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I love "Starring BBC's "Hitchcock""...

I don't have a problem with marketing films under more lurid alternative covers, provided the film actually delivers on what it's being made to promise. For instance, I was involved in selling Belle de Jour as "the Rolls-Royce of sex films" and I don't recall any complaints or refunds.

But anyone expecting a gory, Saw-style horror film is going to be massively disappointed with Berberian - although lots of extremely unpleasant things happen, there are no blood-drenched images at all, and it really needs careful viewing on a system with a state-of-the-art surround setup to fully appreciate. It's not drunken Friday or Saturday night material - for starters (and I bet the ASDA packaging doesn't mention this even on the back), most of it is subtitled!

Just a brilliant cover, Nick, crying out for an MoC spine number.

I think such misleading marketing is not only cynical but short-sighted. You might get a punter picking up a misleadingly packaged DVD once, but surely the ill-will of the enraged purchaser is going to stop him ever taking a chance again? The worst offenders have to be the repackaged DVDs hoping to trap buyers into paying for a film completely different from the one they believe it to be: I'm thinking of the Matt Salinger Captain America and the Enzo Castellari Inglorious Bastards.

I do like that Strickland in that blog post says that he has no problem with "misleading designs that are meant to subvert and annoy", which amusingly is the same mantra that I try to stick to in my comments here.

I seem to recall that Artificial Eye have done this quite a lot in recent times, foregoing their standard green and grey branding to do do an alternately designed cover presumably to try and break through into the mainstream. This perhaps started with the lurid cover for Antichrist showing blood drenched rusty scissors:



So while ASDA might not be complaining (I'd have thought a big supermarket chain would if anything want to tone down horrific imagery in locations where any member of the general public can see rather than just specific horror film fans, rather than play it up! But who knows, perhaps as in the video nasty days being highly visible is seen as the be all and end all), I think AE might also have to share some blame!

As to whether it represents it properly, whilst Antichrist might be an extreme 18 rated horror, there were still better, classier ways of representing the experience that the film was going to present to the viewer, as the art for the Criterion disc later on (extreme but more oblique) showed.

And thanks for the excellent alternate cover! It was highly amusing to see the photograph of Nick and partner, presumably taken during their Christmas break (kudos on the commitment to maintaining authenticity by showing AE trying to keep at least a little of their logo on there!)

Artificial Eye reissued The Winter's Bone in a different cover to cash in on the success of another film by its star.

They're both kind of lousy covers. Never seen anyone have such a hard time finding a good photo of Jennifer Lawrence

However at least the knitted hat and bare trees imply winter, while the second just suggests mid-Summer in its Hunger Games influenced sunset colour scheme.

That's a pretty cynical cash-in.

MichaelB wrote:I don't have a problem with marketing films under more lurid alternative covers, provided the film actually delivers on what it's being made to promise.

I think this one delivers on the promise. Let's take it all the way:

I can't stop laughing

I'm done now:

I'm really done now:

My quote for The Turin Horse would have been "Makes Seabiscuit look like War Horse, and War Horse look like Secretariat!"

either that or:

"Don't believe the Neigh-sayers"

Great stuff, peerpee.

My Amour cover would have had Emmanuelle in 30 pt. type, Riva in 8 pt. type, and this image:

RossyG wrote:Artificial Eye reissued The Winter's Bone in a different cover to cash in on the success of another film by its star.

I'd been wondering for a while now why Winter's Bone's cover had been changed and now you point it out it's so obvious!

I went to my local Asda hoping to check out the Berberian Sound Studio cover but they didn't have it. I was curious to see whether it was a slip over the "real/good" cover and also what the back cover description and details were, and as MichaelB wondered whether subtitles were mentioned (people hate those subtitles!)

Les Yeux Sans Visage wrote:I went to my local Asda hoping to check out the Berberian Sound Studio cover but they didn't have it.

Probably sold them to teenage boys called Darrell, Nathan and Jordan who rang their friends saying, "Mate, you gotta come to mine tonight and bring some beers, yeah? I got this, like, well mental DVD. Going by the cover, at least eight geezers and ten birds get sliced up in it. It's gonna be, like, well good, innit?"

It's very telling that the ASDA sleeve for BERBERIAN doesn't mention Peter Strickland or Toby Jones. Basically acknowledging that the dumbed down philistines they're aiming this at won't have heard of those names so would only be put off by their mention.

Hilariously, the cover declares: "Fright Fest Winner - best director, best actor," without naming either.

The most hilarious thing for me is that The Turin Horse has an 18 rating. I didn't think the words were that naughty.

18s always sell better.

knives wrote:The most hilarious thing for me is that The Turin Horse has an 18 rating. I didn't think the words were that naughty.

I was mildly surprised that it got a 15 - the only possible reason is the scene with the gypsy visitors when the language gets a bit blunt.

I thought it was because none of those boiled potatoes were clean kills.

You have to admit the way they tear into those potatoes is pretty graphic.

Sorry Chris, but not only did Zedz get there first he did it better. Tears of laughter which isn't good with this cold.

Anyone know if there will be any special features on the Blu-Ray of Holy Motors? Deciding whether or not I want the AE Blu-Ray or the Indomnia one. Probably going to get the AE one, mainly since it comes out a month earlier, but just wanted to pry around first...