Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by spatafore

what's the difference between a 3000 TT limited vs Encore Edition?

different artwork? no booklets? no reversible art? or?

Some of them had redone transfers and a couple new extras though with Fright Night the responses weren't 100% positive.

I think all of them had different artwork though some were marginally different. Pretty sure all had booklets though other than the cover art most of them were the same.

Most of the encores except Myst. Island had inner cover art work, but none had reversible covers

Some of the later Encores were essentially the same discs with different artwork and just a chance to allow 3000 more sales.

[Doc Moonlight]

I remember that TT was working on a restored release of "Loving You" with Elvis Presley. I'm hoping that Screen Archives will be able to pick that up.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Just watched Hombre for the first time. Wow. What a movie. A solid release by TT on top of it all.

I’m glad to hear you were impressed by the film and the gorgeous Blu of it. I was only 9 years old when I saw HOMBRE first run in a theater in the 60’s and it was such a memorable experience, one that has continually haunted my imagination, no matter how many times I’ve seen it since.

Martin Ritt is kind of a forgotten director, but he was a very intelligent and perceptive talent and people of the highest caliber always wanted to work with him. In addition to his masterful choice of material and his beautifully realized vision, one thing I loved about him was his insistence that his films be shot on exotic locations that few other productions had ever utilized.

Anyone who repeats the now tiring refrain that TT rarely released genuinely classic films and/or their editions were always inferior to UK counterparts, just watch HOMBRE and then shut the hell up.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by ilovenola2

I've seen all but New Centurions. The Incident, I believe, is the one about a hostage situation on a subway train. Excellent film.
The Hospital is a superb black comedy in the vein of Network, whose author, Paddy Chayefsky, also penned this excellent film.
The Seven-ups is a cop film that I barely remember but I liked it.
The Chase is a wonderful but strange picture written by Horton Foote and starring a cast of heavyweights, including Brando, Jane Fonda, Duvall, E.G.Marshall and an up-and-coming Robert Redford. It's one of my favorite films and of this group I recommend it the most. Perfect?? No. Fascinating and fun--- absolutely!!
If I were choosing, I'd pick The Chase first and The Hospital and The Incident next.
Hope this helps. Of course, it's all just my opinion. (But get The Chase!! It's a hoot.)

Actually from the point of view of strategic buying, I would recommend that person pick up The Hospital, The Incident and The Seven-Ups.

The Chase and The New Centurions have had excellent releases from Indicator that use the same transfers that one can turn to if the TT releases sell out. The Incident in particular is one I fear may never see the light of day again because of its low key nature and being a Fox title.

[HaroldnMaude]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

I remember that TT was working on a restored release of "Loving You" with Elvis Presley. I'm hoping that Screen Archives will be able to pick that up.

From a quick google I come up with NBC/Universal owns rights now to Loving You. Universal is pretty good about releasing stuff on blu-ray or licencing things like the older Paramount titles they own to Kino, so we should see it somewhere eventually.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

The Incident in particular is one I fear may never see the light of day again because of its low key nature and being a Fox title.

Eureka released "The Incident" last year:

[Show spoiler]

The disc is region locked but it can be bypassed by pressing either the "disc menu" or "popup menu" functions on a remote at the region mismatch screen. Word from the grapevine, however, is that Eureka's recent Fox's licenses are much shorter than prior deals (2-3 years the last I heard).

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Eureka released "The Incident" last year:

[Show spoiler]

The disc is region locked but it can be bypassed by pressing either the "disc menu" or "popup menu" functions on a remote at the region mismatch screen. Word from the grapevine, however, is that Eureka's recent Fox's licenses are much shorter than prior deals.

Wow, I did not realize that, thanks.

[HaroldnMaude]

Originally Posted by RandCanuck

Regarding the Encore Editions: Journey to the Centre of the Earth got a brand new, much improved scan. If you want to track down that title, defintiely look for the second release.

Thanks for the heads up, looks like people are selling both edotions for a out the same $$. Found a copy of the reissue listed reasonably on Ebay.

Also ordered a Japanese copy of The Egyptian.

People complained about the price of TT titles when they were first released, but these UK Indicator prices aren't cheap once you do the currency conversion & add overseas shipping. I do like the packaging, & bought a couple in the past. I have their region free edition of Experiment in Terror, which has an featurette interview with Stephanie Powers that isn't on the TT release. I enjoyed that's actually more than the film itself.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I know all the ins and outs and where and whys of how they decided upon that number and came up with their business model. It was discussed and debated and argued about endlessly during the early days of the label until it became quite tiresome and there was no point in discussing it anymore.

That doesn't change the fact that it was a stupid business model to begin with. They were left with thousands of copies of titles that no one really wanted that they ended up having to practically give away, while the titles people really wanted often sold out quickly and now may never be available again to people who would want and appreciate them.

It's been a great ride for Twilight Time, I have some great movies thanks to them, but I'm also kind of glad they're done and while Fox may be a write-off at this point, I'm hoping that other labels will benefit and be able to release the sorts of titles that Twilight Time used to without being tethered to that stupid limited edition model.

When they first started operations and the details of their business model were revealed, I was VERY outspokenly critical of it on forums. I purchased THE EGYPTIAN because it’s a personal favorite, but I swore that would be the only TT release I would ever buy. When Euro releases of TT titles started coming out and were reviewed more favorably, I jumped at them, continuing and even relishing my boycott of TT. But then sales slowly started happening and prices gradually came down and, of course, I betrayed my principles and decided to give TT a chance. I’m glad I did and have never regretted my decision. I would still buy superior versions from overseas, but I was no longer so adamantly against TT. The more eclectic their title choices became the more attractive they became and at that point I was less concerned about their business model and more their survival. I had done a complete turnaround.

What I never understood, however, was their choice to almost exclusively stick with Screen Archives and later their own site for distribution (I also believe they were briefly with TCM Shop). I understand personal loyalty and I understand not wanting to split too big a piece of the profits with evil sucking retailers like Amazon, but who the hell is Screen Archives? It’s obvious TT by their very nature was pitching their product to established collectors, but can you survive on just that and ignore the general public? Just for one example, Warner Archive learned early on when they first started their MOD DVD model that vintage westerns were HUGE sellers. There is a large segment of older male fans who consistently buy westerns on disc, but I wonder how many of these often computer challenged senior dudes had ever heard of Twilight Time? TT releases were not always of obscure movies that ONLY collectors would be attracted to, but their retail outlets were. It’s never seemed like a good business decision to me.

[Gacivory]

I ordered 7 titles, 2 have sold out. Number 75xXx. Ordered on Monday. Been charged the whole amount but heard nothing about shipping.

[Shanew800]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Eureka released "The Incident" last year:

[Show spoiler]

The disc is region locked but it can be bypassed by pressing either the "disc menu" or "popup menu" functions on a remote at the region mismatch screen. Word from the grapevine, however, is that Eureka's recent Fox's licenses are much shorter than prior deals (2-3 years the last I heard).

Does this region bypass work on a lot of blu ray players or just a certain brand or model?

[Shanew800]

Thanks to everyone for all of the feedback, it helped out with my decision on which to get. Due to some titles being Fox and some titles only released through twilight times and region locked I chose the following :
The Incident
The Hospital
Lawman
The Seven-Ups
Edge of eternity
Warlock
I'll eventually buy The Chase and New Centurions since there are other studio releases on these that are region free. Now to face the wife that doesn't share the same hobby as me and thinks it's a waste, but hey, I'll own these forever and I may never have the chance to own them again.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Shanew800

Does this region bypass work on a lot of blu ray players or just a certain brand or model?

Normally Panasonic players can bypass a lot of region locked discs but, for whatever reason, certain Eureka discs that were authored by the same person have it so the bypassing will work on any player (I have a full list of known titles here).

[Roy_Batty]

Originally Posted by RandCanuck

Regarding the Encore Editions: Journey to the Centre of the Earth got a brand new, much improved scan. If you want to track down that title, defintiely look for the second release.

Yeah! and then go take out a second Mortgage!

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by jw007

I'm not sure where I stand on the 3,000 limited edition model, but didn't Twilight Time offer a 2nd chance to fans for the movie Rollerball, when they released the Encore Edition of it, after the initial release got sold out?

I'm all for re-pressing or creating additional "encore editions" for certain titles that are best sellers and super popular. It's all about supply and demand, and TT's business model ultimately didn't work, but you can't deny it was an interesting experiment.

LOL it didn't work so well that most of the small boutique labels now also do limited runs. It worked perfectly and allowed them to make a profit without getting saddled with tons of overstock no one wanted. But I guess all the other labels who do limited pressings also "don't work" either, except they do.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Normally Panasonic players can bypass a lot of region locked discs but, for whatever reason, certain Eureka discs that were authored by the same person have it so the bypassing will work on any player (I have a full list of known titles here).

Thanks. I may take a flyer on Human Desire and No Way Out once I’m done giving Twilight Time and SAE all my money.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

LOL it didn't work so well that most of the small boutique labels now also do limited runs. It worked perfectly and allowed them to make a profit without getting saddled with tons of overstock no one wanted. But I guess all the other labels who do limited pressings also "don't work" either, except they do.

If they were a success I guess they wouldn't have had an overstock of titles nobody wanted that they are almost giving away via Screen Archives for $5 a pop.

[hariseldon]

COWBOY- just dropped to 49 copies -at SAE so imminent sell out warning in the near future

EDIT: 45 minutes later. SOLD OUT

[diverdave]

Originally Posted by jw007

If they were a success I guess they wouldn't have had an overstock of titles nobody wanted that they are almost giving away via Screen Archives for $5 a pop.

It was successful enough to last for nine years and to release 380 films.

[Flapperdame16]

I am honestly shocked at how many good titles are still available at SAE, I myself havent placed an order yet (But I need to, shame on me for waiting). But they (as of this writing) still have My cousin Rachel! Along with Anne of the thousand days- I am so tempted to get Rachel- it's that shipping cost that I dread. But then I think- Just one purchase, then you never have to buy it again! (Especially Rachel being its fox)