Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching the Blu-ray of Hard Times. What a great film!

I love the low-key vibe of Hard Times, and it's a reminder that one of the true joys of cinema is "meeting" good people. This movie does not reinvent the wheel, and, instead, it's just one of those endlessly-rewatchable films that always compels you to stop whatever you're doing if you stumble across it on television.

Although the two films are quite different plotwise, Hard Times reminded me a lot of the 1973 movie, Emperor of the North, starring Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. These two would make for a nice double feature of simple, yet terrific Depression-era stories with memorable and likeable characters.

I'm in a chilled-out frame of mind, and I don't want to write a full-blown User Review, but Hard Times looks great and sounds great on the Blu-ray. If you are on the fence about buying this one, then get off the fence and buy it soon.

No, you can't make me!

[Show spoiler]Oh, wait, I already own this. It was a blind buy and I enjoyed it.

[krasnoludek]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

There appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel, thank goodness.

So if TT has admitted that they didn't have knowledge of the switch and are unhappy with it and unhappy with customers' reactions, have they suggested any reparative actions other than just making sure that future releases don't have eco cases? After being a loyal TT purchaser, I was not pleased to find that the 4 new releases were eco cases. If I were TT, I would offer to send out (or even automatically send out) replacement cases to anyone that purchased those titles. It's a bit of good will that would go a long way.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by krasnoludek

So if TT has admitted that they didn't have knowledge of the switch and are unhappy with it and unhappy with customers' reactions, have they suggested any reparative actions other than just making sure that future releases don't have eco cases? After being a loyal TT purchaser, I was not pleased to find that the 4 new releases were eco cases. If I were TT, I would offer to send out (or even automatically send out) replacement cases to anyone that purchased those titles. It's a bit of good will that would go a long way.

Were your items damaged in any way by virtue of being shipped in eco-cases?

[CrushOfTheDark]

Aside from the ones Twilight Time posted on their facebook page, are there any other titles that are getting low in numbers? Trying to decide what to order this week.

[jstxanothrxstory]

Originally Posted by CrushOfTheDark

Aside from the ones Twilight Time posted on their facebook page, are there any other titles that are getting low in numbers? Trying to decide what to order this week.

They haven't announced anything outside of what's on their FB page. You could always try the cart game, but it's only accurate on a few titles.

[AndersonVision]

I just got TT to update on FB.


Under 1000, but above 500.


BYE BYE BIRDIE, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN, THE DRIVER, HARD TIMES.

[GenPion]

When do the February pre-order's go live?

[jstxanothrxstory]

Using the cart game:
The Driver - 1006
Leave Her to Heaven - 958
Bye Bye Birdie - 915
As Good as It Gets - 772
Hard Times - 142

My guess is that they don't have all of the Hard Times stock on hand, because there's yet to be any Less than 500 notice for it.

Out of curiosity, are there any differences between the German disc and this release of AGAIG other than the isolated score?

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by jstxanothrxstory

Out of curiosity, are there any differences between the German disc and this release of AGAIG other than the isolated score?

English friendly cover-art/menu and a booklet... those are likely the only other differences other than the isolated score. (The German disc might have more subtitles/audio options, but I haven't checked on this.)

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by jstxanothrxstory

Using the cart game:
The Driver - 1006
Leave Her to Heaven - 958
Bye Bye Birdie - 915
As Good as It Gets - 772
Hard Times - 142

My guess is that they don't have all of the Hard Times stock on hand, because there's yet to be any Less than 500 notice for it.

Out of curiosity, are there any differences between the German disc and this release of AGAIG other than the isolated score?

The Sony release has a slew of other sound tracks and subtitles. The English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track found on the Sony release also has a higher bitrate. In terms of PQ they're virtually identical even though the video bitrate is slightly less on the Sony release.

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...n=1&lossless=1

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by CrushOfTheDark

Aside from the ones Twilight Time posted on their facebook page, are there any other titles that are getting low in numbers? Trying to decide what to order this week.

Nothing else will sellout in the near future...it will be months. For Mindwarp...it will be never .

Originally Posted by jstxanothrxstory

Using the cart game:
The Driver - 1006
Leave Her to Heaven - 958
Bye Bye Birdie - 915
As Good as It Gets - 772
Hard Times - 142

My guess is that they don't have all of the Hard Times stock on hand, because there's yet to be any Less than 500 notice for it.

Out of curiosity, are there any differences between the German disc and this release of AGAIG other than the isolated score?

The cart game is in only accurate for preorders or for titles that TT expects a sellout and the full 3000 is allotted. There no way to know for those titles at this point. We do know Hard Times is not at 142, albeit it is a very nice film that looks great in Blu.

[themoviefanatic]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Nothing else will sellout in the near future...it will be months. For Mindwarp...it will be never .

which title is their worst seller?

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Slikkbradd

which title is their worst seller?

To come up with a number that gets at your question, I suppose you could take the number of copies sold for a given title and divide that by the number of days it has been available, but I doubt anyone outside of the company has those exact figures.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Slikkbradd

which title is their worst seller?

My guess would be Woman Obsessed (DVD) and The Roots of Heaven (BD).

[krasnoludek]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Were your items damaged in any way by virtue of being shipped in eco-cases?

No, but I don't like the flimsy cases at all. As someone mentioned earlier, that's something that you would expect with a mass-produced title, not a 3000-count limited edition that supposedly has some collector appeal. It's like buying a fancy watch and then finding out the strap is just some cheap plastic band. Sure you can replace it and the principal part you're paying for functions fine, but it leaves a poor impression because when it's upscale, the product is the whole package.

[oildude]

I hope The Roots of Heaven is not their worst seller on blu-ray. While it is undoubtedly an obscure film, it is directed by John Huston and most definitely deserves more recognition. I bought it when it went up for pre-order two years ago.

I found The Roots of Heaven to be a very enjoyable movie. The Cinemascope presentation is gorgeous and the colors really pop. My only PQ complaint is also identified in the blu-ray.com review - color shifts during optical dissolves. It is no doubt a problem in the source elements, but for the first half hour, every time there is a dissolve for a scene change, the new scene has a noticeable color shift right at the beginning. Either I got used to it or it goes away, but it was no longer an issue after awhile.

The acting is well done, and the story draws the viewer in. As others have pointed out, it was ahead of its time and an oddity for 1958 for its portrayal of confrontational environmental activism. The online reviews I have read sometimes refer to it as a misfire from John Huston, but I don’t see that. Not one of his best, but still a very good film. It is heavily dialog and acting driven, the action is sporadic, but that is not surprising since the film is about a small ragtag group of crusaders out to save the elephants using disruptive tactics against the French colonial government and the ivory hunters.

There is suspense and some intrigue to keep things interesting. Orson Welles gives a great cameo performance, and Juliette Greco is gorgeous and does a fine work with her limited role. Trevor Howard does a great job with his leading role as a WWII veteran and POW turned elephant savior. Also, Errol Flynn plays a very believable drunk, which from what I have read was not far from the truth during the making of the movie. His performance is one of the film’s highlights. Shot on location in West Africa, the film is something of a legend for cast and crew falling ill, drinking heavily, overcoming miserable field conditions including terrific heat, and ironically going game hunting, but somehow the final product works.

[jstxanothrxstory]

Originally Posted by Slikkbradd

which title is their worst seller?

I'd guess Violent Saturday. The DVD is non-anamorphic, and they've said in interviews that its low sales were a contributing factor to them only releasing anamorphic titles.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by krasnoludek

No, but I don't like the flimsy cases at all. As someone mentioned earlier, that's something that you would expect with a mass-produced title, not a 3000-count limited edition that supposedly has some collector appeal. It's like buying a fancy watch and then finding out the strap is just some cheap plastic band. Sure you can replace it and the principal part you're paying for functions fine, but it leaves a poor impression because when it's upscale, the product is the whole package.

If you've read my previous posts, I'm pretty vehemenly opposed to the eco-cases myself but if the items arrived undamaged, I don't think it's a big deal to just replace them yourself. TT have already indicated they were aware of the complaints and will ensure future releases won't have them. I think they've been pretty reasonable in dealing with that, so I think it's reasonable for you just to cut them some slack and meet them halfway this time around.

[Sporkies]

Originally Posted by jstxanothrxstory

I'd guess Violent Saturday. The DVD is non-anamorphic, and they've said in interviews that its low sales were a contributing factor to them only releasing anamorphic titles.

Isn't this the one that they're putting out on blu soon? I wouldn't think they'd put something out on blu that sold horribly (although I guess I could be wrong).

[Zoodles95]

Great post.

There is a thread for this movie in the 3-D forum. Apparently the 3-D is excellent and really immersive. Hopefully Twilight Time will see fit to release some more classic 3-D movies.

This is a great example of a film that might not see the light of day on Blu if not for TT.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching the Blu-ray of Man in the Dark, and I am immensely pleased.

I'm under-qualified to write an actual User Review in this instance, since I do not have a 3D Blu-ray player and was only able to watch the disc in 2D, but I am happy that the disc gave me no problems and that it played normally in the same way that all of my other Blu-rays do. The transfer looks great to my eyes, and the level of detail in this 1953 film is impressive.

Edmond O'Brien (White Heat, D.O.A., The Hitch-Hiker) is a great noir protagonist, and his talent for playing vulnerably discombobulated characters shines here. The late great Audrey Totter (The Set-Up, The Postman Always Rings Twice) is lovely as always. Ted de Corsia (The Enforcer, Hoodlum Empire, The Killing, Naked City) is one of my favorite noir legends, and this is one of his best turns that I've seen.

Man in the Dark is a simple, but fun movie, and I am sure that those with 3D capability will enjoy it all the more. The cigar will probably freak you out, though. That cigar scene unsettled me even without the benefit of 3D.

Highly recommended. This is a great addition to my extensive film noir collection on Blu-ray.