Blow Out

What I greatly admire about this poster is the HUGE amount of negative space. The title and visual elements… everything is pushed to the edge of the visual plane. Pretty avante-garde for its time.

Gallipoli

Again, the use of strictly one color to convey this design.  I love the high-contrast image with the type pushed right up under it.  A very common convention by today’s design standards, but not really used that much back then.

Arthur

Here is why I picked this poster for my list.  I love the fact that the top of the layout has such a rich, detailed, and ornate look it with all of the gold palattes and the whimsical image of Dudley Moore in the bath.  This is contrasted by a huge field of black negative space which simply helps to sustain the eye towards the top of the poster.  In addition to that nice visual convention of eye control, the designer created a nice logotype for the movie that really helped capture the essence of the character of Arther.  Slightly lazy and relaxed, yet playful.  The tilted “a” was a nice and simple solution.

Escape From New York

Not only a cult favorite, but I always loved this poster for not only the visual “lean” it had to it, but the depth conveyed in the primary image.  The lead-in copy nested  between the towers that draw the eye downward to fall on the disturbing image of the Liberty statue’s head laying in the street.   Very commanding image.

Chariots of Fire

Okay, I admit it.  I love negative space.  What can I say.  It is the most revered of design conventions by designers and the hardest to sell to clients.  Clients feel that negative space should be filled.  That somehow they are not making the best use of their money on ink and paper.  That being said, another great example of using the space to work the elements and drive the eye and sustaining it at the top where the line of runners is.  Not only a brillant flick, but a great movie to boot.

The Fan

Okay.  This was an interesting one for me.  This almost looks like a student entry in a design class. The pencil sketch of the body at the bottom gives this poster a crude, elementary look.  Yet the dinner jacket into knife wedge that divides the poster in half makes this a brillant design move.  Something just the opposite of amateur.  It makes this poster bold, strong, and striking when it catches one’s eye.

Tarzan The Apeman

I loved the obvious comic art approach of this poster and the rich ornate drawings inside of the lettering.  It gives the poster a rich feel and the dominant forrest green of the poster frame was very unconventional but a great use of color.

Ragtime

I loved the cloth texture within the silhouette and the gorgeous vintage type treatment for the title.  It’s clean layout and stark white background only help emphasize the two main elements of this poster. Nice….

In the realm of graphic design, it was the year of bright, neon color palettes, airbrushed illustrations, and geometric shapes that showed up in everything from album covers and magazines to… you guessed it, movie posters.

However, the full effect of this shift was not yet apparent in the first year, that is 1980. However, that doesn’t mean the year was short of a few, inspirational cinematic posters that set themselves apart from the rest of the pack.

The Shining

While a certain image of Jack’s face peering through the splintered door is what has become the culture’s main image from this film, its movie poster took a different turn to get viewers attention from the sidewalk marquee.  A full background of yellow is met with no main image other than the title treatment, with its slightly ambiguous and creepy stippled face inside the lettering.  Nothing else.  Simple. Clean. And very effective.

Altered States

The brillance in this poster’s design lies in its unusual image of an upside-down William Hurt, a muted-toned brown duotone color palette, with nice accents of the colored plugs going into his head.  Here, color is used in a minimal way, but very effective way.

Head On

Strong directional lines always are an effective method for drawing the eye into the layout.  This poster is a good example of that.  The road median helps to bisect the layout and give it a symmetrical feel.  The strong straight lines however are contrasted nicely with the loose, brush-script title treatment.  But what makes this poster so effective for a dark film?  By forcing the viewer into what should be a very symmetrical design, the very asymmetrical eyes are that more noticeable which gives it a very disturbing vibe to it.

Airplane!

“Surely you can’t be serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”

One of the most famous parody movies of all time deserves a poster that is equally memorable.  The concept of twisting an airplane and not overcrowding the layout is what makes this iconic poster so effective.

“Pardon me… do you speak Jive?”

The Elephant Man

I love a movie poster that helps really capture the visual tone of a movie.  The visceral feel of it.  The grainy, bleak image used for the main focus of this poster helps to really set the stage for this poignant film.

Middle Age Crazy

I had to save the best for last.  The concept for this poster is so far from the rest of the pack, it is nothing short of fantastic.  The mock-newspaper, with its varying headlines and rather obscure method of displaying the important information about the movie is what makes people stop and really take a look at this poster.  Nicely done!

Creative designer and illustrator Troy DeShano designed a series of minimalistic posters that helped promote one of these film festivals celebrating the life of John Hughes.

The most brilliant of these was for, you guessed it, The Breakfast Club.  The obscure composition and layout, with its unusual cropping of nothing but shins and shoes is what makes this so fantastic?  Why? Because it was the unique characters in the film that made it so memorable and Troy somehow found a way to portray them distinctively so that you know exactly what film this is before you can make out its subtle title at the bottom.  The muted color palette, the lithographic texture of the piece, the subtle tile pattern of the school hallways.  Truly a creative approach and executed with sheer genius!

Check out the complete series.

Agatha (1979)

I really liked the simple concept of this poster to showcase a biographic movie about one of the greatest mystery writers of all time.  Utilizing the assemblage of a jigsaw puzzle to work the layout space from the promo copy to the title treatment was a nice touch.  It works and helps convey the complex and puzzling nature that made Agatha Christie so popular as the Grande Dame of Mystery.

The Black Stallion (1979)

Okay… while I was not a huge fan of this tear-fest film, I have to give props to the poster designer.  Taking the simple, yet textural quality of an old parchment paper and then creating a bold, distinctive and memorable ink-sketch of the pen scribble into the horse’s profile was really a brilliant solution.  Nice layout, clean, and the two-tone look makes this a good entry to this list.

The Rose (1979)

I liked this poster for the dominant image of the rose, however its orientation is what makes it stand out even more.  It dwarfs the black-and-white image of Bette Midler, which is another unconventional approach.  Top that off with the supporting text at an angle and you have a very progressive poster design. Nice job!

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Never a fan of the whole photo montage, floating head convention of movie poster design, one memorable poster, however, was able to do it well.  Not only a monumental film, this poster has such a strong image.  The obscure, yet jarring image of Brando, the monochromatic hues of red and orange, and the very famous logotype treatment for the title, make this a fantastic entry.

The Electric Horseman (1979)

I had to save this one for last.  While crude in it’s execution (but hey, they didn’t have Photoshop clipping paths back then, right?), this poster was sheer genius.  The simple headline of the actor’s last names, and one one from the title and in a vibrating pure red hue.  The extremely unconventional and bizarre pose of the two actors (which really leave you guessing, or assuming, as to what exactly is going on.  The type on a tilt.  The flat, medium-gray background color.  This poster seemed to really breakaway from what every other poster in 1979 was doing.

Next up… the Decade of Decadence.  The 1980’s…. stay tuned.

The Chosen (1978)

First off, the organic brushwork of the title is great and the bright orange against the black help to really make this title “pop”. Follow that with the stark black and white silhouette and you have a great symmetrical design.  Notice how the shadow helps to form demon horns in the foreground… creepy!

Invasion of The Body Snatchers (1978)

When you really look at it, this was a design that was pretty ahead of its time.  The strong diagonal dissecting the visual plane. The warm, grainy background with the use of high-contrast, black-and-white figures and the subtle use of roots/veins lends for great concepting.  Even the use of italics in the title treatment helps support the visual direction of this piece.  Very nice.

Halloween (1978)

A monumental horror movie needs a monumental poster.  Simple and brillant.  The use of the blade shape that repeats through the design forming the ridges of the Jack-o-lantern and into the sharp knife is fantastic.  Nice rendered illustration and great composition!

Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

Once again, sometimes keeping it simple can be the most effective for a poster design. Here, the subtle grays tones of the face hold nothing against the almost glowing eyes against the huge mass of rich black. It is a simple matter of directing the eye of the viewer.  First to the piercing eyes, and then immediately to the title.  Very arresting.  Its lack of any descriptive copy helps leaving the prospective viewer knowing little about the movie but a desire to watch it just to find out what’s up with Laura’s eyes….

Damien: The Omen II (1978)

While I don’t think the second movie’s poster really stands up to its predecessor, I did want to include it as I think it use of a simple illustrative crow with the brilliant use of red on the wings helps to really tell the story.  I love when posters use color with purpose and selective use.  Here, the black and white poster helps really draw the eye in.

Grease (1978)

I know what you are saying…  while this was in no way a horror movie (its sequel however was!), I am including it among these posters because of one thing: the logotype.  This has such a unique branding and the brilliant choice of using a custom logo for the title really helps make a unique statement, much in the same way as a little known movie called Star Wars.  Its logotype is world-renown.  Same thing here. The little car shaped lettering has a lot of brand appeal that can be used on mugs, shirts, hats, etc.  It was a smart move by the designers and the production company.  Cha-ching!

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Take the same principles of design that allowed The Omen II to make my list are even more exemplified by this poster.  Red, black and white.  A great combination!

Magic (1978)

I am wrapping up my list with one of the creepiest movie posters of 1978.  For those who have nightmares about clowns and dolls, this one’s for you.  The glaring blue eyes of the puppet are beautifully matched with the pale blue bottom-half of the layout and I love the obscure cropping of the face.  You see just enough to get your blood crawling.  Fantastic!

The stark black and gorgeous red and orange hues really draw your eye, but it is the strong horizontal bars with type that contrast beautifully with the title treatments vertical orientation.  Great execution of combining the title and a character image.

Whether the movie turns out to be as good as the posters is left to be said…

Now I need to preface that I found 1977 very disappointing in terms of poster designs that were exceptional.  Most were true to the design styles of that time, but there were not many that pushed the envelope or really did the movie justice in enticing and calling the audience to view the movies.  Sure, there were some stellar and iconic movies that came out that year like MacArthur, Looking For Mr. Goodbar, Saturday Night Fever, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Smokey and The Bandit, The Spy Who Loved Me, Airport ‘77, Eraserhead and The Goodbye Girl, but my list for today only include a bleak 4 posters that made my list.

Here they are….

Star Wars

Now before you start calling me biased, I do need state that this poster made the list for one reason only:  It really helped portray the scope of this truly, world-iconic film.  The grand space battles, the new face of villany, and the scope of story that unfolds is all laid out in a beautifully rendered poster.  This poster screams mega-adventure and when you went and saw the movie, you were hit with the first booming note of its score and title treatments and you were sold.  That is why this poster is here.  It mirrors the experience of the film.

The Deep

I love the simplicity of this design and the real sense of depth that this poster has.  If you fear the ocean, fear the vast sense of fathoms-deep blackness, this poster design nails that feeling.  The struggle to reach the surface is played out beautifully in the figures distance to the top.  Yet, its simplicity also helps create the mystery of the movie.  You don’t know what there is to fear about the deep… a monster? Some other force at work? Great poster!

The Farmer

A rogue film that never really surfaced into the mainstream, but its poster rocks!  I love the ripped midsection that at second glance reveals the rifle/pitchfork and the image being reflected in the glasses.  There are a lot of layers to this design that help tell the story but rendered in a way that shows some out-of-the-box thinking in its approach.

Want more posters? Come back real soon for my review of 1978… a much better year for great poster designs.

The Omen (1976)

Ahhh yes.  The little darling Anti-Christ child, Damian.  No matter what you think about this movie, you can not deny that the connecting behind it’s poster design is fantastic. The rich black background, blood-red title treatment, with that insignificant little number in it.  And who can’t help but love the creepy rendering in his shadow…

Face To Face (1976)

The french version of this poster has a great approach with its blend of color against the background and its homage to all things asymmetrical.

The Front (1976)

I was really drawn to this Woody Allen film poster for its simple, 3-color design, stark appearance, and the title displayed as part of the object in the image.  Funny how the color scheme of this poster is incredible current by today’s design standards.  What goes around, comes around…

Stay Hungry (1976)

This poster has a great font treatment for its title and the choice of containing the images within the center framework and a simple duotone approach of orange and black for the photos really make this poster stand out.

J.D.’s Revenge (1976)

I really like the almost monochromatic color palette of this poster and the illustration that carries itself down the poster and buffers the warped title text.  This poster has a strong vertical diagonal to it and I just LOVE that rich forrest green for the background.  Nice….

The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976)

Regardless of its weird and lengthy title, this poster has a very whimsical approach to the illustration and type.  The flat, slightly muted colors help to highlight this style as being rather dominant in the mid-70’s.

Jaws (1975)

Of course I had to start off the list with this monumental cinematic movie.  This movie not only scared the pants off of movie-goers, but its poster has become an icon in movie posters.  The symmetry, the proportion of the two elements really help you fear going back into the water… as if the movie itself didn’t quite do it for you.

Barry Lyndon (1975)

I just love the simplistic approach this poster had. The simple, cut shapes of black and red are used in a minimalistic fashion to simply help tell the story.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

No other pair of lips has more global recognition next to the Rolling Stones than this movie poster.  Simple, bold colors. The vivid imagery, and that great dripping typeface (for which many spinoff fonts have been created from).  I wish more posters could get away with having so little…

Tommy (1975)

What would one expect from the psychedelic song by the Who than a poster that has so many circular elements through out it that one could get dizzy just staring at it. Bizarre and twisted, I just LOVE this poster.  The neon colors, the mirrored effect of the central image…. mmmmm.

One Flew Over The Cockoo’s Nest (1975)

This poster is brilliant.  The black and white image of Jack whimsically staring upward, directing the eye to the title, which has a very hand-rendered look to it. The bold red lock interwined in the lettering, all against a light-screened backdrop of chain-linked fencing.  One of my favorites from this particular year.

House of Terror (1975)

I find this central image so jarring and erie that I had to include this one.  Sometimes the photo says it all.  I love the vertically-segmented approach, the bright lime green box with the title tucked to the right.  The whole poster shouts horror movie without having to resort to a single drop of red.

So Sad About Gloris (1975)

Speaking of single drop of red, this poster knows how to successfully use it in the design. Here, the high-contrasting, stark nature of the two figures help give the poster an ambiguous scene… it takes the eye a minute to gauge what it is seeing, while the title treatment being placed inside the blood droplet helps to really convey that this movie might have less than a happy ending.