Presented without comment. (Other than “Presented without comment.”) ((And then adding ‘(Other than “Presented without comment.”)’)) (((And then… err… well, you catch my recursive disclosure drift.))) High-res

Presented without comment.

(Other than “Presented without comment.”)

((And then adding ‘(Other than “Presented without comment.”)’))

(((And then… err… well, you catch my recursive disclosure drift.)))

ALIEN Polish poster - Style A ALIENS Polish poster ALIENS Polish poster - Style B

These are three of the original Polish posters for ALIEN and ALIENS. I believe all three were designed by legendary Polish poster designer Witold Dybowski.

If this is your introduction to the amazing world of Polish film posters, you are in for a world of delight. The Polish film industry has a history of utilizing creative artistic posters long after most of the world moved to photographs of movie stars. But even if you’re already familiar with the wonders of Polish film posters, I hope I’ve uncovered some hidden gems in this post that can further your appreciation of the subject.

I’m not an expert on the subject, so I don’t want to fill your head with misinformation or my own amateur interpretation, but here is my basic understanding of how Polish film posters became so awesome. In essence, there was a single film distribution entity in Poland from the mid 1940s until 1990. Film Polski was the state run film monopoly, and all non-Polish films were released through this entity. The lack of competition and unorthodox approach to commercialism certainly provided an environment where poster artists were able to flourish, but I like to think the high quality of Polish advertising was mostly driven by people and a culture that wanted to embrace great art. The focus was on making stunning images that could stand on their own, not just a sales tool to promote the stars of a film. You can see incredible artistry in Polish design across almost all forms of print advertising including opera, theater, film, concerts, and even normal product billboards.

The Kemistry Gallery in London will be having an exhibit entitled “Mr T: The Posters of Jerzy Treutler” from February 2nd to March 17th. Jerzy Treutler designed Polish film posters through a big part of the 20th century, and has this to say about his work on Polish film posters:

The Polish School of Posters can be best described as being bold and colourful with painterly orientation and one I embraced as a graphic artist with all my heart, it was an exciting and creative time for me.

Some of my favorite Polish film posters…

AIRPLANE polish film poster

AIRPLANE (1984) designed by Witold Dybowski

BACK TO THE FUTURE Polish Film Poster

BACK TO THE FUTURE (1986) designed by Mieczyslaw Wasilewski 

DANTON Polish Film Poster

DANTON (1993) by designed by Wieslaw Walkuski 

JAWS Polish Film Poster

JAWS (1977) designed by Andrzej Dudzinski 

JAWS 2 Polish Film Poster

JAWS 2 (1980) designed by Edward Lutczyn 

ROCKY Polish Film Poster

ROCKY (1978) designed by Edward Lutczyn

ROSEMARY'S BABY Polish Film Poster

ROSEMARY’S BABY (1984) designed by Wieslaw Walkuski 

STORMING MONDAY Polish Film Poster

STORMING MONDAY (1988) designed by Wieslaw Walkuski

THE GRADUATE Polish Film Poster

THE GRADUATE (1973) designed by Maciej Zbikowski 

THE OMEN Polish Film Poster

THE OMEN (1977) designed by Andrzej Klimowski

UN CHIEN ANDALOU Polish Film Poster

UN CHIEN ANDALOU (1996) designed by Wieslaw Walkuski 

To explore more of the world of Polish film posters, I suggest the following links:

fuckyeahmovieposters: Rear Window This poster is much more about the director than the stars. The picture of Hitchcock is much larger than the picture of Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly who were two of the biggest stars of the time. It has a direct boastful appeal from the director to the audience. This is something I always admired in the marketing materials around Hitchcock’s films. There was a real sense of showmanship from the filmmaker. The underlying message of: I’m Alfred Hitchcock, and I’m going to thrill you if you come see my movie. Could a marketing campaign do something like this today? I’d love to see someone try. High-res

fuckyeahmovieposters:

Rear Window

This poster is much more about the director than the stars. The picture of Hitchcock is much larger than the picture of Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly who were two of the biggest stars of the time. It has a direct boastful appeal from the director to the audience. This is something I always admired in the marketing materials around Hitchcock’s films. There was a real sense of showmanship from the filmmaker. The underlying message of: I’m Alfred Hitchcock, and I’m going to thrill you if you come see my movie.

Could a marketing campaign do something like this today? I’d love to see someone try.

ollymoss: Star Wars My take on the original Star Wars Trilogy. Officially-licensed, limited edition 24x36” screen-printed posters available through Mondo Tees on Monday 20th December. A small number of signed artist-proofs will be available from me on Wednesday 23rd December. I love Olly Moss’s work. It’s consistently amazing. I keep waiting for the studios to realize this and start using him for their official campaigns. High-res

ollymoss:

Star Wars

My take on the original Star Wars Trilogy. Officially-licensed, limited edition 24x36” screen-printed posters available through Mondo Tees on Monday 20th December. A small number of signed artist-proofs will be available from me on Wednesday 23rd December.

I love Olly Moss’s work. It’s consistently amazing. I keep waiting for the studios to realize this and start using him for their official campaigns.