Jack Rickard may not have been as well-known as Jack Davis at MAD Magazine, but he was just as important to the wise-cracking weekly. No famous movie star or TV personality got away from the wrath of his wicked pen…
Category Archives: 1970s posters
The House That Strausfeld Built
For roughly 35 years, from post-WWII up until 1980, Peter Strausfeld created unique, limited edition movie posters in wood and lino-cuts for just one venue: the Academy Cinema theatre in London, England.
Think about it. That’s like if the Cinerama Dome or Grauman’s Chinese Theatre had their own personal movie poster designer back in the day. That said, Mr. Strausfeld’s painstakingly made posters are now extremely rare, but you can buy some affordable reproductions at various online print shops.
Steve Frankfurt, Movie Poster Design Legend
Named one of AdAge’s People of the Century as well as being inducted into The Art Directors Hall of Fame, Steve Frankfurt has conquered both Madison Avenue and Hollywood. His title designs for Downhill Racer and Rosemary’s Baby are both routinely listed in the Top 100 posters of all-time. Not content though to merely dominate the worlds of legit entertainment, he once even did a remarkable campaign for a porno (Emmanuelle).
The Brothers Hildebrandt!
Everyone’s heard of The Coens, The Wachowskis, and The Hughes Bros — but what about Tim and Greg Hildebrandt? These wonder twins were purveyors of sci-fi/fantasy art (unfortunately, Tim died in 2006) and their legendary Star Wars poster is beloved by many Lucas fanboys, but their illustration was in fact based on the already existing Tom Jung version below (top right).
Are You Ready For Some Football?
It’s the NFL Playoffs this weekend. And nothing gets me more pumped for football than football movie posters! Yeah, not exactly…but Coach Pacino’s lockerroom speech from Any Given Sunday is pretty damn good.
Polish Sausage
Ever since I read The Art of the Modern Movie Poster (Chronicle Books, 2009), I’ve been fascinated with European artists — especially Jerzy Flisak, an amazing Polish artist who died in 2008. Not much is known about his personal life, but his beautifully abstract work is unforgettable. Down below, check out his takes on the following movies: El Dorado, The Great Gatsby, Roman Holiday, Two For The Road, Young Frankenstein, and The Conversation.
The Great McGinnis
You know you must be pretty good if they make a documentary about you. And that’s exactly what they did with Robert McGinnis.
Famous for his iconic James Bond movie posters, McGinnis was also great at drawing the ladies. Apparently, he was so detailed that he once even requested Sophia Loren’s dress be sent to his studio to complete the poster for Arabesque.
Check out the trailer for Painting the Last Rose of Summer…
Solie Patrol!
Meet John Solie, yet another movie poster artist who now mainly does Western Art (Remember Robert Tanenbaum and Howard Terpning?). By the way, what’s up with all these ex-movie poster illustrators into Western Art? Maybe it pays better.
Anyway, Mr. Solie is well-known for his portraits of the well-known (i.e., celebrity portraits) and has done a ton of stuff for TV Guide, Reader’s Digest, and even NASA! I guess those astronauts must’ve loved Strange Brew.
Movie Poster Museum 