Return of the Movie Posters

[Kippito]

Is anyone else glad that the "norm" has been to use the original theatrical poster art for most recent BD and 4K covers? Back in the DVD era there was wayyy too much terrible, generic box art floating around. (Friday the 13th Parts V-VIII come to mind)

The new Karate Kid box set is what really made me appreciate this sort of "return to form". Finally, a cover that says The Karate Kid "PART" II! I was so sick of that movie just being lazily referred to as The Karate Kid II. And I know that must be so arbitrary to some folks, but it matters to me, and it's great to see that box art is being taken a little more seriously in 2021.

Now what I really need is an Elm Street collection to that effect!

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by Kippito

Is anyone else glad that the "norm" has been to use the original theatrical poster art for most recent BD and 4K covers? Back in the DVD era there was wayyy too much terrible, generic box art floating around. (Friday the 13th Parts V-VIII come to mind)

The new Karate Kid box set is what really made me appreciate this sort of "return to form". Finally, a cover that says The Karate Kid "PART" II! I was so sick of that movie just being lazily referred to as The Karate Kid II. And I know that must be so arbitrary to some folks, but it matters to me, and it's great to see that box art is being taken a little more seriously in 2021.

Now what I really need is an Elm Street collection to that effect!

I'm a huge fan of original art being used on home video covers. A lot of people don't care, including many physical media supporters, which is why the major studios just throw whatever slapped-together "art" some intern whips up in 5 minutes on them and call it a day. The boutiques are especially good with original art and I wish more of them would go with original art over commissioned art.

[Kippito]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I'm a huge fan of original art being used on home video covers. A lot of people don't care, including many physical media supporters, which is why the major studios just throw whatever slapped-together "art" some intern whips up in 5 minutes on them and call it a day. The boutiques are especially good with original art and I wish more of them would go with original art over commissioned art.

Don't get me wrong, original art can be great too. I love my shout factory copies of Serial Mom, Candyman, and Silver Bullet with the original art on the slipcovers! I just feel like box art in general was such an afterthought in the early 2000s. It's definitely transformed over the last decade into something more catered to us, the collectors.

[meremortal]

Generally prefer the original poster art in most cases for older catalog films. And it's nice when companies do include them. Also really like the double-sided art from the boutique labels like Shout, Arrow, etc. However, there are times when I also would like the art that was on the vhs box such as Chopping Mall, Ice Cream Man, etc.

[Luke Dodge748]

I'm a huge fan of original poster art, and I'm usually a lil unhappy when the studios press a new bluray and replace the original art with something new, like WB did with Gremlins. The poster art is iconic and gorgeous, and the new yellow-slipped and green art does nothing to present the feel of the film. It's kinda ugly and sad that I have to go custom to get the original art for the sleeve.

I hope more studios go the boutique route like Shout and Arrow and just go double-sided and give us the option to use one or the other.

[Chie Satonaka]

I like newly commissioned art. A lot of the times it can be even better than the poster art. The idea that only the original poster is a valid cover is a weird form of purism I'll always be against.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Chie Satonaka

I like newly commissioned art. A lot of the times it can be even better than the poster art. The idea that only the original poster is a valid cover is a weird form of purism I'll always be against.

I don’t think anyone here is saying that the only valid cover art is the original poster art.

[Luke Dodge748]

Originally Posted by Chie Satonaka

I like newly commissioned art. A lot of the times it can be even better than the poster art. The idea that only the original poster is a valid cover is a weird form of purism I'll always be against.

Where'd you read that? Another forum, I guess...

[Chie Satonaka]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

I don’t think anyone here is saying that the only valid cover art is the original poster art.

Originally Posted by Luke Dodge748

Where'd you read that? Another forum, I guess...

It's a sentiment I see a lot around this forum, to the point that people will mock some of these artists and compare their work to that of a small child.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Chie Satonaka

It's a sentiment I see a lot around this forum, to the point that people will mock some of these artists and compare their work to that of a small child.

I’ve definitely seen some poor newly-commissioned artwork slagged off, like the extremely amateurish artwork for Scream Factory’s FROM BEYOND Blu, which does indeed remind me of a middle school effort, but I’ve never seen anyone say that the only valid artwork is the original movie poster.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by Chie Satonaka

I like newly commissioned art. A lot of the times it can be even better than the poster art. The idea that only the original poster is a valid cover is a weird form of purism I'll always be against.

It's a sentiment I see a lot around this forum, to the point that people will mock some of these artists and compare their work to that of a small child.

Someone mentioned Gremlins, and that's a good example. The original poster art, with the unseen creature peeking out of a dark box, is iconic, charming, and sells the mystery of the film. That's far better than the current shit, which is all just Gizmo standing there in full view, with the title. And you know if Shout or Arrow commissioned someone, it would be super-busy, with every Gremlin variation squeezed in there. Pure fanboy barf.

The same with Alien. Give me the floating egg. The promise of some mystery. I don't want a foil-embossed Xenomorph on the cover. Save that shit for the action figure box.

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by Chie Satonaka

I like newly commissioned art. A lot of the times it can be even better than the poster art. The idea that only the original poster is a valid cover is a weird form of purism I'll always be against.

I could reverse this to strawman you and you would probably get mad and call me a name.

[ponytail]

9 times out of 10 the theatrical poster is cooler than the new art, imo. Especially when it comes to pre-1990 movies.

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by ponytail

9 times out of 10 the theatrical poster is cooler than the new art, imo. Especially when it comes to pre-1990 movies.

A lot of recent commissioned art looks like photos ran thru one of those "cartoonize-me" AI programs and then hit with a monochromatic filter in a set of Pier-1-Imports core complimentary color schemes. It's like searching for movie posters on Instagram, all blending together. lmao

[WaverBoy]

One guy who is killing it with newly commissioned artwork is Kung Fu Bob for 88 Films’ Hong Kong releases. Excellent stuff.

[joonskeezle]

Originally Posted by ponytail

9 times out of 10 the theatrical poster is cooler than the new art, imo. Especially when it comes to pre-1990 movies.

Even when it isn't, the nostalgia factor easily defeats the new art anyway.

Any time I get something that has reversible art, and the reverse is the original poster, I reverse that shit.