Company: Twilight Time
My Review and Thoughts:
Today is a double feature. Both lovingly brought out on High
Quality Blu-ray products by Twilight Time. These two films have never looked
any better. Never have sounded any better. Both films shine on Blu-ray. I watched
these two together for the simple fact, I saw both on a movie marathon in
Knoxville Tennessee. A local theater every Saturday would run older films. You
could pay one price and sit through as many that was playing which usually was
about 5 films. I attended these Saturday screenings many times and saw many
classic films and two of those films I saw was the two I am reviewing.
First up The Quiet American:
Starring: Michael
Redgrave, Audie Murphy, Claude Dauphin, Richard Loo, Girgia Moll, Bruce Cabot,
Kerima
The Quiet American is about an American in a cautionary style
tale. It’s 1952 and the place is Saigon. Vietnamese are causing major strikes
of military force against the French. Alden Pyle, an American economist working
with an international aid organization is smack dab, stuck in the middle as the
Communist and the French colonialists clash. He tries his best to win over the
Vietnamese people. To make matters worse he takes a young Vietnamese woman who
is stuck with a mean-spirited English Newspaperman. This English man spreads lies and seeks revenge by stating that the American is selling weapons to the
anti-communists.
This is based on the novel by the same title. Written by a
wonderful, flawless and amazing author Graham Greene which I highly recommend if
you love reading. I have read 6 of his novel’s and each one maintains a
brilliance.
Starring the one and only true-life War hero Audie Murphy.
There is a wonderful cast of actors and actress’ that grace this splendid
movie. The one and only star Michael Redgrave. The brilliant Claude Dauphin.
The flawless Bruce Cabot. The beautiful Giorgia Moll and Kerima. Also,
wonderful character actors.
Keep an eye out for the amazing Asian character
actor Richard Loo. Loo was truly a one of kind gifted actor that never got the
stardom he deserved. He was so gifted. He played a lot of American Films as the
Asian guy, or the stereotype that Hollywood thought of the Asian person. His
long vast career lasted 50 years. Performing from 1931 all the way to 1982. He
left a vast career of well over 100 credits to his name. He will probably be
remembered mostly for his character of Hai Fat in the James Bond film The Man
with the Golden Gun. Many times, he played an Asian General or Japanese General
or simply a bystander. Many times, uncredited but always noticed. He can be
seen in 1943’s Jack London, 1944’s The Purple Heart, 1945’s Back to Bataan,
1955’s Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, 1956’s The Conqueror, 1956’s Around the
World in 80 Days, 1957’s The Quite American, 1966’s The Sand Pebbles, and so
many others. It was great seeing him in this. He was always someone that stood
out to me even though many of his parts where small or silent. He just had
stardom all over him and it’s a true shame he never got that brilliant stardom
he so rightly deserved. Thankfully companies like Twilight Time honor such
character actors bringing forgotten films out on high quality Blu-ray.
Written for the screen and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
A master of cinema production or writing and of directing. All one should do is
look at the amazing films he directed. The 1946 masterly film, Dragonwyck.
Also, the mastery of 1949’s A Letter to Three Wives. From 1950’s All about Eve,
to a huge favorite of mine 1953’s Julius Caesar. He directed 22 films, 22 films
that stand out and are amazing to see in all their differences. What made him
so unique is he also wrote many of his films adapting books for screenplay.
Also, writing for many other films that he did not direct, such as the screen
adaption of the musical classic 1955’s Guys and Dolls. He also was honored with
another Twilight Time release The Barefoot Contessa. The Quiet American is one
of those masterly films that he crafted with his excellence.
A little trivia this was also remade in 2002. Same title. I prefer
the original, but if you want to see a modern version of the classic story then
check it out.
Next up is Bridge at Remagen.
Starring: Ben
Gazzara, E.G. Marshall, George Segal, Bradford Dillman, Robert Vaughn, Peter
Van Eyck, Hans Christian Blech
Starring an amazing cast of performers. Bridge at
Remagen is about a World War 2 drama. Now this is based on real life events
although the movie is a major fictionalized version of the real happenings. As
the allied armies move forward the Nazi’s decide to come up with a strategy to
halt the coming armies by blowing up the Rhine Bridge. In the process, it will
leave them also trapped on the wrong side.
This is directed by a true Master John Guillermin. He is an
extraordinary, visionary, talented and brilliant in capturing cinema. This
movie is entertaining and is amazingly put together. He directed one of the
most stunning World War I saga films The Blue Max which was honored by a
Twilight Time Blu-ray release. The Blue Max I think is possibly one of the best
flying war cinematography movies ever done. That is something that Guillermin
had about his ability of film making, he made you believe his visual stories.
He brought you in and made you feel as if true life was happening. He directed some of the great films throughout
cinema history like Guns at Batasi (1964), Rapture (1965), Death on the Nile
(1978) and he also would move on to direct some of the great B-movies in the
1970s and 80's. Such B-movie classics like Shaft in Africa. The amazing destruction
film The Towering Inferno. The one and only remake of the classic King Kong. He
always graced cinema with his own talent and his own interesting film vision.
The Blue Max I feel was his crowning achievement. The Bridge at Remagen is also
a film that is worthy to praise and write about.
Audio/Video:
Both films look and sound amazing. The sound quality is top
notch brilliance. Crisp and Clear. The imagery on both is vibrant, one color
and one black and white. Imagery is solid. Both films are spot on perfect.
The Quiet American
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 1.66:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
1958 / B&W
Bridge at Remagen
LANGUAGE: English
VIDEO: 1080p High Definition / 2.35:1
AUDIO: English 1.0 DTS-HD MA
SUBTITLES: English SDH
1969 / Color
Extras:
The Quiet American:
Isolated Music Track with Some Effects: The music was
created and flawlessly executed by music master Mario Nascimbene. He was one of
the greatest soundtrack composers to ever grace Hollywood. One only must look
at his vast career and his ultimate excellence in sound. He, in his wonderful
career gave music to over 150 movies, which is unbelievable in the reality of
this composer and Conductor. He also was honored on three other Twilight Time
release’s Solomon and Sheba, Alexander the Great and The Barefoot Contessa.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Bridge at Remagen
Isolated Music Track: This is another example of a golden
ticket for Twilight Time special features. I am a huge music lover, and
something I love is music scores, and that is why I look forward to this
special feature. The man behind the music score is a genius of talent Elmer
Bernstein. Anyone who is a movie lover should know his tunes. From hundreds,
upon hundreds of films and TV. He has given his talent. From the great movies
like The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Ghostbusters, The Ten
Commandments, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Great Escape, just to name a
few. Over 50 years he supplied the beauty of ear candy. Also, he was nominated
for an amazing 14 Academy Awards. His music is still being used today on
soundtracks. His legend lives on. Twilight Time honored this music master with
this special feature, that is a must listen. He had many styles of music in
composing, dramatic all the way to Jazz, and so much more. A true mastery that shall never be
forgotten. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but his music lives, and this
special feature showcases that.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Overall:
Yet again two priceless choices for Special Edition Blu-ray.
Each are there own brilliance. Twilight Time has graced two classics with two
high quality Special Edition blu-ray’s. Highly Recommended.
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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