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

[Eric Paddon]

Golden Voyage and Caroline Munro in Blu-Ray? I'll buy!

[AndyDursin]

Eye of the Tiger bored the hell out of me as a kid...but these will sell no matter what for TT.

[AndyDursin]

BODY DOUBLE less than 50 left at the TCM online shop...this one went fast! Have to crack my copy open today.

[AndyDursin]

I wonder if ZULU will have a superior transfer than the Paramount UK release...also that release was in stereo, but past MGM releases have only been in mono.

Nice to see some Woody Allen working in the mix now that TT is licensing from MGM -- hopefully they'll sell seeing as MGM has so many of them via the Orion library.


KHARTOUM (1966) BLU-RAY - Jan 21st (from the 65 mm elements)

ZULU (1963) BLU-RAY - Jan 22nd (on the 50th anniversary of the film's premiere, and the 135th anniversary of the battle of Rorke's Drift)

TITUS (1999) BLU-RAY - Jan 21st

MAN IN THE DARK (1953) 3D - Jan 21st

CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989) BLU-RAY - Feb 11th

THE FRONT (1975) BLU-RAY - Feb 11th

THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974) BLU-RAY - Feb 11th

THE BLUE MAX (1966) BLU-RAY - Feb 11th

THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY (1956) - Feb 11th

[Paul MacLean]

TITUS (1999) BLU-RAY - Jan 21st

I think I can pass on this one!

CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989) BLU-RAY - Feb 11th

Arguably Allen's best film. Will be grabbing this one the day it's released. Any news on A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (not his finest work, but certainly his most visually-alluring).

[Eric Paddon]

THe only maybe titles on that list for me are Blue Max and Khartoum. I have seen no Woody Allen movies he wrote/directed ever since the scandal broke 20 years go and I couldn't be paid to see "The Front" again in a million years.

[AndyDursin]

I want RADIO DAYS in HD.

[AndyDursin]

Not to take the spotlight away from the new title announcements, but there's apparently a rift between TT, Bruce Kimmel and the editorial staff and fickle message board posters at Blu-ray.com (the same people who gave STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS a 5/5 and JENNIFER 8 a 1/5). The bickering is over at the Home Theater Forum, which has also peripherally gotten involved.

Have a cup of coffee and enjoy, lol...

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/327021-the-other/

[mkaroly]

I want RADIO DAYS in HD.

I agree with you Paul - CAM is, IMO, his best film ever - perfect balance of comedy and drama with a very poignant message at the end.

Would love RADIO DAYS as well - another solid film of his.

[AndyDursin]

I want RADIO DAYS in HD.

I agree with you Paul - CAM is, IMO, his best film ever - perfect balance of comedy and drama with a very poignant message at the end.

Would love RADIO DAYS as well - another solid film of his.

It's funny how Allen's best movies seem to come in bunches...85-90 was obviously a prolific time for him (minus September and Shadows and Fog), then he had a bit of a lull then a trio of good ones in the mid 90s (Bullets Over Broadway, Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite) before kind of running into a brick wall there until MATCH POINT came about.

So much of his Dreamworks output was lame or disappointing. Remember this one? lol.

[Eric Paddon]

Not to take the spotlight away from the new title announcements, but there's apparently a rift between TT, Bruce Kimmel and the editorial staff and fickle message board posters at Blu-ray.com (the same people who gave STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS a 5/5 and JENNIFER 8 a 1/5). The bickering is over at the Home Theater Forum, which has also peripherally gotten involved.

Have a cup of coffee and enjoy, lol...
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/327021-the-other/

I remember Kimmel's obnoxious and vicious behavior toward me because I rightly called out TT for its shoddy presentation of "Major Dundee" by not giving the long cut with the original score and how the real disgrace was Redman's attempt to spin that as a wonderful thing for the consumer when it wasn't and how that kind of spin would *never* be treated with deference if it came from a big studio. This is the thing that so often annoys me in that specialty labels in this field, whether TT for movies, or Shout Factory for TV shows on DVD, are often given a free pass for things that if done by a big studio label would generate an infinite number of protest comments (like the uproar over the "Fugitive" TV series and music replacement). And guys like Kimmel have a total aversion to free speech on these matters and believe there should be a quota system put in place for how many times you express yourself. It's one reason (among many) why I think he's a jerk of the first order.

[AndyDursin]

IMO Shout has gotten plenty of flack for the few titles they've botched -- especially that Bruce Lee set (which they listened to and recalled). Their overall batting average, like TT, is actually really good, but people always harp on the one or two titles that didn't come out as they wanted. I don't really agree that they get a "free pass," it seems to me people always will raise an objection to a title that didn't come out well, and usually the complaints are legitimate. In the best cases the smaller labels are more equipped to do something about it (as in repressing the Bruce Lee set, or TT giving out refunds on Night of the Living Dead) as opposed to the larger studios.

In terms of this specific argument -- which really boils down to the age-old "why do they charge $30 and only press 3000 copies" question -- I agree with Kimmel in that the Blu-ray.com message board -- the average user of which seems to be between 18-25 years old and buys their discs for $5 -- continuously harps on the same arguments over and over to no end. It's not constructive, they don't seem to get it, and I don't blame them at all for deciding not to support that website with review copies. Everyone has a right to express their opinion, absolutely, but when that opinion is the same, uninformed "why can't they release it so I can make a blind buy of it for $5-$10?" argument, honestly I can see where Nick and company are coming from. No matter how many times they try to explain the process, people don't understand, and they trash the label repeatedly, as if this is still the year 2000 and major studios are supporting physical media with hundreds of new releases every month.

Those days are gone, and even Shout has said recently they've been surprised by how poorly some of their new Blu-Ray releases have done. If anything, you might see them go to a limited-pressing run blueprint for certain titles in the near future also.

[mkaroly]

I want RADIO DAYS in HD.

I agree with you Paul - CAM is, IMO, his best film ever - perfect balance of comedy and drama with a very poignant message at the end.

Would love RADIO DAYS as well - another solid film of his.

It's funny how Allen's best movies seem to come in bunches...85-90 was obviously a prolific time for him (minus September and Shadows and Fog), then he had a bit of a lull then a trio of good ones in the mid 90s (Bullets Over Broadway, Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite) before kind of running into a brick wall there until MATCH POINT came about.

So much of his Dreamworks output was lame or disappointing.

It was almost as if he couldn't miss in the 70s and 80s...though he did. Never cared for SEPTEMBER, SHADOWS AND FOG, INTERIORS (too heavy and pretentious for me), and STARDUST MEMORIES (not sure why - never a fan of Charlotte Rampling).

I would include MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY with the ones you mention. That was his last real good grouping of films before he started releasing very average work. Beginning with DECONSTRUCTING HARRY and CELEBRITY (both of which I abhor) he started losing his "magic". SWEET AND LOWDOWN and CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION kind of stick out, but they are far from his best work.

I did not care for MATCH POINT because it was essentially a retelling of CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. I was reminded of Ozu and how he "remade" some of his earlier films (for example, FLOATING WEEDS a remake of A STORY OF FLOATING WEEDS; LATE AUTUMN a remake of LATE SPRING, GOOD MORNING a loose remake of I WAS BORN BUT...) - they never quite captured the depth of magic of the originals. While Allen's "London Trilogy" had its moments, and while I will admit they are more watchable than other late period films (including ANYTHING ELSE...I don't even remember what that film was about!), they don't have that "magic".

I hated VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (very cliché...and I can't stand Penelope Cruz as an actress) and WHATEVER WORKS was somewhat offensive to me. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS I guess was one of his better late period films, now that I think about it. I thought the message of the film (romanticizing the past) was profound actually. Anyway...glad they are releasing CAM on Blu-Ray!

[AndyDursin]

I hated VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (very cliché...and I can't stand Penelope Cruz as an actress)

I also found it very overrated -- boring and unengaging. I think some critics were just happy he had made a decent movie after a run of misfires and overpraised its overall worth.

[DavidBanner]

Eric, I don't know if that's an accurate description of your exchange at HTF regarding Dundee. Suffice it to say, you made your points there, Nick Redman answered you, there was a bunch of back and forth and then several people, including the moderator, asked for the situation to calm down. Bruce only offered a single significant comment in that thread, and I didn't think he was being vicious in any way toward anyone. Since I've never seen Dundee, I have no dog in that hunt. But people who are curious could look over there to see for themselves.

Regarding Woody Allen, I'm very happy that they're putting Crimes and Misdemeanors out on Blu. It's one of my favorite Allen movies. I don't think he's had too many good ones over the last 20 years, but there were some great pieces before then. Regarding what happened in his personal life, I honestly don't know enough about that to make judgments about anyone. I only know that his earlier movies had some real gems in the list.