Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol.4

[kaujot]

Agreed.

[Tom Hagen]

[img]http://criterion_production.s3.amazonaws.com/release_images/2080/467_box_348x490.jpg[/img]

Goddamnit.

[Antoine Doinel]

Christ. That cover went from "perfect" to "awful" pretty damn quickly.

[arsonfilms]

They've already changed the Painleve cover. Not bad, but I much prefer the simplicity of the first.

It says NW. Is that a response to whether or not they were paying tribute to Swimminghorses? No Way?
Oh right. It's 23 written out contrary to the direction of all the other text on the cover. How clever.
I'm with criterionsnob, this is a bit of a step back but still ok, I guess.

[Tom Hagen]

They need to work five more seahorses in there to get the total number up to 23, you know, just like birthday cake candles. I almost want to believe that the Criterion people are purposely fucking with us on the board for their amusement with this one.

[swo17]

You want more seahorses?

[Matt]

That's pretty fucking awful. Put a grain filter on it and misspell "Painlevé" and it is a swimminghorses cover.

[HerrSchreck]

The cover went from "zen-like perfect simplicity" (using an uncorrupted image from the contents) to "tacky" in under 24 hrs (taking a perfectly simple piece of content out of the text meant to be seen in and of itself.. and turning it into a cookie-cutter stamp in a wallpaper assembly)... swimminghorses coincidence/tribute or no, the conception just went from eastern sophistication to Minnesota Art School Class Project in no time flat.

[kaujot]

I mean honestly.

[Matt]

Minnesota Art School Class Project

Now why ya gotta go an insult Minnesota like that?

[Gregory]

I also thought it pretty clearly said NW. Having the seahorses in formation to spell out the number of films just seems wrong. A Painlevé image not "23" should be the main focus of the cover art, unless the disc producers are huge fans of Robert Anton Wilson or something.
I'm extremely glad they're releasing this, though.

[HerrSchreck]

Oh yea.. forgot you were from there-- I just reached into my ear and pulled out Some Middle American Place of Many Anonymous Blonde People.. who tend wheatfields next to which are parked station wagons with wood paneling on the sides.

Anyone here from Iowa?

PS: for those who thought it said NW.. what would be the significance?

[kaujot]

Obviously they heard that we weren't complaining about the covers this month and decided to fuck up the nicest one.

[swo17]

Oh yea.. forgot you were from there-- I just reached into my ear and pulled out Some Middle American Place of Many Anonymous Blonde People..

for those who thought it said NW.. what would be the significance?

You just answered your own question--Northwestern University in Illinois.

[Matt]

[kaujot]

Better than the one they went with.

[colinr0380]

Is "In the realm" cover a hint that the movie has something to do with the weird sex act where people like to be chocked when having an orgasm to maximize it? I think the lead singer of INXS was into that.

Spoiler

It's a little more extreme than that, in that the couple consciously intend to achieve their deaths rather than just achieving it by accident!

Put a grain filter on it and misspell "Painlevé" and it is a swimminghorses cover.

Following the recent Deuxieme Soufflé cover is there any chance of a spoof cover for this showing leavened bread?

[heredity4me]

Sent this over to criterion:

Last night I saw this cover (the original) and was mesmerized. I went on youtube and countless other video websites I've never heard of and was so excited with what I saw! I was beginning to count the days until this set was released...

Please don't take away the initial catalyst for my desire to see these films! The new cover is a joke!

[Adam]

I concur fully. The single seahorse was much better. I just wrote to Mulvaney as well.

[karmajuice]

Okay, I don't usually care all that much about cover art, but that new cover is just fucking silly.

[redbill]

is that the movie with Jim Carrey?

[hammock]

They can add as many seahorses as they like, I still find it boring!

[Anhedionisiac]

Those were all great covers.
And then there were two.
Seriously, why would one prefer the new cover to the original?
Why, why, why?
From best to worst, why?
Still love the other two, though. Great job on those. And great job on whoever did the original cover that was now scrapped. Sorry, man.

[Doctor Sunshine]

I'd probably like the new one if I hadn't seen the old one first, it's got a weird, tomeish quality to it. On the plus side, I'm sure they'll use the first one in the package somewhere, like what they did with White Dog. Maybe the new one for the box and the old one for the front of the digipak.

[Feego]

I can't help but think of this when I see that new Painleve cover. But at least the poster designers had the good sense not to spell the "12" out in little monkeys.