The Post © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The steps of the Supreme Court in BLT Communications’ stylish theatrical one-sheet evoke lines of newspaper type. Neue Haas Grotesk looks terrific in this context, but it doesn’t really match conceptually, since Bodoni served as The Washington Post’s headline face in the mid-1970s. Matthew Carter’s Stilson is a great interpretation of Bodoni’s types, and would have worked well here.

Phantom City Creative’s excellent alternate poster rotates the concept slightly by having a stack of folded newspapers stand in for the steps of the Supreme Court. The legendary Nixon Resigns headline on August 9, 1974, was set in Century (cf. Benton Modern).

La Danseuse (The Dancer) © 2016 Myriad Pictures. It’s interesting to see how image treatment can influence one’s perception of a poster. The original photograph of Loïe Fuller dancing, cropped straight, accompanied by the no-nonsense Alternate Gothic (cf. Benton Sans Compressed), gives the domestic one-sheet a sense of cinéma vérité.

By tilting the image toward the upper left corner and colorizing the swirling gown, This Time Tomorrow’s poetic international poster transforms the dancer into a celestial being taking flight. While more refined than Alternate Gothic, Quattrocento is a little too static; the gestural feel of a calligraphic serif like Dolly, Kopius, or Lavigne would better mirror the movement in the image.

Father Figures © 2017 Warner Bros. Canyon Design Group’s Photoshop trainwreck doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of physical space. In the immortal words of Gavin Berliner: “The more heads, the better.”

Voyeur © 2017 Netflix. LA created one of the smartest and funniest posters I’ve seen in a while. The documentary’s title does double duty in as a giant, brightly lit motel sign with an arrow pointing at the voyeur (who naturally would prefer to remain unseen).

November Criminals © 2017 Batrax Entertainment. An IMPAwards commenter pointed out that Kustom Creative’s theatrical one-sheet (with type similar to ITC Franklin Compressed) resembles an earlier poster.

Brooklyn Nine Nine © 2013 Fox. Is Arsonal’s promotional poster for Fox’s comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine a precursor to Kustom Creative’s effort?

Another WolfCop © 2017 Cinecoup Media. Tom Hodge, a.k.a. The Dude Designs, has built a solid reputation with his unabashed pulp aesthetic.

Hodge’s intricately detailed painted artwork seems ripped from the boxes of the straight-to-VHS eighties videos one might find in the bargain bin.

Psiconautas, los niños olvidados (Birdboy: The Forgotten Children) © 2015 Gkids. Instead of a tired orange-and-teal combination, contrasting crimson red and jungle green inject drama into this international poster. The square sans made me think of Agency FB.

The Greatest Showman © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. BLT Communications’ painted poster channels a classic illustration style that originated in the mid-1970s, with Drew Struzan as its most famous proponent. Meyer Two, Grand Central, and Parkinson have a similar vintage look.

Psychopaths © 2017 Samuel Goldwyn Films. The limited color palette of cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white lends Champ & Pepper’s theatrical one-sheet a sickly air. The elongated sans reminds me of Garage Gothic.

Crooked House © 2017 Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA). The gorgeous red-and-green complementary color scheme reflects the inverted images in this moody poster. Proxima Nova is an excellent alternative to Gotham.

ScreenFonts: January 2018 | The Leftovers