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Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels / one sheet / USA

22.09.17

Poster Poster
Title
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels
AKA
Lock & Stock (Spain)
Year of Film
1998
Director
Guy Ritchie
Starring
Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, Sting
Origin of Film
UK
Genre(s) of Film
Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, Sting,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1999
Designer
New Wave Creative
Artist
--
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 40"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
A disgrace to criminals everywhere

This is the US one sheet for the release of the feature debut of British director Guy Ritchie, 1998’s crime comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. In addition to it being Ritchie’s first, it also introduced audiences to Jason Statham, best known for the Transporter films and recently the Fast and Furious franchise. It also marked the first appearance of British ex-footballer Vinnie Jones. Ritchie had come to attention with his short film The Hard Case which was seen by Trudie Styler and her husband Sting, leading to Styler executive producing Lock, Stock and Sting appearing in the film. Matthew Vaughan, a friend of Ritchie and now a successful director in his own right produced the film.

The film focuses on four lifelong friends who are small-time criminals, Eddy (Nick Moran), Tom (Jason Flemyng), Soap (Dexter Fletcher) and Bacon (Statham). At the start of the film Eddy has entered a high-stakes underground card game after the four put together the £100,000 entry fee. The game has been organised by local gangster Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty) and the quartet soon discover that the odds are rigged in Harry’s favour. Before they know it they are half a million pounds in debt and under pressure from one of Harry’s enforcers, Big Chris (Jones).

A desperate Eddy overhears his next door neighbours, a gang of robbers, discussing plans to hold-up a local cannabis farm which also has cash and valuables. Eddy relays the information to his friends and they decide to rob the gang once the heist has taken place. So begins a madcap caper that continues to spiral into violence and an increasing body count. The two barrels in the title refers to a pair of antique shotguns that also feature in the story.

The film was given only a limited release in the US in March of 1999 and this one sheet was designed by the Hollywood marketing agency New Wave Creative. The company has been working on campaigns for major studios for over 25 years and, as well as posters, they also work on trailers and other aspects of film and TV campaigns. Their page on IMPAwards indicates how prolific they were at creating posters and it appears their first one was for a 1998 re-release of Gone with the Wind. It also looks like they stopped working on posters around a decade later and presumably now only focus on other aspects of marketing campaigns. The other posters I have collected by New Wave can be seen here.

48 Hrs / one sheet / UK

18.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
48 Hrs
AKA
48 Hours
Year of Film
1982
Director
Walter Hill
Starring
Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
UK
Year of Poster
1983
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Brian Bysouth
Size (inches)
27" x 39 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
When a cool cop has a tough convict as a partner and 48 hrs to catch a killer, a lot of funny things can happen in...

A unique design and artwork on this English one sheet for the Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte comedy action film 48 Hrs. In 2012 I met and interviewed the artist responsible, Brian Bysouth, and the resulting article can be read here. This poster was briefly discussed:

Another favourite of mine is your painting for 48 Hrs, which features Eddie Murphy raising his middle finger. Was that from your design?
No, I can’t recall who designed that. I need to check my invoice books to confirm, as I’d always write who briefed me to do the painting. Sorry, but I never really liked that design. I’d been given poor reference material and I think Nick Nolte’s likeness is fairly dire. I spent a while on it because of that difficulty but really didn’t like the painting because I never liked the design.

Aliens / one sheet / recalled / USA

18.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Aliens
AKA
Aliens - Scontro finale [Final encounter] (Italy), Aliens - Le retour [The return] (France)
Year of Film
1986
Director
James Cameron
Starring
Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, Paul Reiser
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, Paul Reiser,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Recalled
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1986
Designer
Terry Lamb | Mike Salisbury Communications
Artist
Terry Lamb
Size (inches)
27 1/8" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
This time it's war

This one sheet was supposedly withdrawn by the studio after Sigourney Weaver objected to the image of her toting the pulse rifle/flamethrower bundle as she is known to be staunchly anti-firearms.

Several hundred copies of the poster must have survived the withdrawal and have made their way into collectors hands. I owned a reprint of this poster before I started collecting original one sheets and the quality of the reprint was atrocious.

If anyone has any more details on this please get in touch

Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein 3D / one sheet / USA

19.03.12

Poster Poster
Title
Andy Warhol's Frankenstein 3D
AKA
Flesh for Frankenstein (UK)
Year of Film
1973
Director
Paul Morrissey, Antonio Margheriti
Starring
Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren, Udo Kier, Arno Juerging, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Srdjan Zelenovic, Nicoletta Elmi, Marco Liofredi
Origin of Film
USA | Italy | France
Genre(s) of Film
Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren, Udo Kier, Arno Juerging, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Srdjan Zelenovic, Nicoletta Elmi, Marco Liofredi,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
3D re-release
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1982
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
27 2/16" x 41
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
Brings the horror off the screen... and into your lap.

Legendary pop artist Andy Warhol had been making films since the early 1960s but after his near fatal shooting in 1968 he relinquished direct involvement in those coming out of The Factory. Warhol’s acolyte and assistant Paul Morrissey stepped into the role of director and made close to a dozen films over the following years. Two of these, filmed at the Italian studio Cinecittà, were unquestionably more mainstream than the others; Blood for Dracula (1974) and Flesh for Frankenstein.

Morrissey is co-credited with prolific Italian director Antonio Margheriti although the latter’s role in the production has since been disputed by several people involved, including Morrissey. The film is a sex and gore-filled update of the classic tale, starring German cult favourite Udo Kier as the insane Baron Frankenstein who is obsessed with breeding a Serbian super-race by creating the perfect couple, bit by bit. He makes a poor choice for the male’s head (and brain) when his assistant Otto (Arno Juerging) kidnaps a local man who had plans to enter a life of celibacy in a monastery nearby.

Factory regular Joe Dallesandro plays a randy stablehand and friend of the kidnapped man who ends up at Frankenstein’s castle and  quickly gets caught up with the mad doctor’s wife (Monique van Vooren) whilst trying to rescue his friend. The film features a bucket-load of blood and guts, perverted sexual behaviour (including the use of all-new orifices), hints of incest and plenty of wild dialogue. The film was originally released in 3D, which served to enhance the already over-the-top gore with disembowelled innards being thrust towards the audience.

The film was also released in 2D but was granted an X-rating in the US on its initial release. This poster is for the 1982 3D re-release and is markedly different from the original 1974 one sheet; the tagline leaves you in no doubt as to the audience the re-release was aiming for. I’ve been unable to determine the artist for this poster so please get in touch if you have an idea.

In the UK the film was released as Flesh for Frankenstein and was originally passed with an X-certificate with over 8 minutes of cuts. It was later caught up in the infamous Video Nasties debacle and was only finally released uncut in 2006.

The trailer is on YouTube.

Barton Fink / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Barton Fink
AKA
--
Year of Film
1991
Director
Joel Coen
Starring
John Turturro, John Goodman, Michael Lerner, Judy Davis, John Mahoney
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
John Turturro, John Goodman, Michael Lerner, Judy Davis, John Mahoney,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1991
Designer
Concept Arts
Artist
--
Size (inches)
27" x 40"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
There's only one thing stranger than what's going on inside his head. What's going on outside.

During 1989, after four months of writing, the Coen Brothers experienced a period of difficulty in pulling the story together for their gangster-themed classic Miller’s Crossing and the pair decided to take a break. They traveled to New York from Los Angeles and during their stay there they penned a new script for a film set in a largely abandoned hotel in Los Angeles, with John Turturro in mind for the lead role. Once filming was complete on Miller’s Crossing the pair returned to the script and started to plan the production with the actor.

Set in 1941, the film follows the titular playwright (Turturro) who has seen great success with his recent play on Broadway and is persuaded by his agent that an offer from Capital Studios in Hollywood of a thousand dollars a week to write scripts is too good to pass up. Although Barton is worried that living there will make him lose his connection to the ‘common man’, which is what he feels give his plays their power, he reluctantly agrees and decides to stay at the almost empty Hotel Earle, rather than a more salubrious establishment. His room is dark, drab and devoid of any decoration save for a photograph of a woman in a bikini on a beach looking at the surf, which mesmerises Barton as he imagines the scene come to life.

Soon he meets the boss of Capital, Jack Lipnick (Michael Lerner), who promises him his total support and asks him to start off with writing a wrestling picture. Disappointed with the choice of subject, he returns to the Earle and sits down at his typewriter. Immediately he finds himself suffering writers block, a situation made worse by distracting sounds in the hotel and the appearance of his room neighbour, Charlie Meadows (John Goodman), who introduces himself as a traveling salesman and tries to help Barton to get back on track. Later he meets a famous novelist called W.P. Mayhew (John Mahoney) who moved to Hollywood years before and has been writing scripts ever since, despite suffering from alcoholism and anger management issues. Mayhew’s long-suffering assistant, Audrey Taylor (Judy Davis) agrees to help with his script as the demands from Capitol grow stronger. After visiting his hotel room, Audrey and Barton spend the night together, but when he tries to wake her the next morning he finds that she’s been murdered and soon a pair of belligerent detectives appear in the lobby of the Earle.

The film clearly references a number of real characters from 1940s Hollywood but their characters are skewed just enough that it’s not libellous, and the ‘Sources, inspirations and allusions’ section on the film’s Wikipedia page gives a good rundown of the recipe for the Coens’ script. Barton Fink was a huge critical success and was the first film to win the Palme d’Or, Best Director and Best Actor at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Unfortunately, critical success didn’t translate into box-office performance and the film apparently failed to recoup its production budget.

This one sheet was created by the prolific poster design team at Concept Arts. They started out in London in 1972 working on printed material for film releases in the UK before eventually opening an office in Hollywood from where they still work today. Their official website can be seen here and indicates that they’ve diversified to also include digital, AV and social media campaigns. The gallery of their work on IMPAwards is very impressive and features 613 posters! To see the other Concept Arts posters I’ve collected click here.

Bloody Birthday / one sheet / USA

27.07.11

Poster Poster

Gruesome artwork for this one sheet for Bloody Birthday, an early 80s horror featuring a trio of demonic kids. From IMDb:

In 1970, three children are born at the height of a total eclipse. Due to the sun and moon blocking Saturn, which controls emotions, they have become heartless killers ten years later, and are able to escape detection because of their youthful and innocent facades. A boy and his teenage sister become endangered when they stumble onto the bloody truth.

You can watch the trailer on YouTube.

Bronco Billy / one sheet / USA

27.02.12

Poster Poster

One of Clint Eastwood’s lesser known outings, Bronco Billy is nevertheless apparently one of the actor-director’s favourites amongst his myriad films. It was pitched firmly in the vein of his earlier Orangutan-featuring screwball comedy dramas, Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel. The studio presumably hoped to ape their success, but in the end the film failed to generate similar box-office numbers.

Eastwood stars as the titular Billy, the leader of a traveling Wild West show and so-called ‘fastest guns in the West’. Things aren’t looking too great for the show and go from bad to worse when they pick up Antoinette Lilly (Sondra Locke) a wealthy heiress who has been abandoned by her future husband. Antoinette must learn to cope without the luxuries she has become accustomed to whilst Billy struggles to keep the show afloat. Eventually the pair strike up a relationship, but it’s not long before Antoinette’s former life catches up with her.

This US one sheet features artwork by American Roger Huyssen, a commercial artist who has worked on advertising campaigns for some of the world’s largest brands, as well as magazine covers, packaging design and several movie posters. His website features plenty of samples of his work and this poster can be seen on there. He often partners with lettering designer Gerard Huerta (working as 2H studio) as is the case on this poster. You’ll notice both signatures are included on the poster.

It’s a brilliantly detailed and colourful design and works perfectly for the film it’s advertising. I particularly like the idea of using a billboard in the style of the Wild West show to display the film’s title.

The film’s trailer is on YouTube.

Exit Through the Gift Shop / one sheet / shopping cart style / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Exit Through the Gift Shop
AKA
--
Year of Film
2010
Director
Banksy
Starring
Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Thierry Guetta, Rhys Ifans, Space Invader
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Thierry Guetta, Rhys Ifans, Space Invader,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Shopping cart
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
2010
Designer
Unknown (Banksy?)
Artist
--
Size (inches)
27" x 39 15/16"
SS or DS
DS
NSS #
--
Tagline
The world's first Street Art disaster movie.

This is the ‘shopping cart’ style American one sheet for the 2010 documentary (or possibly mockumentary) Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by the famous street artist Banksy. The film tells the story of Thierry Guetta an eccentric Frenchman living in Los Angeles who obsessively carries a video camera around recording practically his every move. Whilst on holiday he discovers his cousin is street artist Invader and thus begins an obsession that sees him tracking down and interviewing various other artists, including Shepard Fairey.

Eventually Guetta forms an obsession with tracking down and meeting the elusive and mysterious British artist Banksy, which is eventually possible thanks to a situation where Banksy is stuck in LA without his usual guide and Guetta happily steps in. Banksy later invites him back to the UK and allows him to film him in action as he recognises the importance of documenting street art with its short lifespan. A series of events see Banksy eventually taking over the editing of the documentary whilst Guetta devises an alter-ego artist called Mr Brainwash and sets up a near disastrous gallery show that is saved by friends of Banksy before going on to earn Guetta in excess of a million dollars. When asked subsequently if the events of the film are real, Banksy continues to say ‘yes’.

Another shot of the man with the shopping cart features on the unreleased style British quad that can be seen here.

Galaxina / one sheet / style A / USA

15.08.11

Poster Poster
Title
Galaxina
AKA
--
Year of Film
1980
Director
William Sachs
Starring
Stephen Macht, Avery Schreiber, J.D. Hinton, Dorothy Stratten, Lionel Mark Smith, Tad Horino, Ronald Knight
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Stephen Macht, Avery Schreiber, J.D. Hinton, Dorothy Stratten, Lionel Mark Smith, Tad Horino, Ronald Knight,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Style A
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Robert Tanenbaum
Size (inches)
27 2/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
800120
Tagline
IN THE 31st CENTURY MAN FINALLY CREATED A MACHINE... With Feelings!

With great art by Robert Tanenbaum, this style A one sheet for Galaxina features an excellent tagline and an even better logo. The film itself is an undoubted clunker and currently has a rating of 3.0/10 on IMDb. I love this excerpt from the main review currently featured on the site:

While the guys are in cryosleep Galaxina, who has fallen in love with Sarge, teaches herself to speak and makes her body warm and soft. Upon thawing him out she offers herself to him, saying that she’ll make his every wish her command. Then she is kidnapped by space bikers who are going to sacrifice her to the god “Har Lee David Son,” when she is rescued, they get the blue star, the end.

Sadly, Playboy playmate Dorothy Stratten (Galaxina) was murdered just before the film’s release by her ex-boyfriend – more details on Wikipedia.

The bizarre trailer (Japanese version) can be seen on YouTube.

 

Hard Candy / one sheet / USA

22.06.11

Poster Poster
Title
Hard Candy
AKA
Lolipop (Turkey)
Year of Film
2005
Director
David Slade
Starring
Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Odessa Rae, Sandra Oh
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Odessa Rae, Sandra Oh,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
2005
Designer
Art Machine
Artist
--
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 40"
SS or DS
DS
NSS #
--
Tagline
--

The brutal, brilliant ‘revenge’ drama Hard Candy is the film that put Ellen Page firmly on the map. Patrick Wilson is also excellent and perfectly conveys the terror that would fill any bloke faced with ‘that’ situation. The Japanese B2 features a still from the infamous scene.

This one sheet by Art Machine perfectly captures the mood of the film and is one of my favourite film posters of the last decade.

You can watch the trailer on Youtube.

Hellboy / one sheet / advance / unused / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Hellboy
AKA
Super Sapiens (Malaysia - English title)
Year of Film
2004
Director
Guillermo Del Toro
Starring
Ron Perlman, Rupert Evans, Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Ladislav Beran, John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Ron Perlman, Rupert Evans, Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Ladislav Beran, John Hurt, Jeffrey Tambor,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Advance - unused
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
2004
Designer
XL
Artist
Drew Struzan
Size (inches)
26 13/16" x 39 11/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
--

This particular design by Drew Struzan was never actually used as a theatrical one sheet. It was apparently sold at later date. I’m not 100% certain that my copy is an original, although I do trust the seller I bought it from, so it’s hard to say for sure.

Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer / one sheet / withdrawn / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
AKA
--
Year of Film
1986
Director
John McNaughton
Starring
Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold
Origin of Film
Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold
Genre(s) of Film
Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Withdrawn
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1986
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Joe Coleman
Size (inches)
25 1/16" x 38 9/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
--

This one sheet, with brutal artwork by Joe Coleman, was supposedly withdrawn from cinemas and it’s not hard to see why.  I watched the uncut version of the film recently and, 25 years on, it hasn’t lost any of its shocking power.

Innerspace / one sheet / re-release / USA

23.01.12

Poster Poster
Title
Innerspace
AKA
Salto Nel Buio [Jump in the dark] (Italy)
Year of Film
1987
Director
Joe Dante
Starring
Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Robert Picardo, Vernon Wells, Henry Gibson, Wendy Schaal, Harold Sylvester, William Schallert, John Hora
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Robert Picardo, Vernon Wells, Henry Gibson, Wendy Schaal, Harold Sylvester, William Schallert, John Hora,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Re-release
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1987?
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Dan Goozee
Size (inches)
26 2/16" x 39 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
A huge dose of comedy in one big gulp! "Inner's" out again... for the millions who are going to love it.

I believe this to be the US re-release one sheet for Joe Dante’s 1987 sci-fi comedy in which Dennis Quaid plays a test pilot who is shrunk to miniature size and accidentally injected into the body of Martin Short. The film is definitely one of the high points in the myriad of high-concept films of the 1980s and I rate it as one of Joe Dante’s best films.

It’s definitely not from the time of the first release and the text ‘Inner’s out again… for the millions who are going to love it’ leads me to believe the film may have been given a wider release, perhaps a few months after it first opened. If anyone knows this for sure please get in touch.

The artwork is by one of my favourite American artists, Dan Goozee, and the other posters I’ve collected by him can be seen here.

To see the other posters I have collected for Innerspace click here. The original trailer is on YouTube.

Innerspace / one sheet / international

23.01.12

Poster Poster
Title
Innerspace
AKA
Salto Nel Buio [Jump in the dark] (Italy)
Year of Film
1987
Director
Joe Dante
Starring
Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Robert Picardo, Vernon Wells, Henry Gibson, Wendy Schaal, Harold Sylvester, William Schallert, John Hora
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Robert Picardo, Vernon Wells, Henry Gibson, Wendy Schaal, Harold Sylvester, William Schallert, John Hora,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
International
Year of Poster
1987
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Morgan
Size (inches)
27" x 40 4/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
Within 24 hours he will experience an amazing adventure... and become twice the man!

Great artwork on this international one sheet (used in English-speaking territories outside the USA) for Joe Dante’s 1987 sci-fi comedy in which Dennis Quaid plays a test pilot who is shrunk to miniature size and accidentally injected into the body of Martin Short. The film is definitely one of the high points in the myriad of high-concept films of the 1980s and I rate it as one of Joe Dante’s best films.

The design, which is probably my favourite out of the various Innerspace posters, is by an artist called Morgan, about whom I know very little. It’s possible ‘Morgan’ could be the artist Morgan Weistling as I know that he started his career illustrating movie posters before moving into fine art. I intend to contact him to confirm and will update this page if it does turn out to be one of his pieces.

If you have any more information on this please get in touch.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

Knightriders / one sheet / advance / USA

16.06.11

Poster Poster
Title
Knightriders
AKA
--
Year of Film
1981
Director
George A. Romero
Starring
Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, Christine Forrest, Warner Shook, Brother Blue, Cynthia Adler, John Amplas
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, Christine Forrest, Warner Shook, Brother Blue, Cynthia Adler, John Amplas,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Advance
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1981
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Boris Vallejo
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 40 15/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
The Games...The Romance...The Spirit...Camelot is a state of mind.

One of George A. Romero‘s lesser known titles, mainly because it’s quite unlike any of his other output, this tale of a traveling troupe of motorcycle-riding jousters is often cited as one of his best by those that have seen it. This advance one sheet features superb artwork by the great Boris Vallejo. You’ll notice that the bike (a Honda CBX1000 apparently) has been rendered with careful detail and I’m a big fan of the tagline too. You might also spot that the title has been trademarked.

You can watch the trailer with or without a commentary from Mick Garris on the superb Trailers From Hell site.

Live and Let Die / one sheet / East hemi version / USA

02.09.11

Poster Poster

This is the US one sheet for the first (and my favourite) Roger Moore-starring James Bond film, Live and Let Die, featuring artwork by the great Robert McGinnis. Along with the others in the series I probably saw the film on TV about fifteen times and can vividly recall many of the best scenes. Like British comedian and director Joe Cornish admitted when interviewing Roger Moore, his Bond films are responsible for many of my first ‘awakenings to the delights of the female form’ (being a young teenager at the time it would have been shown). The gorgeous Jane Seymour who plays ‘Solitaire’ is definitely responsible for putting at least a couple of hairs on my chest, as it were.

McGinnis is responsible for some of the best Bond posters, including Thunderball,  The Man With the Golden Gun and Diamonds are Forever as well as multiple other classic posters from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

You’ll notice that this particular poster has ‘East Hemi’ written at the bottom. This page on Learn About Movie Posters explains what the significance of that text is. An excerpt:

[Albert] Broccoli met with [Harry] Saltzman and tried to acquire the rights but Saltzman refused to sell. They instead decided to co-produce them. [….] After some success they decided to divide the production credits and entered into a contractual agreement for top billing and so was created the Hemi’s. [….] They divided the world into hemispheres. Harry took the East Hemisphere and Albert took the West Hemisphere. So Saltzman would get the European countries and Broccoli would get the Americas.

 

 

Megaforce / one sheet / USA

14.05.12

Poster Poster
Title
Megaforce
AKA
--
Year of Film
1982
Director
Hal Needham
Starring
Barry Bostwick, Persis Khambatta, Michael Beck, Edward Mulhare, Evan C. Kim, Ralph Wilcox, Henry Silva
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Barry Bostwick, Persis Khambatta, Michael Beck, Edward Mulhare, Evan C. Kim, Ralph Wilcox, Henry Silva,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1982
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
There has never been a super hero like ACE HUNTER! | Deeds Not Words

Brilliantly over-the-top artwork on this US one sheet for the equally over-the-top 1982 action flick, Megaforce, which was directed by former stuntman Hal Needham, perhaps best known for Smokey and the Bandit (his directorial debut) and The Cannonball Run. The film focuses on an elite squad of soldiers equipped with an array of advanced weaponry and vehicles (several of which are depicted on this poster) who lend their help to a peaceful nation that is being invaded by the hostile forces of a neighbouring country.

Prolific film and TV actor Barry Bostwick plays Commander Ace Hunter, the leader of the titular unit who, in one of the more infamous scenes, rides a flying motorcycle to escape death and rendezvous with his squad in mid-air. The film was a commercial and critical failure and plans for a sequel called Deeds Not Words were shelved indefinitely. It didn’t help that the film was released in the summer of 1982 and was up against the likes of Blade Runner (released the same day) and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (released two weeks before).

Apparently, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are huge fans of the film and there are several references to it in their 2004 satirical action comedy Team America: World Police.

I’m unsure who is responsible for the artwork so please get in touch if you have an idea.

The trailer is on YouTube (“The good guys always win… even in the 80s!”)

The Name of the Rose / one sheet / USA

28.05.12

Poster Poster
Title
The Name of the Rose
AKA
Der Name der Rose (Germany - original title)
Year of Film
1986
Director
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Starring
Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin, Michael Lonsdale, Volker Prechtel, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., William Hickey, Michael Habeck, Urs Althaus
Origin of Film
France | Italy | West Germany
Genre(s) of Film
Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin, Michael Lonsdale, Volker Prechtel, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., William Hickey, Michael Habeck, Urs Althaus,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1986
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Drew Struzan
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 40 15/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
860101
Tagline
Who, in the name of God, is getting away with murder?

Artwork by the great Drew Struzan on this US one sheet for French director Jean-Jacques Annaud‘s 1986 medieval whodunnit, starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater in one of his first major film roles. Based on the book by Italian novelist, semiotician, philosopher and critic Umberto Eco, the film focuses on the investigation of a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey by the monk William of Baskerville (Connery) aided by his novice Adso of Melk (Slater). The pair must race against time to prevent falsely accused suspects, including Ron Perlman‘s demented hunchback Salvatore, being punished at the hands of the inquisitor Bernardo Gui (F. Murray Abraham).

Struzan’s portrait of a balding Connery is absolutely spot on and easily on par with the one he did three years later for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. According to IMDb, the presence of the ugly characters in the film (and on the poster) is due to Annaud “casting the ugliest actors he could get because he wanted the characters to appear “real”, based on the men in the village where he lived. When he returned to his village, some of the men asked him if he really considered them to be as ugly as the actors, and he said, “Yes.”

Several other international posters for the film, including this German one, depict Connery looking extremely serious and glum.

To see the other posters I’ve collected by Struzan click here.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

Pan’s Labyrinth / one sheet / special / UK

06.07.11

Poster Poster

Guillermo Del Toro’s sublime, fantastic fairy tale Pan’s Labyrinth almost had an official cinema poster by the great Drew Struzan, that is until the studio suits had their way. The poster you see here is from a special screening in London and the design was never actually used as a cinema poster in any country. The final American Pan’s Labyrinth one sheet can be seen here.

The full story of how Struzan and Del Toro worked together on the poster can be found in the fantastic book ‘The Art of Drew Struzan’, which is an absolute must-buy for anyone who who has even a passing interest in Drew’s work (it’s currently only £16.49 on Amazon UK and $23.07 on Amazon.com). The stories associated with each of the artworks are a fascinating insight into what it’s like to work with directors and studios during the creation of a film poster.

These excerpts are taken from the Pan’s Labyrinth section of the book.

Drew on the completion of the artwork:

Then the shit hit the fan – the studio never used the painting. It did wind up on a special vinyl issue of the soundtrack album though.

Once the image had been released online there were many who couldn’t believe that Drew’s artwork wasn’t used for the final poster.

They were having a press conference in Europe, and a reporter actually stood up and asked one of the suits, “How come you didn’t use Struzan’s artwork for the poster?” … The suit’s reply was: “We didn’t use it because it looks too much like art.”

That statement from the studio representative says it all really. It seems like they genuinely believe that cinema-goers won’t respond to illustrated posters any more and that the photoshopped monstrosities so prevalent today are the only way to sell films successfully.

This particular example of the poster was obtained from a very established and trusted poster dealer that had bought them from a contact in London, who managed to secure a few after the event had finished. I’m assuming it was for the UK premiere or a large press screening, but I’d love to know for sure so please get in touch if you have any more details. I’m certain it’s not a bootleg poster as it measures the standard size for one sheets, is printed on decent paper and the details are sharp when viewed up close.

Raising Arizona / one sheet / USA

27.06.11

Poster Poster
Title
Raising Arizona
AKA
Arizona Junior (Canada / France / Greece / Hungary / Italy / Sweden)
Year of Film
1987
Director
Joel Coen
Starring
Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, T.J. Kuhn
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, T.J. Kuhn,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1987
Designer
Spiros Angelikas
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
27" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
Their lawless years are behind them. Their child-rearing years lay ahead... | A comedy beyond belief

One of my top three Coen brothers films (with ‘Fargo’ and ‘The Big Lebowski’) and probably my favourite Nic Cage performance (the other contender being ‘Wild at Heart’), I like the simplicity of this US one sheet. I’ve been unable to find out the artist so if anyone knows could you please get in touch or leave a comment.

You might spot a strange looking stain on the bottom of the poster. I’m unsure of its origin, but I like to think Leonard Smalls had something to do with it.

The original trailer is on Youtube here, although it doesn’t do the best job of selling this classic film.

Robocop / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Robocop
AKA
Robocop: O batsos robot (Greece)
Year of Film
1987
Director
Paul Verhoeven
Starring
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1987
Designer
B.D. Fox Independent
Artist
Mike Bryan
Size (inches)
27 1/8" x 41 1/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
870047
Tagline
Part man. Part machine. All cop. | The future of law enforcement.

An iconic design on this poster for the US release of Paul Verhoeven‘s sci-fi masterpiece, Robocop. Set in a dystopian future Detroit where organised crime is rampant and the city is close to financial ruin, the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products enters into an agreement with the city to run the police force and plans to introduce a robotic enforcer to work alongside the human officers. When tests with a weaponised droid called ED-209 go awry and an OCP junior executive is killed, the chairman agrees to back the plans of Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), another OCP executive with designs for a cyborg (half-man, half-machine) cop.

Shortly after, veteran officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is brutally attacked and effectively killed on his first patrol at a new precinct and Morton sees him as the perfect candidate for his Robocop program. OCP quickly goes about transforming his ravaged body into the future of law enforcement, but when he reawakens Murphy initially struggles with his transformation and loss of his family. Soon he sets about avenging his ‘death’ at the hands of crime boss Clarence Bodicker (an unforgettable performance from Kurtwood Smith) and attacks the corruption that is destroying Detroit, which leads all the way to the boardroom of OCP.

This one sheet was designed by the Los Angeles based marketing company B.D. Fox Independent, who have been working on film posters for over 35 years, creating some truly iconic images, including Halloween and The Fly. The brilliant, photo-realistic artwork was painted by the American artist Mike Bryan. In March 2014 the original painting was sold at auction (reaching almost $48k) and it was accompanied by a letter by the artist and that can be read here.

Robocop / one sheet / Turkey

21.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Robocop
AKA
Robocop: O batsos robot (Greece)
Year of Film
1987
Director
Paul Verhoeven
Starring
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Turkey
Year of Poster
1988
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Omer Muz
Size (inches)
26 6/16" x 39 5/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Unique artwork by Omer Muz features on this Turkish one sheet for Paul Verhoeven‘s sci-fi masterpiece, Robocop. Set in a dystopian future Detroit where organised crime is rampant and the city is close to financial ruin, the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products enters into an agreement with the city to run the police force and plans to introduce a robotic enforcer to work alongside the human officers. When tests with a weaponised droid called ED-209 go awry and an OCP junior executive is killed, the chairman agrees to back the plans of Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), another OCP executive with designs for a cyborg (half-man, half-machine) cop.

Shortly after, veteran officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is brutally attacked and effectively killed on his first patrol at a new precinct and Morton sees him as the perfect candidate for his Robocop program. OCP quickly goes about transforming his ravaged body into the future of law enforcement, but when he reawakens Murphy initially struggles with his transformation and loss of his family. Soon he sets about avenging his ‘death’ at the hands of crime boss Clarence Bodicker (an unforgettable performance from Kurtwood Smith) and attacks the corruption that is destroying Detroit, which leads all the way to the boardroom of OCP.

Omer Muz is a prolific Turkish artist whose signature appears on many posters from the country but I’ve been unable to find out much about him. If anyone has any details please get in touch.

Short Eyes / one sheet / USA

06.03.15

Poster Poster
Title
Short Eyes
AKA
--
Year of Film
1977
Director
Robert M. Young
Starring
Bruce Davison, José Pérez, Nathan George, Don Blakely, Tony DiBenedetto, Shawn Elliott, Tito Goya, Joseph Carberry, Bob Maroff, Keith Davis, Luis Guzmán
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Bruce Davison, José Pérez, Nathan George, Don Blakely, Tony DiBenedetto, Shawn Elliott, Tito Goya, Joseph Carberry, Bob Maroff, Keith Davis, Luis Guzmán,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1977
Designer
LSC&P Design Group Inc
Artist
--
Size (inches)
28" x 42"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
"Jesus help me, cause man won't."

A striking design features on this US one sheet for the little-seen 1977 film Short Eyes, which is based on the Miguel Piñero play of the same name and was directed by Robert M. Young. The lead is played by Bruce Davison, one of the all-time classic ‘that guy’ character actors. The film sounds like a pretty tough watch if its Wikipedia description is anything to go by:

‘Short Eyes is set in an unnamed House of Detention in New York City, the prisoners of which are predominantly black or Puerto Rican. One day, a new prisoner is brought in: Clark Davis, a young, middle-class white man accused of raping a young girl. His fellow prisoners immediately turn on him —pedophiles are considered the lowest form of prison life — except for Juan, one of the institution’s older prisoners, who treats him with dignity. While Davis insists he doesn’t remember raping the girl, he admits that he has molested several other children.’

Despite the subject matter it was reviewed well on release and was praised for its realistic depiction of prison life. The film was recently released on blu-ray should you wish to check it out.

The poster design is credited to LSC&P Design Group Inc about whom I’ve been unable to discover much. There’s this page of some of their work on the AIGA website. It also appears to have been a company that was originally founded by the famous designer Herb Lubalin.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home / one sheet / USA

20.02.12

Poster Poster
Title
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
AKA
--
Year of Film
1986
Director
Leonard Nimoy
Starring
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Jane Wyatt, Catherine Hicks
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Jane Wyatt, Catherine Hicks,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1986
Designer
Spiros Angelikas
Artist
Bob Peak
Size (inches)
27" x 40"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
860103
Tagline
Star date: 1986 - How on Earth can they save the future?

A classic piece of Bob Peak artwork on this poster for the fourth in the original series of Star Trek films, The Voyage Home. For some reason, despite Peak having done the poster for the first film, his artwork wasn’t used for the USA posters of the second and third in the series, but did appear on international posters for The Wrath of Khan and The Search For Spock. The studio then went back to using Peak artwork on the US posters for the fourth and fifth films.

The Voyage Home is memorable for its extensive use of location-filming, which took place in around the city of San Francisco, as well as for its humorous, knowing script and barmy plot in which the crew must travel back in time to 1986, find two humpback whales, and transport them into the future so their calls can be used to save Earth in 2286. The film marked the culmination of a storyline that began in The Wrath of Khan.

The rather odd international one sheet for the film can be seen here.

The original trailer for the film is on YouTube.

Starcrash / one sheet / USA

29.07.11

Poster Poster
Title
Starcrash
AKA
Scontri stellari oltre la terza dimensione [stellar clashes beyond the third dimension] (Italy) | Star Battle Encounters (Philippines - English title)
Year of Film
1978
Director
Luigi Cozzi
Starring
Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff, Robert Tessier, Joe Spinell, Nadia Cassini, Judd Hamilton, Hamilton Camp
Origin of Film
USA | Italy
Genre(s) of Film
Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff, Robert Tessier, Joe Spinell, Nadia Cassini, Judd Hamilton, Hamilton Camp,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1979
Designer
Unknown
Artist
John Solie
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
790050
Tagline
From a vast and distant galaxy... A Space Adventure for all Time!

This American one sheet for Starcrash, Luigi Cozzi’s 1978 Star Wars ‘homage’, has excellent artwork by John Solie, featuring Caroline Munro as the superbly monikered Stella Star. Critically panned on release, it has since gained cult status thanks to the camp script and infamous special effects. It was recently re-released on blu-ray under the ‘Roger Corman Cult Classics’ series. The film also features a score by the late John Barry – I like this bit of trivia on IMDb.

Witness David Hasselhoff battling space droids with a ‘lightsword’ on YouTube.

Check out the original trailer on YouTube (edited by the great Joe Dante) and bear witness to the quality of the effects.

Director Eli Roth has recorded a commentary to the trailer on the Trailer From Hell site.