Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[popeflick]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Yeah, sure. I bet they just love seeing someone get $320 for something they only got $30 for. Seeing all that dollar-share come out of their market and into somebody else's must be their daily joy, especially when it comes on the back of their work and at the expense of their customers' satisfaction.

You don't run a business, do you?

... and I'm not dragging scalpers into the discussion, they have always been a part of the discussion. Does it make you feel defensive?

I doubt you run one either, because even though I don't I have no illusions that TT would be in business for very long of they charged eBay price points. They wouldn't have eelpouts for sure.

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Yeah, sure. I bet they just love seeing someone get $320 for something they only got $30 for. Seeing all that dollar-share come out of their market and into somebody else's must be their daily joy, especially when it comes on the back of their work and at the expense of their customers' satisfaction.

You don't run a business, do you?

Actually, I do. I don't think TT is losing any sleep over the fact that a few of their movies can fetch 3 digit prices on ebay. That's actually a very tiny percentage of sales, so please let's try to keep this in perspective.

[AJHakari]

Boy, I sure like watching movies. How about you guys?

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by popeflick

With the added benefit of people like you and I agreein on stuff those new to the table are bringing... In terms of "wtf?"

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by bruceames.

Actually, I do. I don't think TT is losing any sleep over the fact that a few of their movies can fetch 3 digit prices on ebay. That's actually a very tiny percentage of sales, so please let's try to keep this in perspective.

Okay, you run a business.
If a customer completely bought up your product out of the market and put a 1000% markup on it, you are going to adapt your strategy accordingly, you are not going to sit there and do nothing, not even make more units and fail to tap that apparent demand. You will almost certainly charge them a much higher price next time, because you know you can. If the price they are taking is something that bottlenecks sales or frustrates the market, then you are going to prefer to sell to a different distributor who retails your product at a price that actually moves units, you are going to try to undersell the price-gouger (unless you have a contract in place that forbids it, but in this extreme case you would have grounds to contest that contract in court due to the bad-faith practices of the other party... and you would certainly think twice about dealing with them again without a solid accord on MSRP). Whatever it is you do, you are almost certainly going to respond, the status quo of getting bought out of a market after charging %10 of the final retail price in a market frozen by bad pricing, is not going to be acceptable.

Then again, I really don't know what to expect from a businessman who says he can sell more units by selling fewer units... still trying to figure that one out.

Damn it, now you've dragged me into semantics. Back to basics:

stop defending scalpers while pretending to defend collectors,
that is all.

Originally Posted by popeflick

I doubt you run one either, because even though I don't I have no illusions that TT would be in business for very long of they charged eBay price points. They wouldn't have eelpouts for sure.

Try to make sense, man. I can't make out the meaning of the grammar/typos/idioms of these sentence fragments, I can only vaguely gather that you were trying to insult me. I'm pretty sure I explicitly stated that TT could never get away with charging those kinds of prices, that was part of my point.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by AJHakari

Boy, I sure like watching movies. How about you guys?

Don't be silly. I have all of these Blu-rays because I think the spines look pretty.

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by bruceames.

You keep bringing scalpers into the discussion. Must be a big source of irritation for you. But it's not to TT. On the contrary, they likely appreciate all that notoriety because it's free advertising and it adds perceived value to their brand and makes it all the more desirable.

If you have been paying attention, though, in fact - it's done the opposite. It's fueled a lot of hate in the collecting community. TT will always have their detractors because of their model, but it didn't reach a fever pitch until this title that suddenly became the most demanded Blu-ray ever in some folks eyes - simply because they couldn't get it unless they spent $200+ and it was clear an awful lot of folks bought just for resale.

TT always left reissues on the table, it's always been a 3-year window, and while they aren't Disney, it's essentially the same old "moratorium" thing in this case that the mouse uses. You still have folks selling existing copies at premium borderline ridiculous prices, but folks don't feel as if it's the only way they will ever get it. And, in this case, you don't have folks like in this thread that seem to think it was promised to be some type of once-in-a-lifetime collectable.

Basically, anyone pissed about most of this stuff has made their own bed, one way or another.


"He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it - namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make that thing difficult to attain..." - Mark Twain

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by AJHakari

Boy, I sure like watching movies. How about you guys?

To paraphrase Shane Rimmer in Rollerball:

"It's never been about movies! Ever!"

[oildude]

I watched Equus this weekend. First time ever seeing it. I am still getting my head around it. Not sure what I was expecting, but what I got was something extraordinary, very intense, and layers deep. One of the most superbly acted films I have seen recently, with Richard Burton giving a Shakespeareian quality performance. Peter Firth is mesmerizing as the deranged youth Alan Strang who becomes a patient of Burton's psychiatrist Martin Dysart after committing an inexplicable and horrific act of animal mutilation. Firth portrays Alan with a combination of lunacy and heartbreaking pathos as we begin to understand how twisted his young psyche has become. And to top it off the movie also stars my teenage crush Jenny Agutter.

Sensuality plays an integral role in the plot. There are frequent references to stimulation of the senses through natural beings, in particular horses with their muscular power, spirited temperament, and place in history in relation to Man. This theme is transposed onto the human characters and is reflected in the sexual tensions in the lives of some of the main characters in the story. The intermittent nudity actually fits into the narrative in a way that makes sense to the thematic elements, and the camera doesn't shy away from showing us just about everything from dangling sausages to Jenny's naughty bits on full display.

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by oildude

I watched Equus this weekend. First time ever seeing it. I am still getting my head around it. Not sure what I was expecting, but what I got was something extraordinary, very intense, and layers deep. One of the most superbly acted films I have seen recently, with Richard Burton giving a Shakespeareian quality performance. Peter Firth is mesmerizing as the deranged youth Alan Strang who becomes a patient of Burton's psychiatrist Martin Dysart after committing an inexplicable and horrific act of animal mutilation. Firth portrays Alan with a combination of lunacy and heartbreaking pathos as we begin to understand how twisted his young psyche has become. And to top it off the movie also stars my teenage crush Jenny Agutter.

Sensuality plays an integral role in the plot. There are frequent references to stimulation of the senses through natural beings, in particular horses with their muscular power, spirited temperament, and place in history in relation to Man. This theme is transposed onto the human characters and is reflected in the sexual tensions in the lives of some of the main characters in the story. The intermittent nudity actually fits into the narrative in a way that makes sense to the thematic elements, and the camera doesn't shy away from showing us just about everything from dangling sausages to Jenny's naughty bits on full display.

Good review, now I actually want to watch it. Seen it on stage and didn't like it, but you've convinced me that the filmmaker bestowed artistic beauty upon it.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Good review, now I actually want to watch it. Seen it on stage and didn't like it, but you've convinced me that the filmmaker bestowed artistic beauty upon it.

Equus is a dark film, and one of the few of its type I have seen where I can say I will benefit from a second viewing, especially in terms of the multiple themes and the dense dialog. Burton is a tour de force in this. I swear the man could read a cereal box on camera and make us tremble as if we are witnessing Hamlet.

Other main themes intertwined with natural sensuality are societal and religious conformity, faith, and the fragility of human beings. This is a film that kept me glued to my seat throughout. I am glad I was watching it on Blu-ray and could rewind to catch a few things I missed. As I said, it is not an easy film to comprehend, but everything in it is there for a reason and in the end it all makes sense.

[Aussie-Byrd-Brother]

Originally Posted by DJANGO

Glad it turned out to be the correct movie - things like this can really drive you crazy!

The old American DVD has gotten pretty expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/Seance-Wet-Aft...+wet+afternoon

Yes, honestly....I tried using the IMDB search option using words like `kidnap', and I gave up after a few minutes!

I nearly fell over when I saw the Amazon prices! Even the $16 ones still wanted over $15 to ship to Australia!

But I found a stack of copies on Ebay.uk (on standard DVD), most of them for a few dollars with dirt-cheap shipping costs, so I'm going to grab one of them.

When I saw it many years ago, I came in about half-way, so I had no idea of the psychic sub-plot , but everything else seems to fit, and the husband in the clips I've checked out looks just like I remember.

Again, thank you so much, never would have figured it out!

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by oildude

Equus is a dark film, and one of the few of its type I have seen where I can say I will benefit from a second viewing, especially in terms of the multiple themes and the dense dialog. Burton is a tour de force in this. I swear the man could read a cereal box on camera and make us tremble as if we are witnessing Hamlet.

Other main themes intertwined with natural sensuality are societal and religious conformity, faith, and the fragility of human beings. This is a film that kept me glued to my seat throughout. I am glad I was watching it on Blu-ray and could rewind to catch a few things I missed. As I said, it is not an easy film to comprehend, but everything in it is there for a reason and in the end it all makes sense.

Those are the best kind of movies. Thanks for the info.

[bruceames]

I'll have to check out Equus as well. Sounds like my kind of movie.

[Kristian Idol]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

Don't be silly. I have all of these Blu-rays because I think the spines look pretty.

And because only 2-3000 other people in the entire world own them! Moo-hoo-hahahaha!!

[CraigThom]

Originally Posted by wormraper

the reason people could JUSTIFY the $35 (with shipping) price tag was BECAUSE of the limited availability. that's the point really

It's absolutely true that there is a limited edition, and that's the price, and when they are gone they are gone. Until the three years are up.

That's no secret. It's spelled out clearly in the Twilight Time business model. After three years it may be released by them or by someone else, maybe for less money, and maybe with more extras.

I knew this before I bought my first Twilight Time movie. I knew that if I waited long enough, and the movie sold well enough, that it may come out cheaper one day. I decided I'd rather have it now than wait and take my chances.

And don't forget all the films they have that haven't sold out. Unlike everybody else that pay licensing fees on what's sold, Twilight Time pays it all up front. If a disc doesn't sell they lose more per unit.

[popeflick]

Originally Posted by mjbethancourt

Okay, you run a business.
If a customer completely bought up your product out of the market and put a 1000% markup on it, you are going to adapt your strategy accordingly, you are not going to sit there and do nothing, not even make more units and fail to tap that apparent demand. You will almost certainly charge them a much higher price next time, because you know you can. If the price they are taking is something that bottlenecks sales or frustrates the market, then you are going to prefer to sell to a different distributor who retails your product at a price that actually moves units, you are going to try to undersell the price-gouger (unless you have a contract in place that forbids it, but in this extreme case you would have grounds to contest that contract in court due to the bad-faith practices of the other party... and you would certainly think twice about dealing with them again without a solid accord on MSRP). Whatever it is you do, you are almost certainly going to respond, the status quo of getting bought out of a market after charging %10 of the final retail price in a market frozen by bad pricing, is not going to be acceptable.

Then again, I really don't know what to expect from a businessman who says he can sell more units by selling fewer units... still trying to figure that one out.

Damn it, now you've dragged me into semantics. Back to basics:

stop defending scalpers while pretending to defend collectors,
that is all.



Try to make sense, man. I can't make out the meaning of the grammar/typos/idioms of these sentence fragments, I can only vaguely gather that you were trying to insult me. I'm pretty sure I explicitly stated that TT could never get away with charging those kinds of prices, that was part of my point.

Yeah my iphone failed miserably there... Never mind at this point.

[Scooter1836]

Originally Posted by oildude

I watched Equus this weekend. First time ever seeing it. I am still getting my head around it. Not sure what I was expecting, but what I got was something extraordinary, very intense, and layers deep. One of the most superbly acted films I have seen recently, with Richard Burton giving a Shakespeareian quality performance. Peter Firth is mesmerizing as the deranged youth Alan Strang who becomes a patient of Burton's psychiatrist Martin Dysart after committing an inexplicable and horrific act of animal mutilation. Firth portrays Alan with a combination of lunacy and heartbreaking pathos as we begin to understand how twisted his young psyche has become. And to top it off the movie also stars my teenage crush Jenny Agutter.

Sensuality plays an integral role in the plot. There are frequent references to stimulation of the senses through natural beings, in particular horses with their muscular power, spirited temperament, and place in history in relation to Man. This theme is transposed onto the human characters and is reflected in the sexual tensions in the lives of some of the main characters in the story. The intermittent nudity actually fits into the narrative in a way that makes sense to the thematic elements, and the camera doesn't shy away from showing us just about everything from dangling sausages to Jenny's naughty bits on full display.

Originally Posted by oildude

Equus is a dark film, and one of the few of its type I have seen where I can say I will benefit from a second viewing, especially in terms of the multiple themes and the dense dialog. Burton is a tour de force in this. I swear the man could read a cereal box on camera and make us tremble as if we are witnessing Hamlet.

Other main themes intertwined with natural sensuality are societal and religious conformity, faith, and the fragility of human beings. This is a film that kept me glued to my seat throughout. I am glad I was watching it on Blu-ray and could rewind to catch a few things I missed. As I said, it is not an easy film to comprehend, but everything in it is there for a reason and in the end it all makes sense.

I have been on the fence on this one since it would be a blind buy...From what you have stated in your posts I am prepared to jump off the fence LOL

[donidarko]

Originally Posted by Scooter1836

I have been on the fence on this one since it would be a blind buy...From what you have stated in your posts I am prepared to jump off the fence LOL

If you like well acted intense psychological dramas, Equus can't be beat. I couldn't relate to it when I was a teen when it was first released, but over time after seeing it again on DVD, I found it disturbing yet incredibly fascinating. Richard Burton is terrific in this. One of the best films of the 70s.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by oildude

Equus is a dark film, and one of the few of its type I have seen where I can say I will benefit from a second viewing, especially in terms of the multiple themes and the dense dialog. Burton is a tour de force in this. I swear the man could read a cereal box on camera and make us tremble as if we are witnessing Hamlet.

Other main themes intertwined with natural sensuality are societal and religious conformity, faith, and the fragility of human beings. This is a film that kept me glued to my seat throughout. I am glad I was watching it on Blu-ray and could rewind to catch a few things I missed. As I said, it is not an easy film to comprehend, but everything in it is there for a reason and in the end it all makes sense.

I saw EQUUS on stage a few years ago when our local college did it (they seemed to be especially into shows with nudity for a couple of years) and found it quite effective. I bought the Blu-ray of the movie but haven't gotten around to watching it. Now all this discussion is making me think I need to see it fairly soon.