It sounds like psoriasis — but Solaris was a fairly popular sci-fi pic made in 1972. I first came upon the splendid Russian poster below on the cover of The Art of the Modern Movie Poster (second from left). The film was later relaunched in 2002 (or, some might say had a failure to launch) with George Clooney.
Author Archives: russ
Ferracci Friday!
René Ferracci (1927-1982) was like the Ferrari (or Gucci, if you prefer handbags) of French movie poster artists back in the late 1960s — because at the time, nobody had seen anything like him! Similar to Sergei Eisenstein who invented montage on film with The Battleship Potemkin, Ferracci was one of the early pioneers to introduce photo-montage/collage designs into his posters, mixing color illustrations with black-and-white photography (or vice versa) and offset printing.
And it worked out very well for him as Ferracci became a brand name in the movie poster world — as well as a marketing expert in branding — by being one of the first artists to stamp (not sign) his name on each of his posters.
Jouineau Bourduge
No, this post is not a clever take on Woody Allen’s famous “Juneau, Alaska” quip or even about a fancy bordeaux — rather, it’s the name of a prominent French movie poster artist who signed his work with the nom de plume, Jouineau Bourduge.
And like the film/art gallery mentioned a few months ago, Jouineau Bourduge, along with René Ferraci, were two French designers who led the charge in the late 1960s and 1970s when movie studios made the transition from illustration to photography for the majority of artwork on their marketing materials. Plus, JB’s in MoMA, so he must be good!
Chinatown Smackdown!
One of the greatest movies of all-time, Chinatown, also happens to have one of the coolest movie posters of all-time. My personal fave is the US version by Jim Pearsall, but the German version done by American artist, Richard Amsel, has its share of loyal fans, too. The French version, unfortunately, is uncredited, but I just had to feature it since this was a world class smackdown!
Jean Mascii Movie Posters!
Yesterday, I mentioned French poster artist, Jean Mascii — and if you aren’t familiar with his work, he is basically to 1960s dramas and westerns what Robert McGinnis is to James Bond’s US movie posters. In fact, he even did his own French rendition of Goldfinger.
But of course, Mascii was no one-hit wonder as we all can attest by admiring his bold, rich colorful portfolio of International one-sheets below…
Remake Monday: Ripley Posters
Purple Noon (1960) vs. the much more Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). (The far left affiche was done by French movie poster artist legend, Jean Mascii.)
Tony Curtis Dies at 85.
A colorful character off the screen, Tony Curtis liked it hot, but always played it cool (even on his movie posters), appearing in a few Hollywood classics as well as a bunch of stinkers…in large part to finance his lavish lifestyle!
Penn-manship
Arthur Penn, an American director with a European flair, died yesterday at the age of 88. Undoubtedly most known for his shoot ’em up classic, Bonnie and Clyde, he was nominated for three Oscars and went onto work with some of the biggest names in the business, leaving an indelible print on the silver screen.
They’ve Got Personality!
Back in the mid-1940’s, Paramount hired Roger Soubie to do a series of French Personality Posters to promote its stars in Europe, most notably Veronica Lake, Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Lamour, and Ray Milland.
And if any movie studio needed someone that could highlight the beauty, radiance, and charm of its “product” — it’s apparent that Soubie was the right artist for the job.
Movie Poster Museum 