MovieChat Forums > The Twilight Zone (1959) Discussion > a world of difference

a world of difference

posted 7 years ago by PeterBlues (790)
5 replies | jump to latest

this is one of my favorite episodes and its the most typical i suppose of what the twilight zone is about, it was so miserable to see this lost guy's whole world literally fall apart and (spoiler) such a relief when he finally stepped back into his own private reality. i was used to listening to the twilight zone radio drama version of it when i recently re watched the tv episode and was blown away, don't get me wrong, i often prefer the radio dramas because they're usually more detailed and developed (guess they had about half a century to polish on the tv-episodes), doesn't this episode remind a bit of "truman show" except, as far out as that movie is, twilight zone still has a more illogical stranger deeper story and a completely different ending.

✈️ 📽 📞 📑

waves of her hair makes me sea dizzy,
body curves makes my road slippery,
she blows my mind,
need a safe port and sign posts when she arrives.

[–] pjpurple@verizon.net (5552) 7 years ago

This is one of my favorite episodes too. At some point I think everyone wants to lose themselves in their own version of "The Private World of Arthur Curtis." I can't blame the actor for preferring his fantasy.

This is one of those TZ episodes that really explores human nature. Sometimes you find yourself in such an impossible situation that you want to escape.

[–] AngularTurnip (3334) 7 years ago

The identity episodes are usually my favorites.

]What's especially appealing about this episode is the ambiguity of the ending: which reality was the authentic one is left up to the viewer to decide ("TZ" deserves plaudits whenever it doesn't explain everything away).

[–] PeterBlues (790) 6 years ago

thank you for the great replies. pjpurple, your comment has stuck in my mind as i've re watched the episode over the year, how at some point we all are kind of like arthur curtis. yes, the identity episodes are something else. the movie "truman show" aired over the easter holiday and i just got in the mood to watch this somewhat similar story once again, a man caught in a fictional world, this though is quite more tangled up in lack of a better word, pardon english isn't my native language, they both end with the main role leaving though, truman into the real world and curtis... well... leaving as the fictional version of himself... i freaking love this episode, and as much as i like the movie truman show, it pales in compare to this, the emotion, mystique, dialogue, performances, just one episode out of this series, it's hard to pick out a few favorites of this legendary show, but one thing i can say is this episode doesn't seem to get enough mentioning. but that can be said for many.

✈️ 📽 📞 📑

hangin in the spaceship,
madeleine and ryanne beside me,
cruising around the stars,
like venus beings brought to mars,
exploring the outer limits lost time,
and missed the colours sparklin outside,
realised i was on earth all the while,
just these darlins that brought me high.

[–] TheEngineer (199) 6 years ago

This is hands down my favorite episode. If you like the concept, David Lynch's Inland Empire is a must watch, as it explores the concept very deeply. His version of the 'person realizing they're a character as the director yells cut and we pull back to reveal the set' scene is one of the scariest things ever filmed.

[–] dt123 (699) 6 years ago

Will Ferrell/Emma Thompson's Stranger Than Fiction also has similar setup, where he's a character in the book she's writing.

Similar themes in "new" Twilight Zone episode with Bruce Willis, Shatterday, written by Harlan Ellison, -- what the protagonist thinks is their real life is take away. And THAT one reminds me of another "new" 1980s TZ with Robert Klein where English starts to morph into a new English, with new words, which he eventually has to accept and learn.