Poster Analysis

Only God Forgives: This is a landscape poster for the 2013 film 'Only God Forgives'. The poster, in nature is filled with different colours and patterns. I believe the colours resemble the loud and vibrant nightlife of a city. And the pattens resemble a foreign world filled with life, but also danger. The title is shown in a red neon light. The coluer red suggests danger, and the neon font suggests that the character is gambling; possibly with his own life. The lead character (Jullian) holds up his fists as if he is preparing himself for a fight. The character is dressed in a suit, his tie is down and his sleeves and rolled up, this means that the character doesn't use a weapon, he prefers to get his hands dirty. Although the character's body is prepared for fighting, his expression is stale. He has a look of fear and guilt in his eyes, like he has done something wrong and he fears he must face the consequences. His actions now look more defencive rather than perpetrating. The right-hand bottom corner of the poster is black, the blackness expands and spreads into the centre of the poster. This could suggest that death is getting closer towards the character. The poster features the names of the main two actors starring in the film, they are featured because of their fame and their acting ability. The films director is also named in the poster. Although the director is not hugely famous, he has gained a cult following within the film industry after making his last film 'Drive'. The poster features a five star rating and review from the British newspaper 'The Guardian'. This is a poster for British audiences so people can relate with the guardians opinion. The poster also includes the tag line 'Time To Face Your Demons" this gives the audience a brief insight of what the film is about and why the character is frozen in his actions. The element of danger shows a similar theme to my film poster.

Drive: This is an alternative landscape poster for the 2011 film 'Drive'. The posters background shows us a deserted street a downtown urban area. Most of the light is located further towards the background. And the darkness surrounds the protagonist. This could suggest that the character has a dark nature and that he is blocking someone or something away from the light. This could also mean that the character is trying to escape the harsh life of the city and wants to live a normal simple life. The protagonist simply named 'The Driver' stares blankly towards the distance, As if he is searching for something, or he his reaching for a target, he could be looking towards a object or a person. The protagonist wears driving gear such as, driving gloves, a duffel bag and a leather jacket. He is prepared for the objective his is about to face ahead of him. 'The Driver' reaches inside his left pocket, possibly hiding a weapon such as a pistol gun or small knife. The characters expression looks almost emotionless, like he has no remorse for his actions. This would suggest that the protagonist is more of an anti-hero than the usual good guy image. The car is the closest object towards the character, this could suggest that his life revolves around driving. The title is in BOLD WHITE CAPITAL LETTERS, this gives off an action feeling. The poster features the stars name above the title (Ryan Gosling) this can attract a larger audience who also enjoy other Ryan Gosling movies. There is a positive quote from the British newspaper 'The Times', this can also be used to expand the audience. The poster shows that the film is the winner of the 2011 Cannes film festival, this can grab the attention of another target audience such as movie buffs and other people who are into the film industry. This poster also introduces the films tag line 'Get in. Get out. Get away.' These short sentences give off the same action feeling as the bold title. My poster follows a similar image because my protagonist also looks fiercely towards the camera, my poster also follows the dark nature of this poster.

The Silence Of The Lambs: This is the original vertical poster for the 1991 film 'The Silence Of The Lambs'. The posters background has a mix of light and dark. The darkness seems to grow around the face in a clockwise direction, slowly attaching itself closer and closer towards the character. If you look at the contrast from white to black, you will see an airbrush-like effect, this creates a supernatural feel to the poster. The protagonist eyebrows are raised and her eyes are frozen wide open, the expression on face shows fear and distress. Something is not quite right.., I feel that the film makers wanted this because the film in itself has a creepy theme.  The protagonists eyes are almost black, like the eyes on a child's doll, this could suggest that; like a doll she is being controlled by something or someone. The centerpiece of this poster is the moth which sits on the mouth of the character; Silencing her. (a reference of the title). The moth itself is explained in the movie. If you take a closer look at the moth, you can see the skull is made from an illustration of a man and two women. This is a hidden message which viewers discover in the film. (a reference to Buffalo Bill's transformation). This poster features names of actors, Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins and Scott Glenn. These actors were not major stars at the time of the films release, but they were known for there acting ability's, Jodie Foster had won an Oscar for her previous film 'The Accused'. And Hopkins winning a BAFTA for 'The Elephant Man'. The title is red, this could resemble danger or even bloodshed. The poster quotes 'From The Terrifying Best Seller' Referencing the Thomas Harris novel of the same name. This can expand a target audience; in this case, the readers. My poster shares a similar feel and tone to this one. Such as the darkness surrounding the face and the hidden messages that reference the story.

A Clockwork Orange: This is the original poster for the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film 'A Clockwork Orange'. The background of the poster is light and the centre of the poster is dark, this draws viewers attention the the middle of the poster, because it stands out more. The dark image gives off a horror effect. The posters for ground features a triangle which makes the tip of the letter A. All sides of this triangle feature an orange outline, except the horizontal bottom edges where it has been severed from the full letter A, this is to create the title 'A Clockwork Orange.' The film is know for it's strange imagery, which the poster manages to follow. The eye on the protagonists shirt is a common religious symbol, known as The Eye of God, All seeing Eye or Eye of providence. It is used as ancient Egyptian symbolism and as a symbol of Catholicism. The titles font is made in a bubbly 3D-style text. This explains to the audience the bizarre content of the film. Although the picture gives a brief concept of what the film could be about, there is text to also give an insight into the film. The phrase says 'Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven.' This shows how the film is dark and helps the audience understand what the film is about. I think the use of text to show a description of the film can give off a powerful effect. The poster also features Stanley Kubrick's name, this is because; at the time of the release date, Kubrick had already made box office hits such as, '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Spartacus'. Kubrick's name is still important today, because within the film industry he as been hailed as 'One of the greatest film directors ever'. The reason why I chose the poster is because I was inspired by the dark and bizarre content that is presented. The background of my poster shares the same style of this poster and my character shares the same cold stare as Alex Delarge. (Pictured in poster above).

All four posters have inspired me in different ways and all four posters share a similar theme to mine, I feel that these film posters give the best effect of standing out from the others and have a certain target audience. That is why I chose them.