Although La Grande Illusion is definitely his magnum opus, Bernard Lancy (1892-1964) has plenty of French grandes that are equally timeless — and he’s one of the select few French artists also commissioned do a Japanese poster (for The Philadelphia Story). (via MoviePosterDB)
Jane Russell has died at the age of 89. Having busted out in the 1970’s as the commercial spokesperson for the ‘Cross Your Heart’ bra, the buxom bombshell will be forever remembered for her sultry turns in The Outlaw and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, as well as a whole bounty of smokin’ movie posters…
No, I’m not talking about former Fantasy Island star, Hervé Villechaize — although you could say that Monsieur Morvan (1917-1980) has created a visual oasis with his designs that will be forever tattooed in our minds.
Similiar in style to Savignac, Morvan was known primarily for his playful, color print ads as his illustrations were stamped on everything from Perrier to Panzani Pasta, as well as beer, wine, and cigarettes. In 1942, he got his first crack at designing movie posters — and never looked back, covering such classics as The Grande Illusion and Casablanca. And now thanks to the recent PieBooks release, Herve Morvan: The Genius of French Poster Art, you can let your eyeballs soak up his scrumptious feast! (via FishInk)
René Péron (1904-1972), the dynamic French artist who was highlighted yesterday for his Caine Mutiny masterpiece, established himself and his art deco style in the 1920’s and never looked back as he designed posters for some of the era’s most memorable films (King Kong, 1933), mixing his rich, vibrant colors and elegant portraiture for six decades. Viva el Péron!
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!
Movie Poster Museum 