So yesterday I was testing out Google Reader as a new RSS aggregator after deciding that Arcylic’s Times just wasn’t doing it for me. I came across a post with some Criterion collection DVD covers, and was just blown away. I remember back in film school my teachers would always mention Criterion DVD’s but I never really took the time to check them out. Now I’m regretting I didn’t earlier… These are some of the most successfully designed conceptual pieces I have come across to date. Each one incorporates an emotion or aspect of the film in unique creative ways, through elements such as film stills, cut out shapes, and even color schemes.

I decided to pick out a few and say what I liked about them. Apparently there are a few other “top 10″ lists but I haven’t really been happy with anyone’s choices. I would have gone with 10 but my conscience would only allow 8. These will be listed in alphabetical order so none of you get the idea that I’m trying to rank these.

One of my favorite French New Wave films, I was really excited to see that Criterion re-released this film. The cover photo that they used on this is quite dramatic and would easily reel any unsuspecting viewer in. It also exhibits a very interesting application of type. The kerning is very open over Francois Truffaut’s, and very closed over the 400 blows. There an emphasis at the “w” and “s” that is touching, is this intentional? How does it add or detract from the cohesiveness of the title? I can’t decide for myself, all I know is that I’m really drawn to this cover.

First admission: I have to admit I’ve never seen this film. Second admission: I love display typefaces. As soon as I saw it it made me think of all of our crazy mind maps we do here at Inksie. The lines provide a fantastic description and a visual metaphor for the plot of the movie.

Who would have ever thought that you could make a shape of a sailboat solely with the shapes of a knife and a sail. This is a fine example of the use of minimalism amid Criterion’s DVD covers. Although it’s very tattered image, it maintains a feeling of simplicity. It allows the viewer to see what the movie is about without even having to read the title, now that is quite impressive.

This cover pretty aptly describes what it’s saying. La Haine means “hatred” in French. To use thick, bold, capital Helvetica characters to cover peoples faces sounds to be exactly what it is saying.

I still can’t tell what it is about this that really draws me to it. Originally it was my favorite of all of these covers, but some have grown on me and it has fallen off of it’s rather high pedestal. It is probably the best design I have seen that I would categorize with the horrific term (yes, I hate to even say it and I apologize Kurt) of “grunge”. It looks like a bunch of tiny bullets or burn holes that have been worn through an exposed negative, and there has always been something that has drawn me to old film texture. Reminds me of one of my favorite collection of photos taken by a really good friend in Morocco.

I love how the type plays with the image in this one. It’s difficult at first glance to tell if the title is in the foreground or background. But the most inevitable and unmistakable feature in the magnificent cover, is Rififi himself. I sure as hell would not mess with him. Would you?

This one has some obvious symbolism of a seventh samurai being offset from the other six. The hand drawn characters are done up really beautifully and I appreciate the fact that this is done in black and white to fit the film’s aesthetic.

I don’t believe that anyone could capture an Ingmar Bergman film in a cover more than this does: black and white, totally dark, and repressed feeling. At the same time, this is a very successful minimalism piece, set in a light serif and centered text. This makes me so happy.

Do you have any other favorites? Please…share with us.