The movie industry lost a legend today with the passing of film director, Sidney Lumet. Known for his powerhouse courtroom dramas and just flat-out Hollywood classics like 12 Angry Men, Network, and Dog Day Afternoon, Lumet worked with the best actors of his day and even finished on a high note with his last film, the much-underappreciated dysfunctional family heist flick, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead.
Author Archives: russ
Nagel Meets Gatsby
Although the once-popular limited-edition prints of Patrick Nagel seem to be perpetually stuck in the 80’s, I can’t help but feel a soft spot for his memorable Pop Art style. Upon doing some research, it was disheartening to discover that Nagel died way too young at the age of 38 of a heart attack after appearing in a celebrity aerobics “aerobathon” for the American Heart Association. Wow, how fitting is that (considering his prints often featured jet black-haired women in sporty Flashdance tops and headbands)…
Famous for his Duran Duran Rio album cover, Nagel got his start in the 70s sketching Playboy babes (much like Alberto Vargas) — and doing commercial work, including this handsome Ballantine Scotch movie tie-in ad for The Great Gatsby, which is now up for auction at EMoviePoster. So whatever you think of Nagel’s work, it is undeniable that the man’s designs defined his time.
Hand Jobs!
Okay, don’t get too excited because this is just a simple tribute to movie posters with hands, including a few classics by such poster design legends as John Alvin (E.T.) and Saul Bass (The Man With The Golden Arm, In Harm’s Way, and Phase IV).
Blow’d Up!
Wanna see some world-class takes on a classic movie poster? Let’s look at Blow Up, the 1960’s sexy swinging mod movie directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, with a soundtrack by early Herbie Hancock.
With help from Georges Kerfyser (French), Ercole Brini (Italian) and Waldemar Swierzy (Polish), this movie poster knows how to make love to the camera!
Crazy For Swierzy
Waldemar Swierzy, one of the most dynamic Polish movie poster designers of the 20th Century, tackled some of Hollywood’s greatest 70’s and 80’s movies (and American Jazz artists) with his striking, abstract “only in Polish” designs.
Oh yeah, and if you like Swierzy’s brush-tastic take on The Muppets Movie, it’s for sale at Film/Art.
Girl On A Motorcycle Smackdown!
One of the most popular movie posters — but not so much the movie — is the 1967 European biker romance flick, Girl On A Motorcycle. Haven’t seen the film, but the posters certainly look like a bit of a tease!
Love These Proper Movie Posters!
Although it’s not Steve McQueen’s finest film, these worldly movie posters for the 1964 romancer, Love With The Proper Stranger, certainly make my heart flutter — especially the Italian foglio by Ercole Brini (bottom left) and the Boris Grinsson Frenchie (bottom right).
Brini Is Beautiful!
If the drawing styles of Toulouse Lautrec and Osvaldo Venturi were to meet up in a dark alley, then you might come out smelling like a rose with the bright watercolory beauties of Italian movie poster artist, Ercole Brini.
From The Bicycle Thief to Blow-Up, his romantic paintings posters added a touch of elegance to whomever was appearing in them — especially his striking, sophisticated portraits of women — as Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren would surely attest. And just his name sounds like one of today’s fashion world gurus…Georgio Armani, Henri Bendel…Ercole Brini! (via DominiqueBesson and MoviePosterDB)
The Russians Are Coming!
In the past, I haven’t featured many ANY Russian movie posters on the Meansheets, but here’s a colorful trifecta that seem worthy of mentioning — Solaris, The Professional, and the 80’s Mel Gibson drama, The River.
(*Full Disclosure: the Solaris poster (top left) was featured prominently on the cover of the excellent Art of the Modern Movie Poster book.)
Movie Poster Museum 