Criterion Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol.2

[Cinephrenic]

There you go Matt. They've used that poster. I love the cover art for Shoot the Piano Player.

December titles are up!

[Lino]

So, I guess they followed Matt's advice for Pickpocket after all. You see, they're not mad at you for creating this forum anymore.

[lull]

December titles are up!

actually, the December title is up (Shoot the Piano Player).
Pickpocklet is coming in November, according to Criterion's Coming Soon page.

[AZAI]

love, love, love the Tirez sur le pianiste cover!

M-F is a big improvement as well

[peerpee]

The PICKPOCKET cover is absolutely perfect, and they didn't pig around with the original font (hurrah!)

Is the SHOOT cover an original poster too, I wonder? -- (checks GOOGLE, yes... with French text:)

[Toshiro De Niro]

i don't like covers for Pickpocket and Shoot the Piano Player, i'm disappointed.

[FilmFanSea]

Is the SHOOT cover an original poster too, I wonder? -- (checks GOOGLE, yes... with French text:)

I think this is one case where Criterion should've ignored the original poster art & gone in a different direction. This may be one of my least favorite covers in the whole collection (right up there with Heaven Can Wait and Trouble in Paradise).

But what the hell do I know?*

* that's a rhetorical question which doesn't require an answer.

[javelin]

Eek. Shoot the Piano Player is graced w/ a gorgeous cover.

[Jem]

I like that the Pickpocket cover is loyal to the original French poster, I think this is a factor most Bresson fans will appreciate. In saying that I still prefer the German poster image, it's just more dynamic (whether the image is available or not, is another question).

http://www.mastersofcinema.org/bresson/ ... ocket3.jpg

[Jem]

i don't like covers for Pickpocket and Shoot the Piano Player, i'm disappointed.

Why?

[Toshiro De Niro]

I just don't want to look at them again, whereas most of the other covers make me want to watch the movie again. Pickpocket is not too bad, but Player's.... I see no artistic value in the artwork. Please someone tell my why is this a good cover?

[analoguezombie]

I think the argument for it being "a good cover" is related to certain people's desire for original poster art. I can definitely support original poster art over the 'screenshot and text' approach, but I, like you (I assume), enjoy newly created cover art which adds to, instead of simply copying, the original artwork created. I really enjoy the covers that incorporate some of the original art with a new spin. Slacker for example. But my favorites so far are Throne of Blood and Eyes Without a Face.

[Toshiro De Niro]

I love cover for Throne of Blood and Like Eyes without a Face very much. Also Ugetsu- i don't know whether it's copied from somewhere but to me it looks stunning. Upcoming samurai covers seem simple yet original.
I like most of Criterion covers very much, particularly: Onibaba,and God Created Woman,Tokyo Drifter,Branded to Kill,Le Corbeau,Devil and Daniel Webster,Notorious,covers for Milos Forman DVD's and for Fassbinder trilogu and Doinel Set.

[Jem]

Yes agree, although I can appreciate covers that replicate the original poster art, I still prefer the covers that re-interpret the old and give it a more contemporary feel. To me this has always been the strength of the Criterion covers.

(The Eyes without a Face cover is brilliant, followed closely by MOC's The Face of Another)

[analoguezombie]

(The Eyes without a Face cover is brilliant, followed closely by MOC's The Face of Another)

hmmm, me thinks you like masks

[Lino]

Just add the Criterion banner and you're home and free.

[timothy.newsum]

I hoped Criterion would use the Keiko Kimura illustration that Rialto used to promote their theatrical release of Masculine Féminine, but, of the two covers Criterion has posted I have a strong preference for the first cover design. Although the final design seems to move closer to Keiko Kimura's illustration:



I haven't been able to shake this unsettling relationship from my mind:



Pointed hair on the right, curled hair on the left, break in the bangs, facing right and looking left, closed-mouth smile...

[Gordon]

The cover of Pickpocket is appropriately austere.

[Mr Pixies]

I've got to say, it's a crying shame that they didn't use that illustration. I know some people here hated it, but it's so much better than "here's Chantal Goya's passport photo and some text in a slightly whimsical font."

It looks Japanese.

I like the first one better, if only it was a little sharper.

[godardslave]

I've got to say, it's a crying shame that they didn't use that illustration. I know some people here hated it, but it's so much better than "here's Chantal Goya's passport photo and some text in a slightly whimsical font."

Im with Matt on this one. The Illustration is just a lot more fun and stylish, than the somewhat plain headshot photo.

[duane hall]

I especially dislike the final version because Goya's head looks stretched vertically. Regardless of whether or not is actually stretched, it still makes her look like a cone and makes the entire cover awkward. I agree that the illustration was the best option.

[yumitree]

her head looks even more like a cone in the illustration... in timothy.newsum's first image (first criterion>second criterion>rialto poster), it looks like she's been on the rack and been stretched a little bit between each cover. i stil prefer the first cover. i think the photo is a better choice and the title treatment is a lot better (more subdued, larger, and the stylistic aging is a nice effect).

[backstreetsbackalright]

I'm not totally satisfied with the final product either, but I for one was very happy they didn't go with the illustration. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't have any particularly positive feelings about it either.

[Cinephrenic]

Looks like the work of Eric Skillman (Port of Shadow, Night and the City, Thieves Highway). I love it.

[peerpee]

ooo -that's lovely. He should do all their covers!