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swo17 wrote:

That's really boring.

swo17 wrote:

The Dolls covers are okay, everything else is just boring

Love Blood Simple, and I really like the simple but iconic Dekalog...

Love the simplicity of Dekalog's, don't care for the overly neon Blood Simple cover.

Dekalog is great, one of their simplest and best covers. It appears to be a collage by Anthony Gerace, but could easily be a Sol Lewitt drawing.

I find the Dekalog cover to be very appropriate for the subject matter and the almost minimalist vibe.

I am really curious how the Zatiochi package will look since it is going separate formats now.

Werewolf by Night wrote:Dekalog is great, one of their simplest and best covers. It appears to be a collage by Anthony Gerace, but could easily be a Sol Lewitt drawing.

I have to admire the ingenuity and subtlety of the Dekalog cover, and the avoidance of including a big face from every episode in each 'window'. It manages to encompasses a lot of thematic material from the series (cross, tower block, windows, ten interconnected but separate components) while still remaining abstract. And it's so austere that it marks the release as the major event that it is.

Does anybody else feel the temptation to yell "It's behind you!" to the couple on the Last Chrysanthemum cover? A 1930s Japanese precursor to Day of the Triffids sounds like a great idea for a Criterion release.

"Dekalog" is great, both "Dolls" and "Blood Simple" are good. Not too excited about "Cat People" or "Chrysanthemum", though. The former is plain ugly while the latter is too busy.

zedz wrote:

Werewolf by Night wrote:Dekalog is great, one of their simplest and best covers. It appears to be a collage by Anthony Gerace, but could easily be a Sol Lewitt drawing.

I have to admire the ingenuity and subtlety of the Dekalog cover, and the avoidance of including a big face from every episode in each 'window'. It manages to encompasses a lot of thematic material from the series (cross, tower block, windows, ten interconnected but separate components) while still remaining abstract. And it's so austere that it marks the release as the major event that it is.

It's a little bit too abstract to me. I think the idea of using the symbol of a soviet panel house is good, but this looks more like the space needle to me.

Night Train to Munich and Zatoichi are terrific. Dekalog doesn't knock me out but I admire its simplicity and minimalist approach. Blood Simple is quite good, too. I think it's going to attract a lot of blind purchases.

I think both Dolls covers are hideous. I will never, ever understand this 2-dimensional comic book style that Criterion seems to be so enamored with (see the awful Fuller re-issues for further examples). Why couldn't they just go with this lovely publicity shot instead? Both of Fox's original DVD covers were better.

Feego wrote:I think both Dolls covers are hideous. I will never, ever understand this 2-dimensional comic book style that Criterion seems to be so enamored with (see the awful Fuller re-issues for further examples). Why couldn't they just go with this lovely publicity shot instead?

Which is just as two-dimensional, so I wonder if you're just objecting to illustrated covers vs. photo-based ones. Just because something is drawn rather than based on a photo source doesn't make it a "comic book" style, and "two-dimensional" illustrated images have of course been part of movie poster imagery all along. If they'd used the image you linked to, it would've been the most predictable thing: "OK, they're playing it very safe and using the same exact image as the soundtrack album for some reason."

By 2-dimensional, I am referring to a lack of perception of depth in the image, as opposed to, say, the covers for Magnificent Obsession or even Sweet Smell of Success, which through shading and perspective do convey a sense of 3-dimension. This cover is rendered in a very flat style that makes the actresses look unattractive. I'm not saying that the still photo would have been the ideal cover, but preferable to this particular rendering.

Okay, I just didn't know what you meant. Taking the illustration's style of inking and coloring for what it is, which is not to everyone's taste for sure, I find a convincing element of depth for example in the foreshortening of Sharon Tate's arm/hand, closely following the original set photos.
I'm not crazy about the Valley of the Dolls cover, but I prefer it to most other designs for the film and novel cover both, which just sort of scatter a handful of pill shapes. "IT'S ABOUT DRUGS, BUY THIS!"

Yes, "comic book" was the wrong choice of phrase as comic books are a diverse medium that can have very beautiful artwork. It is, as you say, a style that's not for everyone.

Gregory wrote:but I prefer it to most other designs for the film and novel cover both, which just sort of scatter a handful of pill shapes. "IT'S ABOUT DRUGS, BUY THIS!"

Of course, Criterion still managed to sneak in those pill shapes in the background!

I don't know how I was ignoring that (extremely two-dimensional!) pill element when I wrote that part of my above comment. The graphic pill overdose is as unsubtle as ever, and I guess they were trying to pay very close homage to all the familiar graphics with this one, even down to the Pistilli Roman typeface of the book cover.

Dekalog and Cat People are both excellent and amongst the year's best. Blood Simple is very good. The Dolls covers are okay (not crazy about the color palette on the Meyer, nor its cluttered nature).

I love the Dekalog cover though whoever's playing that game of Tetris is in danger of letting the blocks pile up too much!

The CAT PEOPLE cover makes Simone Simon appear to be either Kirsten Dunst or Constance Talmadge or just about anybody but Simone Simon.

Cat People and Blood Simple covers are excellent! Like the Dekalog cover. Will be an expensive month!

knives wrote:

swo17 wrote:

That's really boring.

I agree. I feel it is a missed opportunity for such a major release. The artist, Anthony Gerace, has a great body of work otherwise: http://instagram.com/anthonywgerace" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think Maude Lebowski would be quite fond of that cover.