Livia Lucie's "Full Metal Jacket" Movie Poster

I'd been meaning to write about this print for a while now, but kept forgetting until today. I guess there's just too many amazing posters out there (this is a good thing). The films of Stanley Kubrick are pretty mindblowing and I'm not sure I could ever be friends with someone who doesn't love at least a fraction of his filmography. One of my favorites is Full Metal Jacket (although my number one Kubrick film will forever be Dr. Strangelove). I really loved his take on the Vietnam war, and although I think the whole movie is a masterpiece, it's the first half, the part that takes place on Parris Island during recruit training, that truly blows me away (no pun intended).

Full Metal Jacket

Artist Livia Lucie created this mind boggling typographic masterpiece in honor of one of the greatest war / anti-war films ever made. For anyone who's seen Full Metal Jacket, or served as a Marine for that matter, you'll immediately recognize the Rifleman's Creed that has been shaped to create the body of said rifle; it's inventive, creepy and beautiful all at the same time. I'd love to see an entire series from Livia dedicated to the films of Kubrick, each with its own clever composition. Over the span of my obsession with poster art I've seen some great type-centric posters, especially as minimalist posters have really started picking up steam over the last year, but I have to say, this may be one of my favorites (definitely top three).

The A3-sized (equivalent to 11.69" X 16.54") Full Metal Jacket print is available right now through the Picmix Store for £12 (or around $19). The storefront says it's a limited edition print, but I'm not seeing the edition size anywhere. If you're having any hesitation about picking one of these up, put it away, because not only will you be buying an awesome poster, 10% of all sales will go toward Wateraid, an organization attempting to improve access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world's poorest communities. It's a win-win. To learn more about Livia Lucie head over to her website and check out her blog. If you've got some extra money lying around, would you mind commissioning her to do another Kubrick-inspired print? I'd really appreciate that. Thanks!

Dan Sherratt's "Donnie Darko" Movie Poster

Dan Sherratt is a UK-based artist I stumbled onto recently, originally through his Shop Reworking Titles blog, but more recently through the website Eat Sleep Live Film, where he contributes a feature called, you guessed it, "Reworking Titles." I decided I'd highlight one of my favorite posters from his blog and I'm sure as time goes on I'll continue to write about the amazing work Dan seems to be consistently cranking out.

Donnie Darko was a film I really identified with when I first saw it in high school. It wasn't necessarily that I saw myself as a loner or anything like that, but rather, Darko was a film that spoke to all of the things I loved about cinema at the time. It was confusing, inexplicable and unbelievable all wrapped up in a vague science fiction / horror shell - I thought it was cool.

Donnie Darko

I remember showing the DVD to everyone I knew while attempting to describe how indescribably deep and awesome it was. I've rewatched the film several times since (go with the theatrical cut, not the overly indulgent director's cut), and I still love it. Sure, a little bit of the luster has warn off, and I wouldn't put it anywhere near my top ten films of all time list, but it's still a damn fun movie to take in and explore. Dan's Donnie Darko poster has that increasingly popular Saul Bass (everything IS cyclical I guess) feel to it and it works in just about every way. The poster's design is concise, without being too simplistic, and quickly conveys a fairly convoluted plot. You've got Frank, the prophetic rabbit, proclaiming the end of the world, or at least Donnie's world, with two possible realities existing to the right and the left of one of cinema's most memorable bunnies (next to Harvey that is). This is a great poster and an excellent example of design done right.

The Donnie Darko movie poster by Dan Sherratt is available through the Shop Reworking Titles blog for £20 (roughly $32). The poster measure 594 mm x 420 mm (or 23.4" x 16.5" for US readers), and from what I can tell appears to be an open edition, but I'm not certain of that. I also don't think this is a screenprint, but again, the site doesn't feature a ton of information. I would have loved to see some process shots or find out more about his approach to the poster, but no such luck. Be sure to check out the Shop Reworking Titles blog for more prints and his Eat Sleep Live Film feature, where he talks about a few of his designs. It looks like he also hosts a portfolio of his work at heartstrand.co.uk.

Criterion Connection - 50% Off Criterion

The "Criterion Connection" is my little corner of the world where I can obtusely and clumsily wax on about my commitment to Criterion's commitment to important classic and contemporary films.

UPDATE: This deal has expired. Hope you got some great stuff!

Today's "Connection" will be a short one and will really only have a small window of functionality. To celebrate crossing 50,000 Facebook fans, Criterion has setup the promo code "THANKS" that will take 50% off MSRP on all in-stock DVDs and Blu-rays at criterion.com. But don't miss out — the code will expire after 50,000 seconds (equivalent to 13 hours, 53 minutes and 20 seconds)! After Criterion's site buckled under all of the pressure we avant-garde fanboys placed on it, the sale eventually started around 5:15 PM Pacific time, meaning you have until about 7:08 AM Pacific to take advantage of this amazing offer (let me know if I messed up the math).

Fish Tank

Broadcast News

Chungking Express

I picked up three Blu-rays (Fish Tank, Broadcast News and Chungking Express). What did you get?

Fernando Fro Reza's "The Thing" Movie Posters

Fernando Fro Reza, better known as Fro Design Co on the web, has been creating and selling film / television inspired prints since early 2010 through his Fro Design Co blog. He's created prints based on shows like Lost and The Walking Dead, to movies like Inception, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (my favorite Wes Anderson film) and now, John Carpenter's legendary The Thing. In collaboration with CHUD.com, Fernando has been, and will continue to, create monthly movie posters for Cinematic Happenings Under Development (also known as CHUD). Here's a much more eloquent summary of this union than I could ever produce (copied, pasted, and then slightly edited / paraphrased from Nick Nunziato):

"Every month for as long as we’re able to keep on keepin’ on, we will be saluting two films with glorious and beautiful posters that should get your gears turning real nice. What qualifies for a CHUD SALUTES honor? It’s a weird combination. Some of these will be great movies. Some will be horrible movies. Some unsung classics. Some pretty obvious flicks. The end result is that when this man [Fernando Fro Reza] graces them with his eye, they’re all unified in their delightfulness."

Now onto the fun stuff!

The Thing: MacReady

Fernando's The Thing "MacReady" movie poster is my favorite of the two. It's very Olly Moss, in that there's so much going on and yet it's so minimal. I'd actually recommend clicking on the image to get a better look at a larger version, you might be surprised at all of the hidden elements he's thrown in. This poster is of course an image of The Thing's resident badass / protagonist R.J. MacReady (played to perfection by Kurt Russell). My favorite details are the hanging light that acts as MacReady's eye and the petri dish filled with alien goo and reacting to the heat under the cast and crew credits. If like me, you never had the chance to grab one of Stout's amazing The Thing posters, then you'll no doubt be picking this one up to fill that deep, dark, vacuous void in your soul. The "MacReady" poster measures 11" x 17", costs $25 and is limited to an edition of 50. There also happens to be an amazing buy one get one free deal through CHUD, so I HIGHLY recommend heading over there ASAP (hint: read the first two paragraphs) - you won't be sorry. These will sell out quickly, so act fast!

The Thing: The First Week of Winter

The Thing "The First Week of Winter" print is a bit more traditional, but definitely highlights the kick-ass-ness of Kurt Russell much more prominently, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In a lot of ways these posters fit together perfectly. The "MacReady" print features fiery red hues, and seems to give off heat and represent action, while "The First Week of Winter" print represents the colder and more isolated atmosphere of the American Antarctic research station by using shades of blue; together these prints seem to create a whole picture. Much like the previous The Thing print, "The First Week of Winter" poster costs $25, measures 11" x 17", is limited to an edition of 50 and is available through the Fro Design Co store. Again, please be sure to check out the CHUD post before buying either one of these prints to take advantage of the BOGO offer.

Now it's time for the self serving aspect of this post, where I remind everyone who hasn't already done so (US only) to enter themselves in Posterocalypse's The Fighter print giveaway. I'll be giving away The Fighter movie poster by Alan Hynes and a mystery print on February 28th to one lucky person who leaves a comment with their name and email address in last Saturday's blog post (it was titled "Giveaway - The Fighter by Alan Hynes"). ¡Bueno suerte!

Tom Whalen's "Steamboat Willie" Movie Poster

Well this is a treat. It seems Mondo has once again forged an insanely awesome relationship with a huge company (Disney). While I'm not over the moon about this poster, I do appreciate what Whalen was able to achieve and am very excited about the possibilities of Mondo posters for films like Snow White, The Lion King and Aladdin!

Steamboat Willie

I really dig Tom Whalen's style. It's clean, it's crisp and it usually has some degree of symmetry; very pleasing to the eye. Whalen did a great job recreating these characters in a slick, but warm style. I love the fact that he was able to include small nostalgic details like the Cinephone reference at the bottom of the frame, but also introduced a modern aesthetic, and ended up creating something timeless. For lovers of classic animation there's really no excuse to not pick one of these beautiful prints up.

The Steamboat Willie poster measures 18" x 24", has been printed with metallic inks, comes in an edition of 200 and will cost $40. The print will be available sometime tomorrow (2/25) at a random time through Mondo's website. Be sure to follow @MondoNews for all the release details and head over to Tom Whalen's online portfolio to see the rest of his artwork.

Disturbia Clothing's "Travis Bickle" & "Redrum" Art Prints

Taxi Driver is easily one of my top ten films of all time and possibly my favorite Scorsese film (although I also happen to love Casino). Disturbia Clothing, a company I'm not all that familiar with has recently released a Taxi Driver-inspired art printed, titled "Travis Bickle." But wait, there's more. Disturbia had also previously released The Shining-inspired art print, titled "Redrum." Pretty cool, right?


Travis Bickle

This print captures one of the films most iconic scenes (in a film filled with iconic scenes) near the very end of its runtime. In terms of photo realism, it's pretty spot on. And in a funny way, this print and the film have more in common then one would think. Taxi Driver, a film that really pushed the envelope of what was acceptable in cinema (as many films of the 70s did), had an issue with the MPAA and in order to get an R rating, Scorsese was forced to desaturate the color of the blood to make it less realistic looking. This print also features blood that, while not desaturated in any way (quite the opposite, in fact), has certainly been tampered with and makes the blood less realistic in appearance and indeed more stylistic. Wow - okay, that might have been a bit of a reach on my part, but you've got to respect me for trying! Anywho, the "Travis Bickle" art print is available through Disturbia's store in the 'Art Prints' section for £17 (roughly $27) plus shipping. The screen printed poster measures 18" x 24" and is limited to an edition of 50. Get'em while they're hot!


Redrum

Reprinted from a previous review I had written on the "Redrum" art print: Somehow Kubrick's The Shining is one of those rare films that continues and, in my opinion, will continue for a long long time, to inspire artist to create some magnificent (read: horrifying) artwork. What a masterful layout. Using Jack Torrance’s outline as a frame for the twins and elevators of blood? Brilliant, brilliant stuff. Add to that the inspired inclusion of the labyrinth and you’ve got one amazing design. I have to admit I wasn’t sure how I felt about the lighter almost-pink blood for about the first five seconds, but now I’m all in. The incoming flood of sanguine fluid really draws in the eye. The "Redrum" print measures 18" x 24" and is limited to an edition of 50 for the low cost of £17 (around $27) through Disturbia's online store. These have been on sale for a while, so I can't imagine there are that many left. You can check out the artist, Michele Boscagli, through his Myspace page.

As a reminder for those of you that haven't entered the Posterocalypse Fighter giveaway yet, I'll be giving away The Fighter movie poster by Alan Hynes and a mystery print on February 28th to one lucky person who leaves a comment with their name and email address (US only) in last Saturday's blog post (it was titled "Giveaway - The Fighter by Alan Hynes"). Good luck!

Iron Jaiden's "Videodrome" Movie Poster

If you frequent Expresso Beans or OMG Posters there's a very good chance you may have heard of Iron Jaiden. If not, welcome to the party. It seems Iron Jaiden has created a kickass poster for the Cronenberg classic Videodrome. And the real kicker is that he created this awesome print for a movie night at somebody's house. How great is that?!

Videodrome

I love the primitiveness of this image, it's a like a rough sketch of a half forgotten dream (or nightmare). And I'm not sure if it's the colors, the drawing, or both, but this poster is sort of disorienting - I feel a bit like I've become the victim of one of Barry Convex's deadly broadcasts (and I love it). You've got the beautiful Nicki sitting on a throne of televisions with the most visible boob tube showing a shot of the titular snuff television program Videodrome. The only other television image I can clearly make out is of James Woods as Max Renn in the lower right hand corner. For someone who hasn't come out with a ton of stuff, I'm really impressed with what Iron Jaiden was able to pull off and I can't wait to see more (here's hoping he continues the movie poster trend).

The Videodrome poster by Iron Jaiden will be released on Tuesday (2/22) at Midnight (12 AM MST) through Iron Jaiden's Kingdom of Nonsense store. The signed and numbered poster measures 19" x 25", is limited to an edition of 40 and only costs $17 plus shipping. If that wasn't a sweet enough deal, Iron Jaiden will be including bonus prints and stickers in every tube. Long live the new flesh! By the way, if you haven't already, you NEED to pick up Criterion's Videodrome Blu-ray - it's a brilliant film and a great transfer.

As a reminder for those of you that haven't entered the Posterocalypse Fighter giveaway yet, I'll be giving away The Fighter movie poster by Alan Hynes and a mystery print on February 28th to one lucky person who leaves a comment with their name and email address (US only) in Saturday's blog post (it was titled "Giveaway - The Fighter by Alan Hynes"). Good luck!

Giveaway - The Fighter by Alan Hynes

UPDATE: Random.org has picked a winner and it's John Caples! Congrats John! He'll be receiving "The Fighter" and a mystery print later this week. Thanks for entering everyone! I've got a lot more posters to hand out, so be on the lookout for another giveaway in March. Thanks for reading!

Two big things happened today. One, I finally decided to cut the cable cord and go 100% Netflix / Hulu and two, I just purchased and received a new flat file so I could finally store all of the posters I've collected throughout the years. I was so excited, in fact, that I spent a few hours today going through and sorting my collection when I was struck with an epiphany: I have WAY too many posters. In an effort to cut my collection down to a reasonable size I've decided to start holding contests / giveaways.  Now I won't be holding these giveaways on any sort of regular basis, but I'll do my best to have one every once in a while (no promises). Today's giveaway will include the following:

The Fighter - Alan Hynes

Completely Unknowable

(1) The Fighter movie poster by Alan Hynes
(1) Mystery print

The mystery print could seriously be anything, but chances are pretty good that it won't be cooler than The Fighter print, which I originally reviewed in January.

Unfortunately, since I'm the one paying for shipping this contest is only open to readers in the US (sorry everyone else, international shipping can be expensive and complicated). The only thing you have to do to win is leave a comment with your email address and your full name (middle name not needed) and on February 28th I will randomly pick and email the winner to get his or her shipping address. Entries are limited to one person per household. If this turns out to be a success, I'll definitely keep doing these as I try to slim down my surplus of posters. Thanks and good luck everyone!

Derek Gabryszak's "Maniac" Movie Poster

We'll now be leaving the safe and comfortable surroundings of the grand Hollywood spectacles of yesteryear and point our gaze toward the uninviting urban war zone of 1980s New York City. Yep, we're returning to the scene of the crime that is William Lustig's Maniac. Artist Derek Gabryszak has created a wonderful ode to disturbed serial killer (is there any other kind?) Frank Zito. I first heard about Derek when he released some very neat True Romance prints a while back and am excited to see him now delving into some meaty grindhouse films.

Maniac

I'm a big fan of Derek's approach here. It has a photographic quality, but also a sketchy (literally) outline of a rather porn-esque looking Joe Spinell creepily holding a stuffed toy bear (emphasis on the 'creepily'). I think the drawn outline really digs into Frank's clearly unstable psyche and transforms it into a tangible thing. And if you haven't spotted it already (you may need to click on the image in order to see it), there's a scathing / awesome quote from Gene Siskel that's sure to encourage gorehounds the world over - it's a very nice addition.

This poster was created by Derek Gabryszak as part of Coolidge Corner Theatre's "@fter Midnight" film series, and who will continue to work with Coolidge as the series continues. The hand pulled Maniac movie print measures 24" x 36", consists of 2 colors and is out of an edition of 125. The poster will be available at the theater THIS weekend, but starting Monday (2/21) can be bought at the artist's poster shop through thatsthewayitgoes.com. Have a great weekend everybody!

Adam Juresko's "Singin' in the Rain" Movie Poster

At some point in your life you've most likely heard or seen the Gene Kelly performance of "Singin' in the Rain" in the identically named film. You know, the one where he's spinning around light posts and tap dancing on puddles? It's been used in commercials and films (A Clockwork Orange, anyone?) and has inspired parodies and tributes galore. There's something magical and infectious about those lavish musical numbers that we just don't see anymore (apart from Glee, I guess). For me they represent an intangible childlike sense of awe and an everything's-going-to-be-alright naivete, which can be quite refreshing in a sometimes irony-obsessed culture. Adam Juresko's Singin' in the Rain poster somehow recreates that warm feeling and manages to be just as playful and optimistic as the film.

Singin' in the Rain

Not only does this poster feature a wonderfully minimalist illustration, Adam has also seamlessly included an iconic screenshot from Gene Kelly's memorable song and dance. I'm a little shocked this works SO WELL. The way the rain drops shape the inside of the letters and provides a transition point between the light blue paper and the darker blue photograph is brilliant to boot. For anyone who is a fan of old school Hollywood, this is a must have. I'll be following Adam closely if he keeps putting out beautiful prints like this!

The Singin' in the Rain poster by Adam Juresko is currently available through his Etsy store for a very affordable $20. The poster measures 11" x 17" and appears to be part of an open edition. He's got a bunch of other movie posters available too (one of which I will probably write about later this week), so be sure to look around. Adam also has a Tumblr blog where he posts all his new art. If you've never seen the movie, do yourself a favor and buy it today (or at the very least head to YouTube to check out Gene Kelly's sweet moves).