The movie poster thread

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  • Posts: 1,637
    Not that many , few dozens but most are linen backed (which is expensive but the posters really pop , esp the old and worn ones benefit from it)
  • edited October 2019 Posts: 6,682
    I wonder if we could talk a little about how film posters have evolved over the years. I don't know if all my observations below are accurate and representative of changing trends in film artwork, but there are certain things I've noticed after looking at many posters.

    Personally, the period of film history between the late sixties and early eighties, with its radical changes, has always inspired curiosity in me. Regarding the posters of the era, it seems like in the sixties, photographic posters slowly started to emerge and became highly prominent in the seventies, but still coexisted with drawn posters, though the drawing style had changed since the sixties. I couldn't easily describe in words what the differences were, but the style was certainly different, likely influenced by the styles of the most prominent illustrators of the day, people like Bob Peak or Richard Amsel.

    It also seems to me that white backgrounds were very prominent in the sixties, but they were slowly dropped throughout the seventies, and by the eighties, the backgrounds of posters were much more colorful.

    Also, certain "modern" typefaces started to emerge, with less of a drawn, wavy feel. The rectangular, blocky typeface of 1984's Tightrope is very eighties, I think. I can see something like it being present in seventies posters (though I can't recall a specific example at the moment), but not the sixties.

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    Toward the end of the seventies and the beginning of the eighties, that typeface we can now see in the logo of the Stranger Things TV series became common, particularly in horror films like Halloween III and Children of the Corn.

    The size and arrangement of the images and credits also changed after the sixties. The poster of 1970's Rio Lobo is an example of a very typical seventies' poster arrangement. Big photographic image, small section dedicated to the logo and credits at the bottom.

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    Even the style of taglines has evolved over the years. The Rio Lobo poster reads "Give 'em hell, John." For some reason that strikes me as very representative of the era, with the tagline "speaking" directly to John Wayne. Back in the sixties and fifties, I think posters often had taglines in the vein of "the most exciting screen entertainment you'll see", but they were slowly dropped as the years went along. In the seventies, posters could also have long texts describing the subject matter of the film.

    On a related note, I was looking at the evolution of the Warner Bros. logo in that same era. Interesting how it went from a very colorful and detailed logo in the early sixties, to the stark minimalism of the W7 (Warner Bros. - Seven Arts) logo in the late sixties, and temporarily back to an old-fashioned logo in the Kinney years, before settling for a decade on another minimalistic logo, with a very modern typeface (once again, not wavy or curvy, and without serifs).

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    I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and contributions on the subject in any part of film history. Art styles are in constant flux, but it's a subtle enough process that it takes a few years before noticing a changing trend.
  • edited October 2019 Posts: 17,241
    Tracy wrote: »
    Not that many , few dozens but most are linen backed (which is expensive but the posters really pop , esp the old and worn ones benefit from it)

    That's cool! Don't own any vintage posters myself, but I sure wouldn't mind owning a few eventually.
    ________

    You bring up something very interesting here @mattjoes! I'm a graphic designer, so this is of real interest to me. Your observations re. posters are very in line with what I've noticed as well.

    White and otherwise single-coloured backgrounds are indeed very prominent in 60's/70's poster artwork (at least in what I've seen (examples below)).

    MV5BMWJiMTc4ODEtOGVmYy00OGEzLTlhMjgtYTY3NTllYjBjY2QxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjIyNjE2NA@@._V1_.jpg barbarella-1968-003-poster-00m-y8y_0.jpg?itok=iYKx6LZr -422144526042372997.jpg
    super-fly-1525888843.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=480:*
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    These were just some of the first examples I could find while googling 60's/70's posters. As you see, there's a mix of photographic imagery and illustrations; the often white background is very prominent, there's both hand-drawn typography (often used for comedy film posters), and sans serifs. I get the impression the hand-drawn titles became more out of fashion by somewhere in the 70's, but I might be wrong.

    The biggest "change" in my view is between the 70's and the 80's though. You still see posters with white and single-coloured backgrounds, but a full image/illustration looks more prominent than before. Illustrated posters seems to have become less common, and the illustrated posters of the era seems to be very realistic and airbrushed.


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    Personally, I'm very much a fan of the illustrated posters of the 60's/early 70's, with single-coloured backgrounds. They always look good as a framed piece of art.

    mattjoes wrote: »
    On a related note, I was looking at the evolution of the Warner Bros. logo in that same era. Interesting how it went from a very colorful and detailed logo in the early sixties, to the stark minimalism of the W7 (Warner Bros. - Seven Arts) logo in the late sixties, and temporarily back to an old-fashioned logo in the Kinney years, before settling for a decade on another minimalistic logo, with a very modern typeface (once again, not wavy or curvy, and without serifs).

    GW204H153

    GW335H182

    GW347H141

    The evolution of the Warner Bros. logo is really interesting. The first one (and other similar variations of it) is the one we instantly recognise, but the W7 and the minimalistic 70's one are my favourites (the latter made by Saul Bass I believe). I've never read up why they actually changed the logo, but it would be interesting to read about.
  • Posts: 6,682
    Good points there, @Torgeirtrap! Very true about the realistic drawings and large illustrations of the eighties.

    I didn't know Bass had done the Warner logo. Both minimalistic logos are cool, and certainly striking coming after the more traditional logos.
  • edited October 2019 Posts: 17,241
    mattjoes wrote: »
    Good points there, @Torgeirtrap! Very true about the realistic drawings and large illustrations of the eighties.

    I didn't know Bass had done the Warner logo. Both minimalistic logos are cool, and certainly striking coming after the more traditional logos.

    @mattjoes I tried to find a bit more info on the Saul Bass Warner Bros. logo, but couldn't find that much. This comment on logodesignlove.com was probably the most informative:
    The Bass logo definitely served it’s purpose in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Warner Communications had book publishing and a host of music labels under it’s umbrella. It needed something simple that would fit on paperback spines as well as cassette and 8-track packaging. The fact that Warner Brothers Records was a stand alone music label (old shield and WB used) made having a “corporate” logo a necessity to avoid confusion.

    It looks like it might have been a practical solution as much as an aesthetic one for Warner Bros. to use that particular logo. That only makes it a better logo in my view.
    _________

    Forgot to add in my previous post that there is something really interesting with the illustrated posters of the 80's. The realism of the illustrations, the details, the airbrushed effects and the colours are all elements I find really appealing.

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  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,416
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    Dvd get difrent color

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  • edited November 2019 Posts: 17,241
    I have a soft spot for gritty lettering, and I dig the two examples you posted here, @M_Balje! The cool thing about that Joker logo is that it's not just a digital creation:

    The new Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix is currently raking it in at the box office and dividing critical opinion. But if there's one thing that designers can agree on, it's that the movie boasts an impressive typography-based logo. And now its designer has revealed that he used an old-fashioned woodblock letterpress to give the logo its distinctive, scratchy appearance.

    Over on Reddit, Danieley took the time to share the surprising story of how the logo came to be. The freelance designer and animator revealed that it was created with wood type from his letterpress collection, and that it was the "smoothest approval process I have ever been involved with".

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    This was surprising news for fans of the gritty lettering, as designers in the audience had suspected that the grain effect was created digitally.

    The spontaneity of the woodblock printing technique resulted in a huge chip in the letter 'K', as well as other faded elements. And while these lend themselves well to the spirit of the film, Danieley is cautious of reading too much into them.

    "I can post conceptualise the gash as his 'soul' etc. etc. yawn," he joked in the Reddit comments. "Really I just dropped it on the floor and it felt right so I left it. I'm a huge fan of Brian Eno's method of chance [and] using his oblique strategies when I get stuck."


    I love the minimalistic The High Sun poster as well. There's something about silhouettes that's just so… effective. As for the Terminator: Dark Fate cover – is there a particular reason why the colours are different between the two formats?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
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    1958

  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited December 2019 Posts: 23,105
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    1958

    I have watched many 50's and 60's British cinema this year, George Baker appeared in many films. Not including Bond I first became aware of him as Inspector Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries starting in the 1980's.
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  • Posts: 17,241
    183662-the-moonraker-0-230-0-345-crop.jpg?k=26836df05d
    english_1sh_moonraker_R60s_SD06210_T.jpg

    1958

    Nice find, @Thunderfinger! A Bond connection (besides the title and George Baker): Sylvia Syms appeared in several episodes of The Saint.
  • Posts: 17,241
    It's from 2017 so it's not a recent interview, but here's an article about the great Robert McGinnis!

    The Man Behind History’s Most Iconic Movie Posters, From Breakfast at Tiffany’s to James Bond
  • Posts: 17,241
    Some Instagram finds:






  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,105
    I am a huge fan of The Time Machine one of my favorite sci fi films, I have that art on one of the DVD's I have of the film.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Great ones, @Torgeirtrap . The Winged Serpent looks intriguing.
  • edited December 2019 Posts: 17,241
    I am a huge fan of The Time Machine one of my favorite sci fi films, I have that art on one of the DVD's I have of the film.

    Never heard of that film before, actually!
    Great ones, @Torgeirtrap . The Winged Serpent looks intriguing.

    I see it's directed by Larry Cohen, who wrote the story for three episodes of Columbo – one of which (Any Old Port in a Storm) featured Donald Pleasence as the killer.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,105
  • Posts: 17,241

    Interesting! I must add it to my films to watch list.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Found this trailer. Hilarious.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,105
    Found this trailer. Hilarious.

    I watched this as a kid, I remember random naked women sun bathing on high rises.
  • Posts: 17,241
    Found this trailer. Hilarious.

    Haha, I wonder if it's a film that is so bad it's good!
    Found this trailer. Hilarious.

    I watched this as a kid, I remember random naked women sun bathing on high rises.

    Sold! :-D
  • Posts: 17,241

    Finnish poster (I think), for The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
    _________



    Anyone seen these two films before?
  • edited December 2019 Posts: 5,774
    Let's look at some french posters, shall we ?

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  • Posts: 6,727

    Finnish poster (I think), for The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
    _________



    Anyone seen these two films before?

    Have heard of Assignment K, but not the second one.
    That second poster is a cracker though!
  • edited January 2020 Posts: 17,241
    Gerard wrote: »
    Let's look at some french posters, shall we ?

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    Nice posters, @Gerard! Have you watched these two films?
    Mathis1 wrote: »

    Finnish poster (I think), for The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
    _________



    Anyone seen these two films before?

    Have heard of Assignment K, but not the second one.
    That second poster is a cracker though!

    It certainly is, @Mathis1! Love the composition and the sharp colours. Wonder if the film is as good as the poster. I watched the trailer for Assignment K a while back. It's definitely a film I want to watch at some point.
  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    I don't have much professional knowledge on movie Posters but thought people in this thread would love this video especially @Torgeirtrap ;) . I haven't even watch half movies from this video yet but kudos to the one who make this video. This YouTube channel is seriously underrated.
  • Posts: 17,241
    I don't have much professional knowledge on movie Posters but thought people in this thread would love this video especially @Torgeirtrap ;) . I haven't even watch half movies from this video yet but kudos to the one who make this video. This YouTube channel is seriously underrated.

    Thanks for sharing @Resurrection! I'll be taking screenshots from this one, and read up on all the films I didn't recognise from these clips! :-)
  • Posts: 1,637


    HD 50th anniversary , x-mas '69.....Ive an autograph she wrote during summer '68 when it was being filmed in Garrison , NY :D
  • Posts: 5,774
    Nice posters, @Gerard! Have you watched these two films?

    Yes indeed. Both classics. Now, a few french swashbucklers :

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  • Posts: 17,241
    Tracy wrote: »


    HD 50th anniversary , x-mas '69.....Ive an autograph she wrote during summer '68 when it was being filmed in Garrison , NY :D

    That's a nice poster, @Tracy! Love the illustration, and the typography is great as well.
    Gerard wrote: »
    Nice posters, @Gerard! Have you watched these two films?

    Yes indeed. Both classics. Now, a few french swashbucklers :

    4NPprZhAlM4CXAU0DHCtMSOpmq8.jpg

    aff_capitan-02.png~original

    9o7rKkCm-A8kITtzYu1BUkX4mYo.jpg

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    I must add them to my list then, @Gerard!

    Love the poster artworks artworks too. That first one looks familiar; is it a well-known Alain Delon film?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited January 2020 Posts: 45,489
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