Twilight Time thread - Page 13

+1

I don't blindly pre-order discs from Twilight Time anymore after Demetrius and the Gladiators. Fool me once, shame on you...

As for Robert Harris' reviews, you have to carefully select the information that can be gleaned from them while ignoring the conclusions. His opinions are all over the map and I'm not sure he has a rigorous set of criteria he applies to everything he watches, which can produce frustrating results if you blindly follow his reviews. He's provided invaluable information at times but everyone brings their biases and personality into the reviewing equation, which can and will produce blind spots.

I will generally pre-order Twilight Time titles based on my faith in Blu-ray and affection for the given movie.

Some guys like to collect all of them...which I just can't afford to do.

But, if I like a movie, I feel safe in assuming that the Blu-ray will be better than any previous choices...even if the Blu-ray isn't perfect.

For example, I love BYE BYE BIRDIE. It's one of my favorite movies of all time...probably in my top five wants on Blu-ray. I have the original DVD. The DVD was good enough in it's day but "it's day" was the dawn of DVD. It was released in 1999!

I have a very high degree of confidence that the BD will be significantly superior to the DVD. I'll pre-order it day one. In fact, just to make a fool out of myself, I'm going to order two copies so that I'll always have a backup! I don't demand or expect perfection. I expect a really nice transfer that is better than what I have. If there are shortcomings, I'll mention them. That doesn't mean I'll dislike the disc. I just want to be honest. People can still really enjoy something that's not absolutely perfect.

I'm just not a fan of the vague hyperbole that something is "beautiful" or "gorgeous" and therefore immune from critcism. COVER GIRL, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and AS GOOD AS IT GETS are all very enoyable Blu-rays. They have "issues". It's ok to say that and still enjoy them.

I agree, his conclusions have often had an emotional element to them....and THAT....ain't gonna work.

He's seen everything, oft-times in their "original theatrical presentations", and knows most of the backstories down to what temperature the film stock was stored at so has unique biases that wouldn't occur, or be known, to many of us.

His opinions deserve consideration, then in the end we get to decide whether the BD merits our money and our time.

He places an obscene amount of importance to Academy Award winners.

If you didn't win an (important) Academy Award a mediocre transfer will be fine (Back to the Future).

Kinda getting OT around here, isn't it?

And for those who don't know, RAH is a member of this forum and he probably reads this thread.

I got that one. How long can it last? It seems like too good and too recent of a film to get drop-kicked over to the Twilight zone, well, price-suppourt zone.

Hey, my copy of THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES just arrived!

My last two orders have arrived in exactly one week from Screen Archives to me here in Winnipeg. That's excellent service (although most of the kudos go to the post offices). As a long time mail orderer (I'm sure there is no such word so I made it up), one week from the U.S. to here in the regular mail is as fast as I've ever experienced. Got the same service for my COVER GIRL order.

For the record, that is seven orders sent from Screen Archives through the regular mail...never paying for registered or expedited service. That's a saving of over $70.00 compared to registered mail (those outside the U.S. are familiar with the scary warning window most foreign orders see).

That $70.00 buys me two copies of BYE BYE BIRDIE!

That's a splendid batch for a change because I don't want any of 'em!

I was thinking the same thing...but I thought it might be rude to say so. However, since you said it first....

I've been on quite a tear of buying recent TT titles. As I mentioned, I'm even getting two copies of BYE BYE BIRDIE. It's been an expensive summer. For the last six months, I thought Twilight Time was reading my mind because they were releasing my personal wishlist: COVER GIRL, THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN..., BYE BYE BIRDIE and more.

Based on their November and December releases, it seems like they are now reading somebody else's mind. That's fair enough.
Edited by Dex Robinson - 8/7/12 at 7:46pm

The Blue Lagoon is the biggest much ado about nothing that I know of filmwise.

The Blue Lagoon and Lost Horizon have shown up on a lot of worst movies ever lists over the years.

True, but then all they really need are 3000 fans each

LOL! It might be rude to speculate about who's mind they read to come up with this new batch?

You don't need language, just cobble it together.

Blue Lagoon was not awful, just a snoozefest that in no way lived up to it's hype at the time.

It must be the best that was offered to TT, I would guess. Now to look forward to 2013-->?

I thought the hype was over naked people.

It seems to come through pretty well in that regard, if that's what you want in a movie.

In my case, though, I prefer to watch movies for a good story, compelling characters and great dialog. The Blue Lagoon doesn't even bother to swing on any of those 3 and instead strikes out looking.

It's a potentially great concept with a flawed execution. It's pure fluff that thinks it's a statement piece about isolation induced innocence, that results in two grown people that act like 10 year olds.

Personally, I think Tom Hanks delivered better in "Big".

Now if it was the 1937 Lost Horizon I place my order today...

The question on Blue Lagoon is... will they be getting the original? Or the subsequently censored version? When it originally came out I believe it had more nudity that, due to the age of the actress, has subsequently resulted in some blur/glare in recent years.

I don't care one way or the other... the movie was kind of dull... but I'm about the same age as Brooke Shields and I remember (vaguely) seeing the original as a kid and it having less things blurred out than it did the last time I saw it on pay tv.

Other than anything that may have been shown on broadcast TV, there has never ever been any censored version of this film. It's been what it was from the day of release. The nudity, save for Mr. Atkins, is done by an of-age body double.

You must be thinking of Porkys. BL barley had any nudity and was not promoted as a raunchy film, instead the hype was about 'a wonderful love story'.

Shields testified before congress that the brief nudity was done by a standin, body doubles existed before 2000.

More Lovely Rita caps:

http://wtf-film.com/site/2012/08/09/twilight-time-cover-girl/

The reviewer has convinced me, full grain is good.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Bye-Bye-Birdie-Blu-ray/44894/#Screenshots

I'm delighted to live in a world where releases like this are limited, region locked and over priced and releases like Spartacus and Patton are available everywhere at reasonable prices.

Doesn't the fact that its a better release than a Spartacus or Patton at least somewhat justify the premium pricing?

At least the caps look a lot better then the fox titles TT has put out.

Joke, this has to be a joke.
International releases are never going to happen are they??

Cant you get a region free BD player or an extra one and set it to Region A across the pond?