment of praise, and honor. Acting in well over 150
performances. Starred in both his native Japanese and here in America. From the
1989 classic Black Rain to the comedy 1992’s Mr. Baseball. Thankfully Twilight
Time has introduced another one of his films on a lovely Special Edition
Blu-ray: The Bullet Train, another classic of his. Truly wonderful seeing him
in both movies and being honored with high quality special feature Blu-ray
releases is always a plus.
The story of Brutal Tales of Chivalry is about a Yakuza who
comes back from war. There he finds his hometown destroyed. He goes about to
rebuild his home and his life. The scars of World War 2 are all around him. Soon
he finds himself confronted by a gang of thugs that don’t believe in chivalry
and honor and so there for he must go against the thugs trying to move in,
control and create their savage ways.
Audio/Video:
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Yet again a flawless example of how to treat films. Giving films a new outlet. A wonderful clarity in picture and sound. High definition.
Crisp in audio and vibrant in colors.
The Stone Killer:
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Inferno:
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.33:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
Brutal Tales of Chivalry:
REGION A LOCKED
LANGUAGE: Japanese
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 2.35:1
AUDIO: Japanese 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English
Extras:
The Stone Killer:
Isolated Music Track: Man, behind the music is British Jazz musician
Roy Budd. His mastery of the piano is something that stands out above and
beyond music. His talent was a part of composing for movies many times. Most
notably Get Carter and The Wild Geese. A true film score master that left the
world of music and cinema with many dynamic pieces. Twilight Time has honored
this master with this special feature.
Audio Commentary with Bronson Biographer Paul Talbot. This was a great listen. I enjoyed it greatly. It was awesome having Bronson Biographer talking.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Inferno:
Isolated Music Track: The music done for this movie is by a
true brilliant favorite musician of mine. He has composed some of the great
Drive-In films of all time. He mastered such greats as1957’s Kronos, It! The
Terror from Beyond Space, The Fly, Return of the Fly, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Just a brilliant composer that left many memorable film scores. A wonderful
special feature on this Twilight Time release.
Audio Commentary with Film Historian Alan K. Rode and Robert
Ryan’s Daughter Lisa Ryan. A great commentary and was very informative.
A New Dimension of Noir: Filming Inferno in 3D
Original Theatrical Trailer
Brutal Tales of Chivalry:
Brutal Tales of Filmmaking: Toei Producer Toru Yoshida
Overall:
Twilight Time has blessed the movie loving and Blu-ray
collecting world with three films. All are perfection in transfers in my viewpoint. Any older film, specifically forgotten about films when they come to Blu-ray I am utterly happy. I think Twilight Time did an amazing job in picture, audio and
video. Love the packaging always a plus to get the booklet insert. These
Blu-ray’s are an amazing accomplishment by Twilight Time as always. Twilight
Time truly honors cinema, gives cinema a true outlet to express film in a whole new
way, through amazing work in bringing these older films out in new outlets.
Highly Recommended and highly praised. Must own Blu-ray’s.
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.
Also head over and like Twilight Time on Facebook
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