Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[xochipilli]

The recent happenings seem to have moved the date of TT closing shop, since I thought it was supposed to be the 1st of July. Any idea when is SAE supposed to inherit the remaining stock and/or inform us of what they intend to do, even if it's just change the prices and restock a title or two? I'm waiting for a word from them before I consider buying anything else.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by xochipilli

The recent happenings seem to have moved the date of TT closing shop, since I thought it was supposed to be the 1st of July. Any idea when is SAE supposed to inherit the remaining stock and/or inform us of what they intend to do, even if it's just change the prices and restock a title or two? I'm waiting for a word from them before I consider buying anything else.

The Twilight Time website is closing for orders tomorrow, July 6. On July 7, they will make available all their artwork for download. Naturally, they'll be continuing to ship out orders over the next few weeks until all have been fulfilled.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by jmclick

There are three Twilight Time titles that I've regretted not buying over the years: As Good as It Gets; Bell Book and Candle; and Bye Bye Birdie. I finally bought a copy of Birdie about a year ago, and this afternoon I scored a copy of Bell Book and Candle (complete with the magnet). I'm going to miss this label so much.

There are a few additional titles I might pick up at SAE in the future if their prices get lowered, but like so many other fans of the label, I think I'm pretty much done. I placed my first order on June 21, 2011, for two copies of The Egyptian on blu-ray; the nine years since then have been a real joyride.

Thank you, Twilight Time.

I can only think of one title that I regret not buying, and it's the big one for many ... The Egyptian. I let others slip out of my fingers before they sold out too, but was able to find them on the secondary market at a reasonable price (to me). Not so with The Egyptian.

I've said before that I've bought more blu-ray titles from Twilight Time than any other label. They hit my sweet spot ... and will be missed.

Thank you Twilight Time!

(And I still might not be done).

[SeanJoyce]

Seriously, does The Egyptian even warrant all of the hand-wringing and regret that resonate in this thread?

I've never seen or heard of this movie discussed as some kind of treasure beyond the confines of this page.

[StarDestroyer52]

The title I really regret not getting, granted by the time I was late to TT was Man Hunt. I need to grab the Region B Blu from Signal One. Well the other one as I mentioned which I had every chance to buy and its my fault completely is Lillies in the Field.

[xochipilli]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Seriously, does The Egyptian even warrant all of the hand-wringing and regret that resonate in this thread?

I've never seen or heard of this movie discussed as some kind of treasure beyond the confines of this page.

I'm sure a lot of it is down to it being the very first release of the label, and therefore possessing a supposed heightened value on top of all the years it's had to accrue value, plus the appeal to the typical completist mindset of many on here. Personally, I intend to eventually track down a copy, and find a lot that attracts me to it: it's one of the last films by the great Michael Curtiz and has some actors that, while not superstars, appeal to some users personally, like Gene Tierney, Victor Mature, Jean Simmons and Peter Ustinov. It's a gorgeous production featuring outstanding work from several mainstays at Fox's production crew, including cinematography by Leon Shamroy and an amazing score by Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann, two titans collaborating for the first and only time. Add in the sumptuous sets and costumes and purely as a visual treat it's perfect for blu-ray, which TT's release does a great job of showcasing. The transfer is derived from a 4K restoration, one of the best for a Fox title, free of their usual eyebrow-raising color timing and any other non-source artifacts, presenting the production in the best way possible. The other versions available internationally are also all inferior, featuring older masters or weaker audio and no extras, so the TT edition is that much more enticing.
There's also other little appealing details, like the fact that it's a 50's Cinemascope title and just a huge historical/religious epic from the period (there aren't actually that many of these, and even less that are this grandiose), which a few users on the site count as personal selling points. For me, I see it as one of many disappointing (at the time) studio mega-productions which, from my modern point of view, are worth revisiting and treasuring. Like Cleopatra, Doctor Dolittle and Hello Dolly!, which shine in several areas and don't quite congeal into all-time classics, but are far better than their reputations suggest, look and sound spectacular, and are(in my opinion) more worthy of admiration than 80% of the media coming out today, specifically because they offer certain pleasures that have fallen out of fashion over time(wrongly I believe).
Well, that's why I'm interested in it, and hope to get ahold of it someday!

[hammer99]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Seriously, does The Egyptian even warrant all of the hand-wringing and regret that resonate in this thread?

I've never seen or heard of this movie discussed as some kind of treasure beyond the confines of this page.

I don't sell too many movies unless I am upgrading to BD or 4K, but I had no problem dumping this in auction when I saw what it was going for. Easy one-and-done for me.

[Nosferatu31]

Anyone know what time tomorrow the site will shut down for orders?

[TheHistorian]

Originally Posted by xochipilli

has some actors that, while not superstars, appeal to some users personally, like Gene Tierney, Victor Mature, Jean Simmons and Peter Ustinov.

<-- Yes

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Seriously, does The Egyptian even warrant all of the hand-wringing and regret that resonate in this thread?

I've never seen or heard of this movie discussed as some kind of treasure beyond the confines of this page.

I'm a big Gene Tierney fan, and even I think the film is isn't even worth the retail rate.

It is one I would have picked up for say....$10-15 just to add it to the Tierney collection.


I've never been able to sit through the whole thing in one sitting and I've tried more than once.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Seriously, does The Egyptian even warrant all of the hand-wringing and regret that resonate in this thread?

I've never seen or heard of this movie discussed as some kind of treasure beyond the confines of this page.

I think The Egyptian richly deserves its reputation as a cult classic. It's not a "great" film per se, but it does have aspects that are representative of the Golden Age of Hollywood at its best. It was personally produced by Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, who spared no expense in bringing Mika Waltari's best-selling novel to the screen. The art direction and set decorations are phenomenal, as are the costumes, and they're all magnificently photographed by Leon Shamroy in gorgeous three-strip Technicolor. The score is justly celebrated as a collaboration between two great composers, Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann; the soundtrack has been released and re-released so many times that I've lost count. (My favorite to date is the two-CD edition from La-La-Land records that was limited to 1500 units and sold out almost immediately.)

The screenplay leaves a lot to be desired, at least in my opinion. The plot is labyrinthine and often soap opera-ish, cramming in all sorts topics that were taboo in the 1950's. Presumably the censors turned a blind eye to all the suggestions of lesbianism, incest, adultery and other sins because The Egyptian, after all, dealt in part with religious themes which made the film above reproach.

And the performances are a mixed bag. Of the top-billed stars, I think Gene Tierney comes off best as the butch Egyptian princess who was denied the Pharoah's throne because of her gender. Peter Ustinov sometimes overplays his hand as a manipulative rascal of a thief, although his energy is certainly welcome; and Jean Simmons acquits herself nicely as the sweetly bland ingenue whose pure heart falls for the title character. Sinuhe, the Egyptian, is played by a dully earnest Edmund Purdom, who took over the role when Marlon Brando walked off the picture just before filming began. Victor Mature is serviceable in another of those brash, manly-man roles he seemed to specialize in throughout his career. Without doubt, the film's worst performance is turned in by Bella Darvi, a discovery of "DAR"ryl and "VI"rginia Zanuck, who just happened to be sleeping with Darryl at the time. Ms. Darvi's Polish accent was so thick that it was often difficult to understand her dialogue; watching her performance as a Babylonian woman of ill repute is painful. It's like she's channeling Madeleine Khan, and playing the role as a parody.

Despite the film's drawbacks, it was a huge hit at the box office in 1954, coming in as the year's 7th highest-grossing film. It sold quite well on VHS, and did even better on LaserDisc (despite a $79.95 SRP). I think it was an obvious choice for Twilight Time to make when they were deciding on which film should be their first blu-ray, thanks to its solid fan base and the appeal of its isolated score.

[prkchopexpress]

after going through my stack, i watched everything but the children of huang shi. and it’s just making me kind of bummed. i look at what i’ve bought from the them, and it’s not that i see anything that i would say was bad. and the majority of them were all blind buys. not everything was a 10/10, but i mean they have a solid catalog.

i don’t want that to be just one title left. i might just make another order with screen archives to try and get a few more discs. and we’ve been lamenting the loss since it was announced. but we won’t really feel it until after we get our last order in and watch our last title.

[Brandon K]

Email newsletter just came in:

https://mailchi.mp/twilighttimemovie...ernoon-1076490

Store Closing Today

Today, Monday, July 6th will be the last day we will accept new orders for Twilight Time films. We will take orders up through midnight PT. Please note, orders will continue to ship after this date until all are fulfilled. More information can be found on our website. It has been our pleasure to serve you for the past five years.

New Coupon
In honor of our final day use coupon code FINI to save $10 off an order of $110 or more worth of Twilight Time Titles. This coupon may be stacked with the following automatic promotions:

Automatic Discounts for Bulk Orders: For all orders with over $100 in Twilight Time product (not counting shipping) there will be an automatic 10% discount applied. All orders over $200 will have an automatic 15% discount and all orders over $500 will have an automatic 20% discount applied. Interested in placing an even larger order? Please contact us about additional savings at support@twilighttimemovies.com. All orders must be placed by the end of the day.

New 10 for $100 Promotion: Click here to see all titles included in our 10 for $100 promotion

1940s Musical Bundle: Get Alice Faye in Hello, Frisco, Hello, and Betty Grable in Mother Wore Tights and Pin Up Girl for the bundle price of $21 when you purchase all three.

PLEASE NOTE: All orders placed during our closing week will take an estimated three to four weeks to ship and will not ship until after all orders previously placed have shipped.

Low Quantity Alert - If you don't see an "add to cart" button it means that the title is sold out.

Fewer than 25 copies remain of the following titles:
L-Shaped Room, The ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Russia House, The ($11.95 or 10/$100)

Fewer than 50 copies remain of the following titles:
To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey (DVD - $3.95)
Bobby Deerfield ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Genghis Khan ($11.95 or 10/$100)

Fewer than 100 copies remain of the following titles:
Antony and Cleopatra ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Forever Amber ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Adventures of Hajji Baba, The ($11.95 or 10/$100)
In My Country ($6.95)

Fewer than 150 copies remain of the following titles:
Kings Go Forth ($6.95)
My Gal Sal ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Captain From Castile ($11.95 or 10/$100)

Fewer than 200 copies remain of the following titles:
Quiller Memorandum, The ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Hilda Crane ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Satan Never Sleeps ($11.95 or 10/$100)

Additionally we have Africa Screams from ClassicFlix still available and only a few copies remain of some of our Flicker Alley titles.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by jmclick

The Twilight Time website is closing for orders tomorrow, July 6. On July 7, they will make available all their artwork for download. Naturally, they'll be continuing to ship out orders over the next few weeks until all have been fulfilled.

Will anyone be able to download any artwork? Will they post a link? Or email it to members?

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Will anyone be able to download any artwork? Will they post a link? Or email it to members?

After tomorrow the website is only closing "for orders" and will stay up for at least a couple weeks.

From a previous email:

"On July 7th we will make all Twilight Time products we have ever carried visible on the site through July 20th so you can download the high resolution artwork or product specifications for your future enjoyment."

[TominMN]

My final trip to the well. I will really miss these guys. Thank you for all the amazing releases!

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by Brandon K

After tomorrow the website is only closing "for orders" and will stay up for at least a couple weeks.

From a previous email:

"On July 7th we will make all Twilight Time products we have ever carried visible on the site through July 20th so you can download the high resolution artwork or product specifications for your future enjoyment."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a "download all in a zip file" option

[bwdowiak]

I don't have any specific titles regrets, but I do regret that I didn't follow this thread as feverishly as I have been during the past 6 weeks or so. It is always interesting (and fun) how one person's positive mini-review of a film can get me to crank up the Google machine - who starred in that movie? what does the tomatometer say? how about IMDB? how are the PQ marks? is there a trailer on YouTube?

a title can go from "never heard of it," to "must have it!" in a matter of minutes.

so, thanks to all the posters here for your enthusastic discussion and knowledge about what studio a film belongs to and facts like that. this has been fun. I'm hoping that the discussion will continue in this thread as I'm sure there are many TT titles that I (and other late-comers, sometimes-comers, etc.) have yet to discover.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a "download all in a zip file" option

That would be my dream... and for all the art to be shadowless, non-mockup art, and the complete booklets too... I'm actually the one who suggested to TT to make all their artwork available (along with a few other suggestions), but I don't think they'll go my ideal route. Likely, I'm guessing it will just be the product images already on the site, with all titles being available to browse.

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

It is always interesting (and fun) how one person's positive mini-review of a film can get me to crank up the Google machine ... a title can go from "never heard of it," to "must have it!" in a matter of minutes.

So true! Reading the recommendations in this thread and also people posting which titles they were buying was one of the most fun parts of this thread over the past couple months.

From last night's email, the lowest quantity titles are now all gone:

Fewer than 25 copies remain of the following titles:
L-Shaped Room, The ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ($11.95 or 10/$100)
Russia House, The ($11.95 or 10/$100)

[bdgking]

Here is the update for what is available at Twilight Time remaining .
I am really busy so I will abbreviate title names so you know . Numbers may be a little lower during me messaging this . F.Y.I.

Morituri = 186
Quiller = 175
S.Pit = 186
Towns talking = 210
B.Fix = 343
T.Men = 223
F.JAMES =357
Chairman = 444
S.Coach = 342
R. Must Fall = 482
P.Horse = 537
R.Edge =544
C.Song = 324
B.Deerfield` = 18
L.House = 427
Y. Handkerchief = 338
G. Khan = 9
H.Crane = 181
M. C . Peter = 248
T. A Girl = 223
V. Soldiers = 246
M. Country = 77
K.Go Forth = 102
F.Land = 345
H.Baba = 45
Anthony & Cleo = 81
Hussy = 404
G. Sal = 104
Satan = 158
H. Shi = 230
W. Country = 674
A. Chrichton = 666
10 North = 732
P.Lady =778
Yanks = 762
P. Up = 744
Frisco = 747
Untamed =823
S.Shine = 699
M. W. Tights = 756
C. from Castle = 91
F. Amber = 49


That's the list everyone .

Take Care ......