My favourite movie posters... part one

Kate Smith
Oct 11, 2021
3 min read

Movie posters are a vital part of the marketing aspect for production companies. Fall at the first hurdle and no one is going to want to come and see your movie. Movie posters are so important, not only will they potentially entice an audience to want to come and see your movie, but they are also, to movie fans, potential merchandise and tools we can use to decorate our bedroom walls. They must be eye-catching and interesting, but they must leave an audience wanting to find out more about the film, not giving too much away, just enough.

Here is part one of my favourite movie posters and why I love them. Keep reading to the end to find out what some of my Instagram followers’ favourite movie posters are as well.

Parasite

What makes the Parasite poster so impressive is the subtlety of its imagery that is just enough to entice a viewer to want to know more, but not enough to actually give away any major plot points. Firstly, the bars covering the eyes is a standout feature of this poster. As we know as an audience, bars across eyes usually suggests criminality or wrong-doing, and viewers of this film will understand the significance of this, yet, the bars are coloured different. White and black, purity and innocence vs impurity and guilt. Does the colour difference mean the significance I believe it does? The placement of the characters is also incredibly significant, and places the characters, not in screen time or lead roles, but in closeness to the lead in terms of relationship. Eyes covered, yet we still get a sense that they are staring at something, or in this case, someone, who is placed forward centre. I also think it is incredibly significant that the word “parasite” is only touching Mr Kim.

Pulp Fiction

Arguably, one of the most re-used movie posters of all time. You would find it hard to walk into a high-street clothing store and not find something with this image used on it. But, this isn’t to suggest that it isn’t an incredibly intricate movie poster. The poster looks like a tattered and used comic book or magazine, which is so incredibly significant as pulp fiction actually gets its name from the paper it was printed on. Magazines featuring such stories were typically published using cheap, ragged-edged paper made from wood pulp. These magazines were sometimes called pulps. And as we can see from the poster, the corners are all ragged, it looks used and worn, but is so effective. Uma Thurman, front and centre, tells audiences that she will have a huge part to play in this film, yet be prepared as she probably isn’t the character you think she will be, not only is a gun placed directly in front of her, but smoking and looking directly into the camera is unnerving for an audience.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

An iconic image that is still used in pop culture over 40 years later. The biting mouth that we see on the poster has become so synonymous with the movie and the musical that it is now used for official and unofficial merchandise, such as T-Shirts, stickers and posters. It also beautifully gives you an insight into the spooky and wacky movie it is, without actually telling you anything about the plot. What makes this poster one of my favourites of all time however, is the tagline “a different set of jaws”. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was also released the same year as the 1975 acclaimed blockbuster, Jaws.

Jaws

Speaking of Jaws, this has to be on my favourites list. Not only is it one of the most iconic movie posters to have ever been made, but it is also so incredibly clever. First, the title is coloured red, and red is representative of violence, blood and gore, already alluding audiences to impending doom, whilst also immediately alerting audiences that this film is a horror/thriller. The poster also represents a shark attack however, the victim is clearly unaware of her pending fate. This adds to the the horror element and also informs audiences that the predator of this movie is in fact the shark. The shark is also quite terrifying, with teeth bared, it still to this day is a jarring image that would still shock audiences to date.

I asked my followers on instagram what movie posters they love, check them out below!