Twilight (1998) [VHS]
starring: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing
directed by: Robert Benton
directed by: Robert Benton
![Twilight (1998) [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SQK2HSADL._SL160_.jpg)
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If it hadn't been released in 1998 with a veteran cast of Hollywood's finest, you could swear that Twilight was a movie from the 1940s--the kind of intelligent mystery that would've made Humphrey Bogart feel right at home. To be sure, that was exactly the intention of director and co-writer Robert Benton (in collaboration with Nobody's Fool writer Richard Russo), but the film's blessing is also its curse. Benton and Russo are so enamored of vintage mystery plots and characters that their movie nearly succumbs to the burden of old-fashioned familiarity. As the title suggests, the movie's aging characters, led by Newman as a private eye who's almost literally on his last legs, are all on the downhill of life, their Hollywood glory days behind them. Newman's character lives in the luxury home of two fading stars (Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon) who may or may not be connected to a murder plot that also involves one of Newman's old colleagues (James Garner). Whether they're literally in their final days (as in the case of Hackman's character) or just grasping for some comfort in their twilight years, these characters interact with the kind of worldly, intelligent dialogue that was common in the better movies of Hollywood's past. But while Twilight gives Newman yet another role to fit into like a favored old suit, the movie's so low-key that some viewers may find it hard to sit through. That's a shame, because the bombastic, frenetically paced films that dominated the 1990s may have diminished our collective capacity to appreciate the solid, character-driven movie tradition that Twilight attempts to revive. --Jeff Shannon
If it hadn't been released in 1998 with a veteran cast of Hollywood's finest, you could swear that Twilight was a movie from the 1940s--the kind of intelligent mystery that would've made Humphrey Bogart feel right at home. To be sure, that was exactly the intention of director and co-writer Robert Benton (in collaboration with Nobody's Fool writer Richard Russo), but the film's blessing is also its curse. Benton and Russo are so enamored of vintage mystery plots and characters that their movie nearly succumbs to the burden of old-fashioned familiarity. As the title suggests, the movie's aging characters, led by Newman as a private eye who's almost literally on his last legs, are all on the downhill of life, their Hollywood glory days behind them. Newman's character lives in the luxury home of two fading stars (Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon) who may or may not be connected to a murder plot that also involves one of Newman's old colleagues (James Garner). Whether they're literally in their final days (as in the case of Hackman's character) or just grasping for some comfort in their twilight years, these characters interact with the kind of worldly, intelligent dialogue that was common in the better movies of Hollywood's past. But while Twilight gives Newman yet another role to fit into like a favored old suit, the movie's so low-key that some viewers may find it hard to sit through. That's a shame, because the bombastic, frenetically paced films that dominated the 1990s may have diminished our collective capacity to appreciate the solid, character-driven movie tradition that Twilight attempts to revive. --Jeff Shannon
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- I GOT RIPPED OFF!!!
I NEVER RECEIVED THE DVD I ORDERED!!!WHEN I WRITTEN TO DVD LEGACY THEY NEVER RESPONDED,SO I CAN ONLY ASSUME THEY SCREWED ME OUT OF MY MONEY.THIS REVIEW IS ANSWERING THEM IN KIND.I WILL NEVER PURCASE ANYTHING FROM THEM AGAIN AND I RECOMMEND THE SAME THING TO ANY POTENTIAL BUYERS!!!
Rating: 
- service
Purchased as a gift so cannot review product, but service was great, received much sooner than expected.
Rating: - The Best and The Brightest Shine in Twilight
When I first saw Twilight in 1998 I knew I was watching a valuable classic. We need a few more like Twilight these days to add intelligence that recent movies with action and adventure lack.We need less high-tech-special-affects and more intriguing dialogue which includes humor, wit and wisdom that Twilight provides in abundance.
Listing the cast only was enough for me to go see the film : Paul Newman,
Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, Stockard Channing, and with a
supporting ... Read More
Rating: - The Things You Don't Think About
The plot is a standard one.Our private detective, Harry Ross, makes a simple delivery for a friend and discovers a murder.Then he discovers several more.The police suspect him, but let him go.He wades through the confusion, taking the occasional beating.Finally, he solves the mystery.Then re-solves it.We've seen the plot before.But this movie isn't great because of the plot.It's the characters.
Excepting a very young Reese Witherspoon, the main characters are all...old.Paul Newman, ... Read More
Rating: - Film noir for the everyman and woman
Back in Feb '08 I found out about this movie because I was in a Paul Newman phase of movie watching. It turns out that two of my other favorite movie stars James Garner and Gene Hackman were also in it, so I purchased it. I don't know what the reviewers of the day back in 1998 were thinking but I think that they were not thinking right when they dissed this movie. This movie deserves to be watched and is a "fun" movie as well as an intelligent one. Susan Sarandon shines in this movie and Reese Witherspoon is a hottie ... Read More
- I GOT RIPPED OFF!!!I NEVER RECEIVED THE DVD I ORDERED!!!WHEN I WRITTEN TO DVD LEGACY THEY NEVER RESPONDED,SO I CAN ONLY ASSUME THEY SCREWED ME OUT OF MY MONEY.THIS REVIEW IS ANSWERING THEM IN KIND.I WILL NEVER PURCASE ANYTHING FROM THEM AGAIN AND I RECOMMEND THE SAME THING TO ANY POTENTIAL BUYERS!!!
- servicePurchased as a gift so cannot review product, but service was great, received much sooner than expected.
- The Best and The Brightest Shine in TwilightWhen I first saw Twilight in 1998 I knew I was watching a valuable classic. We need a few more like Twilight these days to add intelligence that recent movies with action and adventure lack.We need less high-tech-special-affects and more intriguing dialogue which includes humor, wit and wisdom that Twilight provides in abundance.
Listing the cast only was enough for me to go see the film : Paul Newman,
Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, Stockard Channing, and with a
supporting ... Read More
- The Things You Don't Think AboutThe plot is a standard one.Our private detective, Harry Ross, makes a simple delivery for a friend and discovers a murder.Then he discovers several more.The police suspect him, but let him go.He wades through the confusion, taking the occasional beating.Finally, he solves the mystery.Then re-solves it.We've seen the plot before.But this movie isn't great because of the plot.It's the characters.
Excepting a very young Reese Witherspoon, the main characters are all...old.Paul Newman, ... Read More
- Film noir for the everyman and womanBack in Feb '08 I found out about this movie because I was in a Paul Newman phase of movie watching. It turns out that two of my other favorite movie stars James Garner and Gene Hackman were also in it, so I purchased it. I don't know what the reviewers of the day back in 1998 were thinking but I think that they were not thinking right when they dissed this movie. This movie deserves to be watched and is a "fun" movie as well as an intelligent one. Susan Sarandon shines in this movie and Reese Witherspoon is a hottie ... Read More
