Black Swan (Blu-ray SteelBook) (Zavvi Exclusive) [UK]

[Wreck]

Release Date: June 3rd, 2013
Zavvi Exclusive Limited Edition Steelbook with embossed front
Buy Link: Black Swan

More artwork from Zavvi:

Spoiler

Pictures of actual steelbook courtesy of Sinthetic:

Spoiler

 

[Wootball]

Hate the movie, hate the steel. Saved me £15.

 

[sproutyrouty]

ive never seen the film but the artwork is cool very interesting

 

[Steelmania]

Nice I will be ordering

 

[lgans316]

Let me explain why this artwork doesn't make any sense.

1. This film mainly revolves around one lead character whose face is (dis)located on the inside on the spine.

2. This is a character oriented film and should have pictures of the characters on the front and back. This ain't a disaster movie where you can have thematic designs.

 

[Wootball]

But equally it's an artistic movie about a woman being taken over with the idea of being the black swan. The front makes sense even if I don't like it.

 

[Softwing]

2. This is a character oriented film and should have pictures of the characters on the front and back. This ain't a disaster movie where you can have thematic designs.

Any film can have 'thematic' designs. your suggestion that only disaster movies have the freedom to employ them is utterly ludicrous, in my opinion.

These days, filling box art and posters with images of the starring actors/actresses is little more than a marketing tool, using known names and faces to sell a movie. That's not to say it can't be the right artwork if used correctly, though.

I'm firmly and unashamedly in the 'love it' camp with this artwork, although I can understand how this one would be divisive (let's face it, the film was too). The main focus of the art here seems to be the question of where the person ends and the swan begins. The swan is ambiguously part of the border before it overlaps the human face, centered around the single eye which both characters share; an eye which could be either human or animal, belonging to either or even both. It's beautiful.

 

[TakingYoSteelz]

Nicely put, softwing. It's nice to see a new member here who knows how to post without spamming to make up the numbers. Welcome!

 

[Softwing]

Nicely put, softwing. It's nice to see a new member here who knows how to post without spamming to make up the numbers. Welcome!

Thanks for the welcome, TakingYoSteelz!

The biggest draw here for me is definitely the community, it seems really great here. I do look forward to having access to trading/group buys, but that's certainly a secondary consideration and I wouldn't dream of spamming anywhere.

I'm completely out of 'lurker' phase now and ready to join in with everyone.

 

[lgans316]

softwing,

I respect your opinion but you should try to respect mine too as I too have a point. Natalie Portman is lead character in the film and appears on almost every frame of the movie. In fact she even won Oscar for her strong performance. The whole movie revolves around her. She should have been presented on the front or the back and not on the inside of the spine where you can't even see her full face.

 

[digitalbabe]

Any film can have 'thematic' designs. your suggestion that only disaster movies have the freedom to employ them is utterly ludicrous, in my opinion.

These days, filling box art and posters with images of the starring actors/actresses is little more than a marketing tool, using known names and faces to sell a movie. That's not to say it can't be the right artwork if used correctly, though.

I'm firmly and unashamedly in the 'love it' camp with this artwork, although I can understand how this one would be divisive (let's face it, the film was too). The main focus of the art here seems to be the question of where the person ends and the swan begins. The swan is ambiguously part of the border before it overlaps the human face, centered around the single eye which both characters share; an eye which could be either human or animal, belonging to either or even both. It's beautiful.

Sums this up nicely, and captures the metamorphosis of the character and her descent into darkness, which was achieved beautifully on film.

 

[Wootball]

softwing,

I respect your opinion but you should try to respect mine too as I too have a point. Natalie Portman is lead character in the film and appears on almost every frame of the movie. In fact she even won Oscar for her strong performance. The whole movie revolves around her. She should have been presented on the front or the back and not on the inside of the spine where you can't even see her full face.

I 100% disagree. I admire that this steel is trying something other than putting the main actor/actress all over it which seems to be the norm lately. Black Swan isn't about Natalie Portman (no matter how good she is in it), it's a very thematic movie about a girl (any girl) desiring to be something else and having the confusion and strength of mind that goes with it. To me this steel fits it perfectly. This is the exact type of movie IMO that shouldn't have a generic 'here is the star' steel.

There other steelbooks, including ones for oscar-winning movies, that don't have the main cast member all over them - how is Black Swan any different?

I'm wondering exactly how Softwing hasn't respected your opinion, he gave his side of things and put forward a very eloquent opinion about this one.

 

[Malky78]

Personally I think the front cover is excellent.

I agree that it's really poor that they have essentially cut the lead actress in 3 for the inside art, but there is absolutely no reason to have her on the front or back cover.

What I really don't like is the "from the director of" people are not going g yo buy this film without knowing anything about it, so why bother?

I've been waiting a long time for this steelbook and I am very happy with what I've seen so far.

 

[gitsurfer]

Bit silly to position her like that but no reason at all to have her as the main art. This is far more interesting and is what has me ordering this version rather than the amaray.

 

[Softwing]

softwing,

I respect your opinion but you should try to respect mine too as I too have a point. Natalie Portman is lead character in the film and appears on almost every frame of the movie. In fact she even won Oscar for her strong performance. The whole movie revolves around her. She should have been presented on the front or the back and not on the inside of the spine where you can't even see her full face.

Igans316, I do respect your opinion and always try to have respect for any opinion, and I did make an effort to show that my opinion was just a single viewpoint and not 'the' correct answer. That said, if I came across as disrespectful then I do apologise to you.

If it's not rude, I would like to refer you to the point I made that an image of a character/actress can be a good or appropriate artwork if done well. I also agree with the fact that when an image of an actress has been used, as with Portman on the interior, that it is a crying shame to cut her into three segments.

And while I agree that Natalie Portman did a fantastic job in the film (and deservedly won the Oscar in my opinion), I would say that the film revolves around Nina Sayers, which does not necessarily extend to Portman herself. There are a multitude of ways to depict Nina, and not all of them involve images of Natalie.

 

[lgans316]

Personally I would have preferred the UK white slip artwork or the target exclusive red/black artwork at least on one side as you recognize a film like this by the characters.

Do you agree with the placement of Portman on the spine?

To me it doesn't make sense at all.

 

[Softwing]

No, I don't agree with the placement of the inside art, it doesn't make much sense to me either.

 

[justboy]

I 100% disagree. I admire that this steel is trying something other than putting the main actor/actress all over it which seems to be the norm lately. Black Swan isn't about Natalie Portman (no matter how good she is in it), it's a very thematic movie about a girl (any girl) desiring to be something else and having the confusion and strength of mind that goes with it. To me this steel fits it perfectly. This is the exact type of movie IMO that shouldn't have a generic 'here is the star' steel.

There other steelbooks, including ones for oscar-winning movies, that don't have the main cast member all over them - how is Black Swan any different?

I'm wondering exactly how Softwing hasn't respected your opinion, he gave his side of things and put forward a very eloquent opinion about this one.

You make a good point, its great to see alternate art work being used to make it feel a bit more special.
Out of the hundreds of DVDs and blu rays I own, the vast majority settle for having the "star" of the film on the front cover.
This is understandable from a marketing point of view to sell the film on shop shelves (or online).
But as a collector, it is very boring.

 

[Apinamakina]

I prefer artworks without any faces of the actors or actresses. In my opinion those Harry Potter steelbooks with the faces of the main characters covering the whole frontside looks just horrible. But it also depends on the overall picture. Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber has Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's wife (whose name I can't remember) on the front but that steelbook is in my top-5 steelbooks.

I think this movie deserved some kind of artistic artwork like it has right now, but this one was badly designed in my opinion. And the inside artwork was bad only because the main character is hidden by the spine of the steelbook. But I guess the backcover is ok though.

Also I think Natalie isn't very good actress, she has been chosen to some big movies because she has a pretty face. I admit I have only seen a few movies where she has been in and her performance has always been the same. I think she succeeded in this movie only because the kind of acting she always performs was perfect for this role. But what do I know, I'm not movie expert.

 

[Darth Andeddu]

Exactly this is the point, the actor/actress has to fit perfectly for the role - and Natalie definitely does fit perfectly. Besides, I think she is a good actress, but that's my point of view.

This steel is an absolute must have, no matter if they change the inner artwork or carve Natalie up inside the steelbook

 

[Shanester]

I'm firmly and unashamedly in the 'love it' camp with this artwork, although I can understand how this one would be divisive (let's face it, the film was too). The main focus of the art here seems to be the question of where the person ends and the swan begins. The swan is ambiguously part of the border before it overlaps the human face, centered around the single eye which both characters share; an eye which could be either human or animal, belonging to either or even both. It's beautiful.

Your terrific interpretation made me appreciate the artwork even more

Thank you!