A great tagline for Stanley, a 1972 schlock-fest from the director of such classics as Mako: The Jaws of Death, The Naked Zoo and Impulse.

I’m not sure who the artist is so get in touch if you have any ideas as to who it should be credited to.

Witness the nutso original trailer on YouTube.

‘The ultimate melt movie’, Street Trash, the classic 1987 splatter-fest, is as gore-filled and tasteless as this American one sheet suggests. The image of the unlucky tramp melting into the toilet was re-used for the multiple VHS and DVD releases and is definitely up there as one of the all-time great horror poster images. I remember reading/hearing who did the artwork but forgot to write it down so if anyone knows could they please get in touch or leave a comment.

It’s interesting that they used a quote from a British radio broadcaster, the late Tommy Vance, for the American poster, but it’s not hard to see why; If that combination of classic titles doesn’t make you want to watch the film then there’s no hope.

The splendid original trailer can be see on YouTube – “It’s easy to find us…. we’re all over the place.”

Here’s the IMDb page for the film. Vaguely interesting bit of trivia: I bought this one sheet from the person who plays the chef in the restaurant scene and only found out after the fact.

Ace director Walter Hill‘s 1984 Streets of Fire is an odd mix of action, musical and comedy and, despite being released with the hope of it becoming a summer blockbuster, the film was something of a critical and commercial failure, with the US box office takings ending at just over half of its original budget. It has since garnered a significant cult following, thanks in part to its brilliant Wagnerian soundtrack.

The plot sees an ex-soldier, Tom Cody (Michael Paré) returning to his old town to rescue ex-girlfriend and lead singer of a rock group, Ellen Aim (Diane Lane), who has been kidnapped by a psychotic biker gang lead by Raven Shaddock (Willem Dafoe). Hill had apparently conceived the idea for the film whilst making 48 Hrs and, according to the film’s original press kit, Hill wanted to make what he’d have thought was a perfect film when he was a teenager, and he put in all of the things that he felt were “great then and which I still have great affection for: custom cars, kissing in the rain, neon, trains in the night, high-speed pursuit, rumbles, rock stars, motorcycles, jokes in tough situations, leather jackets and questions of honor.”

Plans for a trilogy of films featuring Tom Cody were shelved when it became clear how much of a flop the film had been. A non-official sequence called Road To Hell was made in 2008 directed by Albert Pyun and with Paré playing Cody again.

This US one sheet is one of several advance posters that were printed using silkscreen techniques and day-glo inks. I have added two other designs at the same time as this one and each one is available in various striking colours, including bright green, mauve, red and orange. Some of the close up pictures reveal the details of the silkscreen printing.

The final one sheet is on this site here and the film’s original trailer is on YouTube.

A truly international production, Red Sun was filmed in Spain by the British director Terence Young and starring American action legend Charles Bronson,the Japanese actor Toshirô Mifune (best known for Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai), French superstar Alain Delon and the gorgeous Swiss actress Ursula Andress. Terence Young had previously seen great success directing Sean Connery in three of his outings as James Bond.

The film sees two ruthless robbers, Link (Bronson) and Gauche (Delon) who attack a train bound for Washington carrying the Japanese ambassador. During the raid Gauche steals a very valuable sword and then betrays Link, trying to kill him before escaping with the loot. Link must team up with the only surviving Samurai escort of the ambassador (Mifune) and track down Gauche before it’s too late.

Bronson had previously starred in The Magnificent Seven, an American remake of Seven Samurai. The main figures on this poster appear to be photographic and I’m uncertain who is responsible for the artwork above them.

A detailed and colourful illustration on this poster for the Japanese release of Disney’s live-action oddity, The Black Hole. It’s a fairly uncommon size but one that suits the illustration perfectly. Make sure you click the detail thumbnails to see it in its full glory.

The film focuses on the crew of a ship (the USS Palomino) returning from a deep-space exploration mission that discovers a black hole with an apparently derelict ship drifting nearby. After docking with the ship (The long-lost USS Cygnus – as featured on this poster) the crew meets the commander Doctor Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell) and his team of robots, but there is no sign of the human crew. The Palomino’s crew, including Dr Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins) and Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), must race against time to discover the mystery behind their disappearance and exactly what Dr Reinhardt’s intentions are.

Despite an extremely hokey script and some decidedly dodgy attempts to emulate the success of Star Wars, the film has several things that make it worth a watch, including some impressive special effects (certainly notable in 1979), well-realised space scenes, a great score by the late John Barry and an excellent robot design in the form of the sinister Maximilian.

Director Edgar Wright is a fan of the film and talks about it on Trailers From Hell – video here.

The other posters I’ve collected for the film can be seen here. Check out the excellent Japanese B1 and B2 posters.

The original trailer is on YouTube.