Movie posters are cool again

Something interesting is happening to movie posters.

For years now, movie posters have been boring. They have largely consisted of giant floating heads of the main cast with the name of the film beneath.

Like this:

They are boring, generic and don't do what a poster should - offer a tantalising glimpse of mystery and excitement.

But it wasn't always like this. In the 1950s and 60s, designers such as Saul Bass created striking, graphic posters like this:

And in the 1980s and 90s, artists such as Drew Struzan created sumptuous works of art masquerading as posters. Beautiful stuff like this:

But the parched movie poster landscape is changing. A few years back, graphic artists such as Olly Moss starting designing their own posters for fun. Drawing inspiration from people such as Saul Bass, these artists attracted praise online for posters like this. And this:

So now, in the neverending feedback loop that is pop culture, mainstream studios are taking notice and releasing posters like this:

This, in my opinion, can only be a good thing.

I want to write more about movie posters. Put a link to your favourite poster of all time in the comments section below and I'll do a follow-up with a gallery of readers' favourites.

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