Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[oildude]

Just finished Oliver! Oh, man, what a treat!

I have not seen Oliver! since I was a child, when I saw it at a theater on an army base in West Germany several years after its original release. I have vague memories of it, one of those childhood films that stays with you all your life even if you never saw it again until decades later. It's fantastic. I can't imagine anyone not liking this movie, even if they are not a fan of musicals. And I never realized until the opening credits that it was directed by Carol Reed (yes, the same Carol Reed who gave us The Third Man and Night Train to Munich). The sets are so detailed and realistic, arguably the best depiction of 1820s London ever created. The acting is terrific. The musical numbers, including the several choreographed dance sequences, are all first rate, and some of the songs resonate right out of my childhood memories ("Consider Yourself" was a catchy song I used to sing with my little brother without remembering where I'd heard it). It really is a wonderful film; if you are a fan of movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the classic live action Disney films, but with a few darker twists than usual, then this is a no-brainer.

A couple of years ago I read a book called The Fatal Shore, about the founding of Australia. The book has quite a bit of interesting detail about the world chronicled in the writings of Charles Dickens, who features prominently in its pages as a social historian of the times. The criminal laws of Great Britain at the dawn of the Industrial Revoluton, in response to rising populations, economic upheaval, and an increase in crime, meant draconian punishments that resulted in tens of thousands of deportations to the Australian penal colonies over a thirty year period. Many of these were for relatively minor offenses as the UK sought to find cheaper disposal methods for its "undesirables" than building new prisons. Pickpocketing, petty theft, prostitution, even labor unrest, meant a ship to the far side of the world. This was considered a humane alternative to "the drop", as public hangings had become such a routine event proscribed by law for a whole host of minor offenses that there was an outcry for another solution. In time, deportation was extended beyond minor criminals and social undesirables to include thousands of Irish men and women who had been branded as troublemakers and rabble rousers, to the extent that a large percentage of Australians today are of Irish descent.

[PuppetMasterBlu]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

How is "Sexy Beast" not sold out still? I guess I was way off in thinking it was more popular than what it seems to be, I thought it had a decent sizable cult following.

Well it costs way too much and you can only find it on one obscure website that looks to be from 1995. People can't order something if they don't know it exists.

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by PuppetMasterBlu

Well it costs way too much and you can only find it on one obscure website that looks to be from 1995. People can't order something if they don't know it exists.

[PuppetMasterBlu]

Originally Posted by jetthead

Agreed but the dude asked the question, just wanted to answer it.

[Yojimbo]

Originally Posted by Ben_R

Well impressed with TT for doing this yet again

The last order I placed with them totalled $137.30 (dispatched on the 12 Dec & still yet to arrive btw) with a tracking number that doesn't work/exist and included the 2 Sinbads in the order.

I contacted them about ordering the signed copy due to my previous order amount and was told NO!

Your issue is with SAE, not TT, but how is this their fault? While I can understand your frustration since you haven't received your order yet, you still purchased these items when there was NO deal going on. Now you want them to send you a free blu-ray weeks after you made the transaction?

For example, let's say that that I buy two blu-rays (at no particular store), then a month goes by and suddenly the store has a buy two-get one deal. The store is NOT going to give a me a free blu-ray just because I happened to buy two a month ago. No stores you shop with are going to retroactively give you a deal like that, aside from the occasional price match.

[Shanester]

Really liked the transfer for The Other. Lots of detail and vibrant colors. The film was good too. Loved Jerry Goldsmith's isolated score with the audio cues

Somebody posted "damn that was good" was said at some point. I don't remember hearing that anywhere?

[Movie Nut]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

How is "Sexy Beast" not sold out still? I guess I was way off in thinking it was more popular than what it seems to be, I thought it had a decent sizable cult following.

Because the title has the word "sexy" in it but the cover shows a middle aged man in swim trunks laying in a deck chair by the pool. Use the exact same cover but replace the middle aged man with a beautiful young woman in a bikini and it would have sold out already. Call it shallow, call it sexist, call it whatever you like...but it's true.

Plus factor in the cost as well as the fact that it is a very recent release (you just lost anyone looking for older classics), and that it is a brutal movie with a "savage mad-dog frothing gangster" (you just lost 90% of potential female buyers and a smaller percentage of men that don't want that much brutality in their "entertainment" and I can easily see why it has not yet sold out).

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Movie Nut

Because the title has the word "sexy" in it but the cover shows a middle aged man in swim trunks laying in a deck chair by the pool. Use the exact same cover but replace the middle aged man with a beautiful young woman in a bikini and it would have sold out already. Call it shallow, call it sexist, call it whatever you like...but it's true.

Plus factor in the cost as well as the fact that it is a very recent release (you just lost anyone looking for older classics), and that it is a brutal movie with a "savage mad-dog frothing gangster" (you just lost 90% of potential female buyers and a smaller percentage of men that don't want that much brutality in their "entertainment" and I can easily see why it has not yet sold out).

I really don't think these reasons are accurate. It hasn't sold out yet for the same reason most of TT's releases haven't sold out yet (apart from a handful of horror/fantasy titles and some titles that have been out for a while).

[KRW1]

Sexy Beast has been available on blu for a few years in other countries. I imagine most people who want it have already bought it, esp as it's super cheap elsewhere.

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Originally Posted by KRW1

Sexy Beast has been available on blu for a few years in other countries. I imagine most people who want it have already bought it, esp as it's super cheap elsewhere.

Sure, if you dig 1080i/50 and the wrong aspect ratio.

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by TheOneWithThePrize

Sure, if you dig 1080i/50 and the wrong aspect ratio.

No, I don't, which is why I got the TT release but most people will pay $5 over $30 for those sorts of issues (and wrong aspect ratio is subjective and a lot of people don't mind 1080i)

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Originally Posted by KRW1

No, I don't, which is why I got the TT release but most people will pay $5 over $30 for those sorts of issues (and wrong aspect ratio is subjective and a lot of people don't mind 1080i)

1080i/50 is a big stumbling block for most potential North American customers not to mention both the UK and German BDs are Region B-locked. That said, I simply think the main issue at hand is more than likely that Sexy Beast is not a film that will fly off the shelves compared to other titles.

[AndersonVision]

I would buy Sexy Beast if it was getting lower in stock and I had to have a fourth film to hit that magic $100 number.

Other than that, I'd let it see. Winstone was cool as hell in it, but it's not a film that I desire to own.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by TheOneWithThePrize

1080i/50 is a big stumbling block for most potential North American customers not to mention both the UK and German BDs are Region B-locked. That said, I simply think the main issue at hand is more than likely that Sexy Beast is not a film that will fly off the shelves compared to other titles.

True but a lot of foreigners end up buying TT's releases. Given that 1080i/50 and region B locking isn't an an issue for Europeans/Australians TT most likely lost a lot of potential customers which may have chosen to pick up the cheaper local release.

A similar behavior was evident when it was known in advance that Sony would be releasing the same titles in the European market. Some opted to pick up the much cheaper Sony release instead.

[AJHakari]

Pre-ordered Titus. Man in the Dark is tempting (that's just one groovy cover), but I've never seen it, so I'm very leery of a blind buy.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by AJHakari

Man in the Dark is tempting (that's just one groovy cover), but I've never seen it, so I'm very leery of a blind buy.

I pre-ordered Man in the Dark for a blind buy, simply because it starred some of the best people in the world, like Edmond O'Brien (White Heat, The Hitch-Hiker, Fantastic Voyage, The Wild Bunch), Audrey Totter (The Set-Up, The Postman Always Rings Twice), and Ted de Corsia (The Enforcer, The Killing, Naked City, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). I'm also trying to gather as many film noirs as I can on Blu-ray, because I've taken a liking to how these films look in high definition if restored well.

From what I hear, this particular film is remembered more for its gimmicky approach, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Actually, all of the descriptions make it sound like a blast.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I pre-ordered Man in the Dark for a blind buy, simply because it starred some of the best people in the world, like Edmond O'Brien (White Heat, The Hitch-Hiker, Fantastic Voyage, The Wild Bunch), Audrey Totter (The Set-Up, The Postman Always Rings Twice), and Ted de Corsia (The Enforcer, The Killing, Naked City, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). I'm also trying to gather as many film noirs as I can on Blu-ray, because I've taken a liking to how these films look in high definition if restored well.

From what I hear, this particular film is remembered more for its gimmicky approach, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Actually, all of the descriptions make it sound like a blast.

I pre-ordered as well. I'm a sucker for 50s films in 3D, plus the cast is great. I guarantee Edmond O'Brien will be sweating profusely within the first five minutes.

[TheOneWithThePrize]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

True but a lot of foreigners end up buying TT's releases. Given that 1080i/50 and region B locking isn't an an issue for Europeans/Australians TT most likely lost a lot of potential customers which may have chosen to pick up the cheaper local release.

Which were both released long before the TT release was even announced, had the same customers had an option to chose the TT at that time it would be a far more fair comparison. It would have been interesting to see how the specifications vs price ratio would have played out then.

A similar behavior was evident when it was known in advance that Sony would be releasing the same titles in the European market. Some opted to pick up the much cheaper Sony release instead.

Those Sony titles were all region free though so far easier to snap up compared to Sexy Beast in UK and DE.

[filmczy]

Anyone have opinions about the pros/cons between Paramount's Region 2 Zulu release and Twilight Time's technical specs?

I have read good feedback on the Region 2 blu and it looks to beat TT's in the bonus features...

The Region 2 can be found at a decent price too. Is it worth getting both?

I apologize if this has been discussed already...

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by filmczy

Anyone have opinions about the pros/cons between Paramount's Region 2 Zulu release and Twilight Time's technical specs?

Based on what I've read, the region 2 release is smothered in some rather oppressive DNR.

We can expect a different transfer from TT, and that's a good thing.