criterionforum.org

cinephrenic wrote:

but given Pinal's contributions to this and other of Bunuel's Mexican/Spanish films

Another confirmation of Exterminating Angel and Simon of the Desert.

Viridiana and these 2 films should so be a boxset (digipak). but it wont happen. :/

Lovely news. Let's put Silvia on a second disc with Simon of the Desert, shall we? Great as she is in Viridiana, I'll always think of her in Jesus drag dropkicking that lamb.

The couple of months' delay could hardly have been attributed to the creation of new cover art, anyway, since it only took them 5 minutes to come up with the first version.

I don't think, or hope, that the kind people at CC let us dictate their covers and that they will stick to the one already posted.
My friends would hospitalize me immediately if they were aware that I have been discussing the colour pink in a forum.
Would be fun if Matt changed the forum colours to shades of that specific pink for a day as an homage to Viridiana, the most talked about CC cover that had to have it's own thread...

hammock wrote:I don't think, or hope, that the kind people at CC let us dictate their covers and that they will stick to the one already posted.

I would hope that Criterion WOULD listen to people who buy their products by the fistful -- and who are (over-)invested in the success of each new release (and the health of a company that they don't even own).

The proposed Viridiana cover is simply embarrassingly bad. Friends don't let friends drive drunk .... or design covers for important releases while in a similar condition.

And how many people exactly should not like a cover for CC to change it? 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6? If CC like the cover (I can only assume that since they uploaded it) that it is all that matters and they should stick with it! Don't forget that some people actually like the cover...

Don't forget that some people actually like the cover...

Some people actually like Robocop 3 and Alice Sebold novels.

I think most well-run organizations have a way to capture consumer opinion. They reserve the right to determine how to respond to that opinion. Criterion issues 3 to 4 DVD's a month, and rarely does a separate track get created on a specific cover design by members of this forum, who are clearly their passionate consumers (I am not sure how representative we are of their total consumer base). Therefore in my opinion it would be not wise for them to ignore the feedback. They may choose, after due consideration, that the cover is fine as it stands. That is their prerogative. If they stay with it, we will never know how much of an impact that decision had on their sales, because answering that type of question would require a controlled test, which Criterion is too small an organization to undertake. If I was on the management team of Criterion I would consider changing the cover because the cost of modification at this stage of development is probably small compared to the potential negative impact it might have.

You got a point and maybe I will soften up on my stiff opinion with time, but I have never been a crowd pleaser and if CC loves the artwork I think the right thing would be for them to keep it as is. If it was just a modification of the cover people requested I would be more willing to accept I guess. Maybe not, I don't know, I'm confused!!!

Ashirg wrote:New cover artwork for Viridiana

A drastic improvement indeed!

PEOPLE POWER! Much nicer.

they listened to the people!
much better. black and white all the way.

Knockout!

I prefer the pink one. they should print the original on the other side of the label. it's a shame that all the people bitching on this forum made Criterion second guess themselves.

Nice to see that Criterion re-thought the Viridiana cover -- and came up with a really good one.

Now -- if only they will similarly re-assess how they balance the color on Ozu films ....

domino harvey wrote:I prefer the pink one. they should print the original on the other side of the label. it's a shame that all the people bitching on this forum made Criterion second guess themselves.

Meanwhile (in the Hall of Justice), I admire the fact that a company of Criterion's ilk was willing to second-guess themselves. I doubt any other recipient of my recreation budget gives a shit what I think about an unreleased product's packaging-- particularly if its merely an annoyance and will likely not affect my decision to purchase it. Power to the people indeed.

Anyone think the recent lack of official announcements for upcoming titles is related to the Viridiana controversy? I, for one, promise not to trash-talk any projected cover of CC's Double Indemnity if they'd be cool enough to announce it.

I was going to buy the film anyway, but with this new cover, I won't have to wrap up the DVD in newspaper to avoid losing my eyesight. Fantastic cover. I dare anyone to fucking complain now...

The new cover looks excellent but I'm sure Mr. Bunuel would have prefered the first one and not a "doll" black and white cover.

Beautiful. I really thought they were going to pull its release for three months, and come back with that same nasty cover. I'm very pleased with this one.

Viridiana looks amazing!! I wonder how it would look if the CRITERION COLLECTION and the line underneath were to also be in that same awesome thick which font.

I frankly preferred the choice of photograph, and overall composition, from the previous cover. But what a font-- brilliant. I guess I'm a fan of the change, if only because of the font.

Much improved! Thanks criterion!

hammock wrote:The new cover looks excellent but I'm sure Mr. Bunuel would have prefered the first one and not a "doll" black and white cover.

I think he hated most everything other people did to sell his stuff, so it's probably moot to bring it up. But because this "doll" is one of the most scandalous images Bunuel ever made (an initiate nun drugged and about to be raped by her uncle? Franco's hair gets grayer even in his grave every time the film is shown), I sincerely doubt Bunuel would feel too badly toward the new cover. That Warhol-esque monstrosity, on the other hand . . .

oh good, another boring black cover