‘B’Twixt Now And Sunrise’ Authentic Cut Blu-Ray Review – Francis Ford Coppola Revisits Gothic Oddity

When struggling supernatural fiction writer Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) arrives in an isolated small town as part of his book tour, he hears about the local lore of vampires and an infamous mass murder. Eager for inspiration, Baltimore is swept into a surreal fever dream of eccentric characters — from the oddball sheriff (Bruce Dern) to the ghost of a young girl (Elle Fanning) to visions of Edgar Allan Poe (Ben Chaplin) — that forces him to confront his own troubled past.

For thoughts on B’Twixt Now and Sunrise: The Authentic Cut, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

B’Twixt Now and Sunrise arrives on Blu-Ray from Lionsgate and Zoetrope with a fine 1080p presentation in its original 2.00:1 aspect ratio that delivers the aesthetically stylized film in high definition. The original cut of the film was released on Blu-Ray a decade ago, but we have never seen that disc so direct comparisons are not possible. The film appears digitally sharp thanks to the manner in which it was captured, but it also lacks distinct clarity throughout thanks to the dark and shadowy presentation which eats up much of the fine detail in the production design and clothing. There is still some amount of texture, but not much that will truly impress. 

Black levels struggle a bit when it comes to depth while exhibiting some digital noise in the darker moments. Color saturation is dialed way down in the dream world of the narrative, and the “real life” moments are not that much more colorful, but this disc represents that choice well. Some of the makeup effects make an impression especially in closeups. The film is not one you are going to come to in order to be visually dazzled, but it represents it as well as it can within the way it was shot and tweaked. It is possible that a 4K UHD Blu-Ray could have dug up a bit more detail, but this movie does not seem popular enough to warrant that. 

Audio Quality

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track is utilized well enough to tell this story. Dialogue is the main force of this film which comes through perfectly clear as it balances capably with the competing elements. The sound design on display here is more pronounced in the dream world, but the sound design is not too ambitious overall. This story features key moments of sounds emanating from numerous directions that make you take notice. The movie uses environmental sounds to establish mood and location, and the track retains strong detail even when situations get twisty. The low end does come alive in a few key moments, but it is not going to be a showcase for your system. This track does everything that is expected of it. There are English SDH, English and Spanish subtitles provided. 

Special Features

• Twixt – A Documentary: A 41-minute documentary from Gia Coppola (Mainstream) is provided here who captures the at-times troubled production of this film. There are many indicators throughout that her grandfather is not having the easiest time getting this movie made, especially at times when Elle Fanning is taken away from set for other obligations. There are a lot of great tidbits included here which feels like they could only be preserved by someone close to Francis like his granddaughter. 

Final Thoughts

B’Twixt Now and Sunrise is a film that simply does not seem to work no matter what kind of work Francis Ford Coppola puts into it. While we have not seen the original film Twixt, many of the scathing reviews mention elements that remain in this shorter “Authentic Cut” of the film. The story is dull and convoluted, and the movie itself is unpleasant to take in on a visual level. Even the performances are not up to the level we expect from these performances. This is among the lowest low points for Francis Ford Coppola. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray with an acceptable A/V presentation and one rewarding supplemental feature. If you are curious about the subject or the cast, feel free to give it a shot, but this is not what you expect from someone who was considered one of our greatest living filmmakers. 

B’Twixt Now and Sunrise: The Authentic Cut is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.