Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

The concept of people collecting things and "gotta get 'em all" isn't new, people have been doing it all the time. Why do Star Wars fans want to collect all of the action figures? Why do comic book collectors need to own every single issue of Superman? Hardly logical things to be doing, is it?

Ding ding ding

For whatever reason he likes Twilight Time and wants to buy every one of their releases, I don't think we need to scratch beneath the surface a whole lot on that one.

I'm just trying to gain a better understanding of the psychology. And with the current state of the label there's a dearth of quality subjects to dwell on.

[Mystic]

Hey Sean, this is just my two cents on the conversation surrounding the person who purchased the Twilight Time library. It's just speculation but I'd wager that he views Twilight Time's output as a collection/library/set, etc., and he simply wants to have all the titles in the context of a complete set. Nothing more, nothing less. I think there's a few gray areas to the collector's mindset, we're certainly a quirky and interesting group of people to say the least.

[jayembee]

OK, my last post on this subject.

(And the crowd goes wild!)

It's looking from the last few posts [on edit: "last few posts" meaning on the previous page] that we're getting into the territory of dismissing or belittling others. "Collecting" is now akin to "hoarding", and therefore (presumably) a problem (at best) or a disease (at worst). I figured that this was where it was going with the asking of a "rationale", suggesting that what was going on was irrational, which in this circumstance just seems like a euphemism for "crazy".

People collect things. It's what they do. Whether it's a slow, unconscious accumulation of stuff, or done with deliberation. Some people collect stamps, other people collect coins, still others collect books, or comics, or postcards, or guns, or record albums, or bubblegum cards. Not all people, sure, but enough that there is a legitimate "collectibles" industry.

There's no "rationale" needed to explain the practice, other than that the person doing the collecting enjoys it. Irrationality is in the mind of the beholder. Back in my Usenet days, I knew a woman who wanted to write novels. She told me her in-laws thought she was nuts. They didn't understand why anyone would be interested in fiction, because fiction "wasn't about real people" (her quote of them). Which presumably means that anyone reading Crime and Punishment is just as irrational as someone reading a bodice-ripper.

If someone wants to collect every TT release, that's their business. It's not hurting you. It's got nothing to do with you. As andantelise said above, "live and let live". So get off your high horse. You do you, and let them do them.

And if that sounds defensive, so be it.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by erlinmeyer

I have stamps I bought back in the 50s and 60s that were bought to complete a set. They went in my Stamp Collector's book. Never saw a Stamp Hoarders book for sale, but that is your opinion, not everyone's.

Disregarding the fact that the price discrepancy between an individual stamp and a Blu-ray disqualifies this as an equitable comparison, it also fails to take into account other companies' releases that improve upon TT's product.

Were there rival stamps in the 50s and 60s that boasted superior encoding/resolution, thicker booklets and more bountiful extras?

[CRASHLANDING]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Disregarding the fact that the price discrepancy between an individual stamp and a Blu-ray disqualifies this as an equitable comparison, it also fails to take into account other companies' releases that improve upon TT's product.

Were there rival stamps in the 50s and 60s that boasted superior encoding/resolution, thicker booklets and more bountiful extras?

You're right, he is clearly wrong for choosing to purchase TT titles. You win. Is that what you needed to hear to drop this and move on? You obviously are much smarter than the rest of us.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by CRASHLANDING

You obviously are much smarter than the rest of us.

I wouldn't say "the rest of you", but smarter than somebody who makes those kinds of deductions? Perhaps...

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Disregarding the fact that the price discrepancy between an individual stamp and a Blu-ray disqualifies this as an equitable comparison, it also fails to take into account other companies' releases that improve upon TT's product.

Were there rival stamps in the 50s and 60s that boasted superior encoding/resolution, thicker booklets and more bountiful extras?

Keeping in mind that I don't have a "collect 'em all" mentality, I have several titles in my library that on the face of it have had "better" releases yet I haven't bought those.

That is to say, perhaps his love for the label is enough to overcome the fact that some of the titles in his collection have had "better" releases, and that's only if he is someone who actually cares about things like "thicker booklets".

Despite the hate that some people have projected towards them, Twilight Time are not a shoddy label. Their products are by and large good quality and most (the vast majority in fact) of the titles they have released have not been released on blu-ray elsewhere.

And who knows, maybe he even has those "better" releases in addition to his Twilight Time copies.

[HINDIBLUERAY]

You are spot On. Thank You Mystic.

[SeanJoyce]

That is to say, perhaps his love for the label is enough to overcome the fact that some of the titles in his collection have had "better" releases, and that's only if he is someone who actually cares about things like "thicker booklets".

I hope I've never intimated any hate towards TT, or implied that they were a "shoddy" label. I have issues with them like I do everybody else, but on the whole I've gotten nothing but love for them.

Probably best to just leave it at that

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

I hope I've never intimated any hate towards TT, or implied that they were a "shoddy" label. I have issues with them like I do everybody else, but on the whole I've gotten nothing but love for them.

Probably best to just leave it at that

I wouldn't say any of your recent posts have intimated those things, though a lot of people in the past have not just intimated but said it outright.

I will say though that by pointing out that other releases have "better encodes" and "better extras" etc. in the context of questioning why someone would want to collect all of their releases certainly does seem to be casting a bit of shade on them in a roundabout way.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I will say though that by pointing out that other releases have "better encodes" and "better extras" etc. in the context of questioning why someone would want to collect all of their releases certainly does seem to be casting a bit of shade on them in a roundabout way.

And many of those 'better' items may have come out years later or been Region Locked. Yes, quite a few of them have been surpassed in certain areas, but how many were inferior to other Region A friendly titles when they were released?

[Aclea]

It cuts both ways. There certainly were some better TT titles - better encodes on The Egyptian (for picture) and The Crimson Kimono (for sound) and infinitely better extras (even over the DVD boxed set) for the Flint films, for example. As with all labels, it's a mixed bag.

[xochipilli]

Originally Posted by Aclea

It cuts both ways. There certainly were some better TT titles - better encodes on The Egyptian (for picture) and The Crimson Kimono (for sound) and infinitely better extras (even over the DVD boxed set) for the Flint films, for example. As with all labels, it's a mixed bag.

Question: While I do hope to someday acquire a proper TT release of The Egyptian, I've been wondering which of the many other editions looks and sounds the closest to it. And specifically which has the better encode that you mentioned?

[Aclea]

The TT ones mentioned are the best.

[xochipilli]

Originally Posted by Aclea

The TT ones mentioned are the best.

Oh, I misunderstood. In any case, do you happen to know which, if any, of the other editions uses the same transfer?

[Aclea]

The French Sidonis disc is definitely to be avoided - different, older master with print damage and forced French subtitles. It seems that all the non-TT releases of The Egyptian have issues, from reported PAL speedup on the master used to sound mixing errors.

[xochipilli]

Originally Posted by Aclea

The French Sidonis disc is definitely to be avoided - different, older master with print damage and forced French subtitles. It seems that all the non-TT releases of The Egyptian have issues, from reported PAL speedup on the master used to sound mixing errors.

Oh well, guess I'll have to pray I find a disc for a slightly less eye-gouging price, and pray the customs situation isn't that horrible, and pray that whatever i get has no issues... Damn it, why didn't I start collecting earlier!

What a waste of an outstanding master... Maybe FOX Germany will put it out, like other TT exclusive titles, or either Disney's plans for home video wind up being surprisingly non-atrocious, or they just sell off the catalog if they run into troubles...

Maybe...

[Aclea]

It's one I nearly missed myself because I dislike using SAE and hoped TT would start dealing direct but in the end had to bite the bullet when it was down to the last two copies.

German releases of Fox titles can be very hit and miss - Blood and Sand is terrible and The Gunfighter apparently not as good as the DVD - but that may be the last hope if Koch added it to a deal just before the moratorium.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Aclea

German releases of Fox titles can be very hit and miss - Blood and Sand is terrible and The Gunfighter apparently not as good as the DVD - but that may be the last hope if Koch added it to a deal just before the moratorium.

Both of those releases were done by Explosive Media with Koch handling distribution. I don’t own their “Blood and Sand” release but I do own “The Gunfighter”. It has a master that appears to be typical of Fox’s B&W remasters (it might be the 4K remaster) but the encoding is absolutely atrocious with awful banding in dark areas. It’s a shame Signal One, unfortunately, dropped their planned release nor how another label didn’t pick it up.

[brainofj72]

Threw in my old Peyton Place DVD I've been sitting on forever tonight. Watched the first 15 minutes or so, immediately realized this movie was magical, stopped it, ordered the TT BD, and I'll be finishing it once that arrives. Relieved I'm getting in just under the wire since it looks like the BD is gonna be gone soon.