criterionforum.org

The Yoshida set is pictured earlier on the last page.

How long did it take for them to reveal the Yoshida artwork, does anyone know? Just wondering because I'm anticipating how The Human Condition Trilogy will look. I seem to remember asking Arrow when it was announced, and they said it would essentially get the same treatment as that Yoshida set - same packaging, layout and even the same illustrator.

I've not got that set, but was close to getting it partly because of the well-designed packaging!

rapta wrote:How long did it take for them to reveal the Yoshida artwork, does anyone know?

The full specs and box art were both revealed at the time of announcement. The individual sleeves were revealed nearer to release date as a reminder that the set was imminent.

Maarko was very keen to do the artwork for The Human Condition, and for obvious reasons we were very keen for this to happen as well - but he's extremely busy right now, so it's largely in his hands.

He is currently the only person on the planet who has any inkling of what the artwork looks like - I've agreed a basic concept, but I haven't seen the end result myself yet.

antnield wrote:

rapta wrote:How long did it take for them to reveal the Yoshida artwork, does anyone know?

The full specs and box art were both revealed at the time of announcement. The individual sleeves were revealed nearer to release date as a reminder that the set was imminent.

Ah yes, thank you for jogging my memory! There was no art when it was initially put up for early bird pre-orders but the art was revealed in the proper announcements.

MichaelB wrote:Maarko was very keen to do the artwork for The Human Condition, and for obvious reasons we were very keen for this to happen as well - but he's extremely busy right now, so it's largely in his hands.

He is currently the only person on the planet who has any inkling of what the artwork looks like - I've agreed a basic concept, but I haven't seen the end result myself yet.

Fair enough! I've loved his artwork so far for Thief and Yoshida, and I notice he's doing Suture as well. Looking forward to see what he comes up with, and will be pre-ordering the set from Arrow this month.

For what it's worth, I just got Closely Observed Trains and Firemen's Ball from the latest sale and they both had booklets.

I'd be surprised if the first pressings of those two had sold out. Pleasantly surprised, certainly, but definitely surprised.

My copies of Closely Observed Trains and Firemen's Ball came with booklets yesterday. Glad I didn't miss out on the booklets, because we all know what we will get in terms of printed materials in Criterion editions.
I hope that Arrow's new FB page dedicated to their Academy branch will be more informative and helpful to the followers.

My Hard to Be a God came on Thursday with a booklet too.

MichaelB wrote:I'd be surprised if the first pressings of those two had sold out. Pleasantly surprised, certainly, but definitely surprised.

I only mentioned it because all we know is that the booklets will run out at some point, but there has never been any notification as to whether stock is running low. (Granted, this could be because none of the affected titles have come close to selling out yet.)

The Female prisoner Scorpion collection seems really interesting, but honestly I don't have any more space for Arrow's obese box sets.

I don't think it will be as thick as that pack shot suggests - it can't be more than 4 Amarays and a booklet, can it? They might even end up using slim cases, like the Fassbinder set.

I do hope they'll use slim cases for any 3 of more movies boxset.

It only has a booklet as opposed to a book. Stray Cat Rock has one more film and is only a little over an inch wide.

I'd love for it to be sized the same as the Yoshida set.

The packaging for The Human Condition is alright I guess but that big old 18 right there...yeesh. What's in it anyway to warrant such a rating?

Big Ben wrote: What's in it anyway to warrant such a rating?

Must be all of the face slapping.

Big Ben wrote:The packaging for The Human Condition is alright I guess but that big old 18 right there...yeesh. What's in it anyway to warrant such a rating?

It's temporary pending the BBFC's verdict - the final classification may well be a 15. I'd be surprised if it was anything milder, though - the graphic mistreatment of prisoners and the "comfort women" alone should push it firmly into 15 territory.

Interestingly, the BBFC initially insisted on cuts back in 1959, with the result that the film was shown under club conditions after the distributor refused to make them.

Looks great, but are those slimline cases? I don't really think that's necessary, given Yoshida and the forthcoming Taviani sets are already establishing the sets don't get to be too big with just three cases.

Also, why with this and Fassbinder did Arrow shift from having the ratings on removable cardboard things on the case to just putting them on the case?

Human Condition looks stunning. Oddly the BBFC ratings never really bother me.

Are you all crazy? That Human Condition art is atrocious. It is so bad that I can't imagine how it got past the first draft, let alone approved as the final art.

As the person who commissioned and oversaw it, I must be crazy too, because I loved the concept (a tribute to 1960s Japanese collage posters), the roughs and the final version.

Granted, I have the advantage of having full-res copies of everything, but out of everything I've commissioned over the years, I think it's one of the covers I'm personally happiest with.

In fact, the polarised reaction to this one (far more satisfying to me than just "meh" or universal agreement in one direction) has emboldened me to take similar risks with another upcoming project whose visual treatments up to now have all been self-consciously "monumental" and which could also do with a shake-up.

For what its worth, I think they're stunning.