OK, we've had some time to digest the new style, logo, etc for Criterion DVDs. When they first announced it (about a year ago?), a lot of folks were unhappy. What do you all think now? I was on the fence but can now say I love them. The cover art for "If..." and the soon to be released "Two-Lane Blacktop" are two of my favorites. I prefer the new art for "The Third Man" than the previous release and the new box sets look wonderful. Any thoughts?

One thing to add - I doubt they could top the cover art for "Notorious". It's absolutely beautiful and, to me, looks like something they would for the current style.

I really like what they do with the packaging for the digipak sets. Breathless being the latest, but that "C" in the corner can be a little awkward. I liked the older design of the logo on top much better.

I totally agree- down with "C"!

I wish they would use keep cases on ALL titles as opposed to selective ones. The cardboard foldouts are just not very durable. A beat up case can always be replaced but these things just suck.

Not a HUGE deal but I probably prefer the old logo...my only complaint would be the now lack of consistancy of my shelf with the old and new. I'm kinda weird about that stuff.

I think the graphics have certainly been getting better and better since the laserdisc days (horrible stuff, at least until the later discs) and think the MR ARKADIN set and THE THIRD MAN were pretty terrific....on the other side of this THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER is maybe the worst cover design they ever did, period. If you didn't know the movie was great you certainly wouldn't be intrigued to pick it up.

The Third Man re-release is one of the few Criterions I own, but it is absolutely gorgeous packaging. I WILL own Two-Lane Blacktop when that streets as well.

I find this topic infinitely fascinating. I wish we had a sub-forum where we could talk about nothing but DVD cover art, cases and inserts. Maybe one day.

My 2 cents. Yeah, the newer designs are better: more art, less text & logos.

I like the new design overall. Days of Heaven is the first one I've got with the newer formatting, and I think it looks really nice.

If.... is coming to me next week.

I personally prefer the previous logo at the top over the "C".

With that said, the disc content is what matters to me the most, so the logo won't prevent me from getting any titles any time soon.

This is very true. As long as Criterion keeps up the good quality control, I would buy their releases if they came in cardboard mailers.

I love subtlety. well crafted. mea culpa.

You mock, but the DVD Active forum (okay, maybe not a forum, but comments section) are nothing but people commenting on dvd cover art. They create profiles like a regular board and every post is either "Love that cover art." or "Terrible cover art."

Their cover art and packaging has never bothered me. I think they do a great job with the aesthetics over other companies where sometimes they can be hit or miss.

You must admit, however, that besides the occasional review, the entire point of DVD Active is the posting of new cover art. What else is there to comment on?

I prefer the old design myself, but I don't hate the new one. That little "C" is awkward, and the original "line" logo was better, but it could have been much worse. I wonder what other possible designs they tried out before deciding on that one?

Same here. Nothing wrong with the new design on its own though.

I don't mind the new design, prefer the old one though.

i liked the old design with the line going across the top and i also like the new design with criterion on the bottom left. the C in the top corner just seems unnecessary though and on lots of covers it's distracting (breathless <--- it's almost blemish-like over the G) or takes away from the really nice artwork (days of heaven, robinson crusoe on mars). i think i'd prefer it if they just kept the criterion collection banner with the year on that left corner and eliminated the C completely.

Personally, I don't really care. Since my Criterions are scattered around on my DVD shelf anyway (since I organize them by genre), the different spines don't stick out that badly.

like the design....but the casing for the two discs (the dvds overlapping in a normal plastic case) leaves a lot to be desired

more often than not, the giant booklets the stuff in the small cases end up getting smashed in there ....if you look at the artwork for Dazed and Confused and the casing that went along with it...it felt like it was worth the price and had a nice space for a booklet in with it and the discs had their own little trays....so much better than the tiny two-disc cases

Their cover art has been getting better of late.

Some of the best films in their catalog deserve better cover art though. The two worst covers ('Children of Paradise' and 'The rules of the game'). Even 'Hiroshima mon amour' deserved a better cover. I think they have completely different teams working on covers, by the looks of it, and one team consistently has good ones, and the other consistently has middling ones. I say, out with the mediocre team.

I just hate that stupid tilted "C" on the covers. Their old banner was much classier and more pleasing to the eye.