Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Widescreenfilmguy]

Originally Posted by jayembee

It's a John Huston film that I've yet to catch up with. I was on the fence about adding it to my sale purchases, but from what I understand, TT's DVD releases aren't anamorphic, and I'm already hesitant enough about buying DVDs these days.

I'm pretty sure their only non anamorphic dvd was Violent Saturday

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by jayembee

It's a John Huston film that I've yet to catch up with. I was on the fence about adding it to my sale purchases, but from what I understand, TT's DVD releases aren't anamorphic, and I'm already hesitant enough about buying DVDs these days.

I think it was just the one release that wasn't anamorphic, Violent Saturday. I understand that a non-anamorphic master was all that Fox had at the time. Fox then did a great HD re-master which was released in France, & TT later released that transfer on Blu.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by MikeZ.

I had no idea it was a one man operation. Thanks.

It is not a one man operation. Guys are messing around as Ed is well known in the forums . Nothing, bad...just that Ed is a man of few words .

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Widescreenfilmguy

I'm pretty sure their only non anamorphic dvd was Violent Saturday

Originally Posted by CinemaScope

I think it was just the one release that wasn't anamorphic, Violent Saturday. I understand that a non-anamorphic master was all that Fox had at the time. Fox then did a great HD re-master which was released in France, & TT later released that transfer on Blu.

Thanks to both of you. I must've read that Violent Saturday wasn't anamorphic, and mistakenly assumed it was true of all their DVDs. I was always surprised that TT wouldn't go anamorphic.

And thanks, baheidstu, for mentioning that there's a French region-free BD.

[MikeZ.]

If it were a one man operation, there's nothing wrong with that. Someone from their Facebook page asked me which titles I owned, and would I list them. I did, and was happy to. I appreciate all 14 of the titles TT has made available to me, whether it's one guy alone, or a payroll of 300.

[JWilliams85]

I hope I get a shipping notice tomorrow. I placed my order last Wednesday.

[JoeDeM]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

It is not a one man operation. Guys are messing around as Ed is well known in the forums . Nothing, bad...just that Ed is a man of few words .

Your right, they doubled their operation they hired an extra person

[bugsy_pal]

I agree with you on this. Robert Harris has stepped up to defend their position somewhat, stating that Twilight Time is limited to what the studios provide, and any limitations in quality are out of TT's control. But once again, it seems that TT are hyper-sensitive to any criticism, and want to blame the customer if certain titles are not hits. But honestly, I scan the forums and I haven't seen much complaining at all about the quality of their releases. For those who love and admire the big wide-screen epics of the late 50s and early 60s, TT are doing a noble service in getting some of them out. But the fact is that some of them are not very good movies, and would appeal to a limited few.

Anyway, I've done my bit in supporting them, and will continue to purchase from them.

Originally Posted by jmclick

I take issue with this response from Twilight Time. Perhaps TT should step back and realize that they aren't releasing the films from the 1950's that people genuinely care about. It seems they have done well with their release(s) of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). Then again, The Left Hand of God (1955) sold out fairly quickly on DVD (why hasn't this title been upgraded to blu-ray?).

In the meantime, I hardly think you can point to Violent Saturday, Woman Obsessed, The Wayward Bus, The Rains of Ranchipur, Pony Soldier, Man in the Dark, etc. ... films that were poorly reviewed when they were first released and have hardly attained cult status in the years since ... and pretend that they are representative of the 1950's.

I can only suggest that if TT would release titles that collectors actually care about (Demetrius and the Gladiators? Really?) that they might see an uptick in sales. In the meantime, threatening and berating their customers is not sound business policy.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by JWilliams85

I hope I get a shipping notice tomorrow. I placed my order last Wednesday.

I placed my first order on Wednesday, but since it included a pre-order for Zardoz, I wouldn't expect that to ship for another two weeks. My second order I placed on Sunday (I should've waited to see if they were doing a promo, but I didn't really think they would). The second order should be all in-stock titles, so I'm hoping it ships soon, but I don't expect it will before the beginning of next week.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by bugsy_pal

I agree with you on this. Robert Harris has stepped up to defend their position somewhat, stating that Twilight Time is limited to what the studios provide, and any limitations in quality are out of TT's control. But once again, it seems that TT are hyper-sensitive to any criticism, and want to blame the customer if certain titles are not hits. But honestly, I scan the forums and I haven't seen much complaining at all about the quality of their releases. For those who love and admire the big wide-screen epics of the late 50s and early 60s, TT are doing a noble service in getting some of them out. But the fact is that some of them are not very good movies, and would appeal to a limited few.

The two times I have seen a lot of complaints over a TT title were Night of the Living Dead, where it was a color timing issue that wasn't their fault, and Fright Night 30th Anniversary, where it was an encoding issue that WAS their fault. So 50/50 split really.

In general yes, they can only use the masters they are given.

[vanlutz]

These titles normally go for $30 each. I hate to pay that much. But, for the next few days screenarchives is running a 4th B'Day sale. I bought

Funny Lady
Jane Eyre
ManHunt
Song of Bernadette
Inherit the Wind
Titus
Born Yesterday

Each was $20

That's still A LOT more than I like to pay. But, since it might be a while before someone else releases them on blu ray that's a decent price. Usually on ebay they go between $25 - $30 a pop.

[StLouisRibs]

I really shouldn't have, but I opted for:

Broadway Danny Rose
Radio Days
Thunderbirds Are Go!/Thunderbird 6

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by MikeZ.

Why is shipping taking longer than usual ? I ordered Friday...

For one, they're normally open during normal business hours which means they close at 5PM (Eastern time) and are closed on the weekends.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by JoeDeM

Your right, they doubled their operation they hired an extra person

They may have two people packaging orders but Ed isn't one of them.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

They may have two people packaging orders but Ed isn't one of them.

Off topic, but we both joined in July 2007 and we almost have the same number of Blus .

[JoeDeM]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The two times I have seen a lot of complaints over a TT title were Night of the Living Dead, where it was a color timing issue that wasn't their fault, and Fright Night 30th Anniversary, where it was an encoding issue that WAS their fault. So 50/50 split really.

In general yes, they can only use the masters they are given.

There were a lot of complaints over Demetrius and the Gladiators, Titus, and Zulu, they were the transfers that TT was given, so it's kind of leaning towards the studio's. The problem is that when people pay a premium price they tend to expect a stellar transfer. I can understand TT's dilemma, they want to get these classic films out, but they might not all be 4-5 star transfers.

There is no simple solution, I would hate for them to stop releasing these great classic titles.

[nitin]

IMHO they could lower the purchase price (assuming they can also negotiate a lower licensing fee) for substandard masters by say $5. Of course, what is 'substandard' will vary from person to person but titles like Titus, Demetrius and the Gladiators and Zulu were all unarguably substandard (although I would say Zulu is very watchable comapred to the other two).

[MikeZ.]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

For one, they're normally open during normal business hours which means they close at 5PM (Eastern time) and are closed on the weekends.

This was settled hours ago, and we've all moved on. Thanks anyway.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by MikeZ.

This was settled hours ago, and we've all moved on. Thanks anyway.

We have, well thanks for leaving me behind!

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Off topic, but we both joined in July 2007 and we almost have the same number of Blus .

Great minds think alike, now don't burst my bubble and allow me to, at least, think so.