Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by HDMe

There's still a classic mistake being made.

People are saying that since "As Good as it gets" didn't sell 3000 copies at $30, that it confirms nobody wanted to buy the title.

That cannot be stated factually.

You can only conclude that 3000 people did not want to pay $30 for it.

Perhaps, if it were available for say $20 more people would have bought it. There is no way to know unless and until there is a wider release.

BUT...

The bigger story here...

Twilight Time is doing a non-limited release movie? I remember all the people so certain this could not be done... They couldn't possibly get an agreement to do more than 3000 copies... various reasons were thrown around as if such a thing were impossible for Twilight Time to do.

And yet... they are doing a non-limited movie release this year. That is what they should have been trying to do all along, especially with the more popular titles.

I agree, unless they knew there was no way they were going to sell 3,000 copies (the film is a notorious flop), so maybe they were somehow able to negotiate this.

[Torrente]

Walter Hill's month in June!!!! I'm so excited about it!!!

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I wonder if Philadelphia will be bundled with any of the action figures, such as Miguel, Andrew's long-time companion, with full battle armor and dino buddy?

"You have AIDS. You're fired."

"No, YOU'RE FIRED!" (blam!)

One of my all-time favorite parody commercials from SNL.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by HDMe

The bigger story here...

Twilight Time is doing a non-limited release movie? I remember all the people so certain this could not be done... They couldn't possibly get an agreement to do more than 3000 copies... various reasons were thrown around as if such a thing were impossible for Twilight Time to do.

And yet... they are doing a non-limited movie release this year. That is what they should have been trying to do all along, especially with the more popular titles.

At Long Last Love is a straight-up Fox release that they handed over to Twilight Time to author the disc and sell. Hence the lack of limited runs. It's not the same thing. They're probably doing less than 3000 copies to start (say, 1000), but then Fox can always do another run if they so want.

[Dex Robinson]

Originally Posted by benricci

Are people just magically supposed to know about Twilight Time and their catalog?


Does anyone honestly expect the average person to have any clue that TT is releasing these blu-rays?

That exactly right and I don't understand why so many people continue to miss such an obvious point.

Twilight Time sales tell us absolutely NOTHING about the state of the Blu-ray market. Zero. Zip. Nada.

I buy a lot of TT titles and I'm Glad to have them. Just got OUR MAN FLINT last week. I've paid for a dozen or more TT titles so I'm not here to get into any arguments about prices or business models.

But the indisputable fact is we are dealing with a small, specialized, web-only seller. And most people have never heard of SAE. Even TODAY, I see posts on this very forum from people asking where they can pre-order some of these new titles. And yet, there are also people on this forum who claim, for some unfathomable reason, that people who want Blu-rays are always scanning the net and they all know about Twilight Time and SAE. What nonsense.

As I look at these upcoming TT releases, I see titles I will buy (as I do with almost every TT announcement). But I would NEVER be so foolish as to think that the buying habits of a small number of internet junkies (myself included) is any kind of valid window into the world of broader media buying public.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by benricci

Maybe a few more copies, but the bigger issue is that no one really knows these exist outside of a small percentage of the population who frequent blu-ray message boards. You ask the average person, they probably would have no idea these releases are out, because they're not in any stores or even Amazon.

Are people just magically supposed to know about Twilight Time and their catalog?

If I were a non-forumite who wanted As Good As It Gets on blu-ray, the first place I'd go is Amazon.com or Best Buy, or any other retailer (online or B&M) I know carries blu-rays/DVDs, etc.

"What? Not available? Guess it must not have been released yet. Oh well..."

Does anyone honestly expect the average person to have any clue that TT is releasing these blu-rays?

If I were a non-forumite who had a computer, the very first thing I would do would be a google search on the title followed by "blu ray" or "dvd" and see what came up. Just like checking the shelves at your local video store for classic, foreign, or independent titles is usually pretty futile, I would never first go to a random online distributor hoping they might have a certain movie without searching to see if that movie has even been released.

Like it or not, this is the age of the internet, people! You can't rely on Best Buy to stock what you want, or even Amazon. They very often don't. Internet searches really can help you find things you might want. If it's a limited quantity, and if you don't like the price, you don't need to buy it and can let someone else get it instead.

[captveg]

The broader media buying public, in general, doesn't but catalog titles, mainly because catalog titles are not sold in brick & mortar stores anymore to any large degree. For several years now anyone with more than a casual interest in buying home video catalog releases shops online to some degree, and if they shop online with any success they will discover these titles. People greatly over estimate the market. It simply isn't there anymore for catalog titles in the traditional sense.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by captveg

At Long Last Love is a straight-up Fox release that they handed over to Twilight Time to author the disc and sell. Hence the lack of limited runs. It's not the same thing. They're probably doing less than 3000 copies to start (say, 1000), but then Fox can always do another run if they so want.

And I would be extremely surprised if such a very limited-appeal niche film like AT LONG LAST LOVE sells more than 3000 titles in three years. I saw it theatrically and on HBO (and actually rather liked it, despite various issues), but I gather there has never been any video release of it on any format, including VHS and DVD, which tells you how much faith the studio has it making much profit from it.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by benricci

they're not in any stores or even Amazon.

All TT releases are available on Amazon through SAE's storefront. They'll appear if you enter the title, the same as any other Blu-ray or DVD.

[Belloche]

Originally Posted by Torrente

Walter Hill's month in June!!!! I'm so excited about it!!!

I'm a huge Walter Hill fan and any day two of his movies get announced on Blu-ray while a new one hits theatres is pretty awesome in my books.

Now I need someone to release Streets of Fire and Extreme Prejudice.

[Arkadin]

for those wondering what he means about June--
TT schedule from Fakebook post

PHILADELPHIA (1993) BLU-RAY - May 14th
LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945) BLU-RAY - May 14th

HARD TIMES (1975) BLU-RAY - June 11th
THE DRIVER (1978) BLU-RAY - June 11th
THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN (1970) BLU-RAY - June 11th

[RiFiFi1955]

OH MAN....This has been the best announcement from TT so far(for me anyways)...TT is scratching me right where I itch with today announcements!

[LucasM2012]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

OH MAN....This has been the best announcement from TT so far(for me anyways)...TT is scratching me right where I itch with today announcements!

Hmmm... I think there's also a cream for that....

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by HDMe

There's still a classic mistake being made.

People are saying that since "As Good as it gets" didn't sell 3000 copies at $30, that it confirms nobody wanted to buy the title.

That cannot be stated factually.

You can only conclude that 3000 people did not want to pay $30 for it.

Perhaps, if it were available for say $20 more people would have bought it. There is no way to know unless and until there is a wider release.

BUT...

The bigger story here...

Twilight Time is doing a non-limited release movie? I remember all the people so certain this could not be done... They couldn't possibly get an agreement to do more than 3000 copies... various reasons were thrown around as if such a thing were impossible for Twilight Time to do.

And yet... they are doing a non-limited movie release this year. That is what they should have been trying to do all along, especially with the more popular titles.

You can only conclude that 3000 people which know about TT and this release did not want to pay $30 for it.

There very well could be 3000 people that would pay $30 for it but we don't know that either since not everyone is aware of this obscure label.

[HDMe]

Originally Posted by captveg

At Long Last Love is a straight-up Fox release that they handed over to Twilight Time to author the disc and sell. Hence the lack of limited runs. It's not the same thing. They're probably doing less than 3000 copies to start (say, 1000), but then Fox can always do another run if they so want.

As opposed to what? Isn't this the normal Twilight model (except for the 3000 copy limitation)?

Doesn't the movie studio normally hand over the transfer for Twilight Time to author and sell?

The only difference to the consumer here is that there isn't a limited nature to the release.

Obviously the contract is different... but Twilight Time isn't doing their own transfers... so basically the studio is handing them something ready to be mastered, replicated, and sold... so that's not a new thing in the model.

Originally Posted by rdodolak

You can only conclude that 3000 people which know about TT and this release did not want to pay $30 for it.

There very well could be 3000 people that would pay $30 for it but we don't know that either since not everyone is aware of this obscure label.

Actually... that is a good point. We don't know that 3000 people know about Twilight Time releasing any given movie.

In the past, the sellouts didn't even guarantee that 3000 unique people bought a copy... since we know some of those sellouts were driven by speculators who bought multiple copies.

FYI... I'm not picking on Twilight Time... just pointing out that just because one of their movies doesn't sell 3000 copies, we can't conclude 3000 people didn't want the movie. There are mitigating factors like price and (as I forgot) the ability for the average Joe to even know the release happened.

I wish they would do more of the unlimited release agreements, since they have now proven (as I long suspected) they could negotiate if they wanted to do so.

[Unfrozen]

It's bittersweet learning that TT is holding two of my favorite movies (The Driver and Leave Her to Heaven) for ransom. I hate the idea of spending 30 bucks on a bare bones bluray, but I have to again just like Fright Night and The Big Heat.

I'll probably get Major Dundee too - haven't seen it in a good 7 years - because I'm a Peckinpah nut

ugh

And if they release '88 Blob that's another must buy too.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

So how many of their releases are BD25
and can I rent them from Netflix?

According to the data found on this site, for the currently released titles, 14 of them are BD25 and no you can't rent them on Netflix. Some of the films are available for streaming but it may not be from the same source.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

According to the data found on this site, for the currently released titles, 14 of them are BD25 and no you can't rent them on Netflix. Some of the films are available for streaming but it may not be from the same source.

Some of the films have older DVD releases from Sony & Fox that are rentable on Netflix, too.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by Unfrozen

I would be less critical if they acquired rights to obscure films.

Take a look at their catalog - it's been a balanced mix of cult films, Hollywood epics, musicals, noirs, and genre titles. Why is it that all this hyperbolic hand-wringing only occurs when they release a horror movie, as if their prices and limited pressings were a shocking new development and/or some kind of morally reprehensible, personal affront to an imagined 'horror community' whose exalted members can't ever imagine paying more than $10 for any movie, ever, in their entire lifetimes? I don't recall anyone calling them 'scummy' or 'one of the worst distribution companies for Blu-ray in North America' or hurling any other overheated insults when TT announced The Rains of Ranchipur, Bell, Book and Candle or Rapture.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

So what happened when the idiotic "Exclusive" time has passed? They release it again but not limited to 3,000? Why not limit it to 30,000 or 300,000? Are these actually numbered?

Nope, not individually numbered either and the 3000 copies only covers those sold to consumers. We've learned that there are other "promo" copies which are given out to people in the industry (i.e. the studios, directors, etc.; wouldn't surprise me that each employee of TT and SAE got a copy too). They also have a provision to replace missing or damage product. Therefore, there could technically be more than 3000 copies.

TT has also stated that they won't rerelease these titles, even after the exclusivity window is up, since it would devalue their model. Thus some other studio would have to give it a go.