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At the end of the year I was surprised to find I had accumulated a list of 18 possible “bests,” yet only eight “worsts”. 2004 wasn't exactly a banner year creatively, but it was still difficult to whittle the good ones down to five. It wasn't as difficult to select the final five stinkers, and thankfully we didn't have to look at any Lord of the Rings catastrophes this year. That makes any year noteworthy.
On that grateful note, here are the best...
The film may have been forgotten by year's end, but this eerie poster deserves to be remembered. The shadowy figures are creepy enough on their own, but when you consider that, just as in the movie, Julianne Moore's “memory” is missing — the top half of her head is gone — the result is downright disturbing. Unfortunate, then, that the movie couldn't summon up the same reaction.
As Alfred Kinsey, Liam Neeson appears surrounded by overwhelmingly large buzzwords... a nice visual representation of what happens in the film. The tagline, “Let's talk about sex” is titillating and attention-getting (and anachronistically summons memories of Salt-n-Pepa's 1980s song), but it’s really unnecessary since Liam is standing smack between the words “pleasure” and “sexually.” Resisting a prurient approach and featuring the written word is laudable, particularly since it’s the written word that got Kinsey in trouble in the first place.
Kudos to designers and studios willing to sacrifice an actor’s vanity in service of a sense of place and mood. Bobby Long is an atmospheric character study set in the deep South, and everything about this poster — its color scheme, sense of inertia, slanting light and deep shadows — puts the viewer in the proper drowsy state of mind. Scarlet Johansson and John Travolta are presented as characters, not stars.
The DVD cover shows the fragility of this concept; just some slight modifications, and it all falls apart.
Can you remember the last time you saw a poster showing none of the cast, not even their names, instead just a small drawing? Me either. A small buddy flick set in California’s wine country would be a tough sell, particularly with no “name” stars in the cast. So, Fine Line went with a neon green retro-ish illustration of the two main characters trapped in a wine bottle — sideways, of course, a euphemism for their usual drunken state. While I wonder how well this sells the film to those not already familiar with it, the approach still fits the film like a cork in a bottle.
Sideways won “Best Comedy Poster” for design firm XL//Laboratories and Fox Searchlight Pictures at The Hollywood Reporter’s 34th annual Key Art Awards.
This is a poster that’s rather beautiful when you simply look at it but becomes more unsettling the more you know about the plot. Kevin Bacon plays a convicted pedophile recently released from prison and attempting to readjust to society. The golden, almost cathedral-like serenity in this composition (notice the doves?) takes on a sinister edge as you realize the image on which he’s fixated is a child’s red ball. Your eye immediately goes to Bacon’s face, and you wonder, “What is he thinking?” There, see? It’s gotten you thinking.
If you think your sense of good taste can handle it, take a look at The Worst Posters of 2004. Go on, be brave. You'll see Kate Hudson and sperm! But not together. This isn't that kind of website.
The best and worst movie posters of 2004