This is one of four great designs that were printed to be used as wildings (posters intended to be used out in the wild – billboard posting etc).

Something of a cult classic, Victory (AKA Escape to Victory) is arguably the most famous film to revolve around The Beautiful Game. Based on 1962 Hungarian film called Két félidő a pokolban by director Zoltán Fábri the film, which is set during WWII, tells the story of a football match played in Paris by a team of Prisoners of War against a German side, seen as a propaganda event. The team is led by John Colby (Michael Caine) who is determined to win the game despite the distraction of other POWs who want to use the cover of the game to escape. Sylvester Stallone plays Hatch, an American POW who is at the vanguard of the escape attempt and actually manages to get out of the camp prior to the game to meet up with resistance leaders in Paris. After planning the big breakout, Hatch must get recaptured and returned to the POW camp in order to communicate the plans to the others. When the big day arrives, Hatch is put into goal and Colby persuades the team to see the match through to the final whistle before they make their escape.

The film notoriously features a host of real life professional footballers who were involved in the game and doubled for the actors or played on the German team, including the Brazilian superstar Pelé, Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles and a whole host of players from the English team Ipswich Town, who were one of the most successful British sides at the time of the film’s release. English goalkeeping legend Gordon Banks, who played during the 1966 world cup that England won, worked behind the scenes and coached Stallone to ensure his scenes in goal were realistic enough for the film’s audience.

This US one sheet was illustrated by the artist David Jarvis who is perhaps best known for his illustration on the poster for Walter Hill’s The Warriors. Having completed a degree in illustration at the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, Jarvis went on to work as a freelance illustrator producing over thirty designs for film posters, as well as record sleeves, magazine covers and more. He also worked as an artist for Disney studios on the films Mulan and Tarzan. The other posters I’ve collected by him can be seen here.

Check out the UK quad that also features Jarvis’ artwork but adds a montage by Vic Fair.

A striking portrait of actor Tom Conti on the British quad for this little seen film based on the play Spofford by Herman Shumlin, which was itself adapting the book Reuben, Reuben by Peter De Vries. Conti plays Gowan McGland, a character clearly based on the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, a compulsive womaniser and lifelong alcoholic who died from liver poisoning whilst on tour in the US in 1953.

The film follows Gowan, who is coping with writer’s block and depression, as he tours his poetry around various clubs and societies, seducing married women and drinking himself into oblivion. A chance encounter sees him meeting and falling in love with student Geneva Spofford (Kelly McGillis in her first film role), but can Geneva save him from himself before it’s too late? The film is notable for its sharp script and strong performance by Conti who was nominated for an Academy Award for the role. Frustratingly, it has never been released on DVD and there is no legal way of watching it currently.

I’ve struggled to discover who is the artist behind this UK poster but the US one sheet has practically identical art, so it’s either an adaptation of that or the same art was simply re-used. If you have any ideas who was responsible please get in touch.

An unremarkable poster for what would have been an unremarkable entry in Pierce Brosnan‘s filmography were it not for one of the strangest, left-field line readings in the history of cinema. The infamous moment takes place during an exchange that Taffin (Brosnan) is having with the character of Charlotte (played by Alison Doody). For no apparent reason Brosnan’s tone explodes into an insane shout of ‘THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T BE LIVING HEEEEEEEERE!’ The moment is available to watch on YouTube here.

If you’re a fan of UK comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish and listen to their (currently off-air) radio show on 6 music you will have heard their discussion of this infamous moment last year.  The reaction to the show saw the clip becoming its own meme for a while and it spawned several remixes.

The original trailer is on YouTube.