Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol.5

[mfunk9786]

You know, if you'd have told me 20 years ago, I'd see children walking the streets of our Texas towns with green hair, bones in their noses... I just flat-out wouldn't have believed you.
Signs and wonders. But, I think once you quit hearing "sir" and "ma'am," the rest is soon to foller.

Stop trying to paint me some kind of bigotted idiot, you were playing along with the joke until I somehow upset your delicate sensibilites. These are both grown men who look like they wandered off of a Real Housewives set. I have at times found each of their work interesting, and have some limited interest in them as people as a result. If you think one is intrinsicly more beautiful than the other, or deserving of our sympathy, you're welcome to your opinion.

I just am trying to tell you that your transphobic bullshit isn't welcome here in a humorous way - but there it is - your transphobic bullshit isn't welcome here.

[matrixschmatrix]

Stop trying to paint me some kind of bigotted idiot, you were playing along with the joke until I somehow upset your delicate sensibilites. These are both grown men who look like they wandered off of a Real Housewives set. I have at times found each of their work interesting, and have some limited interest in them as people as a result. If you think one is intrinsicly more beautiful than the other, or deserving of our sympathy, you're welcome to your opinion.

You should have shut up while you were ahead. Lana Wachowski is not a grown man, she is a woman (who happens to have unusual chromosomes for a woman.) It's both ignorant and intolerant to try to force an equivalency between overdone plastic surgery and being a transperson in the first place, but please don't act like a transphobic asshole and then sound the PC alarm.

[andyli]

Judging by these 3d packaging shots, On the Waterfront and Sansho Dayu will be digipaks.

[Zot!]

Stop trying to paint me some kind of bigotted idiot, you were playing along with the joke until I somehow upset your delicate sensibilites. These are both grown men who look like they wandered off of a Real Housewives set. I have at times found each of their work interesting, and have some limited interest in them as people as a result. If you think one is intrinsicly more beautiful than the other, or deserving of our sympathy, you're welcome to your opinion.

You should have shut up while you were ahead. Lana Wachowski is not a grown man, she is a woman (who happens to have unusual chromosomes for a woman.) It's both ignorant and intolerant to try to force an equivalency between overdone plastic surgery and being a transperson in the first place, but please don't act like a transphobic asshole and then sound the PC alarm.

You win, I slipped up. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.

[captveg]

Getting back to the Trilogy of Life packaging, why are the films' MPAA ratings included?* I know films licensed from major studios usually have them, but it seems odd here since all three have ratings they didn't originally have upon their respective releases (and, in the case of The Canterbury Lives and Arabian Nights, couldn't possibly have had. And, if you allow me to continue this parenthetical aside just a moment more, I'm surprised—given the MPAA's still-squeamish attitude about sex—that The Decameron got an 'R'!)

*This also brings up the question why MGM ever bothered resubmitting them.

According to filmratings.com (the official MPAA site) all three got their re-ratings in 1991. I'm assuming they had a theatrical re-release at that time and MGM (or whoever may have been the distributor) was uncomfortable using the X rating.

[acroyear]

Criterion has been honored with another design award. David Plunkert's artwork for Diabolique is highlighted in the pages of this year's PRINT magazine Regional Design Annual. I could not find an online link to share this news, but the magazine is currently on the newsstands (and on page 145 if I am not mistaken). At $30 for the issue all I could afford was to look at it.

I am certain that his work for the Tin Drum will receive similar accolades come awards season next year.

[neal]

An article describing the process of creating The Man Who Knew Too Much cover.

[cdnchris]

Brazil
Purple Noon
Following
The Qatsi Trilogy

[AfterTheRain]

The artwork for the Qatsi Trilogy really captures the essence of the trilogy beautifully. It has my vote for best artwork for a Criterion release this year.

[jindianajonz]

I just noticed that despite the fact that it has an older black case, Schizopolis has some stuff printed on the inside of it's cover (A long, humorous "warning" label.) Are there any other DVDs that have things hidden behind the cover (aside from the obvious ones included on clear DVD cases)

[cdnchris]

When I was taking photos of all of the releases for this site Schizopolis was the only one I came across that had hidden text printed on the inside. None of the other early releases did, that I saw anyways.

[zedz]

How quickly we forget

Spoiler

Jimmy crack corn
Though that hidden text wasn't on the back of a cover.

[domino harvey]

How quickly we forget

Spoiler

Jimmy crack corn
Though that hidden text wasn't on the back of a cover.

"It renders all other hidden text superfluous, save perhaps the under the barcode scrawlings of Tom Noonan on Fox Lorber's the Wife"
--Ray Carney

[mteller]

Someone posted these elsewhere, dunno what the source is. Seems like a credible batch, though.

[warren oates]

If those are real, I like the Bresson and the Lang covers (though the later feels a bit unfinished or sketchy still), but that Badlands cover feels like a joke. I guess it's supposed to be pulp paperback-y but instead it reminds me of those unintentionally funny hand-drawn African movie posters. Ick.

[matrixschmatrix]

I like them all a lot- definitely both the Lang and the Malick are going for a pulpy feel, but that seems appropriate enough in both cases. The Bresson seems a bit muted, but that's fair enough- and it's appropriately focused on hands performing a task.

[mfunk9786]

Good lord is that a horrible cover for Badlands. There are approximately one million gorgeous images in that film - and this is what they do?!

[flyonthewall2983]

Would they have been able to use the original poster for Badlands?

[knives]

The Bresson reminds me of Dryer's Joan a little too much, but I suppose that is appropriate.

[tenia]

If it's indeed March batch, I'm still missing the "Big" release.

[knives]

Badlands and Chaplin would count as pretty big though I am unlikely buy either.

[SpiderBaby]

"Big" to me would be the WCF releases.

[Drucker]

If it's indeed March batch, I'm still missing the "Big" release.

People on Facebook request Badlands 5 times a day for at least two years. For this purpose, this is THE big announcement. And we don't even know how grand the packaging/extras would be.

[Saturnome]

The "big" is obviously Badlands since it's a Warner title. There's still a possibility for some great Eclipse set or amazing extras though!

I like the Ministry of Fear cover...hmm.

[matrixschmatrix]

I already own three of four of these, but depending on the extras I'm pretty likely to pick up all four. Certainly A Man Escaped is exciting as hell, for me it's Bresson's best film.