Designing a movie poster sounds like a daunting task. It needs to be able intrigue, shock, inspire and perfectly detail the director’s vision. Above all, it should be so memorable that at a single glance, it will be instantly recognizable.
Today, I have decided to look at truly some of the most original and elegant movie poster designs, personal favourites which comply to all of the above standards, as well as expanding on the theme and ideas of the film’s they depict.
Each unique in their own way, (by and large – also simplistic in execution) they appear in no particular order.
#1 American Beauty (1999)
Blending delicacy with simplicity, this one of the most iconic movie posters of the past decade.
Pulse Advertising created a great piece of work, marrying the symbolism and significance of the rose (and the virgin, of course) whilst making it aesthetically identifiable with the motion picture itself. The tagline – “Look Closer” – is pretty nifty, too.
#2 Jaws (1975)
Probably the most famous poster in this list, and a fine example of how traditional art can be used to full effect. There is a tense, gravitational pull to this drawing, and ‘Jaws’ (as a character) appears just a villainous and frightening (if not more so) than in the actual film itself.
Perhaps a throwback to the artwork of the old ‘B-Movie’ designs of the mid-late 50’s, but ultimately this poster represents so much more.
#3 Barry Lyndon (1975)
A perfect example where simple design philosophy reigns supreme. The basic, black fill of the leading character and the red rose with the Victorian/Art Nouveau-era lettering (Ed Benguiat inspired?) was both forward-thinking and beautiful. The credits are given enough room to breathe also, which adds further depth to the poster.
Not too dissimilar to modern vector art, this is one of my personal favourites.
#4 Vertigo (1958)
A motion picture famous for it’s title credit sequence, the movie poster for Vertigo successfully recreates the lead’s (James Stewart) spinning, dizzying sensation he feels when suffering from vertigo at great heights.
Working in tangent with the credits, the poster depicts the spiralling vortex into (and of) the woman’s eye, signalling the workings of the inner mind and the lead’s search for female identity.
This was a poster design with a clear, unified and intelligent vision.
#5 Taxi Driver (1976)
Isolation, loneliness and despair – three words I’d use to describe the photo shot of De Niro for the Taxi Driver poster. The image captures perfectly Travis Bickle’s daily life of crushing boredom and emptiness, witnessed (unlike the film, for a change) from an outsider’s view – perhaps a stranger.
Beautifully composed and framed this could have been one of many the dark location shots of a (now largely gone) dark, seedy and grubby 1970’s New York City. The yellow grimy backdrop complements the red title and formatted Georgian credits perfectly.
#6 Stalker (French Release) (1979)
Here we have the most visually poetic movie poster in the list, where the artist has taken certain liberties to provide an alternative vision from the director’s – in this case, Andrei Tarkovsky. Here we are are shown what is never seen – from a bird’s-eye-view the main protoganist, the Writer and Professor stood silently facing ‘The Room’.
I personally love the hand-drawn font for the French movie release, along with the Art Nouveau – inspired artwork (particularly that of Théophile Alexandre Steinlen).
#7 The Gold Rush (1925)
Gorgeously rendered, this image of Chaplin is instantly recognizable. The shivering Tramp of 1925’s The Gold Rush immediately entered the pantheon of iconic images.
As with many of Chaplin’s posters, it relied more on Chaplin’s bowler hat, mustache and facial expression to grab audiences than a suggestion of the film’s comic elements.
#8 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Another tremendously iconic movie poster, Pulp Fiction’s part trashy B-Movie / well-worn adult ‘novella design’ is thrill inducing. It perfectly sets the tone of the movie, and shows off Uma Thurman quite well. Plus, the font of the title reminds one of the French New Wave, a style which Quentin Tarantino naturally pays homage to.
In typical (and lovingly) B-Movie fashion, I find the placement of the credits above the main title a nice touch.
#9 Chinatown (1974)
Another modern Art Nouveau interpretation, the hand-drawn portrayal of an ethereal Faye Dunaway curling out of Nicholson’s cigarette smoke is genius. Both sexy and provocative, this poster is perfectly recreates the atmosphere of a modern ’30s noir film whilst also providing a wonderful metaphor for the mysteriousness of Evelyn Mulwray’s character.
#10 Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Mark Rothko meets the chalk outline. Artist Saul Bass (also an acclaimed title designer and visual consultant) brought poster design out of the golden age with a bold mix of the abstract and the figurative, of which this poster for the controversial 1959 Otto Preminger thriller is a prime example.
This poster was Premiere Magazine’s choice as the #1 poster of all time.
