After reading and pondering on that comment for a while I'm curious to what the issue is?
In one sentence he's referring to complaints about the picture quality then says films from that era don't sell well. If I'm reading this correctly then pq or a newer 4K isn't a prerequisite for a title to sell well. In fact look at some of the MGM titles from later eras that have sold decently well for them. Some even sell out (The Train, Rollerball, Wild at Heart, Alfredo Garcia). So it seems that lesser known titles from that 50's ear don't sell well. I fail to see how the picture quality would be injected into that discussion other then TT just doesn't like comments that come off as negative about there product. In the case Solomon and Sheba being perceived to having issues with it's picture quality.
[Show spoiler]The 1950s was one of THE great decades for film. Before Blu-ray came along, I was a whole lot of ignorant about that period if it wasn't a bible epic, noir, a couple of westerns, or a monster movie. However, Blu-ray has encouraged me to explore, including searching out and streaming 50s movies not out on Blu-ray, and the more I poke around in that decade, the more impressed I am. There was so much subtlety and social commentary built into the DNA of so many of the dramas and genre films of the time.
An incredible number of superb actors and directors came to the forefront of film in the 1950s. All those actors and directors who carried with them the anguish and life lessons of two world wars, a depression, and all the momentous events of the first half of the 20th Century. There would be no 1960s or 70s reinvention of cinema if not for the 1950s. What makes the classic films so classic, what sets the creative energy of those mid-to-late decades of the 20th Century apart from the output of today's directors and actors, is those earlier generations had a period to draw on for inspiration and experience that has not been equaled since...and thank God for that.
My preconceptions that in general films from the 50s are dated has been proven flat out wrong. How could any decade that saw so much turmoil in world events, post-WWII alienation and readjustment, the Cold War gone hot, Stalin had the bomb, the threat of WWIII and global nuclear holocaust, duck and cover air raid drills in the schools, wars of colonial liberation, the very real fear of Communist infiltration into Western society, great leaps in societal change, social unrest, a decade of debates about who we are and where we are going as a people, and the birth of rock and roll be anything but impressive?
Billy Wilder, Samuel Fuller, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Mann, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, Elia Kazan, James Stewart, John Ford, John Huston, John Wayne, William Holden, Kim Novak, Jean Simmons, Glenn Ford, Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Fred Zinnemann, Bernard Herrmann, William Wyler, Ray Harryhausen, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Charlton Heston, Shirley McClaine, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Mikhail Kalatozov, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, and the great Toshiro Mifune.....just to scratch the surface. The list goes on and on.
Two 1950s movies I had never heard of until announced by Twilight Time. These are two of the most enjoyable movies I now own, beautiful PQ, great writing, directing, and acting.
Born Yesterday is especially fantastic. Who was Judy Holliday? Get it and find out what all the fuss was about, and why Anne Baxter and Bette Davis lost for All About Eve, Gloria Swanson got beat for Sunset Boulevard, and Eleanor Parker didn't win for Caged.
Not sure if everyone saw this on TT's Facebook but according to them Zardoz has already reached 3,000 units sold!
Also, they mentioned this:
There'll be a new low quantity announcement once the results of the birthday promotion are in - mid-month most likely.
Wow...that is impressive and surprising. I will have to order my copy sooner rather than later.*Good call by TT in setting a 5,000 run on Zardoz. Honestly, I am shocked.
Two 1950s movies I had never heard of until announced by Twilight Time. These are two of the most enjoyable movies I now own, beautiful PQ, great writing, directing, and acting.
Born Yesterday is especially fantastic. Who was Judy Holliday? Get it and find out what all the fuss was about, and why Anne Baxter and Bette Davis lost for All About Eve, Gloria Swanson got beat for Sunset Boulevard, and Eleanor Parker didn't win for Caged.
I couldn't agree more with everything you said about Born Yesterday. It ranks up there with The Big Heat as one of my favorite Twilight Time releases.
I just watched Bell, Book and Candle over the weekend and enjoyed it as well. Not as much as Born Yesterday, but I'm definitely glad to own it and will get a good amount of replay value out of it.
Two 1950s movies I had never heard of until announced by Twilight Time. These are two of the most enjoyable movies I now own, beautiful PQ, great writing, directing, and acting.
Born Yesterday is especially fantastic. Who was Judy Holliday? Get it and find out what all the fuss was about, and why Anne Baxter and Bette Davis lost for All About Eve, Gloria Swanson got beat for Sunset Boulevard, and Eleanor Parker didn't win for Caged.
Judy Holliday was wonderful, and sadly died much too young. Would love to see more of her films, particularly Bells Are Ringing. Bell, Book and Candle is my absolute favorite TT release. If you don't have it, get it!
Wow...that is impressive and surprising. I will have to order my copy sooner rather than later.*Good call by TT in setting a 5,000 run on Zardoz. Honestly, I am shocked.
me too. I thought it would sell out, but not for a while, guess I had to make my order asap
Two 1950s movies I had never heard of until announced by Twilight Time. These are two of the most enjoyable movies I now own, beautiful PQ, great writing, directing, and acting.
Born Yesterday is especially fantastic. Who was Judy Holliday? Get it and find out what all the fuss was about, and why Anne Baxter and Bette Davis lost for All About Eve, Gloria Swanson got beat for Sunset Boulevard, and Eleanor Parker didn't win for Caged.
To hear Bette Davis tell it that both her or Swanson should have won it but they canceled each other out.
The 1950s was one of THE great decades for film. Before Blu-ray came along, I was a whole lot of ignorant about that period if it wasn't a bible epic, noir, a couple of westerns, or a monster movie. However, Blu-ray has encouraged me to explore, including searching out and streaming 50s movies not out on Blu-ray, and the more I poke around in that decade, the more impressed I am. There was so much subtlety and social commentary built into the DNA of so many of the dramas and genre films of the time.
There's a lot of great movies in the 50's, I would never say otherwise. I just think there's less movies from the 50's that I would want to watch repeatedly. Most of them are great one-and-done films.
sales for just about every film from the 1950s is practically non-existent. With rare exceptions (THE EGYPTIAN and THE BIG HEAT) every title from this era we have released has lost money
...Although Picnic and Bell, Book and Candle are both under 500, and Leave her to Heaven, from an even earlier decade, has sold out. Plus, of course, Journey, which was so popular they repressed it! I don't think it's the decade/era that's necessarily the issue, it's the specific films they choose. Obviously titles as obscure (to the average potential customer in 2015) as Beloved Infidel, Rains of Ranchipur and The Eddy Duchin Story aren't going to move anywhere near 3,000 units at $30 a pop.
...Although Picnic and Bell, Book and Candle are both under 500, and Leave her to Heaven, from an even earlier decade, has sold out. Plus, of course, Journey, which was so popular they repressed it! I don't think it's the decade/era that's necessarily the issue, it's the specific films they choose. Obviously titles as obscure (to the average potential customer in 2015) as Beloved Infidel, Rains of Ranchipur and The Eddy Duchin Story aren't going to move anywhere near 3,000 units at $30 a pop.
Yes, I agree. I have been trying to make this point but written much more poorly. At the end of the day I think collectors item movies at $30 sell much better when they're from cult audience type genres. That doesn't just mean sci-fi or horror, but also noir as mentioned before and other such things (western, spy, etc).
There's a lot of great movies in the 50's, I would never say otherwise. I just think there's less movies from the 50's that I would want to watch repeatedly. Most of them are great one-and-done films.
Sadly, your loss. As much as I love the 80s - and I still have a long wish list from that decade - it has way more "one and done" films for me than the 1950s. I would never have said that four years ago. Blu-ray and streaming have opened a whole new world of cinema for me.
Sadly, your loss. As much as I love the 80s - and I still have a long wish list from that decade - it has way more "one and done" films for me than the 1950s. I would never have said that four years ago. Blu-ray and streaming have opened a whole new world of cinema for me.
My loss? I'm still watching them. You and others in this thread need to understand "don't need to own this film" isn't the same thing as "don't need to watch this film" or "this is a bad film." I only buy stuff I could see re-watching every year or two. Most 50's dramas aren't in that category, but that doesn't mean they're not brilliant films.
Wow...that is impressive and surprising. I will have to order my copy sooner rather than later.*Good call by TT in setting a 5,000 run on Zardoz. Honestly, I am shocked.
I'm shocked as well, I was hoping to get it later, since I kind of blew my budget, I guess now that they announced how well it's selling there may be a rush to buy it, so now the question is how long before it sells out.
...Although Picnic and Bell, Book and Candle are both under 500, and Leave her to Heaven, from an even earlier decade, has sold out. Plus, of course, Journey, which was so popular they repressed it! I don't think it's the decade/era that's necessarily the issue, it's the specific films they choose. Obviously titles as obscure (to the average potential customer in 2015) as Beloved Infidel, Rains of Ranchipur and The Eddy Duchin Story aren't going to move anywhere near 3,000 units at $30 a pop.
The Eddy Duchin Story is another great 1950s film that I saw for the first time on TT's Blu-ray. Love it. Just a wonderfully warm, heartbreaking, and ultimately moving story about a talented but flawed musician coming to grips with his responsibilities from life's choices and the fickle hand of fate. It deals with themes that are timeless, and does it anchored by some top notch jazz piano.
The other two you mention are enjoyable, but not as much in my opinion. The Rains of Ranchipur is a Richard Burton film, which makes it worth owning to me. A minor epic and quite good melodrama, it is the kind of old-school movie I have come to appreciate more and more. I like it very much and recommend it.
Beloved Infidel is one that I am lukewarm to, but only in comparison to the other outstanding 1950s films TT has released. Part of my issue is that I am lukewarm to Gregory Peck in general. He comes off as more wooden than usual here next to the lively performance from Deborah Kerr. Since these two essentially carry the whole film on their shoulders, the gulf between their abilities in this style of movie makes me think Peck was miscast here. Still, it has its merits and I find myself drawn more and more to it each time I revisit it. Beloved Infidel shines less brightly for me simply because the other 1950s jewels in the TT crown are so dazzling.
All three of these are well worth the birthday sale asking price. I hope folks don't let them slip by without serious consideration.
I'm shocked as well, I was hoping to get it later, since I kind of blew my budget, I guess now that they announced how well it's selling there may be a rush to buy it, so now the question is how long before it sells out.
I figured with 5,000 it wouldn't sell out and was going to wait until next year's sale. With the fb post I guess I underestimated the cult following. I just placed my order.
Thanks for the thoughtful capsule remarks oildude, I wasn't necessarily disparaging the content of the films, just giving them as examples of films that were, from the get-go, not going to be money-makers from TT. I'm certainly with you on Gregory Peck: there are a small group of classical-era actors that irk me greatly. George Brent, George Raft and Robert Montgomery are the prime offenders, but Peck was never an actor whose style I warmed to. I worship Deborah Kerr though, so perhaps I'll track down a copy.
Quote:
The other two you mention are enjoyable, but not as much in my opinion.
I never wrote that, so how did it appear in your quote?
Sometimes the right movie needs to be released . Hint TT...release The Dessert Fox (1951) and it will sell out.
Like a guy over on their Face book page posted. The one title that would sell out in a New York minute is Fade to Black (1980) with Dennis Christopher. Its owned by American Cinema but Anchor bay was the one that released the DVD and is one of those very expensive OOP DVD's. I would guess 5,000 copies would be gone in a few weeks.
I never wrote that, so how did it appear in your quote?
Oops. Thanks for pointing it out. I fat fingered an extra keystroke that copied and pasted when I went to submit. Part of my post got mixed up into your quote, which I thought I had repaired. Fixed it now.
I agree with your point. I do, however, think these will sell out eventually if people give them a chance. But they are the kind of titles that will move slowly.
I placed an order from SA.com and the 25th. No ship notice yet. Anyone else still waiting with orders placed last week?
Yes, but this happened the last time I ordered from them a month or so ago. In fact, I never received a notice of shipment; instead, my order simply appeared on my doorstep one morning ...
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. Hint TT...release The Dessert Fox (1951) and it will sell out.
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