Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

With the exception of Mindwarp and the 2 newer releases is there another Fantasy/SciFi movie that didn't sell out?

Thunderbirds Are Go / Thunderbird 6 (which is on the Low Quantity Alert list)

On the fantasy side:

Lost Horizon
Audrey Rose
The Believers
The Purple Rose of Cairo

(Woody Allen's movies tend to have surreal moments, but Cairo is the only one of the TT releases so far that's outright fantasy. Love and Death might apply, as well, if only because of the scene with Death at the end.)

[itsaboutHD]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

...

-- of course I was surprised that Enemy Mine took so long

That was going to be my example!

[BarnDoor]

Amidst the sale I almost forgot that we should hear the line-up for July and August either next Saturday or the week after (will probably be the latter).

[JoeDeM]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

I just had time to watch both Journey and First Men last night. Both are spectacular! Great job by Fox and Sony on the transfers. So are we officially in Harryhausen withdrawal for a while or will we see 3 Worlds of Gulliver and One Million Years, B.C sooner rather than later from TT? With all the great Sci Fi and horror movies from the 60's and 70's coming to bd in the near future I wouldn't be surprised if Warner Archives releases their Harryhausen movies.
Wishful thinking, I know!

Harryhousen withdrawal, I don't think that exists, I know I'm ready for the next batch.

[rockyfan]

Received Journey to the Centre of the Earth and U Turn in the UK this morning. Thinking of ordering First Men in the Moon too based on all the positive comments it's getting.

One of my favourite Twilight Time blu rays is Salvador. I've never seen Under Fire, thinking of getting it whilst it's on sale. Would anyone recommend it as a blind buy, as I really enjoyed Salvador? Cheers

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I'm not sure about erred, but definitely unpredictable. It is the type cultish movie that may may sell out eventually. With the exception of Mindwarp and the 2 newer releases is there another Fantasy/SciFi movie that didn't sell out?
The extra 2000 may get it to the next anniversary sale, but I'd be a bit surprised to see it not sold out sooner rather than later -- of course I was surprised that Enemy Mine took so long

Enemy Mine came out earlier in their existence. I would have bought it day one if I knew about Twilight Time then. Annoyed I missed out, don't want to pay ebay prices until I know they won't re-release it.

I have to say though, sci-fi is different from horror. Horror fans are rabid, any horror film TT can get their hands on they should do 5,000 copies and it still might sell out in a day like Fright Night. Sci-fi though is probably more hit and miss. I think Zardoz will eventually sell out, but it's gonna take a while.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by JoeDeM

Harryhousen withdrawal, I don't think that exists, I know I'm ready for the next batch.

Same here. I am buying all of them on day one .

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by rockyfan

Received Journey to the Centre of the Earth and U Turn in the UK this morning. Thinking of ordering First Men in the Moon too based on all the positive comments it's getting.

One of my favourite Twilight Time blu rays is Salvador. I've never seen Under Fire, thinking of getting it whilst it's on sale. Would anyone recommend it as a blind buy, as I really enjoyed Salvador? Cheers

I would recommend it. Throw in The Killing Fields, too, to make a triptych of photojournalism films.

[docc]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Lost Horizon -- agreed it probably fits in Fantasy (the 1937 original more-so than this version), but it also seems to get placed in the dreaded Musical in most people's mind and I don't any have sold out though a couple are finally getting close after the 3 year mark. I can't believe Bye Bye Birdie and Oliver aren't long gone/

...and also Pal Joey for that matter

[The Great Owl]

I ordered The Song of Bernadette while the birthday promotion is still hot.

I've heard some good things about this film, and the cast lineup is just amazing.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I ordered The Song of Bernadette while the birthday promotion is still hot.

I've heard some good things about this film, and the cast lineup is just amazing.

FWIW, one of my faves ... but then again, I seem to be in the minority a lot of the time. Hope you like it too!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

May be more of how to define, but other than Sleeper, I'm not sure I'd put any Woody Allen in the standard Fantasy/SciFi genre.

Well, in The Purple Rose of Cairo, characters in the movie-within-the-movie interact with the audience watching said movie-within-the-movie. And one character actually comes out of the screen and walks around in the "real" world. If that doesn't qualify as fantasy, I don't know what would.

The other Allen film that I would classify as definitely fantasy (and is one of the group of Allen films that Twilight Time supposedly has the license to) is Alice. The title character is given magical potions by an old Chinese doctor that, among other things, makes her invisible.

[StLouisRibs]

Er, surely Zelig classifies as sci-fi? Or even Midnight in Paris (albeit more fantasy)?

[Widescreenfilmguy]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

Er, surely Zelig classifies as sci-fi? Or even Midnight in Paris (albeit more fantasy)?

Does TT have the licensing for those titles? I don't think I have read that before

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

Er, surely Zelig classifies as sci-fi? Or even Midnight in Paris (albeit more fantasy)?

I haven't seen Midnight in Paris yet (have it on the shelf; haven't gotten around to it yet) so I can't say one way or the other. But based on a plot synopsis of the film, I'd probably say it's fantasy. Good call.

Zelig struck me as more surreal than fantastic...more in the line of Kafka than outright SF/fantasy, but then I haven't seen it since it was first released. Similar to why I'm not willing to state categorically that Love and Death is fantasy just because of the Death scene (as with its inspiration, The Seventh Seal, it's not clear that Death's appearance is meant to be taken literally).

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Widescreenfilmguy

Does TT have the licensing for those titles? I don't think I have read that before

Zelig, yes; Midnight in Paris, no.

Twilight Time supposedly has licenses for 15 WA films, comprising all of the ones that are a part of MGM's holdings -- originally released by United Artists and Orion Pictures; from Bananas through Shadows and Fog -- except for the four that MGM has released themselves (Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters).

TT has released 5 of the 15 so far.

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by Widescreenfilmguy

Does TT have the licensing for those titles? I don't think I have read that before

Not for Midnight, no, but the question as if Allen had ever produced Sci-fi/Fantasy, and I'd pretty clearly put Midnight in Paris' plot as fantastical.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

As I said -- probably more of a definition, but having fantasy elements inside a drama/comedy doesn't necessary change it from a drama to fantasy genre (my opinion only). Zelig fits more as a fantasy than Cairo in my mind, but mixed elements make it hard to hard fix it into one area

Ah. That's were the conflict lies. I don't see a film (or a book or whatever) as being only one thing or another. It can be two or even three things at the same time (and possibly more, though I can't say that I've encountered anything that crosses four genres➊). Minority Report isn't just an SF film or a police procedural film; it's both. Spaceballs isn't an SF film or a comedy film; it's both. To my mind, if it has clear elements of fantasy in it, it's fantasy, regardless of what other elements may be present. It's one of the reasons why I've never been tempted to shelve my films by genre.

If you look the films up in the IMDb, you'll often see multiple genres mentioned, such as:

Sleeper - Comedy | Sci-Fi
Love and Death - Comedy | War
Zelig - Comedy
The Purple Rose of Cairo - Comedy | Fantasy | Romance
Alice - Comedy | Romance (as noted, I think it's fantasy as well)

And that's because they don't necessarily fit into just one genre, or even two genres.

➊ I should say that I don't actually think of "comedy" and "drama" as being genres, but that's me. To me, genre is mostly defined by content, whereas I think of "comedy" and "drama" to be stylistic considerations.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Zelig, yes; Midnight in Paris, no.

Twilight Time supposedly has licenses for 15 WA films, comprising all of the ones that are a part of MGM's holdings -- originally released by United Artists and Orion Pictures; from Bananas through Shadows and Fog -- except for the four that MGM has released themselves (Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters).

TT has released 5 of the 15 so far.

Bananas would be an immediate by for me...I love that movie .

[cakefactory]

Many of his movies are fantasies, since they often involve him getting together with at least one total babe that's way out of his league. Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and her Sisters, etc. :P Obviously Sleeper and Midnight in Paris are the ones with traditionally fantastic elements though

I only watched Zelig once and it was several years ago, but I recall it having a rather fantastical main plot element, which was that the lead character had some impossible condition which could cause him to perfectly impersonate anyone and speak any language that they did while also taking on their physical appearance. It's sorta more just comic absurdism than a fantasy, but it's definitely dependent on a lot of plot elements that are way outside the realm of scientific possibility.

I don't remember Deconstructing Harry well - I remember it had a very surreal plot with ideas and characters from the writer creeping into his life, but I don't remember it clearly enough to know if it could qualify as fantasy or not. Probably not, unless you'd also count things like the Marshall Mcluhan scene from Annie Hall as qualifying that one.

Anyway, in TT news, I've now got Leave her to Heaven, The Train, Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Wild at Heart, Rapture, Journey to the Center of the Earth and First Men in the Moon on my watch pile. I ordered Equus, Under Fire, Man Hunt, When the Wind Blows, and Crimes & Misdemeanors on the first day of the sale. I think I'm going to cave and order a second batch from the sale too, of Broadway Danny Rose, Radio Days, Heaven Knows Mr Alison, Jane Eyre, The Other, and The Disappearance. Oh, my poor bank account