FILM POSTERS
THAT WERE ACTUALLY MORE EXCITING THAN THE MOVIE !
Numerous posters, (particularly in the sci-fi and fantasy genre) have depicted their respective movies in such a way, that they often tended to be more exiting than the films themselves. Advertising campaigns where often costly affairs, requiring huge bill-boards (with the posters themselves wallpapered upon them in sections like a giant jig-saw), depicting highly detailed scenes from the films. More or less.
Smaller variants donned the entrance and lobbies of cinema theatres, while (depending on the budget) larger posters (Such as the ones made for Moonraker) over-hung the canopy, sometimes depicted in a three-dimensional manor.
Thus the more striking the movie poster, the more likely it was to reel in the paying customer (mainly parents of nagging kids). As a result, posters progressively became more extravagant extensions of the films, conveying little in coherency, but often compiling the main characters vs their nemeses in such a way to convey action and excitement. However, the more extravagant the poster, the less in common with the movies they actually advertised...
Case in point: Films like Barbarella, suggested more in the poster than there was in the film while, at the same time, leaving certain things out. (where for example, is Pygar's Angel Wings?).
More often than not, the artists responsible for the posters never actually got to view the movies, (usually because they were still in production) thus the illustrator was somewhat working in the dark, relying entirely on a brief to follow and some production photos, featuring the actors and props etc. This method was common place throughout the 20th Century world of film-making. Leaving much to the illustrators imagination and artist licence.
But invariably the posters where too good. Such methods lead to the movies never quite living up the hype. The 1976 King Kong was a far cry from the imaginings of the artist who depicted its movie poster. The Land that Time Forgot is another example, that never quite fulfilled the action of its poster.
So in some ways, the illustrator (in actuality) made a better job of the movie than the struggling low-budget production team that made it in the first place! Not hindered by difficult actors turning up late (with hangovers), or wobbling film sets, dodgy scale models and questionable fake-looking monsters, the illustrator had free reign to interpret the movie as they saw fit. They ultimately came up with a narrative, (a snap shot of the film if you will), that summed up the entire movie, in such a compelling manor, that it often drew viewers to the cinemas in their droves.
However, this resulted in a slight false marketing ploy, which ultimately depended on public taste. Many films lambasted by critics, have now gained huge cult followings. Never the less, it was the poster that could make or break a movie and thus the more exciting it was the better. Ironically the National Lampoons: Vacation poster suggested a post-apocalyptic Mad Max style nightmare, where as the film was nothing of the sort.
Yet said poster did its job, as a metaphor for the domestic holiday turned sour by a comedy of errors, in which the scantily clad Griswold Family survived against all odds. By that same token, the artist who painted it (Boris Vallego) also depicted David Carradine in equal posture (plus a princess with four tits), for The Warrior and the Princess. Yet this time, metaphor was out the window, as the movie (yet again) failed to deliver what the poster alluded to.
Numerous other posters of the same ilk have come and gone, all never quite living up to the majestic action packed potential that they proposed.
Another item in question: Battle Truck promised us a science fiction adventure of the near future! But what we got was a turkey that would make fans of Mad Max cringe at its laughable ‘Battle Vehicles’ and terrible storyline.
Personally, when it comes to movie posters being actually more exciting than the movie, theres none that does it better than Bill Wiggins lavish poster for Daleks Invasion Earth 2150ad. This poster is as exciting as it gets! Depicting an Dalek invasion force in full throttle: with wave after wave of Dalek saucers flying overhead, blasting the city of London (in lavish Technicolor) and toppling the (then newly erected) Post Office Tower. St Pauls is in flames, as our intrepid heroes try to escape the chaos, while multi-coloured Daleks exterminate the populous and a single Roboman dominates the image, blasting (us the viewer) with his formidable laser rifle. None of which actually happened in the movie!
Still, this particular poster was a gateway drug for me into the lurid landscapes of the illustrator. To back track a little, many moons ago (when I was a kid), I came across this sci-fi shop tucked away in the back streets of my home town. It was called “TimeView” and I spent most my time in there, flicking thru old Dr Who and Starlog mags and looking in wonder at their collection of vintage corgi and Dinky toys. Back then this was like an Aladdin's Cave of all things horror/sci-fi/fantasy.
Today one can just shop on e-bay.
But it was here, back in this stone-age time before the internet, that I learned that they had actually made a couple of Dalek movies in the 1960s and this particular Dalek poster was up on the wall, above a shelving unit of Dr Who Target books. I think I spent ages browsing thru those books and looking up at this awesome poster and my imagination going into overdrive as to what this film must be like. Judging by that poster, I figured this Dalek movies gotta be even more exciting than Star Wars!
So when BBC 2 finally aired Daleks Invasion Earth 2150ad (way back in 1985'ish) I hijacked the family Tv and insisted we watched it. However, I was a little disappointed by its actual lack of invasion forces, levelling the city and such but became fascinated by it at the same time for what it was. It never actually lived up to the movie poster at all but it didn’t really matter, it was Daleks doing what they did best and after watching that film (like 300 times (!) on VHS), I guess the poster had done its job as it got me hooked on that movie.
So never underestimate the power of a good movie poster, as such things can often take you down some strange and weird paths, creating whole communities and comic cons. These are not just posters, but instigators of inspiration and creative debate.
