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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r


Created by Rod Serling
USA (TV) 1959 - 1965

"The Twilight Zone" is unquestionably one of the greatest science fiction television shows of all time. Generally speaking, most every episode had strong elements of deeply thought out science, imagination, suspense and thought-provoking intrigue. Creator Serling had a unique and distinctive approach to the central themes of the show(s)... and it was a hit, right from its onset. A virtual spring board for many young and talented actors/actresses the original Twilight Zone has run successfully in syndication ever since. Most everyone has a favorite episode. For me The Twilight Zone original series represents pioneering television with a strong nostalgic and noirish-ly dark feel to it. out of

Gary W. Tooze

Promo...

Theatrical Release: October 2nd, 1959 - USA

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Comparison:

Image Entertainment - original release - Volume 43 - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Image Entertainment - Newer HD mastered Definitive DVD Edition - Season 1 vs. Image Entertainment - Season 1 - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Mark Wilson of NicheFlix.com for all of the DVD screen captures!

1) Image Entertainment (original release) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Image Entertainment (new HD edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

 

DVD Box Covers

 

   

 

  

Distribution

Image Entertainment

Region 1  - NTSC

Image Entertainment

Region 1  - NTSC

Image Entertainment

Region 'A'  - Blu-ray

Runtime 24:37 approx- 900 minutes (Season 1) Average episode: 0:25:57.806 X 36
Video

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio

Average Bitrate: 4.9 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio

Average Bitrate: 5.43 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc 1 Size: 37,260,851,476 bytes

Episode: 5,352,947,712 bytes

Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Image (old)

Bitrate:

 

Image (new HD)

Bitrate:

 

Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 1.0)

English (Dolby Digital 1.0)  

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 3.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles None None English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Image Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:
• Rod Serling Bio
• History of The Twilight Zone

• Reviews and credits

• Season by Season

DVD Release Date: June 26th, 2001
Keep Case

Chapters 4

Release Information:
Studio: Image Entertainment

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Episodes include: Where Is Everybody?, One for the Angels, Mr. Denton on Doomsday, Sixteen Millimeter Shrine, Walking Distance, Escape Clause, The Lonely, Time Enough at Last, Perchance to Dream, Judgment Night, And When the Sky Was Opened, What You Need, The Four of Us Are Dying, Third from the Sun, I Shot an Arrow into the Air, The Hitch-Hiker, The Fever, The Last Flight, The Purple Testament, Elegy, Mirror Image, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, A World of Difference, Long Live Walter Jameson, People Are Alike All Over, Execution, The Big Tall Wish, A Nice Place to Visit, Nightmare as a Child, A Stop at Willoughby, The Chaser, A Passage for Trumpet, Mr. Bevis, The After Hours, The Mighty Casey, A World of His Own
• Remastered from new high-definition film transfers using the original camera negatives and magnetic soundtracks
• Audio commentaries by Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Post and William Self
• Vintage audio recollections with Burgess Meredith, Douglas Heyes, Richard L. Bare, Buck Houghton, Anne Francis and Richard Matheson
• Rod Serling audio lectures from Sherwood Oaks College
• Isolated music scores featuring the legendary Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith and more
• Rod Serling promos for "Next Week's" show
• Original unaired pilot version of "Where Is Everybody?" with Rod Serling's network pitch
• Rare Rod Serling blooper
• Number of discs: 6 

DVD Release Date: December 28th, 2004

Keep Case
Chapters: 4 for each episode

Release Information:
Studio: Image Entertainment
 

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc 1 Size: 37,260,851,476 bytes

Episode: 5,352,947,712 bytes

Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Episodes include: Where Is Everybody?, One for the Angels, Mr. Denton on Doomsday, Sixteen Millimeter Shrine, Walking Distance, Escape Clause, The Lonely, Time Enough at Last, Perchance to Dream, Judgment Night, And When the Sky Was Opened, What You Need, The Four of Us Are Dying, Third from the Sun, I Shot an Arrow into the Air, The Hitch-Hiker, The Fever, The Last Flight, The Purple Testament, Elegy, Mirror Image, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, A World of Difference, Long Live Walter Jameson, People Are Alike All Over, Execution, The Big Tall Wish, A Nice Place to Visit, Nightmare as a Child, A Stop at Willoughby, The Chaser, A Passage for Trumpet, Mr. Bevis, The After Hours, The Mighty Casey, A World of His Own
Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus Features:
Extremely rare, never-before-released unofficial Twilight Zone pilot, "The Time Element," written by Rod Serling and hosted by Desi Arnaz
19 New Audio Commentaries, featuring The Twilight Zone Companion author Marc Scott Zicree, author and film historian Gary Gerani (Fantastic Television), author and music historian Steven C. Smith (A Heart at Fire's Center: The Life and Music of Bernard Herrmann), music historians John Morgan and William T. Stromberg, writer/producer David Simkins (Lois & Clark, Dark Angel), writer Mark Fergus (Children of Men, Iron Man), actor William Reynolds and director Ted Post. Interviews with actors Dana Dillaway, Suzanne Lloyd, Beverly Garland and Ron Masak.
“Tales of Tomorrow” episode "What You Need."
Vintage audio interview with Director of Photography George T. Clemens.
1977 syndication promos for "A Stop at Willoughby" and "The After Hours."
18 Radio Dramas
34 Isolated Music Scores featuring the legendary Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith and others! Set also includes:
Audio Commentaries by actors Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, and CBS executive William Self.
Vintage Audio Recollections with actors Burgess Meredith and Anne Francis, directors Douglas Heyes and Richard L. Bare, producer Buck Houghton and writer Richard Matheson.
Rod Serling Audio Lectures from Sherwood Oaks College.
Rod Serling Promos for "Next Week's" Show.
Original Unaired Pilot Version of "Where is Everybody?" with Rod Serling's Network Pitch.
Footage of the Emmy Award wins for the series 

Blu-ray Release Date:
September 14th, 2010
Thick
Blu-ray Case (5-discs)
Chapters: 4 for each episode

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: (September 2010) Image Entertainment Region 'A' - Blu-ray: Firstly, this is not a complete review as I am still wading through the extensive extras BUT as we received massive amounts of email questioning the quality - and because it will be released imminently - I decided to give my first impressions.

So - here we have it - all 36 episodes of the first season of Rod Serling’s classic, groundbreaking series, now presented on 1080P Blu-ray. Exciting stuff!

Like many, I was suspicious of how Image Entertainment would treat this iconic TV series. But so far things look acceptable-to-strong video-wise. I've watched the first few episodes and skimmed through the other 5 discs and have yet to find anything fatally poor in the transfers. Episodes range from about 4.5 - 5.5 Gig in size - yes, they are in 1080P with about 20 Mbps video bitrate. We compared some captures from the first episode "Where is Everybody" below. There are instances of noise and compression artifacts but they are very limited in comparison to the DVDs. You can move from a simple upgrade to an impressive one dependant on the scene. Overall it gets a thumbs up - although I suspect it could have looked even better if done with a fuller discs, larger file sizes and less episodes per Blu-ray - however, I'm not complaining at this stage. The transfers occasionally shows some nice grain and there is no chroma evident.

Audio offers a choice of original and restored. There is linear PCM (lossless) available and while the original sounds tinny - this is much better. I LOVE being able to hear the isolated scores - especially if it was Herrmann! Amusingly, Image Entertainment are not very experienced at adding subtitles and, as you can see by our example below, the font used is enormous but I appreciate them being positioned under the speaker. They are English SDH only. My Momitsu has identified the package as containing all region 'A'-locked discs - as expected.

Extras are spread through each disc with a whopping 19 commentaries (by the likes of Earl Holliman, Martin Landau, Rod Taylor, Martin Milner, Kevin McCarthy, and CBS executive William Self etc.) and include stuff like the never-before-released unofficial pilot “The Time Element” written by Rod Serling and shown on the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse - on the 5th Blu-ray. There looks to be heaping amount more...there are promos, radio dramas, Emmy Award footage, vintage audio recollections with actors Burgess Meredith and Anne Francis, directors Douglas Heyes and Richard L. Bare, producer Buck Houghton and writer Richard Matheson, Rod Serling audio lectures from Sherwood Oaks College, Rod Serling Promos for "Next Week's" Show and the original unaired Pilot Version of "Where is Everybody?" with Rod Serling's Network Pitch. It is 'stacked'.

I'd say, 'yes' you can buy with confidence although, while I haven't investigated to our usual standard, I have yet to find anything troubling at all. It appears to be an amazing package - one fans should heartily indulge. I LOVE seeing the old stars (see large captures at bottom) and the tight 26-minute episodes are original - not the shorter syndicated ones. LOTS of entertainment here. Recommended! 

 - Gary W. Tooze

***

On the DVDs: Actually I never took notice of the quality of the early Image Discs, until now when we have a chance to compare them to this marvelous High-Definition Boxset. As the old releases show some brightness boosting, we can see a significant improvement in the contrast levels of the new HD Box. Sharpness also goes to the HD set, although I do see it has been very slightly cropped on all 4 edges. Combing is prevalent as we put the old release under the microscope, obviously verifying it was taken from a non-hd tape source. The new HD boxset is rife with extra features (listed above). Audio is the same and unfortunately no subtitles on either. We strongly recommend the new HD Boxset for both true fans and middling ones.

 - Gary W. Tooze



DVD Menus

(Image Entertainment (original release) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment (new HD edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)


 

 

Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray  Subtitle Sample

 

 

Combing example on the old releases - evidence of interlaced transfer

 

 


Matched Screen Captures from the first episode "Where Is Everybody?" with Earl Holliman

 

1) Image Entertainment (original release) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Image Entertainment (new HD edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


 

1) Image Entertainment (original release) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Image Entertainment (new HD edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Image Entertainment (original release) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Image Entertainment (new HD edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Image Entertainment (original release) - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP

2) Image Entertainment (new HD edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Image Entertainment - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


More Blu-ray Captures

"Time Enough at Last" with Burgess Meredith

Richard Conte in "Perchance to Dream"

The classic Twilight Zone shot - slightly askew, mysterious...

Martin Landau + Dan Duryea in "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"

Ida Lupino in "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine"

A Favorite Episode - "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

"People Are Alike All Over" with Roddy McDowell

Jack Klugman in "A Passage for Trumpet"

Beautiful Anne Francis - "The After Hours"

 


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Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray

Extras: Blu-ray
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DVD Box Covers

 

   

 

  

Distribution

Image Entertainment

Region 1  - NTSC

Image Entertainment

Region 1  - NTSC

Image Entertainment

Region 'A'  - Blu-ray




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gary Tooze

Many Thanks...