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Name your favourite film poster of all time, and tell us why you like it

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  • Hannah Sargeant 24/08/2017 at 12:10 pm

    It was a toss up between Suspiria, Eraserhead, Forbidden Planet and E.T., but for me it has to be Barbarella (1968). The posters can stand as a great piece of work alone without knowing anything about the movie itself. I love the old illustrated and painted movie posters, and especially those that came from the 60’s, from the bold fonts and punchy colours that were used. There are a few different posters for the movie but Jane Fonda on a rock with a space gun, behind an oversized moon, a spaceship and various other characters makes for the best version. I love how the illustrator has thrown all these elements into one otherworldly portrait of the movie with a bright striking yellow title, and still communicates that this film is fun and action-packed.

    I’m currently making a magazine with an underlying space theme and with design inspired by 60’s and 70’s print and type, and I always revisit the Barbarella movie artwork when I’m looking for a bit of inspiration.

    https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=barbarella+film+poster&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhppOh2e_VAhXEKsAKHUBYC-4Q_AUICigB&biw=1277&bih=650#imgrc=UZfAf7iIDn0mHM:

  • David Mc Murrugh 24/08/2017 at 12:05 pm

    I’m going for Saul Bass but his “Anatomy of a Murder’ poster.
    A stark, bleak poster that matches an uncomfortable yet riveting film.
    A cliche, but at times less really is more.

  • Nami-San NewArts 24/08/2017 at 11:55 am

    Truffaut’s “Jules et Jim” – 1962 – illustrated by Christian Broutin
    A really interesting mix of collage, charcoal and vivid greens & orange – to match the stunningly dynamic and timeless Nouvelle Vague masterpiece. The ever-mesmerising Jeanne Moreau is monumental in the poster – a tourbillon of emotion and colour reflected by the expressive strokes and overall boldness of the painting. Iconic in every way.
    The poster and also an interview with Broutin are available here: https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/movie-poster-of-the-week-jules-et-jim-and-an-interview-with-designer-christian-broutin

    • Salonee Gadgil 25/08/2017 at 11:20 am

      *drumroll* You’re our winner!

  • Thaleia Grigoriadou 24/08/2017 at 7:02 am

    “Vertigo” (1958) designed by Saul Bass.
    Dynamic in motion, bold in colour, insinuating in its content… a vertigo itself! Still strikes me…
    http://annyas.com/saul-bass-vertigo-movie-poster-design/

  • Ashley Roy 24/08/2017 at 1:29 am

    Under the Skin (2013).

    There is something so magnetic and otherworldly about this poster, and every single time I look at it, I’m reminded of everything I felt when I first saw the film: awe, fear, mystery and a deep sense of unease. The poster encapsulates the experience of watching the film so well, with the expanse of negative space making me feel like I’m staring right into the void with Scarlett Johansson’s alien drawing me in.

    http://www.impawards.com/intl/uk/2014/under_the_skin.html

  • Michael Speke 23/08/2017 at 3:00 pm

    Train spotting (T1). Was that too easy? It was the first that came to mind, so I must like it.
    Clean type, awesome colourways, raw gritty photography, WTF copy “Choose…”.
    Really sets you up for the ride.

  • Chris Hawtin 23/08/2017 at 2:18 pm

    Superman The Movie, 1978.

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ba/4f/e8/ba4fe81a9ec6899f13d5fd23e15896eb.jpg

    From the use of the hopeful and triumphant colours to the iconic imagery of Christopher Reeve’s Superman, the poster itself captures and embodies the film. However, while the overall design may not be the most impressive or most significant when compared to other movie poster designs of the time, or indeed today, the memories and impact that the poster has on myself and likely many other is undeniable.

    Put simply, the poster takes me back to 1999, the first time that I was introduced to not only the character of Superman but the world of heroes as a whole. In a similar way to how Howard Shore’s iconic score for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy can transport me back to middle earth in an instant, the poster for Superman can transport me back to my child hood. From jumping off sofas in an attempt to fly, to running through the school playground, arms outstretched and jumper tied around my neck.

    While I acknowledge it may not be the most proficient or stand-out poster in terms of execution and technical achievement, when a piece of design can evoke such an emotional response and reignite some of the best memories, that for me is the most important thing of all.

    For me, that achievement lies here, with Superman The Movie and how it allowed me to truly believe that yes, a man can fly.

  • Mulenga Musonda 23/08/2017 at 2:16 pm

    Mine has to be ‘Back to the Future’ poster, dramatic poster, a lot happen, definitely catches our attention, because of the vibrant colours but also the gradient type on the left but does not take the attention from the actual image.

  • Ethan Brown 23/08/2017 at 12:38 pm

    ‘An American werewolf in London’. Olly Moss became an instant inspiration for me when I looked through his work because of the thought and creativity he puts into his work. The poster does an amazing job of representing the film by his imagery, composition and colour. in all his work Moss puts more than the eye can see at a glance which makes his work more than just a poster for me but it becomes something interesting and really becomes art.

  • aduser_1804057 23/08/2017 at 11:04 am

    ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’. Designed and illustrated by Vic Fair. This is EVERYTHING a movie poster should be. Dramatic, enigmatic, full of clues and quite beautifully composed. The combination of watercolour tones and that hard graphic inverted pyramid keyline won me over instantly (as an impressionable 14 year-old!). Despite appearing in about 20 or so movies, this is one of the few that actually features David Bowie on the poster (I’m ignoring the awful ‘Just A Gigolo’!). Vic Fair apparently had no brief and completed it in one night (after hearing that a rival agency was also working on an idea). It’s a classic and, for me, possibly the greatest British film poster!

  • Carl Halford 23/08/2017 at 9:43 am

    For me it has to be the poster for The Exorcist. You could pull out a million and one semiotic readings but for me it’s the striking chiaroscuro-esque contrast between light and dark of the photography to represent, quite obviously, good and evil. But it’s the reversal of this that is the most powerful for me. The light pouring from bedroom where evil resides and the dark ominous silhouette of the priest. Plus, it’s the first poster I can really remember seeing and it’s always stuck with me until this day!

  • Suresh Parambath 23/08/2017 at 8:52 am

    My favourite is the timeless Pulp Fiction poster. Something about it is always there to haunt you – Uma’s Icey eyes, the illustrious cast – the whole lot laid out in a readable way (something generally missing from movie poster design) But most of all it is how, everytime I look at it, am teleported to that Tarantino world of surreal imagery and music.

    https://www.google.co.in/search?ei=4zGdWfPQF4z4vASSmKe4DQ&q=pulp+fiction+poster&oq=&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.1.1.35i39k1l3.0.0.0.57810.2.1.1.0.0.0.0.0..0.0….0…1..64.mobile-gws-serp..1.1.9.3.0NC2QQTqHD4#imgrc=3d_C-JTd91J9qM:

  • aduser_1785631 23/08/2017 at 8:48 am

    JAWS (1975) by Steven Spielberg

    You can almost feel the fear in the poster already without seeing the movie. The sharp shark teeth, it’s eyes looking up to the woman swimming on the surface of the deep sea (look at the proportion of the sea vs. air). The poor and ‘weak’ victim portraid by a woman, swimming unaware of the danger below the surface of the water. The black background color (the unknown) behind the main image in the center. Add to that the typeface, set in red, signaling immediate danger. No other explanatory text needed here. It’s all clear to what to expect from the movie.

    http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/05/most-iconic-movie-posters-of-all-time/jaws

  • Andrew Golden 22/08/2017 at 9:58 pm

    I’ve always loved the poster for Moon, the Duncan Jones sci-fi featuring Sam Rockwell.

    It’s already a very striking image, dramatic and simple. The moon is depicted as a series of concentric white circles in the middle of a dark page. In the circles is a totally dwarfed and solitary Sam Rockwell.

    But the poster’s real meaning doesn’t reveal itself until you’ve seen the entire film. It sums everything up in such a simple graphic device – those concentric circles have a much deeper meaning. I won’t spoil it, but it reflects the story’s themes so brilliantly.

  • Joel Sleet 22/08/2017 at 7:13 pm

    The Lobster movie posters by Vasilis Marmatakis (which was covered by Creative Review here: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/consider-the-lobster-great-posters-from-vasilis-marmatakis/)

    These posters are beautifully minimal and capture the story of the film and the themes addressed with a clever use of negative space. They demonstrate how film posters don’t need to shout to make the loudest noise and sometimes the most striking approach is much more stripped back.

  • Fran Alvarez 22/08/2017 at 6:42 pm

    I love Jaws’ poster. It’s timeless and iconic, and delivers a solid story without any fuss. The image is very strong and well-illustrated that you hardly need anything else to put on the poster.

    https://i.pinimg.com/736x/f1/84/66/f18466a7a69f22d678388adc9e3e4ef6–jaws-movie-poster-original-movie-posters.jpg

  • David Mc Murrugh 22/08/2017 at 6:13 pm

    Has to be Saul Bass ‘Anatomy of a Murder’, beautifully stark, it doesn’t say much…but says it all.

  • Jonny Hunter 22/08/2017 at 6:00 pm

    The ‘Missing Persons’ poster for the Blair Witch Project (1999)

    Clever use of guerilla marketing tactics to sneakily circulate a false impression that this horror movie was based upon a true story.

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/The_Blair_Witch_Project_missing_flyer.png

  • Clara Palomero 22/08/2017 at 5:34 pm

    Bill Gold made one of the best posters in Mystic River (2003). A dark, hypnotic and overpowering piece of work. It’s shows three boys reflected in the river, the same river where we bury our sins and clean our consciences, as we watch in the film. A reflexion about a tragedy in the present that is emotionally linked to a crime in the past. Really difficult make a simple (apparently) poster with hardly any colours and elements but full of emotions. Brilliant.

    https://fanart.tv/fanart/movies/322/movieposter/mystic-river-56d998412078d.jpg

  • Jason Andrews 22/08/2017 at 5:06 pm

    The original ‘Alien’ poster.
    Has a film’s plot ever been so beautifully distilled into a headline?

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/30/e5/2b/30e52b0e09d17f7f7f0725e61341ba01.jpg

  • Callum Richards 22/08/2017 at 5:02 pm

    This poster for Stanley Kubrick’s: 2001 A Space Odyssey.

    Typography is beautiful and considered. The stills from the movie give a glimpse into what the film entails and uses colour very effectively to give the audience a feel for the film.

    https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MPduzakEcNY/T7TypMNIA-I/AAAAAAAAEco/HshmF03IEm8/s1600/2001+A+Space+Odyssey+%281968%29+Hungary.jpg

  • Nick Coma 22/08/2017 at 4:21 pm

    The Drive movie poster by Ken Taylor.

    His illustration style is extremely detailed and immaculate. You dont immediately realize in this poster because it blends so well, but the criss-crossing lines in the background are highways. It also captures that distinctive color palette in Drive that includes the magentas and pinks.

    http://kentaylor.com.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/drive.jpg

  • Nicholas Brent 22/08/2017 at 4:00 pm

    American Beauty. A simple poster that highlights all of the film’s themes, even if you haven’t seen the film. The red rose – a symbol of love and passion. The bare skin on which the rose rests, symbolises a sense of lust so heavily featured in the film. Like the film itself, the poster is a provocative piece of art. It’s stunning!

  • Michael Dornan 22/08/2017 at 2:19 pm

    The promo poster for Godard’s Bande a Part has many antecedents, and has this casual air about it. Thus matches the film in a couple of ways. It’s like a collage of noir posters, but says a lot – the criminals’ silhouettes form a mask for Anna Karina’s face, the white background evokes the blankness of Godard’s rundown Paris scenery, and as the trio dream of escape, the overall composition makes these images billow upwards, like a dream.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5OPc1x2KRhM/UEYtPU15gWI/AAAAAAAAEPI/FQXWAc1B9CU/s1600/bandapart.jpeg

  • Paulo Goode 22/08/2017 at 1:07 pm

    Drew Struzan’s incredible work for “The Thing”, 1982. It is even more incredible when you learn that it was an intuitive piece created under extreme time pressure, he just went with his first idea and created a classic image. The sense of foreboding is perfectly captured here: http://img.moviepostershop.com/the-thing-movie-poster-1982-1020195945.jpg