Criterion Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol.2

[Tribe]

I can't believe that this is the only announcement for a June release. Perhaps tomorrow they'll announce some more.

Tribe

[zedz]

Don't worry, it hasn't actually been announced yet. This was a premature ejaculation of some kind.

It seems that Criterion have upped their security a little: this is the first time this year, as far as I recall, that we haven't had any early leaks about the coming month's releases.

I like surprises, and I'd like to think this had something to do with the quashing of the unlamented "Guess the June releases" thread.

[Tribe]

I like surprises, and I'd like to think this had something to do with the quashing of the unlamented "Guess the June releases" thread.

Hopefully. And good riddance to that thread.

[Ted Todorov]

Don't worry, it hasn't actually been announced yet. This was a premature ejaculation of some kind.

Actually it has been announced (check the Coming Soon section), but as of this moment nothing else has been. Strange -- I can't really remember them doing that before. Unless the other June release is some massive box that they are still fiddling with the release notes on.

[Jun-Dai]

Seems a bit silly. What do y'all think?

[FilmFanSea]

Seems a bit silly. What do y'all think?

I don't often comment on cover art, but that is wretched.

[Tribe]

Two more unidentified covers are up....#294 and #297.

Tribe

[justeleblanc]

It matches the TROUBLE IN PARADISE cover, which is nice. I'm a sucker for unity.

[Gregory]

How does this one match? Different artist, different style, no people floating diagonally...

[justeleblanc]

Different artist, different style...

Could have fooled me.

[skuhn8]

I don't think I've ever posted a negative on cover art, but I'm going to shoot this one down. Looks like Warners is surprassing CC in this category. If they can't come up with something innovative (like Rules of the Game) just go with some original poster art from its release. Didn't like Trouble For Paradise cover for that matter either.

[souvenir]

Simple, but I like it.

[denti alligator]

Beautiful, I say.

[oldsheperd]

I think the Lubitsch covers are pretty cool. They convey the Art Deco mise-en-scene found in both movies.

[devlinnn]

Seems a bit silly. What do y'all think?

I love it - captures the joie de vivre of the film very well. I'm sure Lubitsch, who did die with a smile on his face, will arrange a chorus line for each of us when the time comes.

[javelin]

I'm going to buck trends and say this:

1) the Heaven Can Wait cover art is great. Perfectly Lubitsch, and well balanced to boot. Fantastic use of color as well.

2) the Au Hasard cover art is overwhelmingly inferior when compared to the R2 version.

[Napoleon]

Donkeys are great, but this reminds me of those 80's b/w Athena posters.

[Lino]

The Bresson cover looks and feels lazy. And too obvious. Minimalism is ok, but not everyone can do it well. As it turned out in this case.

[dekadetia]

maybe if everyone quotes you enough times in this thread criterion will notice and change it.

I'll bring the total to two then.

It kind of suggests a lack of faith in the audience that criterion -- and dvd producers in general, really -- don't do this (has any company, ever?), especially considering that its done with cd covers all the time. They might want to sticker the title onto the shrinkwrap for the sake of clarification; a transparent sticker in the current cover typeface would be perfect. I personally don't think it would be excessively oblique or minimal. At the same time, it's definitely a circumstance where restraint is key. It's appropriate for Balthazar, but in the wrong hands I could see it becoming a design clich� pretty quick.

[javelin]

Or just put the title on the spine of the DVD, as is the norm, and leave the cover typeless. I imagine most Criterion consumers are intelligent enough to look at the spine. Moreover, most of the time DVDs are stocked with only the spine showing anyway.

[cbernard]

I think stores should stock the Balthazar discs on the floor with bullet holes in them, and surround them with a lot of other miscellaneous DVDs from other shelves. That would take balls. It would be stupid, but that's part of the reason why it would take balls. Plus you'd have to step on the other DVDs to get to bullet-ridden Balthazar. And that's not good marketing.

[djali999]

I think Balthazar is pretty blah and uninteresting. It's got nice contrast and the text is niceley chosen and niceley framed, but it looks more like somebody honestly trying to do a "Criterion house style" cover rather than something exciting and unexpected, like Divorce Italian Style or Hoop Dreams. It seems to be making people who are interested in the film happy so I guess it'll reach the target audience, but it isn't doing anything to sell me on it.

I think the Heaven Can Wait cover is very strong from the standpoint of somebody who does illustrations himself. I think changing the text to a nice, rich gold would help greatly - there's just a bit too much scarlet to make the title "pop" like it should. Blue, gold, red and white is a fantastic color scheme, but it doesn't work unless it's in good balance. and oh yes - the selection of fonts here is fantastic.

I think the nicest one is The Browning Version, a film I have little interest in but which already looks like an old friend to me. It's a complex arrangement that demands study and intelligent consideration without overloading the eye (a la Tin Drum). of course in the case of Tin Drum it was perfect for that film, but I digress... it's a formidable example of good graphic art. I wish I could hit this level of complex simplicity every time I sat down at a console.

the "Crazed Fruit" cover damn well better live up to its title....

[javelin]

Agreed - I want bananas, pineapples, and tangelos running around with straight-jackets and machetes. Only then will the 12 year old boy in me be satisfied.

[guest]

How about this:

[Jun-Dai]

That's my favorite mock cover so far. Have you sent it to Mulvaney?