What's new

The official WORST STUDIO COVER ART thread. Post your worst covers! (1 Viewer)

Lee-c

Supporting Actor
Joined
Sep 2, 2000
Messages
509
Russell G said:
 
The thing that so laughably bad about this one is it looks like they took a small Val Kilmer face and stuck it on a larger Val Kilmer head! The face looks angled different then the skull. It's freakish! Who thought that making this film look horrific was a great marketing ploy? 

 
Lee-c said:
My number 1 vote goes for this cover. Kind of hard to imagine one worse than this, just awful. :) Val Kilmer looks like some kind of disfigured wax dummy. haha :) How little talent and how much poor taste must one possess to make a home video cover like this for a movie? And this guy gets paid to make trash like this??
B000065U1Q.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Hmm, I think you might be right, his face doen't seem to match his head. Now that I look closer, it appears like they attached his face to a different version of his head, kind of glued it on. haha :) It's hard to believe just how bad this is...
 

TonyD

Who do we think I am?
Ambassador
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 1, 1999
Messages
24,249
Location
Gulf Coast
Real Name
Tony D.
Brisby said:
Shit movie gets the cover it deserves. :eek:
:rolleyes:
I guess you're talking about Cider House because you posted directly after the picture of that movie.
It's far from a s%^+ movie though.
Charlize Theron makes it worth more then that by herself.
 

Professor Echo

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
2,003
Location
Los Angeles
Real Name
Glen
Years ago I started a thread elsewhere on the net about how crappy Criterion covers are and was beaten to a pulp by all the rabid and quite creepy Criterion cultists. I stood my ground and continue my stance toward their covers, but expect lots of resistance from the faithful who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil when it comes to Criterion.

415061.1020.A.jpg


46_box_348x490.jpg
 
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
1,023
Location
London
Real Name
Anthony
I think we'd all like to see original artwork on dvd covers as the default position but that's unlikely. In that light, I think it's fairly harsh to single out Criterion and to illustrate your point with one of their worst designs - THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME - in over 500 releases.
However their designs compare to the originals, there is at least some room for debate as to preference. I quite like the ISLAND OF LOST SOULS cover - not as much as the gorgeously painted original version but a) that's of fairly untypical quality and b) unlike the studios, Criterion has established a "boutique" branding for which an original poster would be inappropriate. There's no debate to be had over the worst covers highlighted here, like REAL SCIENCE; it seems churlish and deliberately contrary to fixate on Criterion.
Personally, I think their covers are, by and large, the best around. Just this year, we've had wonderful designs for KISS ME DEADLY, THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, DIABOLIQUE and THE GREAT DICTATOR. I'd agree they miss now and then - SOLARIS, BROADCAST NEWS - but who exactly is turning out better graphics work with any consistency?
Take a look at the Arrow releases in the UK if you want to see dreadful commissioned artwork (though they have the grace to include alternatives). But even there, there's at least some passion, some aesthetic at work, compared to the cheap and soul-less photoshop hackwork perpetrated by major studios who don't seem to give a toss for their product.
Does this make me a "creepy cultist"? :confused:
 

Professor Echo

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
2,003
Location
Los Angeles
Real Name
Glen
Your point about Criterion attempting to establish brand identity is valid and I will give them credit for having imagination,a lack of which is something I have bemoaned earlier and repeatedly in this thread. But at the same time I question their application of it. Were they creating artwork to help sell films that they themselves produced, I would be intrigued by the creativity in their marketing choices. But as representations of other people's work, work which has already been marketed closer to the original source of the work itself, I feel it appropriate to question those choices every bit as much as those who reinterpreted REAL GENIUS with the incredible two headed Val Kilmer.
Criterion gets no pass from me. Their integrity and subsequent reputation for establishing a brand name and in so doing exemplifying a product with superior standards, thereby helping to showcase and preserve the art of film, would go much further if they extended it to showcasing and preserving the original art. That after all is a part of the film's history, and one they should consider acknowledging and respecting with the same care they invest in the rest of their product.
 

TheLongshot

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 12, 2000
Messages
4,118
Real Name
Jason
You know, I scratch my head sometimes at people thinking that a design that was great for one medium (movie posters) would always be an appropriate one for a much smaller DVD/Blu-ray cover. Granted, there are plenty of awful examples of DVD covers here where the original poster art would have been an improvement, but it doesn't mean it would have been the best cover. Personally, I really like most of the work Critereon does on their covers, which make them stand out, particularly when side-by-side with the original studio release, when they have such a thing.

http://wellmedicated.com/inspiration/an-ode-to-criterion-box-art/

And has certainly influenced people in making their own custom art. For example, the homemade "Criterion" Harry Potter covers, which have some rather attractive ones in there.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/check-these-out-stunning-harry-potter-criterion-collection-covers/

Personally, I think the "Island Of Lost Souls" cover gives more of a feeling of a serious film than the original cheesecake cover.
 

Ruz-El

Fake Shemp
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2002
Messages
12,539
Location
Deadmonton
Real Name
Russell
RE: CRiterion.

Some of their older covers were ugly, like that Most Dangerous Game one. I love the cover for Island Of Lost Souls though. More often then not, they really get it right even though they don't use original poster art. I much prefer imagination and something strikingly different to the big heads the studios use.
 
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
1,023
Location
London
Real Name
Anthony
You're passionate about the original poster art, Professor, and I applaud you for that. Hard not to when you look at the glorious vintage images presented in these posts. Criterion should perhaps have adopted this policy from the first days of DVD. Sadly, that's not the case; the world as it is, not as it should be.
Despite the commissioned atrocities by Arrow, they do have an interesting model for cover art - presenting 4 interchangeable artworks, viewable through a front cover "window". Even with these options, one is occasionally hard-pressed to turn up a decent image. I say again that not all vintage poster art is equal - much of it was shoddy and cheap and - itself the product of marketeers, not creatives - no more representative of the finished article than the Criterion covers.
There certainly did seem to be more of an attempt to print original artwork on DVD releases. WB had a good run at it, as I recall. I suppose we'll see less of it on Blu-ray as the studios attempt to forge "fresh" images to boost sales. But I see no reason why all companies couldn't find somewhere within the packaging to display original art and I'm sure everyone here would be supportive of that.
 

Professor Echo

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
2,003
Location
Los Angeles
Real Name
Glen
Well, we certainly can agree that on effort alone Criterion is a step above the art departments of many studios.

As a student of graphic design, though with no real talent in the area myself, I will give Crtierion credit for some of their more imaginative covers, but my favorite remains the SPARTACUS cover since they apparently used a Saul Bass design which I have never seen on any promotional material from the original release of the film. It certainly exists somewhere, but where? And has Bass been represented on any other DVD covers for films in which he designed the poster?
 

JohnMor

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2004
Messages
5,157
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Real Name
John Moreland
I REALLY like the Island of Lost Souls cover. The Most Dangerous Game cover is total crap, IMO. (Especially when compared to the poster.) It seems like no imagination or time was really spent on it. As a rule, I've liked most Criterion covers, but certainly not all.
 

JoHud

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
3,215
Real Name
Joe Hudak
Another very bland blu-ray I found was the Network blu-ray--a very generic drama cover design with the now overused "concerned look of four random actors" with very little outside of the title and tagline to differentiate it.
b8238725_51T9LaPKDUL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 

marsnkc

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
516
Real Name
Andrew
1c628c0e_SweetSmellofSuccess.jpga.jpg

32c544be_Diabolique.jpgCriterion.jpg

I made a liar of myself in an earlier post where I complained that DVD covers should consist of original poster art, 'good, bad or indifferent'. I forgot about Criterion. Different strokes for different folks, but I think Criterion's cover for Island of Lost Souls is masterful, and far superior to the almost naive artwork of the original poster. But I agree with Anthony Neilson, I'd still like to see the original poster art printed somewhere, even if it's at the back (which some studios did for VHS - a little small, but better than nothing), or as a leaflet inside, which some DVDs have included.
I prefer Criterion's version for Diabolique but, while I like the originals, particularly the second version (by its shape, I'm guessing a US half-sheet or British quad) for Sweet Smell of Success, I absolutely love the Criterion artwork, so much so that I have the BD displayed on a little easel until such time as Criterion (hopefully) commisions a poster for sale, as they have for other titles. While it borrows from the second of the posters (the drawn buildings and billboards) it captures not only the film for me, but the ambiance of Manhattan as I remember it (love that delivery truck carrying Hunsecker's picture on its side!). Right or wrong, I want that poster for my wall!
 

JoHud

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
3,215
Real Name
Joe Hudak
Actually, the Criterion Island of Lost Souls release reminds me slightly of this poster art--not at all bad
4ad6a6ce_island.jpg

Though I agree they don't often succeed, either suffering from too heavily of a minimalist touch or too self-consciously artistic, though they still often beat the generic or lazy covers I posted earlier. Though, to stay a bit closer to the topic, here's some I don't find all that good compared to the original art.
82f28e27_downhill2.jpg

668233b1_hopscotch2.jpg

58a1d989_421012.1020.A.jpg

07494b65_wagesa.jpg

e7bc7d46_paths2.jpg

40baed47_paths3.jpg
 

Gromilini

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
64
Location
Northern California
Real Name
Michael Logan
Granted, this is an upcoming UK release, and will undoubtedly be different if/when released in the US, but I couldn't help but be horrified at this:
4b4410b5_touch_evil.jpg

..compared to this:
844f92ca_touch_of_evil.jpg

I agree that Orson Welles' character could be more prominent in the original poster, but seriously--to isolate just him on a bright orange background? Really? :confused:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,818
Messages
5,123,887
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top