This is a continuing series of lists dedicated to the endangered art of movie posters. Each volume of Magnificent Movie Posters will contain five evocative, hand-picked examples intended to show just what movie posters are supposed to look like. Other volumes can be found here, and please click on each image for a larger version!
Pulp Fiction | Quentin Tarantino, 1994
American One-sheet by Indika Entertainment Advertising
To begin this edition of Magnificent Movie Posters we have an entry that is born out of teenage nostalgia more than anything else. It is the American one-sheet for Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and is perhaps the most prolific poster to grace dorm-room walls all over the world. Due to how iconic it has become over the past 15 years, it is easy for us to forget that this poster is a mere homage: a tongue-in-cheek attempt at replicating the kind of cheap, pulpy magazines from which the film takes its very name. Indika Entertainment Advertising are a US-based company of designers who, while working for only the biggest studios in the business, maintain a very high standard when it comes to actual graphic design. Tarantino also went for a similar approach in the designing of posters for his 2007 film Death Proof, which was of course a nod to the exploitation cinema of old.
The Maltese Falcon | John Huston, 1941
German One-sheet by Hans Hillman
It’s a rare thing to witness surrealism upon film posters, even to a small degree. This German one-sheet poster for John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon for me shows the perfect way to utilise something like surrealism to provide a striking image that will turn heads. In 1946 two distinctly diverse artists were approached to design a poster for Huston’s latest film, which was to be released in Germany during the summer of that year. The former, a traditional German oil painter came up with a brooding black and white piece that focused on the central character Humphrey Bogart, whereas the latter artist, Hans Hillman, created this surreal effort. The former poster, seen here, was preferred to Hillman’s creation when the film was released in Germany, which means that the latter is now extremely rare. Indeed, posters from Hillman’s vast catalogue of minimalist work are very much sought-after items these days.
Amadeus | Milos Forman, 1984
European Two-sheet by Bernard Bernhardt
This is rather a lesser-known poster given the popularity of the movie involved. It is the European two-sheet edition of Bernard Bernhardt’s Amadeus poster – the poster was also produced in one-sheet format when the film was released around Europe in late 1984/early 1985. Bernhardt was a Parisian-born graphic designer who began his career as an art director for fashion magazines such as Elle and Playboy before moving on to work designing posters for the film industry. While his poster for Milos Forman’s Amadeus is by far the man’s greatest achievement in this field, Bernhardt also created one or two successful posters for other eighties films such as Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish and Roman Polanski’s Pirates. Bernhardt’s Amadeus poster wasn’t used everywhere, however, with the US in particular choosing a slightly more abstract piece to market the film over there.
Red Beard | Akira Kurosawa, 1965
Polish One-sheet by Stanislaw Zamecznik
The most collectable movie posters these days are undoubtedly those from Poland, which is a country that has managed, over the course of many decades, to create a new and exciting breed of posters that is unlike anything the world has seen before. This particular poster for Akira Kurosawa’s Red Beard was designed by popular graphic artist Stanislaw Zamecznik, who did most of his work in Warsaw during the fifties and sixties. Zamecznik was also a celebrated architect, who won many accolades through the Polish Ministry of Culture and Art. He organized many art exhibitions in the country but his first individual exhibition wasn’t held until 1972, a year after his death. As with most Polish posters there is minimal text, and in this case also minimal use of the colour palette. For me the best part of this piece however is its excellent use of symmetry.
The Bride Wore Black | François Truffaut, 1968
French One-sheet by René Ferracci
When going about creating the poster for a film such as François Truffaut’s The Bride Wore Black, it must be quite a difficult to decide what to aim at. Do you fall in line with much of the painted artwork associated with the French nouvelle vague (new wave) movement, or do you focus on the film itself: lead actress Jeanne Moreau’s wonderfully feminine form, or perhaps Raoul Coutard’s stunning cinematography? With this original French poster for La Mariée était en Noir (to use the film’s original title) the artist René Ferracci has seemingly done all three things at once. The sweeping, black strokes of hair playing about a sketched face is of a certain style – one that we have become used to when regarding art for French new wave films in general. This is also the perfect example of how not to ruin a beautiful piece of art with intrusive yet unavoidable text.
Thank you for reading, and be sure to look out for new editions of Magnificent Movie Posters! Meanwhile, please feel free to list your own “magnificent” examples. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll use your choices as inspiration.
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