50 Beautiful Movie Posters
Movie posters are art and, unfortunately, the forgotten one. In the early years of cinema history, they were used just like advertising material. Displayed in theatres only, movie posters had the same function as a menu in a restaurant: what feast can I enjoy this evening? Nowadays, movie posters play a big role in cinema memorabilia collection. They have lost the “informative” tone to wear a more artistic and decorative dress. We want to change it with this post.
Made in many different sizes and versions, and released in different moments all along a movie’s life, posters immortalize in one static image the feeling and the atmosphere of a motion picture. Some posters can be dark or try to frighten the audience, others bedazzling with bright colors; some can be someway informative, while others can be fully teasing and may provide you only the date when movie will be released, even if you may not know what the movie is about.
In this post we present you a showcase of 50 beautiful movie posters. We went through different decades of movie history and different genre, different graphical approach, colors and style. Movies the posters are about may be famous or not, this is not the point.
Movie posters put together the love for for two different visual arts: cinema and graphics. Enjoy!
You may also want to take a look at the related posts:
50 Beautiful Movie Posters
The Spirit (Upcoming, December 2008)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007)
The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) (1964)
Good The Bad And The Ugly (1966)
Italian version.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Last Click
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Please note the advice’s style (highlighted with the red circle) for the audience: an innocent suggestion or just marketing?.
Resources
- Film Posters History On Wikipedia
- Movie Genre Classification on Wikipedia
- impawards.com
Internet Movie Poster Awards, with all the lates movie poster news and updates. - imdb.com
International Movie Data Base (IMDB), probably the most authoritative and well known movie website. - A Gray Space Poster Gallery
Some artistic Polish movie poster - Cinemasterpieces.com
A good place where to buy movie memorabilia: old and original movie posters. - movieposteraddicted.com
Another good site about movie and movie posters. - Posterwire.com
A movie poster weblog. - Movieposter.com
A huge archive of movie poster. - Science-Fiction Movie Posters Archive
- 50 Incredible Film Posters From Poland
- Weird Posters: Wrong Side Of The Art
- PosterWhore
Social bookmarking for movie posters. - Internet Movie Posters Awards
- Kerry Ropper’s Selection
- Michael Heilemann’s Movie Posters Collection
- Movie Poster Blog
- Vintage Horror & Sci-Fi Posters through the 1940s
- Posters Flickr Pool
- Hand-Drawn Movie Posters
- A Grayspace Poster Gallery
- 31 Great Movie Posters
Related posts
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Ethan Rosenberg
February 7th, 2009 1:35 amgreat collection guys. Some very interesting posters.
kari
February 11th, 2009 5:46 pmBastante Buenas
Very Good!
bob
March 5th, 2009 5:08 pmLike the list some nice posters on there i hadnt seen and shows the great art behind these
But..
Metroplis has to be on that list one of the best movie posters of all time!!
sinema bursa
March 20th, 2009 3:53 amForrest Gump and Perfume very good films, definitely I would recommend if you have not followed.
solexy
April 13th, 2009 1:59 amoriginal list
Callum Chapman
April 29th, 2009 1:55 amGreat posters, thanks :)
masood
April 30th, 2009 3:51 amthx alot
Justin
May 6th, 2009 6:31 pmGreat collection!
To all those complaining, the author doesn’t claim this is a definitive list or even a list of the BEST posters, just that they are beautiful. And that they are.
Thank you very much, I feel inspired now!
vitto
May 8th, 2009 6:50 amMetropolis is one of the best ever.. here’s a preview
i even dare say that Spirit is a copy of it.
Daniel Errante
June 4th, 2009 1:31 pmMy favorite is the photo effect on the Sweeny Todd poster
Rune
June 12th, 2009 5:27 amGood list, some great alternative versions.
I was surprised to see that Pan’s Labyrinth wasn’t on the list, the movie has so many wicked alternative poster versions.
chocacho
July 13th, 2009 11:39 pmhttp://img188.imageshack.us/i/2004152177709663037rs.jpg/
http://img193.imageshack.us/i/10000bcposter.jpg/
thx
sigh
July 23rd, 2009 6:05 pmStop asking for a thumbs up, it’s pathetic and only shows how desperate you are for a little attention.
sha!.............
August 19th, 2009 1:37 amCoooOOoooL!!………..
john
August 29th, 2009 6:43 pmThese are all pretty terrible…guess you happened to pick some of the worst
ndrndrndr
September 21st, 2009 3:08 pmgreat collection, I’d like to add Barry Lindon’s poster:
http://www.mondomostre.it/images/estateraffaello/locandine/barry_lindon_06.jpg
Llanddcairfyn
September 25th, 2009 12:32 amI have a lovely poster for “the perfume” hanging on the wall even more beautyful than the one shown here (I think it’s the italian version)
Parker
October 4th, 2009 9:12 amIt has to be the Star Wars poster that wins it for me… check this guys alternative Star wars prints I came across … I really like ‘the entirety of space’ print.
Shaun
December 4th, 2009 2:52 amMeh, mediocre collection of posters. Some classics are here alright, but would preferred there to be a bit more insight into foreign versions of classic american posters. See the russian blade runner poster for example.
bango
February 14th, 2010 11:33 pmThank’s for this very creative collection.
You may also see my post aboout minimalist movie posters
http://www.leblogdebango.fr/2010/02/60-redesign-minimalistes-daffiches-de-films-et-de-series/
Khym fong
April 17th, 2010 7:36 amWhat about scarface?
kath
June 2nd, 2010 10:08 amCepillin POP-ART Awesome!!!
Maike
June 15th, 2010 2:44 amMore nice Poster you will find : Wandtattoo
Karlgraphic
August 20th, 2010 12:01 pmThis really is a super collection, A very refreshing look back at some fantastic posters.
I personally love the Dexter poster, It very much looks to me as if it is a Shephard Fairy design who features in the new banksy film, If it isnt a shephard fairy design I would say that it is meant to replicate it.
The vertigo poster is always a true classic.
acrylic prints
iman shahbeigi
September 18th, 2010 7:11 pmthanx for this artful package . I think w. Unforgiven & invasion were best . and fountai poster was just like its movie beyond of any compliment .
bonti
October 6th, 2010 12:17 amThese posters must be preserved as works of art too!
Benedicta
October 12th, 2010 3:07 pmThese movie posters are great,what software did they use for these kinds of posters.Specifically With Shinning?
Teal_Zombie
November 30th, 2010 9:27 amDoes anyone know why there is spacing at the top of the Cloverfield poster. I mean between the ‘some’ and the ‘thing’
srecograd
February 24th, 2011 2:31 amYour article is featured at srecograd.blogspot.com/ as one of the examples that will have a lot of influence in the future, at our work.
Matt Canvas
April 6th, 2011 9:10 amReally like ‘the memory thief’, never seen that before? will need to go watch it! very creative artwork, thank you canvas prints
Andy Svensson
June 20th, 2011 8:48 amThe Good German Poster shouldnt be there, since it is a copy in the Style of the original “Casablanca” Poster. So it is not an unique Original Design.
kaungthatsan
July 5th, 2011 3:01 amso good , thank’s
Adam
October 25th, 2011 2:05 pmAlthough Raiders is obviously the best Indy movie, the best Indy poster is clearly: http://www.impawards.com/1984/posters/indiana_jones_and_the_temple_of_doom_ver1.jpg
chad
November 8th, 2011 4:35 pmi dont know where else to go with this question lol i have an original Les Miserables poster with original cast autographs about 40 sigs. Dont know the value and would appreciate any info on poster or value thanks
ritz
November 11th, 2011 9:44 pmReally creative and inspiring posters.
Check some more here http://goo.gl/tqN8o
Peter Fawn
January 26th, 2012 11:52 amThanks – Some really great poster artwork and some that i not seen before.
You may also want to take a look at this site looking at the art of the movie poster with some great images and details about the artists.
Sam Carrot
March 6th, 2012 12:43 pmThe dark knight poster is brilliant! I love seeing these, it’s like going to an art gallery.
mikey bartlett
March 14th, 2012 11:40 amthis is a fantastic page for the use of G.C.S.E’S. I have been looking throught this page for hours on end trying to find a decetn film poster in the end i chose TOM HANKS IS FOREST GUMP, i only chose this film poster because i have watched the film over and over again art home an di find it very interesting as he is AUTISTIC and that i have a AUTISTIC brother and iy helps me to undertstand the way my brother reacts to things and my brother is very similar