Twilight Time Says Goodbye; $4-$11 Price Reductions

[Monterey Jack]

Eh, I'll watch anything for close to ten bucks, and I can unload the ones I don't like later once they do go OOP and suddenly people want them. Plus, some good composers in this batch.

[AndyDursin]

I hear ya, it's definitely not a bad idea to check them out at those prices, though I'll be surprised if you don't end up trading in the lot of those eventually.

QUILLER MEMORANDUM is pretty rough going also in terms of tedium, not to mention absurdly confusing at times. Barry's score is a plus at least, but it's stiff and dated.

I can see a lot of these falling under $10, though it could be that they're moving product at this level, which would negate a more aggressive push to liquidate the rest of the line.

[mkaroly]

I wish TT had been able to release ISLANDS IN THE STREAM...still one of my favorite Goldsmith scores of all time.

[AndyDursin]

Just received this from Brian:

IT’S TWILIGHT TIME FOR US!
OUR “GOODBYE” & “GRATITUDE” SALE FOR OUR INCREDIBLE SUPPORTERS
FROM CINEMAGISTICS www.TwilightTimeMovies.com
COMMENCING MONDAY MAY 11th
All titles priced at $3.95, $4.45, $6.95 or $11.95
Many of these titles will never be seen on Blu-ray again!
Buy now to complete your Twilight Time library
as only limited quantities remain on many titles
ONCE THEY ARE GONE – THEY ARE GONE FOR GOOD!

After nine years of successful operations in which 380 motion pictures from the 1930s to the 2010s have been released on DVD and Blu-ray disc, the home video label Twilight Time founded by veteran Hollywood studio executives and filmmakers Brian Jamieson and the late, dearly celebrated Nick Redman, will not release any further titles and we will be winding down operations this summer. A changing market, the rising costs of title acquisitions and the passing of longtime partner and company spokesman Nick Redman, are key reasons for the closure.

As part of our winding down process, there will be a one-time reduction in prices to $3.95,$6.95 and $11.95 as of Monday, May 11th at www.TwilightTimeMovies.com. Cinemagistics/TwilightTimeMovies.com will continue to sell titles while available through June 30th, at which time they and Twilight Time will cease operations.

Remaining inventory will be acquired and distributed exclusively by Screen Archives – effective July 1st 2020.

When launched in 2011, Twilight Time pioneered the concept of bringing rare and distinctive films of all genres to the marketplace in 3,000-unit Limited Editions, exclusively available at two website destinations: Screen Archives Entertainment and later Twilight Time Movies. This allowed devoted movie fans to obtain physical copies of highly desired titles which did not command shelf space at local brick and mortar stores. Nick aptly named the venture Twilight Time, because eventually the concept of film as physical goods would have a ‘sell-by date’ possibly sooner rather than later. Nick once said, “At the onset we never envisaged we would be around for nearly a decade before it was time for the sun to set on the company.”

During that time, the Twilight Time catalog has included fabled films from the libraries of Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures, MGM/United Artists, Universal Studios, Film 4, Protagonist Pictures, Toei Company and other entities, and showcased many Academy Award®- and international prize-winning titles. Thanks to Nick Redman’s 30+ years as an award-winning film music historian and preservationist, most releases have included synchronized Isolated Music or Music-and-Effects Tracks that provided a rare platform for the lauded and unsung composers so vital to the filmmaking process. Many offerings also provided informative Audio Commentary tracks involving co-founder Redman and a host of internationally noted film historians that expertly contextualized and enhanced the viewing experience.

From the beginning, the core Twilight Time players – essayist and commentary contributor Julie Kirgo, packaging designer Louis Falzarano, soundtrack editor/music historian Mike Matessino, disc authoring supervisor Jeff Jewett, and our project coordinator Mike Finnegan – have played essential and “best in class” roles in this unique venture. We also want to recognize the extraordinary help of our Distribution and Marketing partners at Screen Archives and Twilight Time Movies. Most importantly, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you, the appreciative film collector. You have supported us throughout this marvelous journey and will hopefully continue to do so while these “one of a kind” limited-run titles are still accessible to you.

We couldn’t have done it without you – our loyal customers!


.

[Monterey Jack]

Sad to see TT go, but man, 380 movies in nine years! No wonder they ended up folding...way too much chaff, not enough wheat.

[Eric Paddon]

Top ten titles I wish they did (based on studios they were accessing) but didn't.

1-Barabbas
2-The Lost World
3-Five Weeks In A Balloon
4-14 Hours
5-Flight Of The Phoenix
6-Sink The Bismarck
7-Dangerous Crossing
8-The Enemy Below (I've heard bad notices of Kino's work on this)
9-Fathom
10-Rally Round The Flag Boys

And in terms of what they did release they should have done better: "Major Dundee" for not giving us the long cut with its correct score like the DVD did.

[AndyDursin]

Sad to see TT go, but man, 380 movies in nine years! No wonder they ended up folding...way too much chaff, not enough wheat.

Nah, 9 years and nearly 400 titles is most definitely "mission accomplished" for Twilight Time. The very thing you are criticizing them for was the entire point of their existence!

They released plenty of titles that sold out and funded the release of obscure or lesser-known movies that they knew wouldn't sell as many units. That was the whole purpose.

The model worked -- the well just ran out after 9 years. Most of the A-grade titles are all gone, released by them or another label already. The business itself has changed. Studios that may have been willing to license big titles like FRIGHT NIGHT at the outset were less likely to do so now. A huge factor is that Fox's catalog is now owned by Disney and there's no pipeline for them left to license. Dealing with Universal and other studios is pricier. I'm sure they gave it a go there but THE BIG FIX wasn't ever going to be a top seller. And then there's the fact that studios who weren't interested before all have their own manufactured-on-demand BD catalog now (Sony, Paramount, Universal...)

In terms of the overall catalog, there's an awful lot of quality in there. I don't agree it's mostly "chaff," everything you see that's left to sell are the more obscure things OR were more recently released. The large bulk of titles that sold out have some great movies in there.

No doubt a few of the titles (the Fox ones especially) became progressively obscure in the last year or two, but that's because they were at the end of the line. In terms of overall film quality, there was nearly something interesting every month from my perspective worth seeing (and I reviewed every one of them!). Even if it wasn't something I particularly liked, I could usually understand why Nick or Brian wanted to release it. The movies had an interesting star, or director, or score most of the time. There was seldom a title that was totally unsalvageable (okay, there's YANKS...lol), or left you baffled as to why they released it (at least for the first 7 years or so).

Sure there were some things I wished they got to -- and my biggest disappointment is that they teased the John Barry score from YEAR OF THE COMET, only to pull it -- but it wasn't my label, and they still released an awful lot of great, or at the least interesting, movies.

They certainly did right by 20th Century Fox and their catalog is by and large a tribute to a studio that, much like TT, is no longer going to exist.

[Monterey Jack]

Okay, my "chaff" comment was a bit too churlish, yet TT released so many obscure films -- especially in the last few years as sources like Fox have dried up -- that no wonder they eventually hit the wall and had to fold, especially at the prices they commanded before all of these liquidation sales. And it didn't help that most of the sell-out titles (mainly 80's cult horror flicks) have since been re-issued by Sony or Scream Factory, for considerably less and with more extras. I still have many, many TT titles in my collection that I treasure (including many new-to-me discoveries), and it's sad to see them go, but it's not surprising considering the sheer VOLUME of titles they've released. Even Scream Factory and Kino are allowing large chunks of their back catalogue to go OOP, and they've both released as much trash as treasure over the years.

[AndyDursin]

I'm sure they knew this was ending 2 years ago and they just released the backside of titles they signed up for since then. Given how many titles they sold out of long before now, I think they made out just fine ultimately. What's left is a relatively small subset of the titles they released and sold out of either at full price or a discount not nearly as deep as what they're letting go of now.

As for volume, that's a good thing. It's not a bad thing. Kino pumps out a whole lot more titles every month and there's a LOT more crap per-title in their catalog...but either way, who cares if there's someone out there who wants the title. I'ts not about your own personal taste or my personal taste -- it's whether or not there's an audience out there for the title. There's not enough money in this to release 1 or 2 titles every month and let them trickle out.

Better that than the Warner Archive currently releasing a tiny drip of inexplicable content -- B&W RKO westerns from the ' 40s, some '50s MGM movie nobody has ever cared about -- while sitting on a MASSIVE catalog of titles they could be releasing.

[Monterey Jack]

Better that than the Warner Archive currently releasing a tiny drip of inexplicable content -- B&W RKO westerns from the ' 40s, some '50s MGM movie nobody has ever cared about -- while sitting on a MASSIVE catalog of titles they could be releasing.

Tell me about it...it amazes me they haven't released Femme Fatale yet, an unreleased-in-HD title from a popular cult filmmaker (De Palma) from the last twenty years.

[AndyDursin]

Better that than the Warner Archive currently releasing a tiny drip of inexplicable content -- B&W RKO westerns from the ' 40s, some '50s MGM movie nobody has ever cared about -- while sitting on a MASSIVE catalog of titles they could be releasing.

Tell me about it...it amazes me they haven't released Femme Fatale yet, an unreleased-in-HD title from a popular cult filmmaker (De Palma) from the last twenty years.

Yeah that's the whole "catering to the whims of the guy running the label" thing. To give Nick credit he was astute enough in terms of the business to know he could only release a few of his pet titles, so to speak, every month, so they were mixed in with titles that would sell more units.

I don't understand what's going on with Warner Archive at all. The titles they are aiming for, demographically, are for audiences that, frankly, are disappearing altogether, and may never have been buying Blu-Ray to begin with. A little of it is fine -- but it's been a lot of their diet of late, and it makes ZERO SENSE from a commercial standpoint.

[Edmund Kattak]

I just received this email:

SCREEN ARCHIVES ACQUIRES TWILIGHT TIME BACK CATALOG

May 14, 2020 -- Screen Archives Entertainment has reached an agreement with Twilight Time Movies to purchase the company’s extensive Twilight Time Movies inventory or back catalog, along with reprint rights of limited titles, and its website effective July 1, 2020. The agreement ensures that the Twilight Time label will continue indefinitely, according to the principals.

Screen Archives has served as the primary distribution partner to Twilight Time since its beginning, working with the late Nick Redman and co-founder Brian Jamieson.

Jamieson, a veteran studio executive and filmmaker will continue to provide marketing expertise and support to Screen Archives during the transition.

Screen Archives president Craig Spaulding said, “Having worked with Brian and Nick over the years, we took this step because we have always enjoyed a good relationship with Brian (and Nick). We wanted to keep our relationship going and continue to capitalize on Brian’s years of expertise in the industry.

Screen Archives began in 1976 and has grown into a worldwide distributor of soundtracks, DVDs, and Blu-rays. No further details will be made available until after July 1, 2020.

[AndyDursin]

Yeah that was confirmed in the earlier email. They might have a few titles they have the ability to repress but it's almost certainly just going to be clearing out whatever stock is left over from TT's own library.

[Edmund Kattak]

I received my last batch of Twilight Time from them over the weekend. I had to split ordering from them and SAE, depending on who had what in stock. I have this feeling that many of the Fox Titles may never appear again, so I grabbed at least what I was interested in. I also picked up the MGM because who knows if those will come out again, at least in a decently handled release and the attention to detail that many of these had.

Case in point, I picked up THE RUSSIA HOUSE which features the isolated score, complete with state intros. But what many may not ave picked up on, is that the isolated score is in 24bit 96khs uncompressed audio. It shows up as the first "3-channel" audio track in the included audio streams - even though there is only two channels (R and L) of sound information. The sound is far better than the original MCA CD and, I must say, better than the Quartet re-issue. It sounds smoother and has no normalization - which annoys me about the Quartet (I normally like their releases). So, this was easy to convert the 24/96 stream to 2-channel 24/96 FLAC files. It sounds great to my ears.

I am just wondering how many other discs in their release catalog present that same golden opportunity to capture at the best possible source available?

[AndyDursin]

Probably quite a few. Mike Matessino produced all of the isolated score tracks so there's likely a good amount of situations like that, if the elements were available to him to take advantage of.