Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Twilight Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 17, 2023

Robert Benton's "Twilight" (1998) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include a recent audio commentary recorded by critics Alain Silver and James Ursini; vintage trailer; and vintage TV spots. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Harry Ross

At the center of Robert Benton’s Twilight is an interesting story. It is about an aging detective who has had a rough life and learned to live with the consequences of various mistakes he made in years past. The story is also about the reappearance of an old secret and relationships that have become too complicated. It is the type of story that could have made a very nice film noir if it was available during the 1950s or even the 1960s. Paul Newman plays the detective and is surrounded by some equally impressive actors, like Gene Hackman, James Garner, Susan Sarandon, and M. Emmet Walsh.

In 1966, Newman appeared in Jack Smight’s Harper, which is a similar film about a private detective whose personal life is in disarray, a secret, and some intricate relationships. Like Twilight, Harper was also set in LA and shot in color. Curiously, like Twilight, Harper got the era that would have been perfect for its story wrong as well. (Instead of being set in the 1960s, Harper should have been set in the 1940s). In Harper you will see some great actors too, but virtually all of them are at the top of their game. It is why Harper turned out to be a very good film.

I wanted to link Twilight and Harper because I feel that the former could have been a very good film, too. There is some quality material in it and bits of it even have a proper neo-noirish ambience, but it is seriously mismanaged. The rest of the material routinely creates the impression that the stars are failing to connect as they should. Needless to say, Twilight can be awkward to watch because the majority of it looks like a collection of extracts from a very long and very unnecessary audition that was staged for an imaginary jury that lost interest in it and somehow forgot to terminate it.

What is even more awkward, however, is that all of the older actors look, well, very, very old. Twilight does not need to exude tremendous energy to work as it should, but it needs actors capable of convincing that their presence in it is justified. (The trick that creates cinematic magic is still the same. With a terrific performance, the obvious line that separates the actor from the character is erased and the former temporarily becomes the latter. But a terrific performance requires proper energy). It pains me to write it but Newman, Hackman, Garner, and Sarandon never look like they have the energy to be fully in control of their characters. They just utter their lines while drifting through different sequences until Twilight reaches that crucial point where Newman’s detective connects a few crucial dots and shortly after the past and present of his employer are properly aligned.

Benton worked with a screenplay that he co-wrote with Richard Russo (Nobody's Fool), so he should have delivered a much more convincing film. However, it is hard to imagine that he could have had this more convincing film done with the current cast. Simply put, the chemistry between the ‘twilight actors’ isn’t happening for multiple reasons. Many of them can indeed be traced back to the screenplay, but as odd as it may sound some of these great actors are also not right for the parts they were cast to play.

Twilight looks good, but you will easily come to the conclusion that had Piotr Sobocinski (Red) shot it in black-and-white it would have looked magnificent.

Twilight Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Twilight arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Last summer, we reviewed this release of Twilight, which was included in Australian label Via Vision Entertainment's After Dark: Neo Noir Cinema Collection One six-disc box set. It was sourced from an old and quite weak master that was supplied by Paramount Pictures.

Unfortunately, this release is sourced from the same master and reveals the same shortcomings. What are they? The entire film looks quite harsh. Some darker areas have a slightly more pleasing appearance, but the harshness is everywhere and does not allow the film to convey its native organic qualities. This is the reason why various shades and nuances are either collapsed or completely lost. For example, in screencapture #20 you can see how the gentle nuances that should enhance depth are compromised, while in screencapture #8 the background highlights are completely lost. Predictably, grain exposure is very inconsistent and more often than not very problematic as well. It is why delineation, clarity, and depth suffer even during close-ups (see screencapture #5). Colors are stable. However, color reproduction should be a lot more convincing. Currently, a lot of primary values are not any better than what you would expect to get from a mediocre DVD release. Image stability is good. Minor flecks and blemishes can be spotted, but there are no distracting large cuts, warped or torn frames to report. So, to look as it can and should, this film needs to be properly remastered either in 2K or 4K. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Twilight Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I do not have any comments to add in addition to what I said about the lossless 5.1 track -- which is the one I think the film should be viewed with -- when I reviewed the Australian release of Twilight. I think that its basics are solid. Clarity, sharpness, depth, and stability are excellent. Perhaps there are a couple of areas where balance could be slightly better, but I am unsure whether the very small fluctuations need to be addressed because they are not part of the film's original sound design. So, I think that the lossless 5.1 track is very solid.

Twilight Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this recent audio commentary was recorded by critics Alain Silver and James Ursini. The two gentlemen discuss the stylistic identity of Twilight, Paul Newman's character and the type of noirish drama he becomes involved with, the contributions from the rest of the excellent cast, Robert Benton's direction, etc. The commentary initially appeared on Via Vision Entertainment's release of Twilight.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Twilight. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spots - a couple of vintage TV spots for Twilight. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Twilight Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Twilight was supposed to be that great final genre film in the filmographies of its iconic stars that critics and scholars would love to describe as their swan song. Unfortunately, the crucial connection between its noirish material and the swan harmonies is quite unconvincing, often even problematic. I am sad to say that Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, and James Garner, even the significantly younger Susan Sarandon, simply do not look very good before Robert Benton's camera. There are a few bits of quality material, but the film is seriously underwhelming. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release is sourced from an old and regrettably quite poor master that was supplied by Paramount Pictures.