Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Talk about a no-win situation. Whether we agree with TT's business model or not is certainly each individual's prerogative. In the long run it just is what it is.

TWILIGHT used to be a much bigger issue for me (cost) but now that they have sales at least twice a year I'm getting the majority of the titles I want for $19.99, I'm okay with that for films I really want.... I will occasionally bite the bullet and pay the full $30 for titles I know I can't wait on (like FRIGHT NIGHT)...

my only gripe is that with KINO and OLIVE, I can buy (afford) pretty much all the titles I want versus having to be so choosy....

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Herandar

I suspect it will go on until the business fails. Get some popcorn, we're in for the long haul.

Sometimes I think it should have it's own thread: Debate About Twilight Time's Business Model.

As I said, it is what it is. Now let's talk about movies.

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

But, in simplistic terms, Twilight Time was previously exclusively sold through SAE.

For a brief period of time, Twilight Time titles were available through the Turner Classic Movies/Movies Unlimited website. They added $5 to TT's list price, so $29.95 titles became $34.95, $34.95 titles $39.95, etc. Occasionally TCM would have a % off sale that would bring the price of a $34.95 movie to $27.95. In the days before the regular SAE and TT sales, this was the only way to get a discount on a Twilight Time title.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by michaeljoo

Thanks, I saw that but only saw the Vampires in there, so I thought there must be another list somewhere else.

Now, is that just for TT or also SAE?

I'm not sure what the relationship there is, if TT just sells things through SAE, including some older stuff that they no longer carry themselves.

When there is a "Going Fast" alert, does that mean it's in low quantities only at TT, or also at SAE? Do they have the same or different inventories?

Also, some people seem to post actual inventory numbers. How do they get that info? The Going Fast page doesn't display an actual inventory number.

On a completely random frequency (though often after a sale, once they've had a chance to tabulate the titles sold during the sale), Twilight Time announces a new Low Quantity Alert posting on their Facebook page. The quantities they mention tend to be however many copies are left, whether at TT, SAE, or both. Generally speaking, a title hits the LQA list once the available number of copies drops to about 500, but there have been exceptions (meaning, higher numbers). I believe the "Going Fast" tab at twilighttime.com only refers to stock at that site, and not from SAE.

Twilight Time sold exclusively through SAE from the moment they issued their first releases (DVDs) in 2011 about a year ago. The people behind TT -- Nick Redman and Brian Jamieson -- had for a business relationship with SAE for years when they were releasing soundtrack CDs, and decided to use them for TT as well.

Generally speaking, the TT site only has titles from the moment they started their own website (although they also appear to offer titles from Flicker Alley). Any titles older than that are probably only available from SAE.

[CraigThom]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

For a brief period of time, Twilight Time titles were available through the Turner Classic Movies/Movies Unlimited website. They added $5 to TT's list price, so $29.95 titles became $34.95, $34.95 titles $39.95, etc. Occasionally TCM would have a % off sale that would bring the price of a $34.95 movie to $27.95. In the days before the regular SAE and TT sales, this was the only way to get a discount on a Twilight Time title.

Then the person pulling the Sinbad discs for shipment couldn't tell one from the other, or didn't realize there were two different ones. Good times.

[RalphoR]

Does TT keep 1,500 copies of each new release and gives SAE 1,500 copies? Just curious how this business relationship has changed since TT is now selling movies.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Does TT keep 1,500 copies of each new release and gives SAE 1,500 copies? Just curious how this business relationship has changed since TT is now selling movies.

No, SAE receives some copies and the rest are at the Cinram warehouse. TT orders ship directly from the Cinram warehouse. When SAE needs more copies more are shipped to them from the warehouse.

[rdodolak]

TT posted an update regarding Miss Sadie Thompson.

Originally Posted by Twilight Time Movies

Just a heads-up that Miss Sadie Thompson is running just slightly behind the other July titles owing to the extra precision needed for 3D authoring and replication -- should start shipping from the TT portal this Friday, and from SAE early next week.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

It is two guys, Nick Redman and Brian Jamieson who started TT with their own money. Sure it is easy to ***** and moan about what they charge, but you try to do what they are doing and charge half the price, see how long you stay in business.

Other companies do in fact do roughly the same job for half the price, that's the point people are making. I am sympathetic to the business realities, and Twilight Time release a lot of titles no other label probably would, but I don't know why so many people pretend they do something super special that requires roughly $20 more per movie than a Kino release. When I hear TT are releasing a film rather than Kino, Olive or the rest it just means more expense, which is a bummer.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Other companies do in fact do roughly the same job for half the price, that's the point people are making. I am sympathetic to the business realities, and Twilight Time release a lot of titles no other label probably would, but I don't know why so many people pretend they do something super special that requires roughly $20 more per movie than a Kino release. When I hear TT are releasing a film rather than Kino, Olive or the rest it just means more expense, which is a bummer.

Well, it is what it is until we consumers hire an accountant to pore over the books of those three companies to see who is truly deserving of the money they charge. All I know is that I've been truly impressed with the quality of every Twilight Time title I have as it seems they put quite a bit of effort into each release considering it's a side project for about 3 people. I contrast that with some of the Olive releases I have that seem sloppy and half-assed and, being in Canada, I had to pay virtually the same amount as a Twilight Time release for.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

When I hear TT are releasing a film rather than Kino, Olive or the rest it just means more expense, which is a bummer.

TT often has multiple soundtracks (5.1+2.0, etc) as well as an isolated music score. Olive often downgrades to stereo or mono. No comparison.

[BixmanJ]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

TT often has multiple soundtracks (5.1+2.0, etc) as well as an isolated music score. Olive often downgrades to stereo or mono. No comparison.

I think this is what some people don't understand. There are differences between the releases of each company, it's just that those differences vary in importance for each individual buyer. For some people, the price is the bottom line, they want it as cheap as they can get it. For others it's worth paying a higher price for different perks, like isolated scores and booklets. Some people might want those extras left off for a reduction in price because they have no interest in them, but that's not the way TT has chosen to produce them. They are film lovers, they aren't hand-rubbing, greedy villains out to exploit the public. We're getting good films with their own personal touches that make them unique to the label. I'll pay the higher price for those touches.

[Musicguy]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Well, it is what it is until we consumers hire an accountant to pore over the books of those three companies to see who is truly deserving of the money they charge. All I know is that I've been truly impressed with the quality of every Twilight Time title I have as it seems they put quite a bit of effort into each release considering it's a side project for about 3 people. I contrast that with some of the Olive releases I have that seem sloppy and half-assed and, being in Canada, I had to pay virtually the same amount as a Twilight Time release for.

I believe Twilight is really smaller than most people think. Twilight Time releases are usually better than Olive and definitely better than Kino in terms of quality. My only complaint would be the choice of titles over the last three years, after releasing a lot of older classics from the 50's and 60's they went for the less than classic films of the 70 & 80s

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Musicguy

I believe Twilight is really smaller than most people think. Twilight Time releases are usually better than Olive and definitely better than Kino in terms of quality. My only complaint would be the choice of titles over the last three years, after releasing a lot of older classics from the 50's and 60's they went for the less than classic films of the 70 & 80s

How are they better than Kino? Kino has those messed-up releases like some of the German silent films and Madhouse (that one was corrected, at least), but they actually bother producing quite a few extras these days and their encoding isn't woeful like vintage Shout Factory or something. What do they do that justifies 2x the price tag? I think their average film obscurity level is roughly equal.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Other companies do in fact do roughly the same job for half the price, that's the point people are making. I am sympathetic to the business realities, and Twilight Time release a lot of titles no other label probably would, but I don't know why so many people pretend they do something super special that requires roughly $20 more per movie than a Kino release. When I hear TT are releasing a film rather than Kino, Olive or the rest it just means more expense, which is a bummer.

Kino is not comparable to Twilight Time. Kino...

(1) Has been in business since the 80s.

(2) Is also the North American distributor (theatrical, and other platforms) for a lot of films.

(3) Release a lot more titles per month, which drops their replicating costs down considerably.

(4) Do not pay the entire licensing fee up front for each title, which gives them better cash flow.

Twilight Time is basically just two people (well, three, since Julie Kirgo is probably as involved as Nick and Brian are). Kino is a much larger company with much greater financial resources. Comparing TT to Kino is not that much different from comparing them to Disney or Warner.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

How are they better than Kino? Kino has those messed-up releases like some of the German silent films and Madhouse (that one was corrected, at least), but they actually bother producing quite a few extras these days and their encoding isn't woeful like vintage Shout Factory or something. What do they do that justifies 2x the price tag? I think their average film obscurity level is roughly equal.

I like Kino too. In fact I like Twilight Time, Kino, Olive, Shout and all of those other companies that are stepping up to the plate and releasing tons of cool films that I really love on blu-ray. Do I wish Twilight Time releases were cheaper so I could buy more of them? Absolutely. But I will say that I have never been disappointed by any of their releases (granted I did not purchase NOTLD '90 or Titus) and I think they put a real effort into each and every one of them. I believe it when they say that there's films they've rejected due to print quality because there's been a few MGM titles I've purchased from Kino that look like absolute dogshit. I'm not an extras guy for the most part but I do like the booklets they provide, in fact every time I get an order the first thing I do is open them up and read all the essays.

Originally Posted by jayembee

Kino is not comparable to Twilight Time. Kino...

(1) Has been in business since the 80s.

(2) Is also the North American distributor (theatrical, and other platforms) for a lot of films.

(3) Release a lot more titles per month, which drops their replicating costs down considerably.

(4) Do not pay the entire licensing fee up front for each title, which gives them better cash flow.

Twilight Time is basically just two people (well, three, since Julie Kirgo is probably as involved as Nick and Brian are). Kino is a much larger company with much greater financial resources. Comparing TT to Kino is not that much different from comparing them to Disney or Warner.

Well said.

[willo007]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Kino is not comparable to Twilight Time. Kino...

(1) Has been in business since the 80s.

(2) Is also the North American distributor (theatrical, and other platforms) for a lot of films.

(3) Release a lot more titles per month, which drops their replicating costs down considerably.

(4) Do not pay the entire licensing fee up front for each title, which gives them better cash flow.

Twilight Time is basically just two people (well, three, since Julie Kirgo is probably as involved as Nick and Brian are). Kino is a much larger company with much greater financial resources. Comparing TT to Kino is not that much different from comparing them to Disney or Warner.

But,.. but they are in the same competitive business as Kino, Olive, Arrow and Shout!, and your list is full of self imposed business strategies that Twilight Time came up with themselves.

[78deluxe]

Zelig arrived. "Disc Made in Mexico" sticker on the package. First I've personally seen of this from their releases that I have.


I'm glad catalog titles are making it to BluRay. In a way it is sad that the studios are not doing more of it. But I'm glad those like TT, Olive, Kino convince the studios to let them do it at least.

Read a post today that Fox Studio Classics stopped their releases. I mean, how sad is that? Sitting on so many films that are better than what is put out today.

Big thanks to everyone that supports these releases...keep them coming!

[Reddington]

Couldn't care less about TT's business model. They run it how they like - obviously, quite successfully - and it's my choice to buy. They release some great titles; there are always quite a few in my SAE wishlist. I'm happy to pay full price if I want a title without waiting. And I'm even happier to pay the sale price when possible.

[MikeZ.]

I love ordering, watching it ship the very next day, and receiving it in less than 72 hours !!!