Film poster

File:This Gun For Hire movie poster.jpg

This Gun for Hire (1945) one sheet movie poster

A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature photographs of the main actors. Prior to the 1990s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tag line, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, etc.

Film posters are displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's pressbook and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, etc.

Film posters have been used since the earliest public exhibitions of film. They began as outside placards listing the programme of (short) films to be shown inside the hall or movie theater. By the early 1900s, they began to feature illustrations of a film scene or an array of overlaid images from several scenes. Other posters have used artistic interpretations of a scene or even the theme of the film, represented in a wide variety of artistic styles.

History

Rudolph Valentino in Blood and Sand, 1922

Originally, film posters were produced for the exclusive use by the theaters exhibiting the film the poster was created for, and the copies of the posters were required to be returned to the distributor after the film left the theater. In the United States, film posters were usually returned to a nationwide operation called the National Screen Service (NSS) which printed and distributed most of the film posters for the studios between 1940 and 1984. As an economy measure, the NSS regularly recycled posters that were returned, sending them back out to be used again at another theater. During this time, a film could stay in circulation for several years, and so many old film posters were badly worn before being retired into storage at an NSS warehouse (most often, they were thrown away when they were no longer needed or had become too worn to be used again). Those posters which were not returned were often thrown away by the theater owner, but some found their way into the hands of collectors.

Beginning in the 1980s, the American film studios began taking over direct production and distribution of their posters from the National Screen Service and the process of making and distributing film posters became decentralized in that country.

Collecting

The Battleship Potemkin, 1925

The collecting of movie memorabilia began with such things as scrapbooks, autographs, photographs, and industry magazines, but quickly expanded in the post-World War II era. Collectors began seeking out original advertising material, and the classic "one sheet" film poster became the pinnacle object to own for any given film. Other material, such as lobby cards, other-sized posters, international posters, personality posters, and glass slides also began to become highly sought after. Today, the field of movie memorabilia collecting has grown into an internationally recognized community of increasingly serious and financially secure collectors, making it one of the fastest areas of speculation for investment.

Old Bollywood posters, like Hunterwali (1935) featuring Fearless Nadia are collectors items.

After the National Screen Service ceased most of its film poster printing and distribution operations in 1985, some of the posters which they had stored in warehouses around the United States ended up in the hands of private collectors and film poster dealers. Today there is a thriving collectibles market in film posters. Some have become very valuable. The very first auction by a major auction house of solely movie posters occurred on December 11, 1990, when an auction of 271 vintage movie posters run by Bruce Hershenson at Christie's totaled US $935,000. The record price for a single poster was set on November 15, 2005 when $690,000 was paid for a poster of Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis from the Reel Poster Gallery in London. Other early horror and science fiction posters are known to bring tremendous prices as well, with an example from The Mummy realizing $452,000 in a 1997 Sotheby's auction, and posters from both The Black Cat and Bride of Frankenstein selling for $334,600 in various Heritage Auctions. The 1931 Frankenstein six-sheet poster, of which only one copy is known to exist, is considered to be the most valuable film poster in the world.. Over the years, old Bollywood posters, especially with hand-painted art, have become collectors items.

File:Dracula One Sheet Style F.jpg

Dracula Style F one sheet

Occasionally, rare film posters have been found being used as insulation in attics and walls. In 2011, 33 film posters, including a Dracula Style F one-sheet (shown left), from 1930-1931 were discovered in an attic in Berwick, Pennsylvania and auctioned for $502,000 in March 2012 by Heritage Auctions.

As a result of market demand, some of the more popular older film posters have been reproduced either under license or illegally. Although the artwork on reproductions is the same as originals, reproductions can often be distinguished by size, printing quality, and paper type. Several websites on the Internet offer "authentication" tests to distinguish originals from reproductions.

Original film posters distributed to theaters and other poster venues (such as bus stops) by the movie studios are never sold directly to the public. However, most modern film posters are produced in large quantities and normally become available for purchase by collectors indirectly through various secondary markets such as eBay. Accordingly, most modern posters are not rare. However, some recent posters, such as the recalled Pulp Fiction "Lucky Strikes" United States one sheet poster, are quite rare and valuable.

Types

Lobby cards

Lobby card for Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921), starring Mary Pickford

Lobby cards are similar to posters but smaller, usually 11 in × 14 in (28 cm × 36 cm), also 8 in × 10 in (20 cm × 25 cm) before 1930. Lobby cards are collectible and values depend on their age, quality, and popularity. Typically issued in sets of eight, each featuring a different scene from the film. In unusual circumstances, some releases were promoted with larger (12 cards) or smaller sets (6 cards). The set for The Running Man (1963), for example, had only six cards, whereas the set for The Italian Job (1969) had twelve. Films released by major production companies experiencing financial difficulties often lacked lobby sets, such as Manhunter (1986).

In the United Kingdom, sets of lobby cards are known as "Front of House" cards. These, however, also refer to black-and-white press photographs, in addition to the more typical 8 × 10 inch promotional devices resembling lobby cards.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University holds a collection of lobby cards from silent western films that date between 1910 and 1930.

Teaser poster

A teaser poster or advance poster is an early promotional film poster, containing a basic image or design without revealing too much information such as the plot, theme, and characters. The purpose is to incite awareness and generate hype for the film. A tagline may be included. There are some instances when teaser posters are issued long in advance before the film goes into production (teasers for cancelled projects are historically informative), although they are issued during the film development. Notable styles for teaser poster include:

• Bearing only a symbol associated with the film, or simply just the title.
• A main character, looking away from the screen but looking at something in the distance.

Character posters

For a film with an ensemble cast there may be a set of character posters, each featuring an individual character from the film. Usually it contains the name of the actor or the name of the character played. It may also include a tagline that reflects the quality of the character.

Sizes

Doctor at Sea (1955), British quad size poster

Film posters come in different sizes and styles depending on the country. The most common are listed below.

United States

• One sheet, 27 inches by 40 inches (686x1020mm), portrait format
• Bus stop or subway poster, 40 inches by 60 inches (1016mm x 1524mm), portrait format

The following sizes were in common use in the United States prior to the mid-1980s, but have since been phased out of production:

• One sheet, 27 inches by 41 inches (686x1040mm), portrait format (this size is one inch longer than the modern One sheet)
• Display (aka Half-sheet), 22 inches by 28 inches (559x711mm), landscape format
• Insert, size 14 inches by 36 inches (356x914mm), portrait format
• Window Card, 14 inches by 22 inches (356x559mm), portrait format; typically has blank space at top to accommodate promotional text for local theatre
• Two sheet, 41 inches by 54 inches (1040x1370mm), either landscape format or portrait format
• Three sheet, 41 inches by 81 inches (1040x2060mm), portrait format; usually assembled from two separate pieces
• 30x40, 30 inches by 40 inches (762x1016mm), portrait format
• 40x60, 40 inches by 60 inches (1016x1524mm), portrait format
• Six sheet, 81 inches by 81 inches (2060x2060mm), a square format; usually assembled from four separate pieces
• Twenty four sheet, 246 inches by 108 inches (6250x2740mm), landscape format often called a billboard

United Kingdom

File:Kiss of Death by DA Jasper, Ghana.jpg

The Kiss of Death by D.A. Jasper (ca. 1991), Ghanaian one-bag size poster, oil paint on flour sack

• Quad, size 30 inches by 40 inches (762x1020mm), landscape format
• Double crown, size 20 inches by 30 inches (508x762mm), portrait format
• One-sheet, size 27 inches by 40 inches (686x1020mm), portrait format
• Three sheet, size 40 inches by 81 inches (1020x2060mm), portrait format

Australia

• Daybill, size 13 inches by 30 inches (330x762mm), portrait format (before the 1960s, Daybills were 36 inches long)
• One sheet, size 27 inches by 40 inches (685.8x1016mm), portrait format

Ghana

• One-bag (locally woven flour sack, cotton canvas), size approx. 46 inches by 34 inches, portrait format
• Two-bag (locally woven flour sacks, cotton canvas, stacked horizontally and sewn together), size approx. 75 inches by 44 inches, portrait format

Billing block

Main article: Billing (filmmaking)

The "billing block" is the "list of names that adorn the bottom portion of the official poster (or 'one sheet', as it is called in the movie industry) of the movie". A billing block can be seen at the bottom of Reynold Brown's poster from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), which is reproduced below. In the layout of film posters and other film advertising copy, the billing block is usually set in a highly condensed typeface (one in which the height of characters is several times the width). By convention, the point size of the billing block is 25 or 35 percent of the average height of each letter in the title logo. Inclusion in the credits and the billing block is generally a matter of detailed contracts between the artists and the producer. Using a condensed typeface allows the heights of the characters to meet contractual constraints while still allowing enough horizontal space to include all the required text.

Notable film poster artists

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), an iconic poster by Reynold Brown.

Normally, the artist is not identified on the film poster and, in many cases, the artist is anonymous. However, several artists have become well-known because of their outstanding illustrations on film posters. Some artists, such as Drew Struzan, often sign their poster artwork and the signature is included on distributed posters.

John Alvin

Examples: Blade Runner, The Lion King, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Richard Amsel

Examples: Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Sting

Saul Bass

Examples: Vertigo, The Shining, Love in the Afternoon

Reynold Brown

Examples: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Time Machine

Tom Chantrell

Examples: Von Ryan's Express, Zulu Dawn, The Land That Time Forgot

Jack Davis

Examples: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Viva Max!, Kelly's Heroes

Frank Frazetta

Examples: What's New Pussycat?

Bill Gold

Examples: Casablanca, A Clockwork Orange, For Your Eyes Only

Boris Grinsson

Examples: The 400 Blows

Al Hirschfeld

Examples: The Sunshine Boys, Noises Off

Mitchell Hooks

Examples: Dr. No, The Sand Pebbles, El Dorado

The Brothers Hildebrandt

Examples: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ("Style B" re-release), Barbarella (1979 re-release)

Tom Jung

Examples: Star Wars (Style A), The Empire Strikes Back (Style B), Papillon, The Lord of the Rings, Gone With The Wind (re-release)

Burt Kleeger

Examples: Interiors, Manhattan, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Shadows and Fog

Mort Künstler

Examples: The Poseidon Adventure, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), The Hindenburg

Frank McCarthy

Examples: The Ten Commandments, The Train, The Dirty Dozen, On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Robert McGinnis

Examples: Casino Royale (1967), Breakfast at Tiffany's

Bob Peak

Examples: Our Man Flint, Camelot, Apocalypse Now, The Spy Who Loved Me

Sam Peffer

Examples: Flesh Gordon, SS Experiment Camp, Hussy

John Solie

Examples: Shaft's Big Score, Capone

Vladimir and Georgii Stenberg

Examples: Man with a Movie Camera

Drew Struzan

Examples: Star Wars, E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Thing (1982), Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Howard Terpning

Examples: The Guns of Navarone, Cleopatra, The Sound of Music

Boris Vallejo

Examples: National Lampoon's Vacation, Q, Barbarella, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

Awards

The annual Key Art Awards, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter, include awards for best film poster in the categories of comedy, drama, action adventure, teaser, and international film. The Hollywood Reporter defines the term "key art" as "the singular, iconographic image that is the foundation upon which a movie's marketing campaign is built." In 2006, the original poster for The Silence of the Lambs was named best film poster "of the past 35 years".