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In 2005 there were few examples of art directors willing to stray outside the norm and try something really unusual (like 2004’s Sideways), but there was a heartening return to the use of one single image. And there were relatively few disasters on the scale of the Lord of the Rings films, posters created in Headshot Hell, and for that we should be grateful.
As always, let's start with the best:
This, gang, is the best poster of the year; luckily, it also comes first alphabetically. This is the same image used on the teaser posters; the studio must have known they had a winner because it transferred to the release poster untouched. There’s no way to look at this poster without at least grinning... but why? Is it the hopeful, goofy smile on Steve Carrell’s face? that plastered-down 70s-era haircut? the teal striped polo shirt? the sunny golden aura that seems to eminate from his innocent — dare we say virginal — figure? Yes, to all of the above. Laying the title of the movie over this photo sells the star and the concept simultaneously, and makes you smile. Even if you’re not sure why you’re smiling.
This is too-obviously composed in Photoshop; none of the lighting matches, and Maria Bello’s sightline doesn’t match Viggo Mortensen’s. No matter. The dark, backlit clouds provide an unsettling backdrop to an unorthodox layout, and there’s something about Mortensen’s expression that just isn’t typical of someone faced with a (foreground, out-of-focus) handgun. What’s the story? You gotta see the movie to figure that out, and if you spent that much time sussing-out this poster, you probably did see it.
C’mon, who amongst us does not look at this poster and go, “Awwww...” Yes, it’s adorable. It’s also a beautifully composed image, with a flow and arrangement all the more remarkable because it’s taken directly from the Oscar-winning documentary. Penguin’s central theme is the family unit and the killing adverse conditions these birds will face to protect that unit and raise their young. This heartwarming image sums it all up and has become instantly recognizable.
Four years after 9/11, is it finally safe to show the Twin Towers again? The producers of The Protocols of Zion obviously felt that way. The film concerns the rise of anti-Semitism in the USA after the 9/11 attacks and a pseudo-historical book, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” The poster designers used our collective memory of the burning towers to simulate two piles of documents, one of them on fire. It’s provocative and gutsy. Regardless of one’s opinion of the movie itself, this is a great example of using recent events and tragic iconography to capture moviegoers’ attention.
Horror films can be a trap for poster designers, who seem to rely too much on the knife layout, the grunge look, or Headshot Hell montages of the teen stars’ faces. This poster for Wes Craven’s Red Eye, however, is a perfect example of what all five of my “best” choices this year have in common — one big, beautifully composed photograph that is so good it sells the concept of the film without needing any written explanation. That, folks, is a lot harder than it sounds. Just looking at the poster makes you feel tense, and you haven’t even seen the film yet. It also makes you wonder who your seatmate will be the next time you fly...
Eeek... it's time to look at The Worst Posters of 2005.
The best and worst movie posters of 2005