MOVIE POSTERS OF THE YEAR

Neil Kellerhouse's UNDER THE SKIN tops my list of movie poster designs of the year, but it's practically a tie with THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL which, along with every prop and printed material in the film itself, was designed by Annie Atkins. Some other favorites can be seen below-- outstanding beacons of hope in a wasteland of 2014 theatrical poster design.

Adrian Curry also has a nice list, as always, at Movie Poster of the Week.

design: Annie Atkins

Design: Akiko Stehrenberger

Design: Brandon Schaefer

Design: Neil Kellerhouse

Design (clockwise from top left): Dustin Stanton, BLT Communications (designer unknown), Erik Buckham, Jay Shaw

And as "alternative" movie posters by Mondo and the like continue to soar leaps and bounds above where theatrical posters are often allowed to go, I have to also give honorable mention to two of my favorites this year, We Buy Your Kids' THE FLY and Martin Ansin's tribute to the 1966 BATMAN.

SATURDAY EVENING POSTER

Hans Hillmann, The Man in the White Suit, German movie poster, 1966

SATURDAY EVENING POSTER

Jon Klassen, poster for the German Literature Prize, 2014

MÉTAMORPHOSES

I'm happy to share this new theatrical poster I designed and illustrated for the release of Christophe Honoré's new film MÉTAMORPHOSES. Below is another snap of the poster, just sent to me by Christophe, in an alternate wide version for French theatres and subways. Look for the film in France and around the world this year.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

Before selecting Rodrigo Corral's explosive cover design for the newly restored A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, Criterion had me throw a few quick ideas onto the pile. Following suit after checking out F. Ron Miller's designs the other day, I thought I'd post my favorite design I submitted. The 1964 Beatles classic is now playing at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville and in other fine theatres across the world.

THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG

 

Artist copies now available in my shop! 

I'm happy to share this new design for THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG , available as a limited edition screenprint at the Belcourt Theatre starting this Thursday (Thanksgiving evening). 20 copies will be available at the Belcourt. Jacques Demy's iconic musical plays as part of a retrospective of the director's work continuing now at the Belcourt.

MAGICK LANTERN CYCLE PART 2

Here's the second poster I made for The Light & Sound Machine, presented by Third Man Records and the Belcourt Theatre, for Kenneth Anger's Magick Lantern Cycle Part Two. A very very limited number of prints will be for sale at the event, Wednesday night at 7pm at Third Man. A few of last month's may still be available, and both posters pair together in an 18x24" frame. Stay tuned for possible copies available in my shop at a later date.

SUPERCHUNK + BULLY

Here's a new poster design, for this Friday's SUPERCHUNK show at Mercy Lounge with BULLY.

NOW AVAILABLE in my shop in an AP limited edition of 20 prints.

TMR + KENNETH ANGER

Here's a poster I made for The Light & Sound Machine, presented by Third Man Records and the Belcourt Theatre, for this week's presentation of the films of Kenneth Anger. Part One, with Part Two coming next month. A very very limited number of prints will be for sale at the event, Thursday night at 7pm at Third Man. 

ENEMY

Here's a one-sheet I designed for ENEMY, Denis Villenueve's new film out now from A24. 

MATEO

Here's a new poster I designed for the new documentary MATEO, a wonderful and captivating documentary about musician Mateo Stoneman. Mateo's songs are inspired by and recorded within the sound of Cuban music, and I drew on some Cuban poster art influences to create this piece. Catch MATEO at South by Southwest this March and at other festivals throughout the year. 

HER

My last Frames piece for The Dissolve is up-- a poster design for Spike Jonze's HER. Seen here in the bottom right along with the other seven designs I created for the Frames column (click to enlarge). Thanks to the fantastic staff and readers of The Dissolve, and keep your eyes there for more collaborations in the near future...

Design Bookshelf: GRAPHIS ANNUAL 65-66

Here are some highlights and personal favorite selections from Graphis Annual 65-66. Enjoy! (Above: Lionel Kalish, Time magazine advertisement; click to enlarge)

 

Bayer Team-vide Index - Bayer sedatives graphics

Andrzej Onegin-Dabrowski - i Delfini film poster

Elso Schiavo - Usego advertisement

Dan Reisinger - Julius Caesar poster

Maureen Roffey and Bernard Lodge - Guinness Nonscience pamphlet cover

G. Fankhauser - Flowers for Her

Harry Sehring - Frontiers magazine cover

Hans Jurgen Rau - Living With Conflicts

Gisela Tobler - Giocattoli advertisement

Ewa Frysztak-Witowska - A Kind of Loving film poster

Hannes and Barbara Geissler - Luxair brochure cover

Jerzy Flisak - Satirical Stories book jacket

George Wallder - Night Spot TV credits

STONE JACK JONES

I put together this cover for Ancestor, the new LP from Nashville artist Stone Jack Jones. Out March 4th!

B-SIDES

Lots of designs don't ever see the light of day, and I've been meaning for a while to dump some of them into a blog post now that some time has passed. For one reason or another, these designs never went to print, but they still hold a special place in my mind.

FOLON

Jean-Michel Folon was an award-winning Belgian artist who produced absolutely beautiful and iconic illustrations throughout the 70's and 80's. His watercolor dreamscapes give us a peek into his imagination, where fat figures with long skinny limbs float across hills and landscapes, where from hands spring birds of joy, where man becomes bird. Folon illustrated movie posters, newspaper spots, magazine covers (notably some wonderful New Yorker covers), and many pieces for ballet and the theater. He was originally a student of architecture before devoting himself completely to drawing and painting; Later in his life, he focused on sculpture and other mediums. Below, a smattering of some of my favorite Folon illustrations, including one of my all-time favorite movie posters for one of my all-time favorite films, STALKER. Read a little more about how Folon inspired a new piece of mine at The Dissolve, and visit the indispensable 50 Watts to view Folon's perfectly surreal illustrations for Kafka's Metamorphosis.