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Clockwork Orange / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Clockwork Orange
AKA
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (USA - poster title) | Arancia meccanica (Italy)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Starring
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1972
Designer
Bill Gold (original version)
Artist
Philip Castle
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Clockwork Orange / one sheet / 1982 re-release / USA

18.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Clockwork Orange
AKA
Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange (USA - poster title) | Arancia meccanica (Italy)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Starring
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee,
Type of Poster
one sheet
Style of Poster
1982 re-release
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1982
Designer
Bill Gold
Artist
Philip Castle
Size (inches)
27 1/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
R820023
Tagline
--

Clockwork Orange / B2 / 1982 re-release / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
Clockwork Orange
AKA
Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange (USA - poster title) | Arancia meccanica (Italy)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Starring
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1982
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Philip Castle (partial)
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Clockwork Orange / screen print / Nelson Ponce / Cuba

13.01.12

Poster Poster
Title
Clockwork Orange
AKA
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (USA - poster title) | Arancia meccanica (Italy)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Starring
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee,
Type of Poster
Screen print
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Cuba
Year of Poster
2009
Designer
Nelson Ponce
Artist
Nelson Ponce
Size (inches)
20 2/16" x 30 3/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

In August 2011 I was lucky enough to visit the island of Cuba for a ten day trip, which was a fantastic experience. It really does feel like a country stuck in a time warp, circa 1965, particularly once you leave the capital and head into the countryside. It’s a stunningly beautiful island with very hospitable people but the relative poverty of the country is clear to see. It’s often said that the government is likely to relax the current freeze on foreign (particularly Western) investment once ‘Comandante’ Fidel Castro passes away, although with his brother Raul currently in charge very little has changed. This article on the BBC gives you an insight into the current situation.

The Cuban people’s love for film and cinema-going is legendary and our guidebook claimed that at the end of the 1950s there were over 300 cinemas in the capital Havana alone. Today, these great old buildings continue to thrive and whilst there I witnessed the queues of people lining up to see the latest releases. I took this picture of the Yara cinema in the Vedado area of Havana.

Whilst in Havana I visited a bookshop that was selling original Cuban propaganda posters printed in the 1950s and 60s by OSPAAAL. They also had a handful of screen-printed film posters, all of which were reprints of the original Cuban cinema posters or re-imagined designs by local artists. They are officially screen printed by the ICAIC (Instituto Cubano de Artes Industrias Cinematografia) in Havana.

This poster for Stanley Kubrick’s classic Clockwork Orange was designed by the Cuban artist Nelson Ponce (full name Nelson Ponce Sanchez) who was born in 1976 and is a graphic designer and illustrator who also teaches at the ISDI (Instituto Superior de Diseño Industrial) in Havana. His re-imagined poster for the Cuban film Vampiros en la Habana, which was released in 1999, won him acclaim from both the design community and the Cuban public.

The Havana Cultura website has a great interview with the designer.

Whilst at the shop I also picked up a couple of other film posters and a handful of original propaganda posters which I plan to post on the site in the coming months.

Clockwork Orange / program / UK

23.01.13

Poster Poster
Title
Clockwork Orange
AKA
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (USA - poster title) | Arancia meccanica (Italy)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Starring
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee,
Type of Poster
Program
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
UK
Year of Poster
1971
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Philip Castle (cover and other elements)
Size (inches)
N/A
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

The next non-poster addition to the site is this original program (brochure) for Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 1971 film Clockwork Orange. I believe that it is from the film’s original release, although (frustratingly) it is not dated to confirm this. It would likely have been given away, or perhaps sold, at particular performances or cinemas and features a short write-up on the film, a cast-list and then a series of quotes alongside imagery from the film.

The cover displays British artist Philip Castle‘s iconic illustration of Alex (Malcolm McDowell) that was used to promote the film around the world, and the brochure also features images of other illustrations that Castle painted for the film (the illustration of the glass and teeth, for example) that were not printed as posters. The lurid pink colours make some of the text hard to read and it’s an odd design choice, although I expect it was intended to convey the ‘shocking’ nature of the film itself.

If anyone has any definitive information as to when this program would have originally been used to promote the film please get in touch.

Clockwork Orange / quad / 2000 re-release / UK

21.05.14

Poster Poster
Title
Clockwork Orange
AKA
Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (USA - poster title) | Arancia meccanica (Italy)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Starring
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee
Origin of Film
USA | UK
Genre(s) of Film
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates, James Marcus, Michael Tarn, Patrick Magee,
Type of Poster
Quad
Style of Poster
Re-release | advance
Origin of Poster
UK
Year of Poster
2000
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Philip Castle
Size (inches)
30 1/16" x 39 15/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape, ultra-violence and Beethoven.

Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1971 dystopian sci-fi, A Clockwork Orange, was met with controversy as soon as it was released in 1971, despite being a hit with UK and US audiences and earning box-office profits several times its original production budget. Unfortunately for UK audiences, the film was withdrawn from distribution in 1973 at the insistence of Kubrick himself following a number of death threats that were apparently received by the director and his family. These threats had been the result of the film being implicated, or at least referenced, in several high-profile criminal cases, including one in which an elderly vagrant had been kicked to death, mirroring an infamous scene in Kubrick’s film.

Despite being freely available across the rest of Europe and in the US, the film remained out of UK cinemas and, during the 1980s, off British video rental shop shelves. When the legendary London cinema the Scala Film Club decided to show the film in 1993 they were sued by Warner Bros at Kubrick’s insistence. The studio won the court case and the cinema club was effectively bankrupt, with plans for expansion quickly shelved. The club produced its last ‘what’s on’ calendar in May 1993 and the Scala converted to a music venue towards the end of the 1990s.

When Kubrick died in 1999 the ban was relaxed and the film was finally made available on VHS and DVD. A limited cinema run also took place and this quad was produced at the time. It uses part of the original artwork that featured on posters for the film around the world, which was painted by the renowned British artist Philip Castle. The final one sheet for the film is one of the most iconic posters of all time, with the same painting being used to promote the film all over the world, and it continues to be used to promote the film to this day. The original UK quad features more of Castle’s artwork and a more muted colour scheme, but features the same tag-line.

Born in London in 1943, Philip Castle’s design career has seen him working on album covers for some of the biggest names in British music, including Wings, Mott the Hoople and Pulp. His skills were utilised for the famous cover for David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, which saw him airbrushing over a photograph by Celia Philo. He also worked on the cover for the legendary computer game Elite. In 1987 Kubrick and Castle would collaborate once more on the poster for Full Metal Jacket, which again proved to be a seminal piece of work. There’s an interesting interview with Castle available to watch on YouTube in which he discusses his work with Kubrick.

This page features several examples of his brilliant work and there are multiple images tagged on Tumblr. The posters I’ve collected by him can be seen here.

True Romance / B2 / Shotgun scream style / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Following the shocking death of British director Tony Scott in 2012 there was plenty of discussion amongst fans as to the film that defined his career, which included such films as the none-more-80s Top Gun and several excellent Denzel Washington-starring thrillers such as Crimson Tide. There was only one film that I reached for from my blu-ray collection when I wanted to pay tribute to Scott and that was True Romance, the 1993 crime thriller starring Christian SlaterPatricia Arquette and a whole host of acclaimed actors. Featuring a fantastic script by Quentin Tarantino, the film is arguably the apex of Tony Scott’s directing career and clearly benefits from his skill at injecting energy and verve into every scene. The film is also likely to be the defining role in the careers of both Slater and Arquette who were perfectly cast as Clarence and Alabama, the young lovers thrown together at the start of the film and who set off on a rollercoaster ride that leads them from Detroit to Los Angeles with murderous gangsters on their tail.

Clarence is a film-obsessed, lonely video store clerk who is at a cinema watching a triple-bill of Sonny Chiba films when he is approached by Alabama. The pair strike up a friendship and before the night is over are head over heels in love. The only issue is that Alabama is a hooker, hired by Clarence’s work colleagues as a birthday present, and her pimp Drexl (a memorable Gary Oldman) is a violent drug dealer who none too keen to let her leave his employ. After a violent confrontation which sees Drexl dead and Clarence escaping with a suitcase full of cocaine. The pair first head to see Clarence’s father (Dennis Hopper) and then travel across the country to Los Angeles to see Clarence’s friend Dick Ritchie (Michael Rapaport) who has a potential lead for selling the drugs. Hot on their heels are a bunch of mobsters, as well as a pair of police detectives.

This is one of two styles of Japanese B2 posters and I’ve called this one the shotgun scream style as it features Arquette clutching a shotgun in one of the more intense scenes of the film. The other style features photographs of the rest of the cast and can be seen here.

True Romance / B2 / cast style / Japan

07.04.14

Poster Poster

Following the shocking death of British director Tony Scott in 2012 there was plenty of discussion amongst fans as to the film that defined his career, which included such titles as the none-more-80s Top Gun and several excellent Denzel Washington-starring thrillers such as Crimson Tide. There was only one film that I reached for from my blu-ray collection when I wanted to pay tribute to Scott and that was True Romance, the 1993 crime thriller starring Christian SlaterPatricia Arquette and a whole host of acclaimed actors. Featuring a fantastic script by Quentin Tarantino, the film is arguably the apex of Tony Scott’s directing career and clearly benefits from his skill at injecting energy and verve into every scene. The film is also likely to be the defining role in the careers of both Slater and Arquette who were perfectly cast as Clarence and Alabama, the young lovers thrown together at the start of the film and who set off on a rollercoaster ride that leads them from Detroit to Los Angeles with murderous gangsters on their tail.

Clarence is a film-obsessed, lonely video store clerk who is at a cinema watching a triple-bill of Sonny Chiba films when he is approached by Alabama. The pair strike up a friendship and before the night is over are head over heels in love. The only issue is that Alabama is a hooker, hired by Clarence’s work colleagues as a birthday present, and her pimp Drexl (a memorable Gary Oldman) is a violent drug dealer who none too keen to let her leave his employ. After a violent confrontation which sees Drexl dead and Clarence escaping with a suitcase full of cocaine. The pair first head to see Clarence’s father (Dennis Hopper) and then travel across the country to Los Angeles to see Clarence’s friend Dick Ritchie (Michael Rapaport) who has a potential lead for selling the drugs. Hot on their heels are a bunch of mobsters, as well as a pair of police detectives.

This is one of two styles of Japanese B2 posters and I’ve called this one the cast style. The other features a photo of Arquette clutching a shotgun in one of the more intense scenes of the film. Note that one of the cast members shown at the top of the poster is not actually seen in the film and if you’ve watched it you’ll know which one!

The Wicked Lady / one sheet / USA

29.08.17

Poster Poster
Title
The Wicked Lady
AKA
--
Year of Film
1983
Director
Michael Winner
Starring
Faye Dunaway, Alan Bates, John Gielgud, Denholm Elliott, Prunella Scales, Oliver Tobias, Glynis Barber, Joan Hickson, Helena McCarthy
Origin of Film
UK
Genre(s) of Film
Faye Dunaway, Alan Bates, John Gielgud, Denholm Elliott, Prunella Scales, Oliver Tobias, Glynis Barber, Joan Hickson, Helena McCarthy,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1983
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
27 2/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
830033
Tagline
She's wild. She's wicked. And she really knows how to whip up a good time.

The Wicked Lady is a period drama that was directed by the late Michael Winner and was based on the 1945 film of the same name. Faye Dunaway stars as Barbara whose sister Caroline (Glynis Barber) is due to marry wealthy landowner, Sir Ralph Skelton (Denholm Elliott). Seemingly devoid of any scruples, Barbara seduces Ralph and takes her sister’s place at the wedding. She soon grows bored of just being the wife of a wealthy man and decides to take up highway robbery, depriving wealthy coach travelers of their jewels and other trinkets. Eventually she meets and falls in with a real highway robber, Jerry Jackson (the late Alan Bates), and the pair step up their game by robbing gold bullion-filled stage coaches. Eventually their sloppiness catches up with them and people around Barbara begin to suspect she has some involvement in the robberies. 

The film was a critical and commercial failure and was compared unfavourably with the original film. Dunaway’s character is totally unlikeable and her performance is nothing short of bizarre. Perhaps the worst aspect of the film is the pointless nudity, including one really cringeworthy sex scene by a fire, with a stockings removal setup that’s tortuously long. You can practically hear the sleazy Winner rubbing his knees at the back of the set. Despite a strong cast on paper this is a squandered opportunity.

I’m unsure who is responsible for the art on this American one sheet so if you have an idea please get in touch. It’s not to be confused with the artwork that was used elsewhere around the globe, including the British quad, that was painted by Brian Bysouth.