Sexy Beast (2000) (Limited to 3,000 Copies)

[bigbadwoppet]

Originally Posted by DrBabylon

I just ripped my Twilight Time disc recently and compared the two versions, a few days before I saw this thread haha. For me, the 2.35 is far more cinematic looking, and is the only way I would ever watch the film. Watching the unmatted version just looks far less intentional in the framing to my eyes. It's cool that you get both options though.

Spot on. The visual composition is fantastic and enhances the tension in the film. The opened up 1.78:1 is just that, the TV friendly version.

[bigbadwoppet]

Originally Posted by GiorgioV

We actually do not get anything, cinematic or otherwise. All iterations of this film have been discontinued.

Nothing lasts forever. I never wait for the ones I really need in my collection.

Maybe Icon could release it in the UK on UHD. The production company is the same behind Bertolucci's Dreamers (Jeremy Thomas' Recorded Picture Co). Both were distributed in the US by Fox, so it's unlikely we'll see a reissue this side of the pond.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

I believe some of the Searchlight titles expired even co-productions where the distributor were only given rights for a set time until they renew or not. Rights expire if they choose not to renew or the producer puts in a monitary stake for distro rights. Fox lost the 28 series and its producer controls disto rights with Sony being distributor.

Fox did not have Sexy Beast outside the US so i presume someone will be prepping a brand new 4k hdr with release plans of some sort.

[Kowalski5599]

Another title locked away from collectors by the Twilight Time curse of 3,000. I know some (many) of you love the exclusivity of these TT3K releases, but let's be honest: it's stupid. Films are meant to be enjoyed, not gate-kept and coveted. Any young or new collectors coming up will never have a chance at owning so many of these Twilight time releases (with their features, re: Sandpiper Pictures), and that's a shame.

Sexy Beast
Breaking Away
Places In The Heart
Philadelphia
Under Fire

and more, locked away for like 10+ years - unless you happened to be alive/collecting when TT released them. It's like a miniature version of the frustrations experienced in the current housing market. Pay exorbitant, inflated prices for what once cost $38 or be without indefinitely.

[koberulz]

TT no longer exists, so their releases would all be out of print even if they weren't limited.

[Nitroes]

It's had a couple of releases in the UK but both see OOP. Last release was 2020 so hopefully it'll reappear. Still lots of used copies around if you import.

It's a great film.

[danny24]

Originally Posted by Kowalski5599

Another title locked away from collectors by the Twilight Time curse of 3,000. I know some (many) of you love the exclusivity of these TT3K releases, but let's be honest: it's stupid. Films are meant to be enjoyed, not gate-kept and coveted. Any young or new collectors coming up will never have a chance at owning so many of these Twilight time releases (with their features, re: Sandpiper Pictures), and that's a shame.

Sexy Beast
Breaking Away
Places In The Heart
Philadelphia
Under Fire

and more, locked away for like 10+ years - unless you happened to be alive/collecting when TT released them. It's like a miniature version of the frustrations experienced in the current housing market. Pay exorbitant, inflated prices for what once cost $38 or be without indefinitely.

Philadelphia got a 4K release by Sony.

[Kowalski5599]

Originally Posted by koberulz

TT no longer exists, so their releases would all be out of print even if they weren't limited.

Who knows how the brand would've faired without their 3K limited deal. Had TT never existed, most of these titles would've gone to other labels like Criterion or Kino.

[Kowalski5599]

Originally Posted by Nitroes

It's had a couple of releases in the UK but both see OOP. Last release was 2020 so hopefully it'll reappear. Still lots of used copies around if you import.

It's a great film.

OOP and expensive on eBay. Just shouldn't be that way.

[navydavey]

Originally Posted by Kowalski5599

Who knows how the brand would've faired without their 3K limited deal. Had TT never existed, most of these titles would've gone to other labels like Criterion or Kino.

To be fair, if they'd gone to Criterion they probably wouldn't have gotten a release at all..

Also apparently the UK releases of Sexy Beast aren't as good as the TT one, so that sucks.

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by Kowalski5599

Who knows how the brand would've faired without their 3K limited deal. Had TT never existed, most of these titles would've gone to other labels like Criterion or Kino.

You should look into Twilight Time to better understand how they came about, the origin of their name, and why they limited their runs to 3000 (usually). They were never some villain. And, while I didn't know him personally, we're all poorer for having lost Nick Redman. It's a shame to see people misunderstanding his baby, especially years after his death and the death of the label.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by balthazar_bee

You should look into Twilight Time to better understand how they came about, the origin of their name, and why they limited their runs to 3000 (usually). They were never some villain. And, while I didn't know him personally, we're all poorer for having lost Nick Redman. It's a shame to see people misunderstanding his baby, especially years after his death and the death of the label.

Yeah, it wasn't their model that ultimately did them in, but the death of Redman, who was the label's heart and soul.

[Region_unlocked]

Originally Posted by balthazar_bee

You should look into Twilight Time to better understand how they came about, the origin of their name, and why they limited their runs to 3000 (usually). They were never some villain. And, while I didn't know him personally, we're all poorer for having lost Nick Redman. It's a shame to see people misunderstanding his baby, especially years after his death and the death of the label.

I was there at the time. My first ever post on this site was a list of TT titles available in other regions. Redman's intentions were admirable and I believe if he'd stuck more closely to his initial intentions he would've been looked back on in a much fonder light. Like you alluded to the name Twilight Time was referring to how Redman saw the state of physical media, the sun was setting, we're in the twilight. He intended to give films that weren't broadly popular, but enthusiasts cared about, one last stab at a physical release in the highest possible quality at the time. That's great. We've all run into that situation where you learn about an old movie that you want to see, look it up on the site to see if there's a physical release, only to find it's only on DVD. Giving these kinds of films a BD is fantastic. Thing is he expanded to films that, in my opinion, he had no business touching. Night of the Living Dead 1990, Fright Night, Christine, Philadelphia, Steel Magnolias, The Blob 88, John Carpenter's Vampires, Enemy Mine, All The King's Men. These were not films with small yet devoted fanbases that would've had no chance of getting released had he not stepped in. They were genre classics with very large fanbases. All the King's Men is a best picture winner for goodness sake! When these released at $35 plus shipping, with a cap of 3,000 units, that'd sell out in pre-orders it came off more like gatekeeping than setting these titles free. Granted, it was more on the studios for not understanding what they had and the potential customers they were just neglecting than it was on Redman, but regardless that's how people reacted. If TT had stuck to putting out limited appeal forgotten gems I think a lot more people would miss them. Or at the very least less people would look back at them in anger.

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by Region_unlocked

[Show spoiler]I was there at the time. My first ever post on this site was a list of TT titles available in other regions. Redman's intentions were admirable and I believe if he'd stuck more closely to his initial intentions he would've been looked back on in a much fonder light. Like you alluded to the name Twilight Time was referring to how Redman saw the state of physical media, the sun was setting, we're in the twilight. He intended to give films that weren't broadly popular, but enthusiasts cared about, one last stab at a physical release in the highest possible quality at the time. That's great. We've all run into that situation where you learn about an old movie that you want to see, look it up on the site to see if there's a physical release, only to find it's only on DVD. Giving these kinds of films a BD is fantastic. Thing is he expanded to films that, in my opinion, he had no business touching. Night of the Living Dead 1990, Fright Night, Christine, Philadelphia, Steel Magnolias, The Blob 88, John Carpenter's Vampires, Enemy Mine, All The King's Men. These were not films with small yet devoted fanbases that would've had no chance of getting released had he not stepped in. They were genre classics with very large fanbases. All the King's Men is a best picture winner for goodness sake! When these released at $35 plus shipping, with a cap of 3,000 units, that'd sell out in pre-orders it came off more like gatekeeping than setting these titles free. Granted, it was more on the studios for not understanding what they had and the potential customers they were just neglecting than it was on Redman, but regardless that's how people reacted.

If TT had stuck to putting out limited appeal forgotten gems I think a lot more people would miss them. Or at the very least less people would look back at them in anger.

I don't know why people feel compelled to look back in anger about this. It's an ancient grievance directed at a guy who's been dead for six years. This business about licencing titles that "he had no business touching" seems very silly. I was there too, and frankly people were always a bit hysterical about Twilight Time. Clearly those "wounds" were deep. I missed out on some Twilight Time titles, like many people. But this idea that Redman lost his purity by not staying true to "his original intentions", ehhh I don't know.

Sometimes we who make up this niche market overestimate the demand for this stuff. All the King's Men, to use your example, was available long after it was released (I know, because I bought it during one of their frequent and substantial sales). Most of the other titles you've listed have received subsequent releases. Why do people hang on to a grudge like this? Who cares? As you say, the studios were under no obligation to give these titles to Twilight Time; they did it voluntarily. Why don't people direct any lingering bitterness at those studios? It's just weird, man.

[GiorgioV]

When it comes to Twilight Time, my feelings are nothing but gratitude.

They’re the ones who brought out, to only name a few: Breaking Away, still one of my top coming-of-age movies; The Buddy Holly Story; the 1993 version of The Vanishing, a compelling reinterpretation of the source material, marred only by a conventional Hollywood ending (Jeff and Kiefer were a highlight, though).

These films either haven’t been available from anyone else worldwide or, in Buddy Holly’s case, the other releases have been greatly disappointing. I almost bought Talk Radio, but the lack of English subs made no sense for a film so rich in dialogue.

[Region_unlocked]

Originally Posted by balthazar_bee

I don't know why people feel compelled to look back in anger about this. It's an ancient grievance directed at a guy who's been dead for six years. This business about licencing titles that "he had no business touching" seems very silly. I was there too, and frankly people were always a bit hysterical about Twilight Time. Clearly those "wounds" were deep. I missed out on some Twilight Time titles, like many people. But this idea that Redman lost his purity by not staying true to "his original intentions", ehhh I don't know.

Sometimes we who make up this niche market overestimate the demand for this stuff. All the King's Men, to use your example, was available long after it was released (I know, because I bought it during one of their frequent and substantial sales). Most of the other titles you've listed have received subsequent releases. Why do people hang on to a grudge like this? Who cares? As you say, the studios were under no obligation to give these titles to Twilight Time; they did it voluntarily. Why don't people direct any lingering bitterness at those studios? It's just weird, man.

I personally don't hold any bitterness. Like you said, the man and company are dead, the model never meaningfully caught on and a bunch of the major titles they put out have been reissued by other labels in abundance. Sony themselves saw fit to include All the Kings Men in their Columbia Classics Vol 5 set. It's all in the past now. I'm not even saying the hate was ultimately all that justified, the man's intentions were good, but the decisions made resulted in a lot of pissed off people back in the day. It just did. When I say Redman should've stayed in his lane with more obscure fare I'm not saying that in the sense that he was violating his principles in branching out. I mean pragmatically it was a bad idea because it overextended the model beyond what it was intended for and ended up souring a lot of people on the whole idea. As evidenced by the fact that they eventually produced 8,000 total units of "Fright Night".

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by Region_unlocked

the model never meaningfully caught on

Yes, limited-edition Blu-ray releases from boutique labels are famously rare things nowadays.

[Region_unlocked]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Yes, limited-edition Blu-ray releases from boutique labels are famously rare things nowadays.

There's limited edition versions of releases all the time, but hardly anyone does them the way Twilight Time did where you're completely SOL if you miss out on the limited. There's typically more abundant standard editions available also.

[danny24]

I don't know why people are blaming Twilight Time for Sexy Beast being OOP and no new Blu-ray/UHD. It's a Fox title in the USA. So take a guess what that means. yep. Disney.

[Jaymole]

I keep saying this over and over, but one of the worst days ever for physical media is the day Disney bought Fox.