When Bad Art Happens To Great Films

Has anyone else been noticing just how truly horrendous a lot of the artwork from the big studios is getting for their home market? The tendency to not use the original, and almost always superior, theatrical posters has been going on for awhile but some of the latest photoshoppe nightmares (such as this one for the upcoming And Justice For All disc are truly disturbing.
Everything about a lot of these new discs just shows a total lack of respect to the artists and the films. Of course, this has always been a problem on the home video market but I have never seen quite so many sloppy and ill conceived cover designs as I am now. It just baffles me how so studios with millions upon millions of dollars on hand for promotion can't be bothered to care a little bit more for the looks of their products, when small companies like Severin and Blue Underground with limited funds at best can keep continually coming up with some of the most beautiful packaging on the market.
I suppose it all does come down to really caring about the films, which is something many of the large studios seem to have none for (especially their older catalogue films)...but for God's sake couldn't they have at least made Al Pacino's head look like it belongs on his body?
Oh well, I suppose the trend will continue, and apparently I am not the only one disturbed by it as a Google search for 'bad DVD artwork' brought over 200,000 hits. The new And Justice For All disc will be out in a couple of months and I will buy it for the new bonus features...but I won't be displaying this ill conceived artwork anywhere in easy view.

Bobby Deerfield Hits DVD In March

One of my favorite films of the seventies, and one of the last missing in action Al Pacino titles, is to finally hit Region 1 DVD this March. The Sydney Pollack directed BOBBY DEERFIELD (1977) is the only critical failure Al had in the seventies but he has himself called it the part that was closest to him. Coming on the heels of last year's release of CRUISING and the box set of films he directed, the news that BOBBY DEERFIELD is finally hitting DVD here will be most welcome for Pacino fans. This release will leave REVOLUTION (1985) as the one starring role Pacino has had that will be missing on the Region 1 DVD market.
I can pretty much see every criticism that has been thrown towards BOBBY DEERFIELD, Pauline Kael most famously savaged it upon its release, but it has been a real personal favorite since I first saw it about twenty years ago. For those who haven't seen it, the film will hold some real surprises for people who accuse Pacino of always being just volcanic and over the top. BOBBY DEERFIELD marks the most subtle and possibly moving performance he has ever given. No word on whether the audio commentary by Sydney Pollack from the import disc will be carried over but I suspect that it will be.

Also out the same day is a new special edition of Al's 1979 Oscar nominated role in AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. The old disc only featured an audio commentary from director Norman Jewison so a fully revamped special edition of this important little title should be most interesting.