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

ADDITION: Arbelos Films Blu-ray (February 2024): Arbelos Films have also transferred György Fehér's Twilight (Szürkület) to Blu-ray. It is also cited as being from a "New 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by the National Film Institute - Hungarian Film Archive and FilmLab, supervised by Miklós Gurbá". The 1080P image is an improvement. There were artifacts on the Second Run that we only noticed after the fact in direct comparison - click on the 2nd set of large captures (directly beneath the subtitles) and look at the bottom left side of the frame. While these artifacts may be minor in most normal viewing - they exist and we must comment on them. The Arbelos exports the grain more consistently. It is the superior but only you can determine the worthiness keeping in mind the 'law of diminishing returns'. 

NOTE: We have added 24 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Arbelos Films upgrade the audio as well - going 24-bit to Second Run's 16-bit with a linear PCM mono track in the original Hungarian language. Twilight (Szürkület) has minor bass moments with no credited score but a haunting Georgian folk piece Zinzkaro performed by Vocal Ansambl Gordela that was taken from Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre. The dialogue is clear, excepting when intentionally hushed. The Arbelos Blu-ray is also region FREE with optional English subtitles.

Repeated (from the Second Run Blu-ray) are the filmed interviews with Twilight's editor Mária Czeilk ("The Long Collusion") running slightly less than the Second Run and cinematographer Miklós Gurbán for over 1/2 hour ("A Particular Light") - both interviews from April 2023. There is also a US theatrical trailer. Arbelos include two of György Fehér's first short films: Öregek from 1969 (Elders) and Tomikám from 1970 (My Tommy.) The Arbelos has a 12-page liner notes booklet with a new essay by Andrea Virginás (Film Genres in Hungarian and Romanian Cinema: History, Theory, Reception.)

The style and image of György Fehér's "Twilight (Szürkület)" is highly reminiscent of works like Tarkovsky's Stalker or even Aleksandr Sokurov's Mother and Son with a huge amount of visual style layered into the cinema expression. Twilight might be described as a 'neo-noir' or a 'psychological mystery' film - with 'dark cinema' tropes throughout. It was loosely based on Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1958 novella Das Versprechen aka The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel. It has immense appeal for its uniquely dampened 'sfumato' contrast appearance but also because it reentering the conversation thanks to this new 4K restoration supporting the rich foggy presentation that will haunt your viewing experience. The Arbelos wins for the Blu-ray audio/visual although many may not be discerning enough to make issue with the disparity. The Second Run has superior extras with the additional filmmaker appreciations. Either Blu-ray release is worthy of ownership - and we give our highest recommendation.

***

ADDITION: Second Run Blu-ray (June 2023): Second Run have transferred György Fehér's Twilight (Szürkület) to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "new 4K restoration by the National Film Institute Hungary - Film Archive, supervised and approved by cinematographer Miklós Gurbán". The 1080P image has a kind of sfumato impression with imperceptible transitions of the black and white visuals hovering around a textured, smoky, gray. It looks wonderfully atmospheric - almost like seeing the events through a cloudy window. I can only presume this is fully intentional and the new 4K restored image produces a unique and highly pleasing HD presentation.

NOTE: We have added 34 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Second Run use a linear PCM mono track (16-bit) in the original Hungarian language. Second Run offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Second Run Blu-ray offers a series of exclusive newly filmed appreciations by filmmakers. This includes the Quay Brothers (Institute Benjamenta) for over 20-minutes, Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio) for 1/4 hour, James Norton for a few minutes and critic Chris Fujiwara (author of Jacques Tourneur: The Cinema of Nightfall) for over 18-minutes. Their very favorable impressions are highly interesting. There are also newly filmed interviews with Twilight's editor Mária Czeilk running more than 1/2 hour and cinematographer Miklós Gurbán for slightly longer. There is also a trailer. The package includes a liner notes booklet featuring an expansive new essay by filmmaker and curator Stanley Schtinter.

Bravo to Second Run and their stacked Blu-ray. We give this a very strong recommendation!

Gary Tooze