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| The Time Element (1958) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 6 2011, 01:56 PM (545 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Jan 6 2011, 01:56 PM Post #1 |
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William Bendix is a jittery guy who goes to see psychiatrist Martin Balsam; seems Bendix has been having the same dream, night after night... he's in Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941 (17 years earlier), where he meets dashing young Ensign Darryl Hickman and his new bride and becomes friends with them. He tries to warn them about the next morning's impending disaster, but nobody will listen to him. And Bendix is convinced it's not a dream at all. Excellent 1-hour teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, hosted by Desi Arnaz and airing in November, 1958. The success of this show led to The Twilight Zone, hence the film's inclusion The Twilight Zone: Season 1 Blu-ray set. Unusual seeing Bendix in such a dramatic role, but he grew on me. Jesse White and Joe DeRita (a year before shaving his head and becoming 'Curly Joe') have small but meaty parts. And the closing commercial, for the latest in Westinghouse refrigerators, made me want to hustle out and buy one TODAY. Fun stuff. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Frank Hale | Jan 6 2011, 03:02 PM Post #2 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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What did you think of the Blu-Ray presentation? I assume the shows were shot in 16mm. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jan 6 2011, 06:11 PM Post #3 |
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I'm not sure, and I haven't watched any of the episodes yet. The Time Element appears to be shot in 35mm and looks great (I Love Lucy, of course, was shot in 35mm as well). |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| JazzGuyy | Jan 7 2011, 03:27 AM Post #4 |
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Except for some shows in Season 2 that were shot on tape, all of the Twilight Zone episodes themselves (and presumably this pilot) were shot in 35mm. In fact, most TV shows of that time shot on film were done on 35mm. Most of the crews on these shows were regular Hollywood technical people and generally would use what they knew which was 35mm. Since we're talking black and white here, the costs of 35mm production would not have been that much greater. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| Frank Hale | Jan 7 2011, 09:56 AM Post #5 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I know that’s what IMdB would lead you to believe, but nearly all TV shows from the 50’s are copyrighted as 16mm. And I’ve found TV videos to be a mixed bag. Some look terrific, but The Restless Gun looks like it was shot on 8mm! So I like to inquire. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jan 7 2011, 10:43 AM Post #6 |
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Yeah, I don't think too many TV shows were shot on 35mm in the 1950s; at least not the ones I watch. Or they may have been shot on 35mm but then syndicated to stations on 16mm and those are the ones passed down to us these days, maybe? I have no idea, but the 35mm shows on "official" releases - I Love Lucy, for example - look absolutely wonderful on DVD. Was more than one of the Twilight Zone episodes shot on tape? I only know of the Santa Claus thing, which looks horrible. I keep a small shelf of TV shows I like on DVD, and when I don't have time to watch a movie, like, say, during breakfast, I'll grab one from the left side of the shelf and watch an episode and return it to the right side of the shelf. Here's the rotation: The Donna Reed Show Father Knows Best The Odd Couple The Patty Duke Show M*A*S*H, season 2 The Dick Van Dyke Show, season 2 Get Smart Make Room for Daddy, season 5 Seinfeld, season 2 My Three Sons Hogan's Heroes McHale's Navy All in the Family Hazel Leave it to Beaver I Love Lucy Newhart The Bob Newhart Show, season 2 All are season 1 unless I mentioned otherwise. In addition, when I need a late-night laugh before bedtime, I watch The Sarah Silverman Show season 2, Extras, The Office season 6, or It's Garry Shandling's Show, season 1. From time to time I watch The Adventures of Superman season 4, Smallville season 1, and Zorro season 1. If I wanna get spooked, I put in Alfred Hitchcock Presents season 1 or Thriller season 1 - and now, Twilight Zone season 1 in HD. So, with all this classic TV, you can see why I don't pay for current tv service. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| JazzGuyy | Jan 7 2011, 12:35 PM Post #7 |
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According to what I can find out, these Twilight Zone episodes from season 2 were shot on video: Twenty-Two, Static, The Whole Truth, The Lateness of the Hour, Night of the Meek (the Santa episode LG referred to), and Long Distance Call. |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jan 10 2011, 09:46 AM Post #8 |
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I watched the premiere episode of The Twilight Zone on Blu-ray this weekend, the one with Earl Holliman wandering around town alone. It looked fabulous. Frankly, though, it was overshadowed by what I watched right after: "The Cheney Vase", one of the best-ever episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Frank Hale | Jan 10 2011, 01:20 PM Post #9 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Thanks for getting back on the Blu-Ray. Having thought the matter over the last few days, I find that I remember The Twilight Zone as rather gimmicky, and am on the fence about picking it up, despite the show’s big reputation. I’m not surprised you liked a Hitchcock episode better. Back in the 60’s I read a paperback of short stories from the show, purportedly written by Mr. Serling, which actually stuck in my brain a lot more than the show itself. |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jan 10 2011, 01:26 PM Post #10 |
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I like assorted Twilight Zone episodes, naturally, but wouldn't say I'm a colossal fan of the show. In fact, I don't like anthology shows in general... most of 'em have a varying ratio of bad-to-good episodes. The $46 price for Blu-ray convinced me to pick up TZ (well, that and I'd just ridden the Twilight Zone attraction at Disneyland, like, a zillion times)... |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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6:37 AM Jul 11