1961 Spanish poster for FUNNY FACE (Stanley Donen, USA, 1957). Artists: “MCP” (Ramon Marti, Joseph Clave, Hernan Pico).
Of all the posters I’ve selected for Movie Poster of the Day over the past three months, I would not have expected this Spanish Funny Face to be the most reblogged and “liked” of all, but I am pleasantly surprised that it is. A gorgeous poster, credited to a triumvirate of artists, that repaints photographic images from the US half-sheet in unexpected shades of purple and orange, it somehow caught Tumblr’s attention. Or maybe it was just those eyes.
It tends to be true that the posters that catch fire the most are unusual and striking designs for well known films, like the Japanese Beetlejuice, the Polish Ran, the British Breathless, and the French On the Waterfront. Which makes it all the more heartening that the fourth most popular poster was a rare German design by the great Hans Hillmann for a little known 1938 French film The Puritan (directed by the not very French sounding Jeff Musso).
A few new films made the grade: the British poster for Todd Haynes’ Carol which seems to channel the photographs of Saul Leiter; a beautiful Thai illustration for the Hungarian White God; and not one but two posters for the most beautiful film of the year, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin.
So without further ado, the other nineteen most popular posters of the past three months are presented below in descending order.
Above: Japanese poster for BEETLEJUICE (Tim Burton, USA, 1988). Designer: TBD.
Above: UK poster for CAROL (Todd Haynes, USA, 2015). Designer: TBD.
Above: 1954 German poster for THE PURITAN (Jeff Musso, France, 1938). Designer: Hans Hillmann (1925-2014).
Above: US one sheet for A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (Wes Craven, USA, 1984). Artist: Matthew Joseph Peak (b. 1959).
Above: Polish poster for RAN (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1985). Designer: Andrzej Pagowski (b. 1953).
Above: US one sheet for THE ASSASSIN (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan, 2015). Designer: TBD.
Above: 1961 UK mini quad poster for BREATHLESS (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1960). Designer: Peter Strausfeld (1910-1980).
Above: French grande for ON THE WATERFRONT (Elia Kazan, USA, 1954). Artist: Guy Arnstam.
Above: US one sheet for BLOW OUT (Brian De Palma, USA, 1981). Designer: uncredited.
Above: Chinese poster for THE ASSASSIN (Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan/China, 2015). Designer: TBD.
Above: UK quad for BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1964). Designer: “Payne”.
Above: Thai poster for WHITE GOD (Kornél Mundruczó, Hungary, 2014). Artist: Riety.
Above: US one sheet for THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK (Jerry Schatzberg, USA, 1971). Designer: uncredited.
Above: French grande for TRAFIC (Jacques Tati, France/Italy, 1971). Designer: uncredited.
Above: 1961 Polish poster for KATASTROFA (Zoltán Várkonyi, Hungary, 1959). Designer: Roman Cieslewicz (1930-1996).
Above: 1972 Polish poster for THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (Sam Peckinpah, USA, 1970). Designer: Jerzy Flisak (1930-2008).
Above: 1975 Polish poster for THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (Luis Buñuel, France, 1972). Artist: Franciszek Starowieyski (1930-2009).
Above: Italian 2-foglio for THX 1138 (George Lucas, USA, 1971). Artist: Averado Ciriello.
Above: 1950s re-release French grande for ROPE (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1948). Artist: Roger Soubie (1898-1984).
Poster sources are all credited on Movie Poster of the Day; click on the titles above for more information.
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