I love the idea and I love the execution: Viewer-designed covers for Criterion films. (Follow the links, there are a ton of covers to look at besides the ones featured at Cinematical).
The results are a testament to both the power of design in the modern world seriously and the thrall of Criterion’s output.
It reminds me of the awesome “My Penguin” series (I wrote about it here), where readers sent in their cover designs for six books. It is incredible to see the creativity, the outside-the-box thinking, and just the ideas themselves.
My favorite fake Criterion cover (and I haven’t browsed through them all yet) is the one for The Shining (see above). I think it’s brilliant. My Chronological Jack Nicholson series is far from over, but this week has been insane. It has involved, in no particular order:
1. Alex staying with me as a house guest as she got ready for her gig tonight at Feinstein’s in Manhattan.
2. Freelance gigs heating up.
3. Poetry reading last night at the West Harlem Piers at 125th Street, a beautiful section of Riverside Park. I read my essay about Keith McAuliffe, it went over great. Beautiful sunset, nice people.
4. Alex and I watched A Decade Under the Influence on her first night here, which then began a conversation about 70s cinema that lasted for three days.
5. We watched A Woman Under the Influence.
6. We discussed: politics, Meryl Streep, Inception (Alex kept calling it “Incomprehensible” – “So when I saw Incomprehensible…”), the propensity of current-day actors to whisper all their lines thinking that that is more real, parking tickets, Mitchell, Peter Falk, Prop 8, Jason Beghe, our lives, LA vs. NY, her teaching gigs, acting techniques, plans for the future, perfume, religious nutjobs, and Katharine Hepburn.
7. An adventure involving the two of us being audited at the Manhattan Center for a certain cult (think exploding volcanoes and South Park) which lasted over four hours. We were lucky to get out of there. It wasn’t a private tour, as we have taken before, but we have never before gotten so deeply entrenched. We almost didn’t find our way out. It was a brilliant day, story to follow eventually.
8. I’ve been working out every day. I joined Curves and I am in love with it. I still have a long way to go but I feel myself getting stronger.
9. A couple of laughing fits with Alex that lasted, no lie, over half an hour. Talk about a workout.
10. Driving in Manhattan. I rarely do city-driving – it’s just so much easier to take the bus in, but I’ve been all over Manhattan in my car the last couple of days, and it’s been nuts. Kind of fun though. A fun challenge to resist road-rage, to remain Zen, and yet also to not let anyone push you around.
So I’ll get back to Chronological Jack when I have time to breathe.
In the meantime, go check out those Fake Criterion Covers. I am in love with them.
God, those are so great. I love how people simply “get” the unique nature of the Criterion Collection packaging.
Criterion artwork (the real covers, I mean) totally adds to the “event” nature of purchasing and viewing a Criterion Collection version of a film.
Sadly, I must admit to having some unfortunate Criterion Collection DVDs in my library. Like Armageddon.
When you first told me you guys were going to visit the Happy Fun Cult, I imagined Alex walking in their in full-on Kate Hepburn mode. I hoped and dreamed about it.
Walking in THERE. Brainfart.
Yeah, we originally were going to be British, I think. But all that flew out the window when we walked in there. We were ourselves. Except we were from Baltimore.
Noonz – Yeah, I treasure my Criterion copies of things. It’s one of my favorite companies and I am just so so glad that they exist. The deluxe box set of Cassavetes that I own is fantastic – with extra features, and beautiful photos, and a booklet (really, a short BOOK) about Cassavetes and his collaborators – all beautifully packaged. It’s such a treat.
There are some out-of-print titles that I’d love to have, but those things are generally priced like they’re made of cocaine and gold.
I know. I have a backlog of things I will definitely buy when my ship comes in.
164, wow! That’ll be something to click thru over the weekend. The one above is awesome!
Jason – I know, right? It’s overwhelming. It’s great because someone’s ideas in the design can even help you think about the movie in a different way. It’s a bit of a slanted angle on something, and I love when a design can do that.
Just the IDEA of a Criterion version of “Gleaming the Cube” make me laugh my ass off. Great cover.
Waiting with bated breath to read about your latest visit to the whackadoos! I LOVED the account of the last time you two visited them.
I’ve been obsessing about writing this entry ever since it happened. I’m not kidding.
Alex – I’m scared. How do we even begin??