Friday 11 March 2011

Top 5 Movie Posters

Felt I'd been banging on about music quite a bit this year and it was time for a change of topic. I started off trying to piece together my top five movie trilogies but gave up having found that there are very few examples with three consistently good films. In fact are there any? Ideas on a postcard please. However, that set me off on an alternative tack into the wonderful art of movie posters.

1. Star Wars - This might not be technically the best in my top five but for what it meant to me as a nine year old it has to be number one. Like the cover to a cheap fifties sci-fi novel it suggests so much in one picture, summing up all that was brilliant about the film in one image. The hero looks nothing like Mark Hammil, the heroine, with due respect to Carrie Fisher, looks sexier than the reality. The Death Star hangs in the sky ominously with X-Wing fighters streaming towards it. Above all though is the face of Darth Vader. A visual that clearly shows a villian like none that had gone before. Star Wars had a huge impact on me marking the point between be taken to the cinema to see Walt Disney cartoons, and becoming aware of what was on and what I wanted to see. Christmas that year I got a duvet and pillow case set with the same picture on it. Classic.


2. Vertigo - Stylish design that defines the crime film image. The font, the spirograph graphics, the man & woman fighting or dancing. They give very little away yet still manage to convey the nature of the film perfectly. A template for crime mystery movies ever since.


3. Pulp Fiction - Another 50s inspiration. Uma Thurman oozes mystery and sex appeal whilst the creases and pulp crime novel design elements tell you all you need to know about the movie.


4. Metropolis - Stunning image for this landmark 1927 film.


5. Rosemary's Baby - Sparse and slightly disturbing picture that again perfectly captures the feel of the film.


If you enjoy this sort of thing check out this impressive list of the 100 greatest movie posters.

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