Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Aclea]

It was a Region A-locked disc, so that may have hurt export sales.

[xochipilli]

Well, the sale is over, and it seems I was lucky and all the titles I wanted made it through without selling out. Yay!
Going off some other comments about how uneventful this sale was, i have to admit I'm not really surprised. I was fully prepared to spend around 150 euros on a bunch of titles, and when I saw how high the prices were, I just thought it was best to save my money, especially given the fact that most of them had lackluster transfers and few extras, and at this point more than 10 bucks each is hard to swallow. Maybe when my backlog is smaller I can spend a little more, but not right now.
I think that was TT's big mistake: the price list had barely moved since last year, and in fact several titles were up a bracket from a previous sale. They tried to compensate for smaller price reductions by making the sale last double the time, and hoped that the Holiday season would encourage spending some more, but most people probably decided, like me, to wait for next time.
In any case, while it may sound I'm being a bit critical, I'm still ready to spend a bunch next time, since I took the opportunity to save up until the end of the sale, so keep bringing those titles, TT!

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by xochipilli

I think that was TT's big mistake: the price list had barely moved since last year, and in fact several titles were up a bracket from a previous sale.

Agreed. There were definitely some MGM titles in the 19.95 bracket I would of bit at 14.95

[Page14]

Originally Posted by xochipilli

[Show spoiler]Well, the sale is over, and it seems I was lucky and all the titles I wanted made it through without selling out. Yay!
Going off some other comments about how uneventful this sale was, i have to admit I'm not really surprised. I was fully prepared to spend around 150 euros on a bunch of titles, and when I saw how high the prices were, I just thought it was best to save my money, especially given the fact that most of them had lackluster transfers and few extras, and at this point more than 10 bucks each is hard to swallow. Maybe when my backlog is smaller I can spend a little more, but not right now.

I think that was TT's big mistake: the price list had barely moved since last year, and in fact several titles were up a bracket from a previous sale. They tried to compensate for smaller price reductions by making the sale last double the time, and hoped that the Holiday season would encourage spending some more, but most people probably decided, like me, to wait for next time.
In any case, while it may sound I'm being a bit critical, I'm still ready to spend a bunch next time, since I took the opportunity to save up until the end of the sale, so keep bringing those titles, TT!

I normally buy a bunch of TT releases during these sales. But in my case, there were so many other sales going on at the same time, many with cheaper prices, that that's where most of my money went. I spent way more than I expected to (hello Ingmar Bergman box set ), but still managed to pick up 4 TT titles.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by oildude

Nick Redman was in the hospital for a time, recently released and is recuperating. On behalf of the staff of Blu-ray.com and the regulars of this thread, I want to extend to him best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery, and for a safe and prosperous new year to him, Julie, Brian, and all the gang at Twilight Time.

Best wishes to Nick Redman, who has always been a class act.

I'm looking forward to the next round of Twilight Time releases.

[StarDestroyer52]

The sale for me came at the perfect time and was the perfect length. I was able to grab 7 titles all ranging from $9.95-$19.95. Glad, I went ahead and made the plunge on a bunch of $9.99 films since they sold out shortly after I bought many of them or will sell out soon. Now I just can't wait for February's titles to go live so I can order Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? since I've wanted to get this one for a long time. I will have to see how things go money wise on pre-ordering Beat the Devil this month since the Criterion flash sale is next month and I want to pick up a bunch of films in it.

[CinemaScope]

I'm in the UK, so with p&p it's $40 a film, plus VAT & Post Office charges, which makes for a VERY expensive movie. I'm stilling waiting for a few titles to come down to $14.95 in a sale, which comes to £18-£19 delivered, not exactly a bargain bin price, but not crazy expensive either.

[bdgking]

I realize the same just ended yesterday however at SAE I see no 7 for $70 offer at all & All twilight seemed priced over $20 + anyone know why they have no re posted that offer ?

I was hoping to see it added & curious what titles would be added as they sold out of 4-5 of those . They would have likely sold out on more of those if others from that offer were at $6.95 as well .

Anyways has anyone been told they are not doing the offer anymore ?

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by bdgking

I realize the same just ended yesterday however at SAE I see no 7 for $70 offer at all & All twilight seemed priced over $20 + anyone know why they have no re posted that offer ?

I was hoping to see it added & curious what titles would be added as they sold out of 4-5 of those . They would have likely sold out on more of those if others from that offer were at $6.95 as well .

Anyways has anyone been told they are not doing the offer anymore ?

That sale has been going on so long vitually unchanged I didn't even notice it was missing and even the BUNDLE TAB was removed. Surely they are just revamping it to put it back sooner rather than later, but it was sorely in need of an update. Whether it comes back as a 7/70 or in some other variation will be interesting.

[bdgking]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

That sale has been going on so long vitually unchanged I didn't even notice it was missing and even the BUNDLE TAB was removed. Surely they are just revamping it to put it back sooner rather than later, but it was sorely in need of an update. Whether it comes back as a 7/70 or in some other variation will be interesting.

I was thinking that possibility myself . That said they have not been selling out of many titles fast enough . I think a year - year & a half ago they had about 100 titles if that now over 200 + . That tells me they are releasing to many titles to fast or they are over producing based on the rate these titles sell . Meaning instead of releasing 3,000 they should strongly consider releasing only 2,000 on each title . They also might be releasing some titles that have interest for people but not enough interest to sell fast enough .

I think they would be smart to sell off all 2011-2014 at $6.95 they likely have more inventory than space for all + more & more released .

I know if they have that sale they would add 4-5 new titles .

IMO they should either instead of having 28 titles for that offer raise it to 50 they would sell out of more stuff faster thus not having over flow .

Or

Remove the titles they are very low on for the offer and add older titles they have more of for the offer . It is likely they will not sell titles like royal flash , pony soldier etc. very often without them being $6.95 etc. because most people they have as customers already own them so they sell very slow .
They are better served to Revamp that entire offer as you said . Keep the good selling titles their for that offer , remove the bad selling ones , sell them off at $6.95 or less until gone & add many newer titles to that offer .

If they did that they would sell a lot more much faster and sell out of titles fast . I could be wrong but I doubt I am .

As someone whom likes many of these titles and hope to get more down the line . I have some concern about their companies future if they keep over releasing and having over flow of titles and inventory .

An example of what I am saying here is if you take a great movie like gone with the wind It will sell many thousands of copies very fast way more than 3,000 . If they keep adding 4 titles a month and they cannot sell out of even 4 or more they will get over flooded . In the case of this last sale they sold out of 7-8 titles I think but that is only because of the time frame of the sale being christmas time and some titles being more affordable . If they would have had many of the $14.95 - &19.95 titles cheaper they likely would have sold out of another 8-15 more titles . I also think that they need to realize most people are not willing to pay $24.95 and even $22.95 on a blu ray though some people will .

Anyways it's their business . My opinions are not meant to be rude to them or overly critical . It is more of a customers insite that I believe is right and would help them . I hope they do not delete this message because it's an honest & sincere opinionated message that is fair and we all should be allowed to state our own genuine thoughts and people should be allowed to read those thoughts .

thank you

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

That sale has been going on so long vitually unchanged I didn't even notice it was missing and even the BUNDLE TAB was removed. Surely they are just revamping it to put it back sooner rather than later, but it was sorely in need of an update. Whether it comes back as a 7/70 or in some other variation will be interesting.

Without treading into a business model discussion, I will say that I have never found 7 titles that I wanted (or could even talk myself into wanting) that I didn't already own during their 7/70 sales. I haven't missed the bundle tab. I'm sure a lot of folks in this thread who have been buying TT titles for a while are in the same boat.

It might, however, be a good deal for people who are relatively new to TT and wish to build their collection.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by belcherman

I will say that I have never found 7 titles that I wanted (or could even talk myself into wanting) that I didn't already own during their 7/70 sales. I haven't missed the bundle tab. I'm sure a lot of folks in this thread who have been buying TT titles for a while are in the same boat.

I can firmly say that the only 7 for 70 title that interested me was "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". Everything else I have no desire of owning.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by xochipilli

I think that was TT's big mistake: the price list had barely moved since last year, and in fact several titles were up a bracket from a previous sale. They tried to compensate for smaller price reductions by making the sale last double the time, and hoped that the Holiday season would encourage spending some more, but most people probably decided, like me, to wait for next time.
In any case, while it may sound I'm being a bit critical, I'm still ready to spend a bunch next time, since I took the opportunity to save up until the end of the sale, so keep bringing those titles, TT!

They license some super, super niche stuff and rely on higher prices to make low sales profitable. So it doesn't surprise me they try and wait as long as they can before going sub-$20 on certain things. Not that I disagree there are things I would only buy for cheaper, but it is what it is.

[bdgking]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

They license some super, super niche stuff and rely on higher prices to make low sales profitable. So it doesn't surprise me they try and wait as long as they can before going sub-$20 on certain things. Not that I disagree there are things I would only buy for cheaper, but it is what it is.

100% agreed with both statements and these things fall in line with my point to my post earlier .

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by bdgking

I think they would be smart to sell off all 2011-2014 at $6.95 they likely have more inventory than space for all + more & more released .

2011 -- gone
2012 -- only Beloved Infidel is left
2013 -- Pony Soldier, Alamo Bay and Royal Flash are left
2014 -- 12 left.

All of those have been 6.95 and/or 7/70 for a while

1st half 2015 -- 10 titles left out of 30
2nd half 2015 -- 20 out of 32 left. I'm not sure what happened around mid 2015, but the difference is pretty startling. The 9.95/14.95 cutoff for this last sale was Nov 2015, but that doesn't explain the disparity.

[oildude]

FYI - I have updated the first post in the thread with the pre-order date for January.

Release Date: January 22, 2019

Pre-order date: Wednesday, January 9, 2019, at 4 pm EST

BEAT THE DEVIL (1953) (un-cut original version; 2016 Sony restoration)
THE RETURN OF FRANK JAMES (1940)
UNTAMED (1955) (4K restoration of the CinemaScope epic)
YANKS (1979)

[oildude]

Pre-order date: Wednesday, January 9th at 4 pm EST.

NOTE: BEAT THE DEVIL IS REGION A LOCKED

For the first time on home video – and in pristine hi-def Blu-ray – comes the revelatory Sony Pictures/Film Foundation restoration of a 65-year-old cult favorite to the original form its creators intended with recovered footage and improved audio! This comical criminal affair co-produced by The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The African Queen colleagues John Huston and Humphrey Bogart adds up to “such wonderful nonsense that there isn’t a moment when the picture doesn’t take a left turn when you expect it to turn right” (The Motion Picture Guide).

Directed by John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moby Dick, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Misfits, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, Fat City, and many more)

Starring:

Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, Key Largo, In a Lonely Place, High Sierra, The Caine Mutiny, and many more.)

Jennifer Jones (The Song of Bernadette, Portrait of Jenny, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Ruby Gentry, The Towering Inferno)

Gina Lollobrigida (Trapeze, Solomon and Sheba, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), Woman of Straw, Death Laid an Egg, Never So Few)

Robert Morley (The African Queen, Around the World in 80 Days, Topkapi, Theatre of Blood)

Peter Lorre (M, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Rope of Sand, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Arsenic and Old Lace, and many more)

Screenplay by Truman Capote

Cinematography by Oswald Morris (Fiddler on the Roof, The Man Who Would Be King, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Dark Crystal, Oliver!, Equus, Our Man in Havana, and many more)

Special Features: Audio Commentary with Film Historians Lem Dobbs, Julie Kirgo, and Nick Redman / Alexander Cockburn Beat the Devil / Original Theatrical Trailer

Trailer

Beat the Devil Trailer - YouTube

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by oildude

Pre-order date: Wednesday, January 9th at 4 pm EST.

[Show spoiler]

Directed by John Huston (The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moby Dick, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Misfits, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, Fat City, and many more)

Starring:

Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, Key Largo, In a Lonely Place, High Sierra, The Caine Mutiny, and many more.)

Jennifer Jones (The Song of Bernadette, Portrait of Jenny, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Ruby Gentry, The Towering Inferno)

Gina Lollobrigida (Trapeze, Solomon and Sheba, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956), Woman of Straw, Death Laid an Egg, Never So Few)

Robert Morley (The African Queen, Around the World in 80 Days, Topkapi, Theatre of Blood)

Peter Lorre (M, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Rope of Sand, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Arsenic and Old Lace, and many more)

Screenplay by Truman Capote

Cinematography by Oswald Morris (Fiddler on the Roof, The Man Who Would Be King, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Dark Crystal, Oliver!, Equus, Our Man in Havana, and many more)




Trailer

Beat the Devil Trailer - YouTube

Looks good. I'm looking forward to retiring my Film Detective BD-R.

[oildude]

Pre-order date: Wednesday, January 9th at 4 pm EST.

Fritz Lang's first Western and his first film in color, and the screen debut of Gene Tierney.

Henry Fonda headlines an exciting Hollywood Western sequel that sports fine direction by Fritz Lang (the first of his three Hollywood shoot-’em-ups), a standout debut role for the lovely Gene Tierney and gorgeous Technicolor photography by prolific George Barnes (in the same year of his Oscar®-winning black-and-white work on Rebecca). Jackie Cooper, Henry Hull, John Carradine and Donald Meek also saddle up for an action-packed ride on hi-def Blu-ray!

Directed by Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M, Die Nibelungen, Man Hunt, Ministry of Fear, The Woman in the Window, The Big Heat, Destiny, and the Dr. Mabuse films)

Starring:

Henry Fonda, whose films include The Grapes of Wrath, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Lady Eve, My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, 12 Angry Men, and Mister Roberts.

Gene Tierney in her debut, whose films include The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Leave Her to Heaven, Laura, Dragonwyck, The Razor's Edge, Whirlpool, and Night and the City.

Cinematography by the legendary George Barnes (Rebecca, Spellbound, The War of the Worlds (1953), Samson and Delilah, Force of Evil, The File on Thelma Jordan, The Greatest Show on Earth, and many more)

Special Features: to be updated here when announced

[The Great Owl]

Sign me up for Beat the Devil, The Return of Frank James, and Untamed.