criterionforum.org

I started laughing when I saw the covers this month because I knew Senso would draw unanimous venom from everyone. The two figures look like they were ripped from a point-and-click adventure game from 1991. Sweet Smell is the best of the lot -- not perfect, but still pretty satisfying.

The Sweet Smell cover reminds me of the SC Third Man cover. Same sort of ugly colouring ruining an otherwise great cover idea.

Sweet smell of success is a glorious cover. Still walking is probably belongs in the worst covers I've seen in the collection. Christ can you get any more generic/uncreative?

Senso looks like a menu for an Italian restaurant I'd never eat at.

domino harvey wrote:Fish Tank looks like an ad in Nylon magazine. That's a compliment, I think. Sweet Smell of Success is a noble failure.

I'd like to know your reasoning on Success, domino--not arguing, just curious. For me, there's nothing particularly noble about it--it screams pulp (haven't seen the film, so I don't know if that's accurate or not), and I love it, so I'm not sure why you think it's a failure. On the other hand, it seems like it would be a better choice for a Sam Fuller movie (much better than the Clowes covers, anyway).

I'm definitely underwhelmed by Still Walking's cover. In part, this is b/c I associate the style with Western painting, so it seems inappropriate for a Japanese film, but again, I haven't seen the film yet. Perhaps Michael Kerpan could comment?

jbeall wrote:I'm definitely underwhelmed by Still Walking's cover. In part, this is b/c I associate the style with Western painting, so it seems inappropriate for a Japanese film ...

If it's any consolation, it's the original artwork for the film.

I like the Sweet Smell of Success cover a lot, but I think I'd like it more if it looked like this:

If the blacks and whites were more pronounced sure, for the color scheme I'm just not a fan of the red and yellow at top. I don't like the Curtis sketch either, the Hunsecker in back is great but Curtis comes off as Joe Cool on that cover as opposed to the desperate Falco.

Highway 61 wrote:Senso is a travesty. I loathe how it passes off Visconti's firm grounding in the Italian artistic tradition as some kind of vintage camp.

This. one of the worst covers they've done by a mile. Just awful...and for a film I've been so looking forward to

I like Sweet Smell of Success....Still Walking looks like a bad book of poetry cover. Fish Tank is blah....not good, not bad.

but Senso? fuck.

If they wanted to be clever (and employ yet another cartoonist) they could have used this guy for Still Walking:

kinjitsu wrote:

jbeall wrote:I'm definitely underwhelmed by Still Walking's cover. In part, this is b/c I associate the style with Western painting, so it seems inappropriate for a Japanese film ...

If it's any consolation, it's the original artwork for the film.

Does nothing for me personally. Looks like an image that should be on a can of bathroom spray.

I like it. I haven't seen the film (but you guys have been in the process of making me want to watch it for some time, don't worry) but it somewhat reminds me of Georges Schwizgebel's animated films. Or even Last Year at Marienbad's pic with the people and their shadow in the garden. It doesn't translate what I've seen from the film's trailer though

But then I don't mind Senso's cover (without liking or loving it), so maybe I have no taste for these things.

I haven't seen the movie, but I think Senso's cover will look better to a lot of people when they see it on a digipak.

When'll that be?

Criterion sure doesn't know how to sell their products to those who hasn't seen their films. Good cover art is best utilized when marketed to the blind buyers. I'd re-think some of my design sources if I were them.

The wait-and-see advice didn't hold up well for that hideous Red Shoes cover.

Cinephrenic wrote:Criterion sure doesn't know how to sell their products to those who hasn't seen their films. Good cover art is best utilized when marketed to the blind buyers. I'd re-think some of my design sources if I were them.

Yes, Criterion needs to incorporate explosions and scantily dressed women on some of these covers.

But seriously, you're absolutely correct that someone is not getting the message on how to market relatively obscure movies to someone who knows nothing about the movie in question. I wonder if Criterion believes that just the Criterion label is in itself enough to move units of, for example, Senso.

Knowing Criterion, this would probably be the cover of Debbie Does Dallas (SFW) if they move into classic porn.

Tribe wrote:Yes, Criterion needs to incorporate ... scantily dressed women on some of these covers.

That must have been their reasoning behind The Night Porter, Sweet Movie, and Salo. Lure in the unsuspecting for an evening's worth of Nazi loving, urinating, and shit eating.

jbeall wrote:I associate the style with Western painting, so it seems inappropriate for a Japanese film ...

Japanese artists have been making selective (and sometimes not so selective) use of Western arts on a routine basis since the beginning of the 20th Century (and even before that, albeit more selectively). There have been many artistic movements (and literary ones) that are a particular blend of Japanese and Western -- or which are distinctive Japanese takes on Western models. Probably no form of art has been more influenced so extensively by Western influence than cinema (especially since the very early 20s).

I prefer something like this fake cover:

Michael Kerpan wrote:

jbeall wrote:I associate the style with Western painting, so it seems inappropriate for a Japanese film ...

Japanese artists have been making selective (and sometimes not so selective) use of Western arts on a routine basis since the beginning of the 20th Century (and even before that, albeit more selectively). There have been many artistic movements (and literary ones) that are a particular blend of Japanese and Western -- or which are distinctive Japanese takes on Western models. Probably no form of art has been more influenced so extensively by Western influence than cinema (especially since the very early 20s).

Not only that, but the Japanese, outwardly anyways, are like a sponge for western influences, especially anything to do with pop culture. Somehow, they still manage to put their own spin on it and make it uniquely Japanese. Also I think the cover is really nice, sorta Zen.

Feego wrote: an evening's worth of Nazi loving, urinating, and shit eating.

Or as we call it around here, Tuesday

You gotta love this forum.

Apparently I'm looking at Senso in the wrong way because I don't seem to find anything wrong with it. It's perfectly Visconti - the font of his name matches the font of his titles - look at Bellissima in my avatar. And the red, white and green confetti has a presence in Senso.