Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) | Framed Vet Hijacks Underground Nuclear Bunker & Demands Disclosure

Twilight’s Last Gleaming (1977) | Framed Vet Hijacks Nuclear Bunker, Demands Disclosure

Tonight, a screening & discussion of Richard Aldrich’s 1977 film “Twilight’s Last Gleaming”

From Wikipedia
After escaping from a military prison, rogue Air Force General Lawrence Dell and accomplices Powell, Garvas, and Hoxey infiltrate aMontanaICBM complex that Dell helped design. Their goal is to gain control over its nineTitannuclear missiles. The infiltration does not go as planned, as the impulsive Hoxey guns down an Air Force guard for trying to answer a ringing phone. Dell then shoots and kills Hoxey. The three then make direct contact with the US government (avoiding any media attention) and demand a $10 million ransom and that the President go on national television and make public the contents of a top-secret document.

This is an amazing film that I just discovered. Because of the unique way it was shot, requiring a ‘very wide frame’, it made the home video release in the 80s pretty much impossible. There was no way to translate this very ‘widescreen’ film into the format of Home Video (VHS/BETA) due to the matting used…though they may have tried, I’m not certain on that point. I never saw it on video shelves growing up is all I’m saying. There are a number of scenes that have 2-3 different ‘frames’ of action simultaneously. It’s a form of split screen that I’m very much a fan of.

Filmmaking aside…let’s talk about the power of the material. Though we are watching for analytical purposes, this is a film I recommend not knowing too much about the plot before starting to watch it or it will reduce the impact of the message….That’s what we’ll talk about after

To me, the idea of a disillusioned, framed & abused vet rebelling against the system in ‘this’ way was completely different than other films I’d seen with a similar topic. Do you know how many films portray the mind of a Vietnam Veteran as simple fodder for action, humor, or melodrama without really considering what they were sent in to do & how it affected them, let alone the impact to the people of Vietnam? We got films like Rambo…ok, I get it…we got Missing in Action…mostly action films that ‘honored the veteran’ in the sense of an action justice ‘Hollywood’ way…but rarely, if ever, in a way that tries to humanize our veterans & explore what they experienced in a deeper way. This film does that.

On the flip side we got epic dramas…many quality films that dealt with coming home from Vietnam or being there…but I never saw one that dealt with the psychology of the soldier who did everything right…but get’s ‘wronged’ by their gov’t. The way Burt Lancaster portrays this man is intensely human without being melodramatic. I feel strongly it’s worth watching & discussing.

What this film lacks in melodrama & action film conventions it makes of for in raw power & humanity…conversations that feel genuine. Characters in gov’t have debates in ways that resonate as true to me…the levels of dedication to the mission among the various vets who infiltrate a nuclear missile silo feel equally genuine. This isn’t a regular film…nothing about the pace is normal...I’m quite fascinated by it & think you’ll appreciate seeing it.

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