First The Dark Knight Rises Poster

So, if your question was “Will The Dark Knight Rises have some awesome posters?” the answer turns out to be yes, very much so.

It must be fun designing posters for this movie. You get a bunch of iconic symbols and characters to work with. It’s the third outing in this particular series, so everybody pretty much knows the gist and you don’t need explain much to them. And the poster campaign will probably have many, many posters, which allows a little more risk taking in each of them.

Now, that doesn’t mean coming up with some great posters is easy. Coming up with great posters is never easy. But it does make it at least possible.

When Close-Ups Attack

Johnny Depp is a very charming fellow with a very expressive face which is normally endlessly entertaining to watch. And yet in this posters I don’t quite get the intriguing sense of danger that was quite clearly emanating from his character in the poster below.

Sure, part of that can be attributed to a more felicitous choice of facial expression. But it is also the case that sometimes less (close-up) is more. Sometimes characters need room tho breath, to convey things with their bodies, to be in their environment.

This is, of course, another aspect of why the floating heads convention grates.

(Via Kinopoisk and IMPAwards)

A Tale of Two Posters

Ok, this is interesting. It is similar to the artwork used to sell the game, making the brand identity clear. It’s a strong image with dark colors that sets an engrossing mood. It’s also different enough to stand out and be noticeable. It’s a bit exaggerated and over the top, but not too much and the style fits with the game and with a certain kind of film.

But, what is it that you say? There is another poster? Great! Let’s take a look at it.

This, on the other hand, is way over the top.

I mean, I know that the original game lays it on pretty thick, and like I said above I think images that are a little exaggerated have a place in the campaign.

But this is just too much. It looks pretty good from a distance, when all you can see is the rays of light. But up close the imagery and symbolism is just too exaggerated and in your face to still be effective. The whole thing just ends up looking silly.

But one out of two isn’t too bad.

(Via ComingSoon)

The Waning Power of Robert DeNiro's Mug

There was a point in time when seeing Robert DeNiro’s face on a poster meant something. The film might not be good but there would at least be some sparks. And the face itself would send thrills through your spine.

Looking at the above poster I’m mostly reminded of how long ago that was.

There have been so many posters, so many cheap exploitations of the classic roles, so much selling of the face to prop up crappy movies that by now seeing DeNiro in a poster probably means you don’t really want to see the movie. And that makes me sad.

But not quite depressed. No, there is still something there. It’s mostly hidden, but you can see it if you look closely. Some energy. Some intensity in the expression. And the hiding of the mouth helps to give the image, and the face, some power.

You want to know what is depressing? This is depressing:

Remember when seeing these two together seemed like something amazing? Remember how the movie would unavoidably feel like something especial?

How far the mighty have fallen.

(Via Cinematical and JoBlo)

The Waning Power of Robert DeNiro’s Mug

There was a point in time when seeing Robert DeNiro’s face on a poster meant something. The film might not be good but there would at least be some sparks. And the face itself would send thrills through your spine.

Looking at the above poster I’m mostly reminded of how long ago that was.

There have been so many posters, so many cheap exploitations of the classic roles, so much selling of the face to prop up crappy movies that by now seeing DeNiro in a poster probably means you don’t really want to see the movie. And that makes me sad.

But not quite depressed. No, there is still something there. It’s mostly hidden, but you can see it if you look closely. Some energy. Some intensity in the expression. And the hiding of the mouth helps to give the image, and the face, some power.

You want to know what is depressing? This is depressing:

Remember when seeing these two together seemed like something amazing? Remember how the movie would unavoidably feel like something especial?

How far the mighty have fallen.

(Via Cinematical and JoBlo)

No Country For Old Men – International Vs. Domestic Posters

I have already talked about the main poster for No Country a couple of times. It’s nice, but I don’t think it captures the beauty or intensity of the film. But that is the domestic poster, perhaps the international posters are different?

Well, as it turns out most countries used the domestic poster with the title and a few other things translated. But there are a couple of exceptions.

The first is this French poster, which is still a variation on the original, but a more drastic one.

The main difference is, of course, the colors, and the fact that we can see more of the landscape behind Moss. The French poster also has few critics quotes prominently shown.

I get the feeling that this image is closer to the look of the scene in the actual film in which this poster is based. But despite that, I think I like this variation less than the original. It still doesn’t quite convey the beauty of the movie, and I think it does a worst job at getting across the tension. The gray Chigurh just isn’t as scary as his domestic version. And I don’t like the way the splash o red at the bottom interacts with the rest of the poster.

And yes, big ass critics quotes might be effective at getting people to see a movie, but they don’t exactly help the look of a poster.

Then we have this Spanish version, which resorts to a collage. Rather dull.

But the most different poster, and the main reason I even bothered to write this post, comes from Japan.

I have no idea why they went with this design. Considering the setting of No Country I wouldn’t be surprised if there was indeed a bull skull in there somewhere, but I don’t remember it. And it’s an image that hasn’t been highlighted in any other marketing materials I have seen for the movie.

But it is a fascinating way to set up the film. The bull skull both gives us an idea of the general setting and hints at the harshness and violence of the movie. I also like how the skull is placed to the right, leaving most of the writing to the left. It’s an elegant design and a type of arrangement that I think could be used more often.

I wouldn’t say that the Japanese poster is better than the domestic. At least not obviously so. But I do appreciate the effort that went into trying something different.

By the way, IMPAwards has another Japanese poster which also features the bull skull, so it seems they are really committed to that particular image.

(Posters found via Filmz.ru and the official MySpace page)

Bangkok Dangerous Poster

Here we have the poster for Bangkok Dangerous in which we see Nicolas Cage giant head towering over what one imagines is Bangkok. Our man Nic looks distraught, he obviously is carrying a lot on his shoulders and that is taking its toll.

Now, let’s go back a few months.

Here we have Nicolas Cage giant head towering over a city that seems to be in the process of being consumed by flames. In this one our man Nic is fully focused. The look in his eyes is so fierce that there is actually blue light coming out of them. He’s obviously trying to find a way to save the people of the city and nothing will stop him.

Now let’s go a couple more months back.

Here we have Nicolas Cage giant head towering over some generic looking city. It’s also towering over some dude whose head has caught on fire. And over a cool bike. Nic looks mildly enraged. Obviously someone has crossed him and he is ready to kick some butt.

Ok, now let’s do something different. Let’s go a forward a few months.

Here we have Nicolas Cage not so giant head towering over, well, nothing really. This time the head is also connected to a full body, which is unusual. Nicolas Cage looks a little bemused. Obviously he is faced with some inscrutable puzzle and is now working very hard to figure it out.

A little more than one year. Four movies. Four posters. Four different hairstyles. Let it never be said that Nic Cage lacks range.

But honestly? I wouldn’t mind spending some time without having to stare at Nic’s mug in a new poster.

(Bangkok Dangerous Poster From IMPAwards)

The Bank Job Movie Poster

(click for a large version)

This poster for The Bank Job really goes for an old fashioned 70’s look. But unlike some recent posters, like the ones for Grindhouse, which took some conventions from older posters but added a definitely modern twist, this one really seems to be interested in looking authentic. It even has some discoloring which makes the poster look a bit old and weathered.

The most obvious reason for going with this design is to hint at the fact that this is a period movie (the film takes place in 1971) but there are a couple of other interesting reasons. The first is that it should make the poster standout from it’s more contemporary looking counterparts in the theater lobby. Another possible one is that they might have wanted people to be reminded of the great 70’s thrillers and to associate this film with those classics.

It kind of worked on me. The poster makes me feel nostalgic and got me to link in my mind the movie with several other films that I really like. But I do have some misgivings about it. The main one is that I think the poster might be too authentic for it’s own good. I can’t imagine it will have quite the same nostalgic effect on younger movie goers who aren’t big film buffs. And even older folks might be a little turned off by the utter antiqueness of it.

I wonder if part of my problem isn’t the the film (and the poster) star Jason Statham. I noticed him before I even really registered the look of the poster, and the two things clashed in my mind. I just associate Jason with very modern, very loud thrillers. Even tough the poster won me over after a while there is still a lingering feeling that something isn’t quite right.

Anyway, I hope I’m wrong and that the poster does appeal to a broad audience. The movie’s premise (a spectacular bank heist based on a true story, if that wasn’t obvious) certainly is broadly appealing. Maybe a success here could lead to some more compelling earnest recreation of old movie poster styles.

(Via IMPAwards)

The Air I Breath Poster

There are a few things about this poster that I like. It shows that this is an ensemble piece without filling the whole image with the actors. It conveys that this is a crime related story through the silhouette of the gun. And the combination of the sky and the butterfly vaguely points to the more philosophical and transcendental aspirations of the movie. It’s not stunning or groundbreaking, but overall it is a nice effort that makes a movie with a hard to explain storyline (check the IMDb synopsis to see what I mean) seem unique and interesting.

I found it amusing to compare this poster to the previous poster for The Air I Breath, which you can see below. The old poster had a more traditional design, showing the various actors, each one in their own stripe. It does mix things enough to make it striking tough, especially through the use of stripes of seemly randomly varied sizes, creating an effect that is quiet nice to look at. But the poster doesn’t give us almost any information about the type and tone of the movie. Now, it’s possible that the new poster is a bit misleading, but it gives a much clearer picture of what the film might be about.

Just as an aside, this is the second movie poster featuring a butterfly prominently released recently. The other one was the one below, for Johnnie To’s Linger. I wonder if there is some especial significance to the butterfly that I don’t know about?

(Via the official site)

The Oxford Murders Poster

If you have a film that takes place in a prestigious university and that involves the use of mathematical symbols in order to solve murders, I think you can do a lot worse than using the imagery of a blackboard filled with mathematical mumbo jumbo and splattered with blood. The blood splatter in this poster looks particularly fake, but besides that I think it’s a decent execution of the concept.

This is not a terribly memorable poster, and it’s no likely to win any awards. But it does get the point across.

(Via IMPAwards)