Egads! I hate change. Has anyone seen the new criterion logo and website? Have the spines changed? Will they no longer be uniform? DId I mention I hate change?

Anyone wanna chime in?

I also hate change, but I have not seen these specific changes. Thanks for the heads up.

Well, here's some of the new coverart.



Don't know about the spines, but Criterion of all people should know how anal their fans are about spine numbers.

hey, i like the classic criterion banner on the top -- it makes the title instantly recognizable as a Criterion. always loved their graphic design but no matter what they gotta keep that banner on top!

I can't get behind that.

I like it. Usually I'm against change, but this is something I can support.

I knew that cover was drawn Mike Allred before I saw his name at the bottom.

No banner at the top? Lame.

I like it. As long as the spine doesn't change (which it has before, and for the better but nothing else), this is a step forward.

I'm not sure if I like it or hate it, but the Allred coverart is awesome and makes me wanna check out that film.

i dont likey

but i will continue to obey the c

I really liked the "Criterion Banner" at the top. I thought it was really classy and wasn't too intrusive to the rest of the cover, and just kind of fit in with everything.

However, with the new "file tab" banner on the side with "The Criterion Collection" and the year, it doesn't blend in nearly as well and sticks out like a sore thumb. I don't mind the "C" so much in the upper left-hand corner, as it almost harkens back to my comic-collecting days with DC and Marvel in the corner. As long as they vary the color of the "C" to make it blend in to the cover design, I'll be okay with it. It's the tab on the side of the cover that irks me.

I'm also very interested to see if the spine will have any significant change. I'm pretty sure the new "C" will make an appearance somewhere, but I would really like it to still contain the old banner as well as the spine number so that everything will be uniform on the shelf.

Meh... I don't like it, and I think losing the banner is a mistake.

But, I'm also not one of those people that collects every Criterion and lines them up in my collection by spine number. The Criterions aren't treated any differently than other discs in my collection (they're mixed in, alphabetically by genre).

So, while I don't like the new look, I'm not overly concerned that the collection is no longer uniform.

maybe this will be a wake up call to obsessive compulsive buy-all-Criterion DVD buyers. If the shifting of a spine number is a problem for anyone in which it throws off their anal DVD shelf set-up, then I would get help...

Aesthetics-wise, the artwork looks fine, it's just that Criterion tab that looks stupid...

Well it does give more "breathing room" for the cover art, but I thought the previous Crieterion banner was classy.

I've been noticing another company or two aping their look particularly with similar banners on the top front covers. Could be this is a response to these "look" imitators. Or not.

I don't mind the change. Still a quality cover that's better than most things out there. Not a Criterion-nerd anyway.

Any truth to the rumor that the spine numbers will be in Roman numerals from now on?

I'm not anal about my cc's, but I don't like the new tab look either. I think the banner style looked much classier. I also think if they change the spines, it will be a mistake.

For those that store these together and are concerned with how they look on the shelf, I don't think it will be that bad, you can just start putting the new spine numbers on a separate shelf, so all the old ones look uniform together,and then all the new ones will too. It's not like the old/new numbers will be mixed up, so they won't be intertwined.
Overall, as long as cc continues with their quality treatment, it won't matter to me.

as long as the superlative quality and quantity of content doesn't change, i could care less.

jealous much?

What exactly does he have to be jealous about? The fact that he doesn't cry over cover art changing?

So not a lot of support for the changes, but does that mean you won't still buy the films with the new art?

They could package some of their product in blank paper sleeves and I'd still buy it!

A change for the worse.

Of course I'll continue to buy their films, and their choice of cover-art, etc. has never deterred me. There are few films in the collection that I have been unsatisfied with, so their ratio (for me, at least) is very acceptable.

Bad cover-art or packaging hasn't stopped me in the past, but it has disappointed me. For an example, when Simpsons Season 6 shipped with just the "Homer Head" packaging, I was a little miffed, but it didn't stop me from picking it up. It was definately a plus for Fox to offer the mail-in for the more traditional-style packaging, and then offer them both at retail for subsequent seasons.

Maybe (highly doubtful) Criterion could do reversible covers to appease the "afraid of change" people out there. They wouldn't have to do much with the actual cover design, just remove the tab and the "C", and replace it with the current banner. This would definately be the easiest way to please both parties, although I don't know what the added cost of 2-sided covers would be.

wow, i just realized there's a floating C on the upper left corner, didn't even notice it before you pointed that out. is that a Criterion "C" or part of this title's coverart? if prior, what's up with that??