The Criterion Collection recently dropped the new movie artwork of the 1982 queer film ‘Querelle’, and it gained an overall enthusiastic response from the people online.
The feature is based on Jean Genet’s classic novel ‘Querelle de Brest’, and it is described by TV Tropes as “a tale of murder and lust, shot on a deliberately unrealistic and dreamlike sound stage filled with homoerotic imagery.”
Brad Davis in Querelle understood the assignment and DELIVERED. pic.twitter.com/mz9vgbUyOl
— Parsley Sage (@tattudeguyWA) March 13, 2024
Meanwhile, a synopsis via The Criterion Collection reads:
“In an expressionistic soundstage vision of a French seaport town—bathed in fiery reds and complete with phallic spires—a strapping sailor and unrepentant criminal (Brad Davis) comes ashore to arouse passion, rivalry, and violence among the libidinal denizens drawn into his orbit.”
Not to mention, ‘Querelle’ is noted to be a “taboo-shattering depiction of gay desire to delirious extremes.” That being said, it is only fitting for it to have a sexy af new artwork, and Astra Zero certainly delivered, which you can see here:
Meanwhile, Twitter was set ablaze by the movie artwork, and here are some of the positive comments:
“This film is such a gay fever dream. Took a minute for me to get into it but by the end I was totally into it’s idiosyncratic otherworldly rhythm,” @malonine wrote about ‘Querelle’.
“You ate!! This is cool, referential, dreamlike, beautiful but not in a boring way, it’s bold and zeitgeisty.
And all of the above are adjectives we can use for Querelle and Fassbinder as well.
I applaud criterion for taking the bold risk on your work,” @LuisTrejoLecona also expressed.
Moreover, the new movie artwork has become controversial due to criticism, as well as allegations that AI was involved in creating it. And to that, here’s what Astra Zero has to say:
Artwork I made for the @Criterion release of Querelle, shout out to Eric for such a fun project.
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The base was sculpted in 3D and then painted over in Procreate
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There was ZERO, I Repeat NO AI used to create this , lol pic.twitter.com/aITwdsOiXn— Astra Zero 🕷 (@astrazero) March 15, 2024
Also, ‘Querelle’ is set to be available for purchase on Criterion on June 11.
Sources: tvtropes.org, criterion.com
Nowhere near as sexy as the original photos of Brad Davis on the film posters
Wishing Criterion much luck with this marketing attempt. The company is doing wonderful, needed, work. Fassbinder’s original film was such a fever-dream that any shot from the movie could have been used as jacket art. Needed new plasticine because ???
It makes Brad Davis look like a blow up doll!