Things I like - POSTERS

Posted on September 3rd, 2008 by Jeremy.
Categories: Entertainment.

We all know I love Movies, but you know what I love just about as much? Movie posters. Man there is nothing better than to be walking through a movie theater before the show and your eye spots one up in a back lit frame, screaming “watch me!!!”.

Of course some are better than others, and I’m amazed at how much a movie poster can help craft your decision to plunk down a tank of gas in order to watch it.

So…Here are some of my favorites below, tell me what you think!

 

 

First up is the classic “Star Wars” poster. It’s almost made in a frazzeta type fashion, harkening back to old Jon Carter or Conan pulp novels. I can’t imagine what went through the heads of the people that happened upon this thing. “What. the. crap. is. this?!”

You’ve got a sword, a princess, is that a moon in the background? Ships, robots and STAR WARS as the title. I’d lose my gourd, heck. I’m losing it now!

 

 

Now because of the obvious success of Star Wars you see so many other movies trying to emulate the design. Most notably the lady either wrapped up or laying near the hero’s leg. All drawn (which seems to be a staple of 80’s action movies - and should come back if I had my druthers).

 

 

All of the above of course are Must watchables! Mallrats the comic book, geek centered antics articulated through the grand geek guru himself Kevin Smith. Big Trouble in Little China , an epic journey through the crazy fantasy realm of chinese mythology in present day San Francisco. It’s so good, it’s one of the few movies that I can watch, rewind and watch again. And Army of Darkness, do I really need to talk about the sequel to the Sam Raimi horror opus Evil dead? Boom Stick people! BoomStick!

Conan the Barbarian was one of the coolest, most violent, movies I had seen when the young spacekicker first looked on it. Looking at the poster now it’s almost identical to Star Wars (minus death star, and droids), but still freakin cool. Plus this is the one time the painted version of a dude actually underplays how massive the musculature of the star is.

This might have been the first poster to scare me. It’s absolutely terrifying.  It’s so simple and yet the fact that this shark as big as a freakin boat is going to eat this little ole innocent girl creeps me out. You never know what is lurking below you! Plus look at the blood red JAWS sign. You know it’s there to make sure you understand that the water is going to be as red as the sign in about .2 seconds.

                  

 

Two John Candy/ John Hughs movies that show essentially the whole movie in terms of just visuals. Uncle Buck, the guy has the cigar the suitecase and the whole family on the other side trying to keep him out. The other Candy snuggled up to the annoyed “help me get away from this guy” face of Steve Martin. Man…I miss John Candy. His absolute jovial and devilish grin has yet to be replicated.

 

                          

I did not like the first three star wars movies (with a passion) but this teaser poster that had come out before I knew better was fantastic. The shadow of Anakin as Darth Vader made you realize what the story was going to be about. The good, innocent, becoming dark and evil…I wish the movie would have shown the same thing. The second is from Return of the Jedi. You have to understand that as a kid this movie came into existence about the time that I became conscious of the world around me (as far as likes and dislikes among pop culture). It had been far too many years since a Star Wars movie had exploded onto the screen and here we not only had the promise of a third one, but the triumphant lofting of a lightsaber and the exclamation of the “return” of the jedi. With the way the last one had left off, this was a relief and I was PUMPED.

 

I didn’t see this one for years. I had heard about it. People had lavished praise on the “bootcamp” section of the film, but the poster was always jarring to me. It’s rebellious, full of contradictions. A military helment with “Born to Kill” and a peace button stuck to the side….wha? In usual Stanley Kubrick fashion the poster resembled most of his film. Sleek, strip down, and every frame trying to illustrate a point.

Goonies not only was one of the best kid adventure movies of all time, the posters smacked of that “spielbergian” quality that we had come to expect to anything with his name on it. For the longest time I thought that Spielberg had made this flick, but of course it was the masterful Richard Donner who crafted this gem. But look at the poster, Each character represented in a hilarious and precarious manner. You knew that whatever this was, it was going to be a cliffhanger adventure with people that were my age! And boy was it.

Mischievious, cute, You have very little clue that it’s going to turn into a psuedo horror film. Perfectly subdued, with great lighting coming from the bottom along with the glint off the round eyes of the most adorable of creatures Gizmo.

I’m not going to go into the monologue most recently heard in Tropic Thunder about “half retard” or “full retard” and whether that can determine an oscar, but I am going to get into the fact that I dig this poster merely because it’s simple, and cool. It’s frame from the film that tells you everything you need to know about the film. Two brothers, one cool with his dark shades, the other handicapped with his multiple layers, hiked up jeans and that “not here” stare. They are walking on a road, a journey together, that encapsulates the grandness of this flick.

Not sure if there is a cooler poster. When you look at this you have NO idea what it’s about, but it’s awesome. The light, neon, and as we’ve seen before that iconic man reaching to the heavens with his weapon while the love interest leans next to him. Awesome.

I like the mishmash posters. Painted, with scenes from the movie, a femme fatale, and wonderous cityscapes. Again, another one that is actually less spectacular than the actual films practical effects and sets, but compelling enough to get you in the theater.

 

Spielberg has a team that makes wonderful posters. A kids hand, a aliens finger, the moon, that awesome moment of the film. It’s almost INVITING, isn’t it?

 

Screw you Cloverfield. I had seen a statue of liberty head in the streets long before your monster put it there. The time was NOW! Escape from New York, a eyepatched, gruff, criminal named Snake Plissken sets out to get the President out of the prison colony that was once Manhatten. Awesome on multiple awesome scales

How creepy is that? a floating severed hand rings the doorbell. That and the fact Richard Moll is in it is enough to give anyone the willies.

 

I’m a sucker for kid movies, and although I generally hate all the diaglouge they stick on this poster, i love the look of it. Cloak and Dagger, with that neon rifle scope homing in on Elliot from E.T. and Dabney Coleman looking like a cliche sort of spy. Love it!

Not only is this a grand move, the poster is another one that captures a “feeling”. It’s the american dream, Jeff Bridges, with the flag, the car, and you know, YOU KNOW that you are going to have a film that pumps you up about the American dream, and the people that pursue them.

 

Simple, elegant. Yeah, i haven’t seen the movie, but what a great poster. Look at Morgan Freeman’s face and Jessica Tandy’s. Love it.

 

Easily one of the best posters ever. Not only the silhoutte of the boys taking what, when boys do take sojourns into the woods, an epic journey. This goes against the grain by putting a piece of the dialogue for the top half. But you get a sense of the film, the innocence of it all. Great great great poster and great film.

 

Last but not least my favorite poster.

I love this poster far more than the movie. It is AWESOME. It’s pure 70’s, the nickel plated sunglasses the mustache, the hair. The visage of Chuck alone would be grand enough, but as if to ramp up the cool factor they show you a scene by which Chuck jumps through a car and kicks the driver IN THE SUNGLASSES. Like Yes I am cool, and this is the type of greatness that goes on in my brain.

I love this poster. LOVE IT.

Now…what are your favorite?

 

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