Movie Posters as Art

Feeling particularly cynical today, so I will spare you my usual long winded rants, and just post some of my favorite Movie Posters. Movie Posters have always been an obsession for me, as I used to spend hours and hours poking through the racks at The Nostalgia Factory and Pix Poster Cellar before the online competition put them out of business. Some of you will have been to my old apartment in Jamaica Plain and will remember all the one-sheets that covered the walls like a theater lobby. Movie Posters combine my two greatest loves in life, art and film.

I could go on and on, arguing the value of the “Atlas” version of Metropolis vs. the much more recognizable Narrow monochromatic gold robot or even the De Lempicka inspired Art-Deco poster because of its relation to social realism and its influence on the mission statement of the film. But I won’t.











I could ramble about the use of exploitation in any advertisement, comparing successful tounge-in-cheek uses, like the original I Spit on Your Grave (not the tacky remake version) or Secretary vs. the more recent The Unborn or any of the current “torture-porn” craze like Hostel or Captivity (or even the recent poster for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). But I won’t.















I could talk about how the blatant recycling of previous graphic images puts a negative spin on a film before I even see it, unless it is used as an obvious homage like Rosemary’s Baby vs. No Country for Old Men or Girl Interrupted vs. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But I won’t.











Instead, I will just show you pretty pictures. And I will not judge them and put them into any order, even though it is against every fiber of my being to do so. I have to admit, this particular medium is one that is extremely subjective and open to personal tastes (a little part of me just died while typing that).

So here we go.















































































































There are some really crazy/cool posters outside this country so I thought I would sneek this on in here. I will never look at Shelly Duval the same way again...





































































And, probably my favorite of the bunch:



There you have it. If you can think up any ones I missed, I will add them, just leave a comment below. As always, thanks for reading.

Ryan Black
August 7th, 2011