What's new

Twilight Time joins forces with Sony Pictures to release BD editions of classic Columbia Titles (1 Viewer)

Jim_K

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2000
Messages
10,087
Why stop at $40? Let's see some $60 or better yet $100 limited edition BD's!! Oh happy happy days indeed!


Now I'll probably spend the $40 for Mysterious Island but not gladly....oh no.


On the flipside a reasonably priced BD of Fright Night would've been an easy sell to me. However FN is just not worth $40 to me so I'll be passing on that.

I'm sure the douchbag speculators will be all over these releases. We'll probably see these titles going for $200 a pop on Ebay this time next year.
 

Alan Tully

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
4,627
Location
London
Real Name
Alan
It's more like $47 with p&p. I bit the bullet & bought The Egyptian & am glad I did, but there's probably only about five titles I'd do that for (if nothing else I can't afford it!). I'm not one of those people who can't watch DVD anymore, it still looks pretty good to me. If it's this or nothing, then it's a good thing, but for the most part it's, include me out!
 

Ronald Epstein

Founder
Owner
Moderator
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 3, 1997
Messages
66,561
Real Name
Ronald Epstein
I have been rather busy since this thread was originally posted.


Just reading the responses in this thread for the first time.


Am I to understand that if I want FRIGHT NIGHT it's going to

cost me $47 with shipping?


How is this benefiting anyone?


Listen, I understand that people will pay an exorbitant price

for a movie they really, really want. However, these films are

vastly overpriced for what they are.

I am just going to stick with the DVD versions until these films

become more reasonably priced.
 

Alan Tully

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
4,627
Location
London
Real Name
Alan
Ronald Epstein said:
I have been rather busy since this thread was originally posted.


Just reading the responses in this thread for the first time.


Am I to understand that if I want FRIGHT NIGHT it's going to

cost me $47 with shipping?


How is this benefiting anyone?


Listen, I understand that people will pay an exorbitant price

for a movie they really, really want. However, these films are

vastly overpriced for what they are.

I am just going to stick with the DVD versions until these films

become more reasonably priced.
Well that's shipping to the UK, it must be a few dollars less in the US. They don't mention the price, I'm hoping it'll be less than $40. I just can't see that as a business model with things as they are these days (esp when checking my orders, Ben Hur here in the UK & Mutiny On The Bounty '62 imported from the US added together comes in at nearly £3 cheaper than a single Twilight Time Blu-ray). We'll see.
 

cineMANIAC

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
2,730
Location
New York City
Real Name
Luis
Everybody is assuming Twilight will charge $40 for Fright Night because that's what they charged for The Egyptian. My feeling is they'll charge whatever they'll charge on a case by case basis. The Egyptian retailed for forty because some money was invested in the restoration. Fright Night doesn't need a restoration, just a fresh transfer. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if FN ends up retailing in the $25 to $30 range because of the limited nature of the release. Still a bit steep for a catalog title but I'll grab it regardless - this is a personal favorite.
 

Craig S

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2000
Messages
5,884
Location
League City, Texas
Real Name
Craig Seanor
You guys are right, the $40 price is just an assumption at this point. Hopefully these Sony discs will come in lower.


However, the real problems here are that Twilight Time discs are (1) limited editions designed to make consumers pony up full price so they don't miss out on a desired title, and (2) sold exclusively through an anointed retailer who specializes in high-priced, low-volume "Collector's Editions". Even if the price is dropped to, say, $30, there will be NO discounts, and exorbitant (IMO) shipping costs.

I really wish Sony had just licensed these titles to Criterion...
 

Jeff Robertson

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 4, 2000
Messages
504
Real Name
Jeff Robertson
Good to know. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Adam Gregorich


Twilight Time has released some Fox titles with great results. Here was their last Fox Blu-ray:

[url=http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/313127/the-egyptian-blu-ray-review]HTF review of the Egyptian on Blu-ray


Robert Harris' A Few Words About The Egyptian on Blu-ray


Matt has reviewed some of their DVD titles recently too, most recently The Flim Flam Man on DVD:


Also, if Grover Crisp is looking forward to it that is good too.
 

Jeff Robertson

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 4, 2000
Messages
504
Real Name
Jeff Robertson
Originally Posted by Brandon Conway




I believe it's Image Entertainment, not Lionsgate, that has been releasing some Sony catalog titles. By all reports these have been solid releases.



Lionsgate released a 10th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray of Memento.
 

TravisR

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2004
Messages
42,429
Location
The basement of the FBI building
elDomenechHTF said:
Everybody is assuming Twilight will charge $40 for Fright Night because that's what they charged for The Egyptian. My feeling is they'll charge whatever they'll charge on a case by case basis.
You could be right but, unfortunately, every company knows that horror fans are very devoted. Many will bitch about the price but they will still buy it so there's no reason for Twilight Time to drop down to $30 or $35. I think, even at $40, Fright Night will sell-out very quickly because of its cult following. For the rest of their releases, they probably need to lower the price or lower the number they make. If they couldn't even sell-out their first release in a few months, I don't know how much hope they have for the future when the novelty of them releasing smaller titles is gone and people are just pissed that a movie they want is only available through them for a higher price tag.
 

Jeff Robertson

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 4, 2000
Messages
504
Real Name
Jeff Robertson
That may be true in this case but it doesn't always work out that way. Mill Creek and Echo Bridge are two companies I have no interest in buying products from given what they have done with certain titles.



Originally Posted by mdnitoil

I have absolutely zero interest in this as I'm not a Blu guy, but questioning how Twilight Time will handle these films shouldn't even be a consideration. At the end of the day, it isn't they who are overseeing the transfers, etc. They will simply take what Sony gives them and then create a decent package to present it.
/t/314367/twilight-time-joins-force...tions-of-classic-columbia-titles#post_3845838
 

Derrick King

Screenwriter
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
Messages
1,046
Twilight Time posted on their facebook page that the Sony titles will be in the $29.95 - $34.95 range. Unfortunately they also said their contract doesn't allow them to create new bonus material for their releases.
 

JoHud

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
3,215
Real Name
Joe Hudak
Anyone remember the announcement of Ishtar on Bluray from the Columbia Classics site last year? I have a feeling this is where it's going to end up. For me, it was much easier for me to buy their Fox titles because they had never before been released on DVD (or Bluray) and I've only had to pay their blu-ray prices once. In this case with Sony, however, the DVDs are readily available at very reasonable prices, so I would really hope that the blu-rays aren't charged at $40 (+$4.50 shipping), and are priced at something more reasonable. However, since these are also limited edition titles, I very much doubt it. So far (under a worst case scenario), I'll probably be buying Mysterious Island, bud certainly not Fright Night at that price. Edit: Thanks, Derrick! Now that's more of a price range I can live with. Now to cross my fingers that Mysterious Island is $29.95...Not surprised there are no extra features (outside of a possible isolated track or trailer), given both the track record of some bare-bones Sony titles and Twilight Times film releases.
 

JoHud

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
3,215
Real Name
Joe Hudak
Derrick King said:
Twilight Time posted on their facebook page that the Sony titles will be in the $29.95 - $34.95 range. Unfortunately they also said their contract doesn't allow them to create new bonus material for their releases.
Looks like They also confirmed Picnic and Pal Joey as future releases.look Also looks like they're planning on releasing Fox blurays that already got DVD treatment sometime in the future.
 

dana martin

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2003
Messages
5,728
Location
Norfolk, VA
Real Name
Dana Martin
but that doesnt prevent sony from producing extra material, assuming that these will follow suit of the release of the Egyptian at a limite Edition run of 3000 copies, it would not benifit either company if these were bare bones at that price point, and the fact that you can only get from the one site. although i am liking the titles listed, just missing Born Yesterday from that list mentioned already.
 

Garysb

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
Messages
5,862
I am not interested in $40 blu rays. So when people list films on this thread that I want and there are many, I hope Sony will release them, not Twilight. I don't purchase from Warner Archives except for when they have steep discounts and will not be purchasing blu rays from Twilight even though I will probably like to own the titles they will be offering.
 

TravisR

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2004
Messages
42,429
Location
The basement of the FBI building
Derrick King said:
Twilight Time posted on their facebook page that the Sony titles will be in the $29.95 - $34.95 range. Unfortunately they also said their contract doesn't allow them to create new bonus material for their releases.
The price is good news. Granted, it's still more than double what you might pay for a catalog title when it's on sale but it's better than $40. And in the case of Fright Night, I'm assuming that that means that the $35 disc will be bare bones if they can't create new bonus material.
 

Stephen_J_H

All Things Film Junkie
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
7,871
Location
North of the 49th
Real Name
Stephen J. Hill
^ You are correct, Brandon; Lionsgate acquired the Newmarket Films catalogue, which is how they got Memento. Re: Fright Night: that's not a Twilight Time type of release, and I am actually surprised that Twilight Time is releasing it. I would be doubly surprised by Ishtar. Twilight Time's Fox releases have been what I would describe as "deep" classic titles: films that may not have gotten their due back in the day, but are now revered as classics. The most recent of their releases from Fox dates back to 1971 (The Kremlin Letter), and I wouldn't have expected anything later than that in their Sony releases. I would love to see something like Major Dundee or any number of forgotten classics from Sony get their due through Twilight Time.
 

John Hodson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2003
Messages
4,627
Location
Bolton, Lancashire
Real Name
John
Garysb said:
I am not interested in $40 blu rays. So when people list films on this thread that I want and there are many, I hope Sony will release them, not Twilight. I don't purchase from Warner Archives except for when they have steep discounts and will not be purchasing blu rays from Twilight even though I will probably like to own the titles they will be offering.
I suspect that they could not care less; they've proved the business model of high price/limited edition works - it makes a profit and there is very little risk involved, nothing in that Walmart bargain bin. I've just bought the Stanley Kramer Film Collection from an Amazon Marketplace reseller for a little over $7; cost me more to import it. I cannot believe there was any profit in it for Sony (maybe a hand full of loose change). That's not right surely? By the same token, I'm not paying circa $40 to import a single blu-ray. But as I said, TT could not care less; there are enough that will. I used to think Criterion offerings were expensive; suddenly their value for money seems more obvious than ever.
 

Stephen_J_H

All Things Film Junkie
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
7,871
Location
North of the 49th
Real Name
Stephen J. Hill
Twilight Time has actually posted on their Facebook page that they have yet to sell out one of their 3,000 disc runs, which I'm guessing is one of their standard runs. It's a classic economies of scale scenario: BD replicators charge more for smaller runs, and that cost gets passed onto the consumer. Same is true of Criterion; they know they'll never have a disc that sells in the millions, so they do smaller runs (admittedly not as small as Twilight Time's), which equals higher costs, which are passed onto the consumer. The most substantial difference between the two companies is that Criterion produces many of its own special features, which also add to the cost of the disc, which is probably why the prices are comparable. So we'll never see Fright Night on BD in the $5 bin @ Walmart; so what?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,815
Messages
5,123,807
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top