Kaneto Shindo's masterful erotic ghost-story KURONEKO (Black Cat) is out today on Criterion DVD and Blu-ray. A must-see for lovers of Japanese cinema and the fantastic, it has become a personal favorite of mine through my work with Janus Films and Criterion on the film's new theatrical release and DVD package. I wrote previously about the process behind designing the poster; For the DVD/BD cover Criterion wanted to not stray too far from that, and after noticing the almost -disappearing quality of certain metallic inks when working on THE MUSIC ROOM, Eric Skillman put together this composition in which the ghost mother character would hover alone in the woods, then vanish when looked at from another angle. I loved the concept and was excited to take advantage of the print medium by doing something interesting and different like this. Here are a couple of shots of the cover--although the effect is hard to capture with a camera-- followed by some images of my booklet layout and menu designs. I couldn't be a bigger fan of this beautiful film, and I'm excited for others to discover it. Thanks to Eric Skillman, Sarah Habibi, and the Janus and Criterion staff for a job well done.
