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The Running Man / A1 / Germany

15.08.14

Poster Poster

In the mid 1980s there were few actors who could get away with having their head dominate a film poster, and fewer still who could couple that with their surname in giant letters spread across the full width of the poster. One such actor was Arnold Schwarzenegger, the star of several action flicks including The Running Man. Set in the dystopian future of 2017 where the world’s economy is in ruins and America is a totalitarian police state, the populace is pacified by the broadcasting of a series of gameshows that see convicted prisoners fighting for their lives across various kinds of formats. The most popular of these shows is the titular Running Man in which the unwilling participants must try to survive in a closed-off area against an onslaught of vicious killers with catchy names and different methods of dispatching their prey.

Ben Richards (Schwarzenegger) is a former police helicopter pilot who was wrongly convicted of massacring a crowd of people and sent to prison. After escaping several months later with a pair of fellow convicts, Richards is preparing to flee the country but is turned into the authorities by Amber Mendez (Maria Conchita Alonso), a composer for the network that he finds living in his brother’s apartment. He is taken to the Running Man studio where he meets the ruthless show host Damon Killian (a memorable turn by the late Richard Dawson) who informs him that unless he takes part in the show his two friends will be sent in his place. After agreeing to get dropped into the play zone, Richards finds that Killian has tricked him and has also sent his pals into the arena. The trio must face-off against the killers whilst trying to work out how to escape the arena and put an end to the show once and for all. When Amber looks a little too closely at the reasons for Ben Richards’ incarceration, she too is captured and dropped into the Running Man arena (she’s pictured next to Arnie on this quad).

Ably directed by Paul Michael Glaser, best known for his acting career – he was Starsky in the classic 1970s cop show Starsky and Hutch – the film is well paced and features several memorable scenes, whilst not holding back on the the violence and gore. The bad guy killers, including Sub Zero, Fireball and Captain Freedom and particularly memorable. It’s definitely a highlight of the Austrian Oak’s filmography, although it was released the same year as the incredible Predator, which is unquestionably the better film.

The excellent artwork on this German A1 was painted by the celebrated Italian artist Renato Casaro who worked on a significant number of German posters during the 1980s and 1990s. In March 2014 I published a lengthy interview I carried out with Renato and that can be read by clicking here. The other posters I’ve collected by the artist can be seen by clicking here.

Wsciekly / B1 / Poland

18.01.16

Poster Poster

Striking artwork on this B1 poster for the 1980 Polish crime thriller Wsciekly, apparently released internationally as Mad Dog. Helmed by Roman Zaluski the film is described on IMDb as a:

‘Detective thriller about a killer loose in the crowds. The film follows a sniper on his rounds looking for victims, while a police inspector, with few clues in his hand, has to figure out the motive for killings as well as who the psychopath is and where he might strike next. He uncovers that the mentally deranged sniper can’t stand seeing people happy together in public places.’

I can’t find any evidence of the film having been released in the US or UK but I can only assume it made it to some English-language territories because of the title translation. The film is available to watch in full on YouTube (albeit in terrible quality).

This poster was designed and illustrated by Andrzej Pagowski, a prolific film poster artist who was born in Warsaw in 1953 and studied at the celebrated University of Fine Arts in Poznań, graduating in 1978 under the tutorship of the noted artist Waldemar Świerzy. In 1990 he started his own graphic design studio called Studio P, which he developed into an advertising agency by 1993. According to the biography on his official site, Pagowski has illustrated over 1000 posters during his career and has also done work for books, magazines and music covers. In addition, he is also a TV and theatre stage designer and a screen writer. Undoubtedly a man of many talents!

Pagowski’s official site features an extensive gallery of his work, including several of the posters. Polishposter.com also features multiple pages worth of his movie posters and this culture.pl article is well worth a read too.

Note that there is an alternative style poster for Wsciekly, also by Pagowski, that features more dog-like art and can be seen here.

I Am Love / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

A History Of Violence / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Control / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Control / B1 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Downfall / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Duck, You Sucker / one sheet / 1980 re-release / international

13.08.11

Poster Poster
Title
Duck, You Sucker
AKA
Giù la testa ['duck', literally 'down the head'] (Italy - original title) | A Fistful of Dynamite (UK, Australia, USA alt.)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Sergio Leone
Starring
Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti, Rik Battaglia, Franco Graziosi, Antoine Saint-John, Giulio Battiferri
Origin of Film
Italy
Genre(s) of Film
Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti, Rik Battaglia, Franco Graziosi, Antoine Saint-John, Giulio Battiferri,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Re-release
Origin of Poster
International (USA)
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Robert McGinnis
Size (inches)
27 2/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
--

This is the international re-release (1980) poster for Sergio Leone Duck, You Sucker which uses the same design as the original release poster (1971) with only a handful of changes to the credits block and a lack of NSS details.

The artwork is by Robert McGinnis, one of the all time great poster artists, who is perhaps best known for his work on some of the best James Bond posters, including Thunderball (with Frank McCarthy), Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever. This great gallery showcases many of his finest pieces.

If you look closely at some of the images of this poster you’ll see the fold lines from the original poster that United Artists must have copied in order to print this re-release (this version is rolled). I’m assuming this is because the original printing plates were lost and it would have been too expensive/impossible to recreate them.

Whilst not as beloved as the films that make up Sergio Leone’s ‘Dollars Trilogy’, this is still an excellent action adventure featuring many memorable scenes and I’m hoping that it will get released on blu-ray soon with both of the versions on the disc.

The original US trailer can be watched on YouTube.

Double Border / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Fist of Fury / B2 / 1983 re-release / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Fist of Fury
AKA
Jing wu men (Hong Kong - original title) | School for Chivalry (Hong Kong - literal English title - Mandarin title) | The Chinese Connection (USA - alternate title) | Tekken (Japan) | Dalla Cina con furore [From China With Fury] (Italy)
Year of Film
1972
Director
Wei Lo
Starring
Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi, Robert Baker, Fu Ching Chen, San Chin, Ying-Chieh Han, Riki Hashimoto, Jun Katsumura
Origin of Film
Hong Kong
Genre(s) of Film
Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi, Robert Baker, Fu Ching Chen, San Chin, Ying-Chieh Han, Riki Hashimoto, Jun Katsumura,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1983
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
20 5/16" x 28 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Superman / B2 / style B / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Illustrious Corpses / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Le Gang / B2 / montage style / Japan

30.06.16

Poster Poster
Title
Le Gang
AKA
The Gang (USA - video title)
Year of Film
1977
Director
Jacques Deray
Starring
Alain Delon, Xavier Depraz, Roland Bertin, Adalberto Maria Merli, Maurice Barrier, Raymond Bussières, Giampiero Albertini, Laura Betti, Nicole Calfan
Origin of Film
Italy | France
Genre(s) of Film
Alain Delon, Xavier Depraz, Roland Bertin, Adalberto Maria Merli, Maurice Barrier, Raymond Bussières, Giampiero Albertini, Laura Betti, Nicole Calfan,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
Montage style
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1977
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 5/16" x 28 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

This is one of two Japanese B2 posters (that I’m aware of) for the release of the 1977 crime drama Le Gang. The film was an Italian-French co-production and was directed by Jacques Deray, a Frenchman who helmed a number of crime thrillers during his career. French superstar Alain Delon, who collaborated with Deray on a number of similar films, plays the leader of the titular gang of criminals. The story is set in France during the 1940s and the plot, apparently based on true events, is described thusly on IMDb:

In 1945, as World War Two comes to a close, five small time crooks unite to form a gang. After several bold robberies they become notorious as “the front-wheel drive gang”. The police attempt to stop their crime spree with little success, but how long will their luck last?

The other style B2 can be seen on emovieposter.com here.

Paganini Horror / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Predator 2 / one sheet / teaser / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Predator 2 / one sheet / advance / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Predator 2
AKA
--
Year of Film
1990
Director
Stephen Hopkins
Starring
Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Ruben Blades, Bill Paxton, Calvin Lockhart, Kevin Peter Hall
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Ruben Blades, Bill Paxton, Calvin Lockhart, Kevin Peter Hall,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Advance
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1990
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
27" x 40 3/16"
SS or DS
DS
NSS #
--
Tagline
Silent. Invisible. Invincible. The Ultimate Hunter. This time... Los Angeles 1997. | He's in town with a few days to kill.

Predator 2 / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Pulp Fiction / one sheet / final / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Pulp Fiction / B2 / white style / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Star Knight / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Star Knight
AKA
El caballero del dragón (Spain - original title)
Year of Film
1985
Director
Fernando Colomo
Starring
Klaus Kinski, Harvey Keitel, Fernando Rey, Maria Lamor, José Vivó
Origin of Film
Spain
Genre(s) of Film
Klaus Kinski, Harvey Keitel, Fernando Rey, Maria Lamor, José Vivó,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1986
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
27 1/18" x 41 1/16"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
He was a visitor from another world, an alien in medieval times. So they called him a Knight, and his spaceship a Dragon.