Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[StarDestroyer52]

I would love to see The Iron Horse be back on the possibilities but I doubt it. 7th Heaven though I imagine least has a chance, since it least got a release in France that it might be possible. Maybe even Frontier Marshal (1939)? Moontide would be a nice release(I have got close to grabbing the DVD). Also, I imagine there are plenty of possibilities with just the Sony and Universal library if they can't get any of the Fox films.

[Ned Brainard]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I would love to see The Iron Horse be back on the possibilities but I doubt it. 7th Heaven though I imagine least has a chance, since it least got a release in France that it might be possible. Maybe even Frontier Marshal (1939)? Moontide would be a nice release(I have got close to grabbing the DVD). Also, I imagine there are plenty of possibilities with just the Sony and Universal library if they can't get any of the Fox films.

I think 7th Heaven did get an upgrade in the last few years since the MOMA's screening of it a few years back was touted as a brand new 4K master so perhaps that would give someone an excuse for doing something with it.

The Borzage silents 7th Heaven, Street Angel and (admittedly to a lesser extent) Lucky Star have sort of been mysteries to me. I would have thought that Criterion, Kino, and Twilight Time would have been fighting each other over them, and yet we get nothing on this side of the pond. Did that now OOP French release really cut into the potential business? At least that was the excuse Kino gave for why they passed over Murnau's City Girl.

I think Centennial Summer is another Fox title that TT licensed, but IIRC there were some rights issues with it. Alas, the Jeanne Crain title I want the most is Margie, but since it's not listed anywhere on the Park Circus site, I'm not holding out any hope.

[SanCarolina59]

Originally Posted by Ned Brainard

I think 7th Heaven did get an upgrade in the last few years since the MOMA's screening of it a few years back was touted as a brand new 4K master so perhaps that would give someone an excuse for doing something with it.

The Borzage silents 7th Heaven, Street Angel and (admittedly to a lesser extent) Lucky Star have sort of been mysteries to me. I would have thought that Criterion, Kino, and Twilight Time would have been fighting each other over them, and yet we get nothing on this side of the pond. Did that now OOP French release really cut into the potential business? At least that was the excuse Kino gave for why they passed over Murnau's City Girl.

I think Centennial Summer is another Fox title that TT licensed, but IIRC there were some rights issues with it. Alas, the Jeanne Crain title I want the most is Margie, but since it's not listed anywhere on the Park Circus site, I'm not holding out any hope.

Now that you mention Centennial Summer, I'm pretty sure you're right on it having some sort of rights issue. I'm not sure what's up with the Borzage silents, I'd agree that I would think that someone would have probably grabbed them by now. Supposedly the foreign releases were region free, so that could be part of why they haven't been released, but like you said, they're now very much OOP (except for maybe City Girl, that seems to still be in print from Eureka, but I'm not sure for how much longer, since supposedly they've been loosing some of their Fox licenses) and I honestly can't see them cutting into business over here that much. Maybe Criterion licensed some of them, as it's really whatever they had licensed prior to the Disney merger or whatever Twilight Time has leftover for any Fox films being released at least stateside for now. On another note, Margie may have a higher chance then you may think. Park Circus definitely isn't representative of all of the DCPs any of the studios may have, and there may be more films with DCPs or other HD transfers not listed there.

[Mystic]

I'm just happy that Twilight Time is back in business

[bonehica]

So...now that it appears Twilight Time is getting a second lease on life...what are the odds they will announce their first 4K UHD title...before Criterion. Just puttin' that out there.

[Show spoiler]

[RalphoR]

Collecting movies just wasn't the same without Twilight Time. I'd love for them to start releasing their existing catalog on uhd disc. The Columbia Harryhausen films would be an excellent place to start

[Ned Brainard]

Originally Posted by SanCarolina59

I can also see them maybe doing Down Argentine Way, since they have done other Betty Grable films as well. I'd definitely also be interested in A Hatful of Rain and The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit as well. As far as what they likely don't have, my guess is that No Way Out, and maybe one or both of the two Howard Hawks films (I Was A Male War Bride and Monkey Business) may be with Criterion, but that's just a guess on my part.

On a side note, though, I'd be interested to see if any of the Universal films listed on Park Circus end up with Twilight Time as well, especially many of the ones that haven't been released anywhere.

I could also see Criterion doing something with People Will Talk given the company's interest in Mankiewicz and certain minor actor named Archie Leach.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by bonehica

So...now that it appears Twilight Time is getting a second lease on life...what are the odds they will announce their first 4K UHD title...before Criterion. Just puttin' that out there.

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

[GeoffOliver]

Fantastic news, although it seems like it’s going to be an even smaller operation this time. I doubt they’ll continue releasing Fox films, but you never know. Deals with MGM and Universal wouldn’t be worthwhile considering their licensing deals with almost every other label (especially MGM). Their Sony deal had more weight because they don’t seem to license out as much. Maybe they’ll even release more anime like they did once with Harlock: Space Pirate. I also agree that the 3000 (sometimes 5000) limit needs to go. They should be like WAC (and as far as I can tell, most other labels), and just do another small print run when the first batch sells out, and so on until the license expires.

[StarDestroyer52]

Well there's also the Italian releases. There wasn't a ton of them, but maybe more giallos since there seems to be a decent demand for them?

[Rayjg]

I wonder if any other labels are going to rise from the grave. Maybe Midnight Legacy will be next?

[SanCarolina59]

Originally Posted by Ned Brainard

I could also see Criterion doing something with People Will Talk given the company's interest in Mankiewicz and certain minor actor named Archie Leach.

Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked if Criterion had licensed all of the films from this boxset Fox did on Mr. Leach here, they really do seem to love him (although in all honesty, who doesn't? ). Also, on another side note, I did find Margie listed on Park Circus here, although it doesn't have a DCP listed for it. Keep in mind though that it's not necessarily an indicator no HD transfer exists for it, Road House (1948) is also listed on there with no DCP, although Kino released a Blu-ray of it a while back.

[Ned Brainard]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

Fantastic news, although it seems like it’s going to be an even smaller operation this time. I doubt they’ll continue releasing Fox films, but you never know. Deals with MGM and Universal wouldn’t be worthwhile considering their licensing deals with almost every other label (especially MGM). Their Sony deal had more weight because they don’t seem to license out as much. Maybe they’ll even release more anime like they did once with Harlock: Space Pirate. I also agree that the 3000 (sometimes 5000) limit needs to go. They should be like WAC (and as far as I can tell, most other labels), and just do another small print run when the first batch sells out, and so on until the license expires.

It's not so much doing future deals with Fox (even though that would be nice) but how many more already licensed Fox titles TT had left when it temporarily ceased operations. Just a handful? Quite a few more? Given the tight grip the Mouse House currently has on the Fox catalog, seeing a few more escape could be interesting (depending on the titles - ymmv of course).

[beantherio]

Originally Posted by PegasusKenshiro

Lets hope they get rid of that "limited to 3000" garbage

I very much doubt that Twilight Time wanted to have limitations like that. But for a small company like TT it would have been risky and expensive to have larger printruns on their balance sheet. Also I expect licensors to demand these kinds of limitations. Commercially it is more interesting for them to limit the license they sell to a publisher like TT so that they can later resell it to another publisher. Or renew it with TT for a higher fee.

[StarDestroyer52]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Right now, we are working with various channels for licenses, both domestic and international. While we have produced film music CDs or DVDs, this is our first experience with blu-rays. The studios are being "somewhat" helpful, but a lot depends on the quality available. Look for an announcement for the first two titles tomorrow.

From the SAE Facebook. That post was from earlier yesterday afternoon, so that should mean they will announce the titles today if I'm reading there comment right.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by beantherio

I very much doubt that Twilight Time wanted to have limitations like that. But for a small company like TT it would have been risky and expensive to have larger printruns on their balance sheet. Also I expect licensors to demand these kinds of limitations. Commercially it is more interesting for them to limit the license they sell to a publisher like TT so that they can later resell it to another publisher. Or renew it with TT for a higher fee.

They might have to follow this way of releasing titles at least through any current licenses from under the previous owners.

[JasonMichael]

Since they were just about the only company to have a "limited to 3,000 copies" policy, and the only one to do it for every release, it would seem to have been Twilight Time's preference, not the licensors. I am sure they did it to keep their initial outlay low, but I have no doubt it cost them sales and an ability to grow their business.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by beantherio

I very much doubt that Twilight Time wanted to have limitations like that. But for a small company like TT it would have been risky and expensive to have larger printruns on their balance sheet. Also I expect licensors to demand these kinds of limitations. Commercially it is more interesting for them to limit the license they sell to a publisher like TT so that they can later resell it to another publisher. Or renew it with TT for a higher fee.

Nick Redman explained in interviews and if you go back through this thread I'm sure you will see posts relating to them that the 3000 number was very much their own decision arrived at from his previous experience in producing limited print runs for soundtrack CDs. It also made it more manageable for them as they paid all of the licencing costs upfront.

[Dollar Colonel]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Nick Redman explained in interviews and if you go back through this thread I'm sure you will see posts relating to them that the 3000 number was very much their own decision arrived at from his previous experience in producing limited print runs for soundtrack CDs. It also made it more manageable for them as they paid all of the licencing costs upfront.

Looking at other boutiques, they'd be lucky to sell 1,500 copies at MSRP unless it's a surprisingly in-demand title. Maybe they should have just kept the number a secret.

I hope they don't keep releases barebones going forward. It's very hard to justify paying more than streaming.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Dollar Colonel

Looking at other boutiques, they'd be lucky to sell 1,500 copies at MSRP unless it's a surprisingly in-demand title. Maybe they should have just kept the number a secret.

I hope they don't keep releases barebones going forward. It's very hard to justify paying more than streaming.

The wheres and whys of their business model were discussed ad nauseum earlier in the thread. Making the 3000 number known was a large part of their early success as FOMO led to quick sales of titles such as Fright Night and Christine.

I agree that $30 is just way too high nowadays for these types of releases. If they stick to somewhere around $20 with the occasional sale, I think they'll plug along just fine.

Of course, once we see what they have in store when they announce their first two releases of the new era later today, we'll have a clearer picture of how things are going to be.