Heart-Wrenching: The Cluny Brown Cover Story

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domino harvey
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Heart-Wrenching: The Cluny Brown Cover Story

#1 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:24 pm

Image
Polyester cover is incredible. So is Cluny Brown, but not in a good way

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Apperson
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#2 Post by Apperson » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:28 pm

Cluny Brown sticks out like a sore thumb, the rest are all fantastic.

KJones77
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#3 Post by KJones77 » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:29 pm

What the actual hell is the Cluny Brown cover.

That is an all-time dreadful cover.
Last edited by KJones77 on Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

black&huge
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#4 Post by black&huge » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:35 pm

Cluny Brown cover is so bad it made me audibly chuckle. It's hilarious

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HorseHeadBookends
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#5 Post by HorseHeadBookends » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:37 pm

I don't typically comment on covers but wowee that Cluny Brown cover is awful.

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knives
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#6 Post by knives » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:44 pm

Her eyes and square arm are frightening. Thankfully the Waters' is so brilliant it makes up for any mistake possible in the others.

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mfunk9786
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#7 Post by mfunk9786 » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:45 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:24 pm
Polyester cover is incredible. So is Cluny Brown, but not in a good way
Came in to say exactly this so just check the above quote and goodbye!

EDIT: I guess I could expand a little and say that I'm glad that Small Wonder is coming to Criterion

Image

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#8 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:50 pm

I'm way more into the cartoon covers for Hollywood classics than most here, so I think the Cluny Brown cover had potential, but the artist has messed up the perspective on the eyes which gives it an uncanny and amateurish look, and the half-assed Rosie the Riveter thing doesn't really work. Someone at Criterion should have flagged this and requested changes early-on in the process (which, since this appears to be a digital drawing, could have been easy fixes for the artist)-- they need to Alita: Battle Angel this and listen to "the fans" and adjust or face constant ridicule

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#9 Post by movielocke » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:04 pm

I generally like the classic hollywood covers criterion does, but good God, that Cluny Brown cover is original Good Morning cover awful.

I mean, it's no Fishing with John, but it's definitely one of the worst in a long time.

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#10 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:07 pm

It is kind of fun that we almost surely have already seen the winner of Best and Worst cover in the year-end vote arrive in the same month

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PfR73
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#11 Post by PfR73 » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:14 pm

black&huge wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 4:35 pm
Cluny Brown cover is so bad it made me audibly chuckle. It's hilarious
Me too, I've been laughing at it non-stop for a good 5 minutes now. I can't believe how bad it is.

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Brian C
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Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#12 Post by Brian C » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:18 pm

The weirdest part (among the many contenders) of the Cluny Brown cover is how her hand closes around that wrench. Like ... ????

ETA: Props to mfunk for the Small Wonder reference.
Last edited by Brian C on Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#13 Post by HinkyDinkyTruesmith » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:23 pm

I'm likely to be Cluny Brown's biggest supporter in the 40s list and so let me say that I agree with the consensus that that cover is abominably poor. It is truly laugh-out loud bad.

I think that the other covers this month (with the slight exception of the Chaplin, which is the definition of 'fine') are magnificent.

The strange thing about the design of Cluny is that there seems to be the implication that Cluny is somehow a sort of mechanical woman (the grayscale, the sharp edges, the pixels in her skirt, the robot expression that may just be poor artwork)––In short, an industrial figure who is alienated in her surroundings, which would be a misreading of the film. Indeed, Cluny's mechnical know-how is metaphor more than anything else of her earthiness.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#14 Post by denti alligator » Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:49 pm

Such a shame about Cluny.

What a film, though!

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Finch
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#15 Post by Finch » Mon Jun 17, 2019 6:12 pm

Well, they've changed covers before so maybe there's hope for Cluny Brown. The colours on the Chaplin cover make my eyes hurt.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#16 Post by britcom68 » Mon Jun 17, 2019 6:20 pm

To my eyes, the Cluny Brown cover almost looks as if it was created by famed New Yorker magazine cartoonist Peter Arno. The shading and geometric elements are particularly similar. Don't get me wrong, I love cartooning (formerly a political cartoonist myself) and hardly complain about any chance to insert cartooning into any discussion, but to the best of my knowledge, I think Arno stopped contributing to film posters by the late '20s so I am not sure if the allusion in the Criterion cover is appropriate or not. If anyone does find a connection between Arno and the film that I would love to know.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#17 Post by NWRdr4 » Mon Jun 17, 2019 6:28 pm

I would never skip out on a quality presentation of a movie I love (or want to see) simply because of the cover art, but the fact that the thought even crossed my mind—however fleetingly—is a testament to how gruesome that Cluny Brown thing is.

Edit: I’ll echo others in saying I’m smitten with the Polyester art, though. One of my favorite Criterion covers ever.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#18 Post by FrauBlucher » Mon Jun 17, 2019 6:57 pm

Ugh Cluny Brown. I'm a fan of the golden age of hollywood cartoony covers but she looks like something from an educational film out of the 50s.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#19 Post by criterionsnob » Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:02 pm

Cluny Brown was designed by Caitlin Kuhwald, who did much nicer covers for The Organizer, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Thief of Bagdad, To Be or Not to Be, Heaven Can Wait, Amarcord, etc. This must be a very early draft that will go through more revisions. It's hideous.

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#20 Post by black&huge » Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:14 pm

criterionsnob wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:02 pm
Cluny Brown was designed by Caitlin Kuhwald, who did much nicer covers for The Organizer, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Thief of Bagdad, To Be or Not to Be, Heaven Can Wait, Amarcord, etc. This must be a very early draft that will go through more revisions. It's hideous.
This makes it all even more confusing. Her work for Criterion is great... just what in the hell happened here?

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#21 Post by FrauBlucher » Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:19 pm

black&huge wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:14 pm
criterionsnob wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:02 pm
Cluny Brown was designed by Caitlin Kuhwald, who did much nicer covers for The Organizer, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Thief of Bagdad, To Be or Not to Be, Heaven Can Wait, Amarcord, etc. This must be a very early draft that will go through more revisions. It's hideous.
This makes it all even more confusing. Her work for Criterion is great... just what in the hell happened here?
Those are some of my favorite covers. Hopefully an intern screwed up and took in the wrong draft.
Last edited by FrauBlucher on Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#22 Post by domino harvey » Mon Jun 17, 2019 10:24 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:19 pm
black&huge wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:14 pm
criterionsnob wrote:
Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:02 pm
Cluny Brown was designed by Caitlin Kuhwald, who did much nicer covers for The Organizer, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Thief of Bagdad, To Be or Not to Be, Heaven Can Wait, Amarcord, etc. This must be a very early draft that will go through more revisions. It's hideous.
This makes it all even more confusing. Her work for Criterion is great... just what in the hell happened here?
Those are some of my favorite covers. Hopefully an intern screwed up and took in the wrong draft.
Proof that anyone can have an off day. She’s responsible for some of my favorites as well, let’s hope she gets a chance to literally go back to the drawing board and deliver another great cover

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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#23 Post by Black Hat » Tue Jun 18, 2019 12:53 am

I've never posted here as it's a thread more enjoyable to read rather than to participate in.

Well that ends today.

Cluny Brown is ghastly.

She looks like Batman from the Lego movie.

John Shade
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#24 Post by John Shade » Tue Jun 18, 2019 12:28 pm

Cluny Brown...what happened? Why not just use a still from those early scenes? Or just put a squirrel with nuts on the cover...

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Lemdog
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Re: Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol. 7

#25 Post by Lemdog » Tue Jun 18, 2019 9:07 pm

Not to pile on but Cluny Brown is horrible, hopefully there is still time for Criterion to go back to the drawing board. Polyester is a top 5 cover for all dvd/blu of all time.

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