Twilight Time essentially serves as a movie buyer’s guide to vintage movie collecting. It specializes in releasing movies that have been collecting dust on shelves and have yet to receive the remastered treatment.
These are movies for true film lovers. Not only can you view the film in a new, crystal-clear format, but you get the chance to learn about its history, why it was made and what film scholars have to say about its cinematic value. Think of it as a course in film school, without the lifelong debt.
Twilight Time is growing by the year and has been expanding the amount of movies it releases each month. Below are the titles that released in September and an example of the quality and variety they offer.
This smile-a-minute cult comedy brought together the talents of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, with Dolly Parton in her film debut, as three employees who fantasize about roasting their sexist and hypocritical boss (Dabney Coleman) on a spit. (Who doesn’t, right?)
The film’s themes were timely in 1980, the same year the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidelines clarifying that sexual harassment is unlawful. And even though work establishments have evolved over the past 36 years, 9 TO 5 still rings true today.
Before director Richard Marquand traveled to a galaxy far, far away with RETURN OF THE JEDI, he made a tightly-wound wartime thriller, titled EYE OF THE NEEDLE.
It stars Donald Sutherland as a menacing German spy trying to get the hell out of Dodge before the British find out he has vital information about D-Day.
The film is a fascinating study in psychology, laden with doubt and terror. The performances are rich with complexity and the story constantly thrills.
Set in the Old West, FROM NOON TILL THREE is a romantic western filled with twists. Starring Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland, it’s a melancholic film about what you encounter when you fall in love.
It may not wrap up with a sweet, little bow like Hollywood has molded your expectations, but you’re likely to talk about how it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Also showcasing the talents of Bronson, this action-packed thriller centers on a cop who was framed for a crime he did not commit.
While at this point, the plot is featured in every other episode of CSI, MURPHY’S LAW’s charm and notable one-liners by Kathleen Wilhoite (as a young woman caught in the mix) are well worth the viewing.
What was supposed to jump-start Fred Ward’s career as an action hero wound up going no further than one installment. But hey, at least we have TREMORS.
REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS is about a corny and ridiculous as they come, which is why it’s so much fun to watch.
It spins the ROBOCOP-like story (minus the nuts and bolts) of a cop brought back to life to become an extraordinary super assassin.
Only 3,000 copies of each title are made, making them all the more rare and worthy of purchase. They can be purchased exclusively through twilighttimemovies.com and screenarchives.com.
I have been working as a film journalist since 2010, dividing the first four years between radio broadcasting and entertainment writing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In 2014, I entered Fresh Fiction (FreshFiction.tv) as the features editor. The following year, I stepped into the film critic position at the Denton Record-Chronicle, a daily North Texas print publication. My time is dedicated to writing theatrical film reviews, at-home entertainment columns, and conducting interviews with on-screen talent and filmmakers, as well as hosting a podcast devoted to genre filmmaking (called My Bloody Podcast). I've been married for seven happy years, and I have one son who is all about dinosaurs just like his dad.
Preston Barta // Editor
REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS (1985)
