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While I certainly understand where everyone else is coming from on Breathless, I think the cover is spectacular. For it to really work though, it needs to be a digipak. The texture of the lettering looks great, the concept distinctly Godardian, and once it's combined with the rest of the layout (including a fold out digipak and a book, I'm assuming) I'll bet at least a few more people will agree.

We're damn serious about our cover art in here, huh? I like the Breathless cover. I'm pretty sure there's never been a cover art like it by Criterion, not even for laserdisc, right? I think it's very fitting for the film.

For someone as preoccupied with words and text as Godard, don't see a major problem with a typographic cover for such an iconic film as Breathless. Not 100% behind the execution from the perspective maybe of font selection and layout [not sure what the face is but it doesn't immediately strike me as contemporary with the release date but that's no real requirement either]. I guess from a personal perspective I might have been tempted to pastiche the format of on-screen text from Histoire(s) du cinema since Godard (and Breathless in particular) is now very much a part of the pantheon celebrated there...

charulata wrote:For someone as preoccupied with words and text as Godard, don't see a major problem with a typographic cover for such an iconic film as Breathless.

Nor I. Godard's "publicity" material = typography + image. And with regard to his execution of "printed image," it might do to flip through Cahiers du cinéma no. 300 (you can purchase it on the CdC website as PDFs), which Godard edited, from '79 or '80 -- in any case, around the time of 'Sauve qui peut (la vie)'. It's a reminder and (literal) object-lesson in the use of image in print: "-why- do we do this, or that"? In place of production-stills to illustrate one (or a few) of the articles, he stencils blank boxes onto the spreads, with the caption written inside: "Usual illustration goes here." And there's the legendary virtuoso image from that issue, which you can see reprinted in a few different volumes published over the decades (in a sense it's where the 'Introduction à une véritable histoire du cinéma' and 'Histoire(s) du cinéma' have their genesis) -- the photograph of Hitchcock (taken during his conversations with Truffaut, I believe), with his spread hands "conjuring" -- indeed "spreading" -- (via photograph juxtaposed by JLG) a lineup of assholes bore open for examination or penetration, while (via another JLG-juxtaposed photograph) Ingrid Bergman looks on. Interpret as you will.

I'm not going to get into the choice of font for the Criterion cover, although I think there's a very good reason for the selection. And I think an honest attempt was made, with some fair amount of thought beforehand, in "representing" the film. Having said that, one knows that any piece of Godard publicity "in the style of Godard" is necessarily pastiche. So, on the one hand, this sort of "getting it close à la..." thing at least to me all seems a little embarrassing; on the other hand, that's life.

As for the whinging on this particular Intertrench, -- who who's-at-all-a-leetle-serious-about-Godard's-work can really give the pff-woulda-tsk-couldas more than an eye-roll? It sounds like the yelling boys want a replication of the "version of Godard" that has been sold to them through all the mass-market outlets down through time, -- or something. ("Here's Belmondo and Seberg, walking down the Champs-Elysées, looking jazzy and freewheelin'!" -- Yes? And? Then?) If that's in fact the case, my appeasement-prescription must read as follows: Print out one of the cover-images c. '61 from Paris Match (Google-Image'able) announcing Godard's and Karina's marriage ("a New Wave union"), paste Seberg's and Belmondo's faces over top, then Scotch-tape it to your consumer-product-of-the-Criterion-'Breathless' -- you should be sated, sirrahs.

I could swear Neville Brody did an album cover back in the 1980's that look just like the Godard cover, but someone stole my book of his works about 15 years ago and I have now forgotten who it is. Will look up eBay and buy it again to find out as my curiosity is killing me. Was it a 23 Skidoo cover? Argggh, can't remember!

hammock wrote:I could swear Neville Brody did an album cover back in the 1980's that look just like the Godard cover, but someone stole my book of his works about 15 years ago and I have now forgotten who it is. Will look up eBay and buy it again to find out as my curiosity is killing me. Was it a 23 Skidoo cover? Argggh, can't remember!

or maybe Cabaret Voltaire?

While I haven't been around these parts since the beginning I have been a regular reader for a while. With massive complaints against covers such as Breathless and Viridiana I'd be interested in knowing what people think are stand-out covers. While I wouldn't say I particularly love those covers I don't see what the fuss is when put in an oeuvre context. That's not to say that these "terrible" covers compliment the good ones but more that there is a healthy amount of variation in the covers. Personally I would say the Spirit of the Beehive and the Rules of the Game covers are my two favourites.

miless wrote:

hammock wrote:I could swear Neville Brody did an album cover back in the 1980's that look just like the Godard cover, but someone stole my book of his works about 15 years ago and I have now forgotten who it is. Will look up eBay and buy it again to find out as my curiosity is killing me. Was it a 23 Skidoo cover? Argggh, can't remember!

or maybe Cabaret Voltaire?

Nahhh, good sugestion, but I know my cabs and used to own testpressings of their first albums and everything they released. Still thinking....

benm wrote:I'd be interested in knowing what people think are stand-out covers.

=D>

That said, I like the Breathless cover too. The post by thethirdman about it looking like a folded newspaper made me think. Perhaps the main picture (and French title?) will be included on the back of the box (i.e. bottom of page when it is opened out..if it is not a digipack)? Gate of Flesh had previously experimented with the back cover being turned on its side.

This is as perfect as cover art gets imo.

Is this one the only cover which has the line "The Criterion Collection" different than what is usual?

(I apologize for this incorrect english sentence :p)

Nuno wrote:Is this one the only cover which has the line "The Criterion Collection" different than what is usual?

(I apologize for this incorrect english sentence :p)

I believe Dazed and Confused is different. At the very least, it's in different colors.

Well, the cover for 8 1/2 convinced me to buy a DVD player so I'd say that it did its job as a standout piece. In terms of iconic work, I'd go for my favorites the Rushmore and Contempt covers. However, Eyes Without A Face and Solaris are quite good as well.

While the Breathless cover isn't as good as their Woman is a Woman cover, my favorite of their Godard artwork, I do like the low-budget, no frills, straight-forward concept of it.

And for what its worth, I hated the Contempt cover.

there wasn't enough nudity on the contempt cover for me. I also thought they should have done a border out of greek drawings.

That the Breathless cover is "Godardian" is to me beside the point. Of course text-as-image is vital to Godard's cinema (as are many other things).

One of the purposes of cover art (and Criterion's covers particularly) is to attract people not already familiar with the work in question. Now, granted, that population is smaller for Breathless than for many other Criterion films, but it shouldn't be dismissed, either. And just because some of us find the current cover smug doesn't mean we are hoping for something either sentimental or self-consciously hip. False dilemmas, those.

benm wrote:I'd be interested in knowing what people think are stand-out covers.

I'm probably alone but I think 49th parallel is my favourite cover.
Other favourites that come to mind: Rushmore, Le Million, Green For Danger. And the Kurosawas nearly always get good covers.

As for Breathless, I quite like it. Either CC never try bold new types of design like this or they give it a shot, and I can't imagine a more appropriate film for them to try something a bit different on than this one.

Breathless cover reminds me of leftist political sloganeering, so a good design for a Godard film from 1965 onwards. They should have saved it for Weekend or Two or Three Things I Know About Her (assuming that they will one day release these).

It doesn't really fit with Breathless.

The imaginative cover for THE TESTAMENT OF DR, MABUSE was enough to get me to blind purchase it. As soon as you guys posted it on this board, I knew I had to own it.

Napoleon wrote:It doesn't really fit with Breathless.

exactly. where is the on-screen wordplay in Breathless again? Oh right

My two cents on the Breathless cover: I like it because it's so ridiculously Godard-ian and because it isn't the obvious "hot-film-still-of-Jean-Seberg" that have come to mark other DVD variations of this film. And from a marketing perspective it might just be odd enough to stick out among other "film/poster still" covers on a DVD rack.

It's a very ambitious cover for a landmark film and I think it works wonderfully. Kudos to Criterion.

I'm starting a list, Antoine Doinel: you're at the top of it

Can I be second?

Jesus, domino, you're like some sort of Cover Art Tasmanian Devil, spitting and babbling everywhere, but not really saying much of anything. Has this shaken the foundation of your being that much?

-Toilet Dcuk

Edit: And well played, sir.

good news: there's been a tie for first

domino harvey wrote:good news: there's been a tie for first

and what do you get when you're on the list?
A Pony?
Your favorite designed Criterion?
murdered?