Twilight Time announces Blu-ray releases March/April 2013 (1 Viewer)

[Mark Collins]

I'm normally in floods of tears at the end, so may have missed that. I had never realised how soon after her canonisation this film was made. To me she has always been St Bernadette.

Barrie I just finished the book Song of Bernadette and it states the serivice took place in 1933. I suppose that is why there if film of it. The footage is very short.
I love TT and intend to buy the titles when they come out. I have bought several and as I have said before the lack of extras does not bother me. Why is eveyone on TT and nothing about Criteion Titles which cost just as much in fact more.

 

[Ken Volok]

Why the guilt, Ken?

While it's far better than many director's best films; it's not DePalma's best - probably budgetary restrictions - many great sequences and moments.

 

[Richard--W]

 http://www.hometheaterforum.com/content/type/61/id/171789/width/500/height/1000/flags/LL

MAJOR DUNDEE (1965) BLU-RAY (2-disc set) - April 9th

Sold.
What's on the second disc?
NOON WINE, yes?

 

[rich_d]

I love TT and intend to buy the titles when they come out. I have bought several and as I have said before the lack of extras does not bother me. Why is eveyone on TT and nothing about Criterion Titles which cost just as much in fact more.

Because for many of us, that's not reality. If you buy your Criterion's twice a year during Barnes & Noble's 50 percent off sale (not to mention other sales), Criterion's $39.99 titles walk off the door for 14 bucks after coupons. Thus you can get two Criterion titles for what one TT title costs.
I'm not a big 'extras' guy so it doesn't matter much to me at all. Actually, my favorite extra is an isolated music score, so I'm liking that.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Sold.
What's on the second disc?
NOON WINE, yes?

You really think Sony/Columbia would license that title from ABC television?

 

[Richard--W]

Not likely, no. I forgot it was ABC.
But it would be nice if some label that is interested in Peckinpah, as Nick Redman is, worked on getting NOON WINE out.

 

[Mark Collins]

I should have said I will buy the titles I want. I cannot buy every title they release. I also like the fact that when I do buy from TT that I am helping support a small company that really has movie fans in mind. B&N now has their 40% off sale on Blu-rays from the 18th-23rd.

 

[Bryan^H]

'Christine' is one great horror title. Shoot, the isolated score on this is gonna make me happy. Also the dvd, upconverted looks like garbage so......I'm sure this will be the one to break records for how fast it sells out. I'll make sure, and pre-order it as soon as it is available. I'm happy about this being released but also very nervous that if I'm away from the internet for a couple days I may miss the boat.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Given the popularity of TT's horror/sci-fi titles it's surprising that Fox and Sony don't take the hint and release them themselves. Not that I don't love these genres but I'd like to see more old school dramas, Westerns, musicals, etc. from Twilight Time.

 

[Lromero1396]

I'm shocked that Fox opted to license The Song of Bernadette. I should probably start saving up for that release. :jawdrop: Any ideas on how quickly it will sell out?

 

[Bob Cashill]

Pre-orders for EXPERIMENT IN TERROR and OUR MAN FLINT are up. Only 2,999 left of each.

 

[Wade Sowers]

Actually, that should be 2,998 . . .

 

[Bob Cashill]

Let's count 'em down!

 

[John_S]

Pre-orders for EXPERIMENT IN TERROR and OUR MAN FLINT are up. Only 2,999 left of each.

LOL-- well said. Make that 2,997.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

While it's far better than many director's best films; it's not DePalma's best - probably budgetary restrictions - many great sequences and moments.

I guess I'm not a proponent of the concept of "guilty pleasures." If I like it, I'm not going to feel guilty about it and, as you say, there are far, far worse and embarrassingly bad films than THE FURY. Hell, I just revisited it via a very nice 35mm print a year and half ago and, no, it's not De Palma's best, but it's fine entertainment and, dare I say, "good." Great score. Handsome production design. Ready for action Kirk. As per usual De Palma, more than one virtuoso sequence. I will be pre-ordering as soon as it's available.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Jason_V wrote (post #42):

The McRib is a "limited time" item at McDonald's, but that really isn't a fair comparison since it does come back to stores occasionally.

Not to mention all those times it "repeats" on you, like most of the "food" from McDonald's.

It's a Limited Edition model.

Now, what was Jerry Seinfeld's joke about the "limited-edition model"? That it was "limited" to the number of copies that they could make at the factory, or something to that effect?
Steve Tannehill wrote (post #31):

Does no one remember what laserdiscs cost back in the day?

You bet some of us do!
rsmithjr wrote (post #59):

LD was a niche product that had a huge mindshare of people supporting it even while the actual sales were not that spectacular.
The studios and CE companies realized that a similar product (a laser-based disk) albeit with a smaller footprint, much cheaper manufacturing costs, etc., could be a big hit.
Companies looked at what LD's were doing (multiple soundtracks, special features, menus, commentary tracks, widescreen, stereo) and incorporated everything into a new format, eventually named DVD. Later, the same features (on steroids) were included in a higher-quality version called Blu-ray.
LD was the prototype, DVD was the real product, Blu-ray was the next generation.
Those who did not support LD were hardly helping bring about DVD, they were simply allowing the LD supporters to do the heavy lifting of laying the foundation for DVD and Blu-ray.

I like your analysis.
Well, I, too, remember the "good old days" of LaserDisc™, where one paid the price for one's addictions. ($100 for the "extended cut" of Aliens!) Discs whose contents often turned to "dust" after a year (e.g., Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan; never yet replaced by me in any format.) Lessons learned through that experience helped temper me for the DVD- and now for the Blu-ray-disc -era, as well: Many movies (and most tv shows) can just plain old wait! For me, Twilight Time's "scarcity" policy is mostly inconvenient, since they haven't released anything near close enough to the top of my list to warrant rushing out with the $35.00 bucks apiece to procure.
I'd like to one day own an HD copy of Fright Night, but I hardly consider it a "classic". It's a loud, wholly consciously referential piece of comic fluff and I won't be losing any sleep over "missing out" on it. Enemy Mine is a more interesting study in Hollywood film history, given its enormous delays, total change of directors and effects studios (reportedly, after the first "ice-planet" version of the film was essentially completed!), and cost overruns. It's worth having for what it shows about Hollywood thinking at the time on "what sells" as "popular sci-fi". Certainly, the story and the effects aren't its greatest selling points. If I can part with $35.00 for it one of these months soon, I will, but I won't be rushed into it. (Fox HE, I still want to see that Loncraine version! Where is it?!?) So far, nothing Twilight Time's come up with is compelling enough for me to rush to buy it. Their strategy isn't working on me.
I don't mind too much a "limited-edition model", if it gets me something I really, really want put onto DVD or blu-ray-disc that I figure won't ever get there otherwise (Way Out? (50 years and counting!) The Keep? (almost 30 years!)), but most of the mediocre, run-of-the-mill junk (such as Fright Night) that would be borderline for me---in other words, I'd buy it only at modest cost after making other, more important video (and nonvideo) purchases---ain'ta gonna work for me. I, too, want to keep the physical medium alive for as long as possible, but not at the cost of my own impoverishment. (And I don't have a lot to spend on these things to start with.) But absolutely no more "heavy lifting" for me.
p.s. (and slightly off-topic)
(post #52)

The customer always gets what he is willing to actually pay for, which is often different that what he says he wants.

Really? Do you really believe this? Surely, the customer "always" pays for what he gets. Whether he "always" gets what he pays for is, in contrast, another matter altogether.

 

[rich_d]

Wrong conclusion from the history.
LD was a niche product that had a huge mindshare of people supporting it even while the actual sales were not that spectacular.
The studios and CE companies realized that a similar product (a laser-based disk) albeit with a smaller footprint, much cheaper manufacturing costs, etc., could be a big hit.
Companies looked at what LD's were doing (multiple soundtracks, special features, menus, commentary tracks, widescreen, stereo) and incorporated everything into a new format, eventually named DVD. Later, the same features (on steroids) were included in a higher-quality version called Blu-ray. LD was the prototype, DVD was the real product, Blu-ray was the next generation.
Those who did not support LD were hardly helping bring about DVD, they were simply allowing the LD supporters to do the heavy lifting of laying the foundation for DVD and Blu-ray.
If the TT and Warner Archive models fail, we will not see a new packaged media format or model replacing them, packaged media will just wither away, at least for catalog.

"Even though actual sales were not that spectacular" ... well as only (roughly) .005 of American homes had a LD player, I'd say that's a bit of an understatement.
I'm not sure what "heavy lifting" LD supporters did, if anything. When you spend your money on the format, you're spending money on that format. So, if spending a boatload of money on a failed format is "heavy lifting" so be it. Meanwhile, consumers answered with their wallets closed. This forum is littered with tech geeks excited to buy the next 'lastest and greatest' gadget for sale. I don't know what "mindshare" can be gained from them other than they are ready and willing victims. Maybe people that bought this should get credit for "laying the foundation" for the modern bicycle.

I guess I'm not a proponent of the concept of "guilty pleasures." If I like it, I'm not going to feel guilty about it and, as you say, there are far, far worse and embarrassingly bad films than THE FURY. Hell, I just revisited it via a very nice 35mm print a year and half ago and, no, it's not De Palma's best, but it's fine entertainment and, dare I say, "good." ... snip

Wow, what a ringing endorsement. Let me get right on pre-ordering that.

 

[Bob Cashill]

As was said, the "heavy lifting" from the LD community (of which I was a part) came from acclimating to correct aspect ratios, commentary tracks, and all the things we take for granted on DVDs and Blu-rays. It also came from our wallets, which is why we roll our eyes at how "expensive" Blu-rays are, even TT"s $30 pricetags. We were the test bed as that format took a quantum leap over VHS. If we didn't show some interest, who knows where we'd be?
THE FURY should make for an outstanding Blu-ray. (I owned the LD and the DVD.)

 

[David_B_K]

"Even though actual sales were not that spectacular" ... well as only (roughly) .005 of American homes had a LD player, I'd say that's a bit of an understatement.
I'm not sure what "heavy lifting" LD supporters did, if anything. When you spend your money on the format, you're spending money on that format. So, if spending a boatload of money on a failed format is "heavy lifting" so be it. Meanwhile, consumers answered with their wallets closed. This forum is littered with tech geeks excited to buy the next 'lastest and greatest' gadget for sale.

LD was not a failed format. It was a niche format. You could probably quote similar sales figures for Mercedes Benz, or Persian rugs or MacCallan Scotch. So what? There are lots of things for sale that are profitable yet do not appeal to Joe Six-Pack. Bob Cashill is correct that DVD and later Blu-ray were direct descendants of laserdisc (There was another disc format called CED. That was a failed format . It involved a disc with grooves that was read by a stylus much like an LP. It skipped and was unreliable). One can have contempt for LD as a format if one wishes, but it is undeniable that it set the standard for later laser-read disc formats. I did not see LD start to "fail" until DVD began to establish itself as a successful format.
Also, the pricing of LDs is often overstated. When I started buying laserdiscs, new movies on VHS often retailed in the area of $89.99 per movie. New releases on VHS were priced for the rental market; so they commanded ridiculously high prices. A comparable laserdisc (often featuring stereo sound) would sell for $29.99 - $34.99. Double discs would usually go for $39.99. There were exceptions, and later when Fox started their special editions, they got up to $69.99. And some Criterions were seriously expensive. Eventually, VHS was priced as a sell-through item, and started selling for $24.99; but not for several years (heck for a long time, blank VHS tapes were $20 apiece!)
I still remember the thrill when I received the original Criterion laserdisc of Citizen Kane. It was $89.99. Before that release, Kane was only available on crappy VHS versions of public domain quality. Criterion had a stunning print for the laserdisc, and a long and detailed frame-advance visual essay by Robert Carringer. I think I was up until 2:00 A.M. watching it, even though I had to work the next day. I don't see how anyone can deny that laserdisc fans helped fuel the demand for the types of special features that became standard on DVD and Blu-ray. Criterion could never have established itself on a linear format like VHS.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Failed formats don't last for close to twenty years. As David says, it was a niche format. And I got into it largely for the very reason David mentioned: In 1982, at a time when stereo motion picture sound was still a rarity, I could collect the roadshow era movies in stereo for half the price that the comparable VHS monaural version cost. CBS/Fox' stereo LD of The Sound of Music was $39.99 when the VHS was still commanding something like $79.99.