The Twilight Time News and Info Thread (2 Viewers)

[skylark68]

In my opinion the current sale isn't an indicator of an imminent closing up of the company. Now if all the titles were $5.95 or so then I'd be worried. This sale fits in with some of their other previous sales in the past. I think we have some good things coming from TT in the next few months.

 

[FrankXS]

I sent them a message on their FB page and they almost instantaneously replied that there would be no new releases in October. Nothing about future releases but promising that someone is right on messaging.

 

[Gary OS]

I sent them a message on their FB page and they almost instantaneously replied that there would be no new releases in October. Nothing about future releases but promising that someone is right on messaging.

Doesn't exactly scream "All's okay!" to me.

 

[Malcolm R]

Super fast shipping on the recent order. Ordered on Friday afternoon, appeared at my door on Monday morning.

I imagine with Mr. Redman's passing, there may be legal considerations about the running of the TT company itself that need to be resolved before they can move on. I'd think everything in-process prior to his passing was continued, but there may be issues to be resolved before they commit to any new projects. That could be why there is a lull now, we've come to the end of Mr. Redman's "green-lit" projects and the legal issues need to be sorted before any new projects begin.

 

[PMF]

Another great TT sale has concluded.
I wonder which films are now "Sold Out"?
Hopefully many, for their benefit;
except those specific titles to which I still have yet to own.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Another great TT sale has concluded.
I wonder which films are now "Sold Out"?
Hopefully many, for their benefit;
except those specific titles to which I still have yet to own.

They just updated their thread on that very subject!

 

[Bob Cashill]

Interesting that only one title (THE MAD MAGICIAN, for the small but ravenous Golden Age 3D market) has sold out since 2017, and there aren't that many sellouts from 2016 either. Is it the lack of deep sales? Loss of interest in physical media even among the TT-savvy? There are a lot of good titles. (If these are observations for the other thread feel free to remove this.)

 

[Keith Cobby]

Too expensive in the current low demand era. Lack of exclusivity as titles being released in other jurisdictions. The Mad Magician was the last title I bought on release rather than waiting for the sale. Pal Joey is a bright spot in my collection as it hasn't been released by anyone else.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Super fast shipping on the recent order. Ordered on Friday afternoon, appeared at my door on Monday morning.

I imagine with Mr. Redman's passing, there may be legal considerations about the running of the TT company itself that need to be resolved before they can move on. I'd think everything in-process prior to his passing was continued, but there may be issues to be resolved before they commit to any new projects. That could be why there is a lull now, we've come to the end of Mr. Redman's "green-lit" projects and the legal issues need to be sorted before any new projects begin.

It is probably easier said than done, but if they could find another "Fright Night" to really boost sales, maybe they could eventually commit to new projects.

 

[Malcolm R]

It is probably easier said than done, but if they could find another "Fright Night" to really boost sales, maybe they could eventually commit to new projects.

Well, there's always Fright Night Part 2 from 1988, which has never had a decent release on home video in the US in any format (the VHS I bought decades ago was recorded in the EP mode, and the DVD released by Artisan was ridiculously awful, looking like a badly dubbed version of the EP VHS tape). Though I have no idea where the rights lie with this one. It's been a "most wanted" release by horror and Fright Night fans for years, but no one seems to be able to put it out for whatever reason. A decent HD master (2.35 AR) does exist, and has been shown on cable TV occasionally (in Europe, I believe).

Though, it seems like I read somewhere that TT was trying to move away from horror genre releases for some reason. Not sure why, as those remain among their best and fastest sellers. Given the high prices still generated for the awful FN2 DVD, it seems like that would be a nearly instant sellout.

 

[RolandL]

Interesting that only one title (THE MAD MAGICIAN, for the small but ravenous Golden Age 3D market) has sold out since 2017, and there aren't that many sellouts from 2016 either. Is it the lack of deep sales? Loss of interest in physical media even among the TT-savvy? There are a lot of good titles. (If these are observations for the other thread feel free to remove this.)

Back in 2015 at the last HTF meet, Nick was saying that sales were down. I think he said averaging 1500 discs sold per title. There is just not that much interest anymore.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Interesting that only one title (THE MAD MAGICIAN, for the small but ravenous Golden Age 3D market) has sold out since 2017, and there aren't that many sellouts from 2016 either. Is it the lack of deep sales? Loss of interest in physical media even among the TT-savvy? There are a lot of good titles. (If these are observations for the other thread feel free to remove this.)

I know there have been some titles that have sold out since then. I think the problem is that Nick closely tracked and communicated that information, and it with his passing it hasn't been communicated. I'll dig into it late next week and see if I can come up with titles that have sold out since then (although I won't have dates).

 

[David Norman]

Items have sold out, but Mad Magician is the only 2017 or later release to do so


I find it somewhat interesting that an early Nov 2016 preorder (Moby Dick) and late Nov 2016 preorder (Mad Magician) are also the last two items that sold out in less than a year. The only other item that had a preorder date after 1/1/2015 that sold out in less than a year was the Encore release of Mysterious Island

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that the recent output has been a little more niche. Moby Dick, if not a blockbuster, is a noteworthy film and that release boasted a unique recreation of its original color scheme that wasn’t going to be available anywhere else. And Mad Magician is a Vincent Price horror film, and a 3D film, which are generally reliable niches.

I don’t mean to say the releases since then are poor, far from it. But on the other hand, a 2018 title like “Satan Never Sleeps,” with its very dated and uncomfortable story, seems like a more difficult hill to climb to get to 3000 units sold.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Perhaps it is just that much of the remaining good stuff is securely locked in the Warners vault. KL still seem to release titles across the decades and genres.

 

[skylark68]

I watched Che the other night from the September sale. It was actually an interesting film, and the print that was used looks pristine. There is some noise during the opening credits but otherwise it's beautiful and I didn't notice any major flaws. I thought Sharif did a good job playing one of the most remembered revolutionaries from the 1950's and 1960's. Jack Palance was actually quite restrained compared to many of his other roles and I actually enjoyed the pseudo-documentary touch the film provides us with. The Schifrin soundtrack was engaging as well. The film could have easily been much longer in my opinion though, and I guess one drawback about the film is you really don't get to know the man all that well, and how he came to become a revolutionary. I also wish it had discussed some of his time in Africa as well. All in all though it was well worth the $5.95 price tag.

 

[B-ROLL]

FYI TT & SAE are having a limited number of titles on sale for $14.95

SAE
ALL BLU-RAY TITLES LISTED ARE $14.95 EACH!

LIMITED STOCKS ON MANY TITLES!

Sale begins Tuesday, October 15th and ends Thursday, October 31st at 4pm Eastern.
This promotion is limited to the titles listed below only!
Only orders placed during the sale period will qualify for the promotion. No previously placed, currently pending or future orders will qualify.
8 HEADS IN A DUFFEL BAG (1997)
BLACK WIDOW (1954)
BLACK WIDOW (1987)
THE BOSTON STRANGLER (1968) - FEWER THAN 200 COPIES REMAIN!
COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970) - FEWER THAN 300 COPIES REMAIN!
DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) - FEWER THAN 200 COPIES REMAIN!
DRAGONWYCK (1946)
GRAN BOLLITO (BLACK JOURNAL / 1977) - FEWER THAN 300 COPIES REMAIN!
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) - FEWER THAN 250 COPIES REMAIN!
LA BAMBOLA DI SATANA (THE DOLL OF SATAN / 1969)
THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER (1962)
PRETTY POISON (1968)
SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS (LA CORTA NOTTE DELLA BAMBOLE DI VETRO / 1971)
THE SNAKE PIT (1948)
STRANGE INVADERS (1983)
THEATRE OF BLOOD (1973)

TwilightTime.com

TWILIGHT TIME SALE SPOOKTACULAR!

Sale Titles
$14.95
8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (Blu-ray)
Count Yorga, Vampire (Blu-ray)
Strange Invaders (Blu-ray)
La Bambola Di Satana AKA The Doll Of Satan (Blu-ray)
Gran Bollito AKA Black Journal (Blu-ray)
Pretty Poison (Blu-ray)
Pirates Of Blood River, The (Blu-ray)
Dragonwyck (Blu-ray)
Black Widow [1954] (Blu-ray)
Short Night of Glass Dolls [La Corta Notte Della Bambole Di Vetro] (Blu-ray)
Snake Pit, The (Blu-ray)
Black Widow (Blu-ray)

 

[skylark68]

I picked up the Pirates of Blood River and the Hound of the Baskervilles from the sale. Looking forward to some Hammer fun.

 

[Alan Tully]

I finally picked up Pirates of Blood River (still over £20 with p&p). I first saw it on a double bill with Mysterious Island in 1961 (UK).

 

[Tom St Jones]

Items have sold out, but Mad Magician is the only 2017 or later release to do so

I find it somewhat interesting that an early Nov 2016 preorder (Moby Dick) and late Nov 2016 preorder (Mad Magician) are also the last two items that sold out in less than a year. The only other item that had a preorder date after 1/1/2015 that sold out in less than a year was the Encore release of Mysterious Island

Besides phys media sales overall not being what they were, I think TwilightTime is unfortunately still perceived by many as strictly 'For-Movie-buffs-with-money'. While TT's output are generally very good items -usually superior A/V, well-appointed booklets, some decent bonus ftrs - they still suffer from occasional imperfect PQ and often meager extras (compared to most boutique-label Bluray releases), not to mention limited market visibility. It also probably doesn't help some OOP TT titles have since been reissued by Kino Lorber & other labels, in as-good if not better editions.