Sotheby's February 2022 Auction - Some Amazing Results…
London auction house Sotheby's recently closed their February 2022 sale of Original Film Posters. The quality of the lots and some of the incredible results were a 'loud and clear' testament to the widening appeal of original movie posters.
There were lots of amazing posters on offer. Here are a few highlights.
(All images are courtesy of Sotheby's.)
Pulp Fiction (1994), ‘Lucky Strike’ One Sheet
Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000 GBP
Sold for: 5,292 GBP
Twenty five years ago, Uma Thurman’s smouldering pout graced student dorms across the globe. Now she is more likely to be found on the wall of a luxury penthouse in perhaps the most iconic image of Quentin Tarantino’s phenomenal career.
As we have written in this blog post, the movie poster has had a colourful history. This recalled ‘Lucky Strike’ version of the poster was bound to interest collectors.
Scarface (1983), US One Sheet
Estimate: 600 - 900 GBP
Sold for: 2,016 GBP
Al Pacino's portrayal of Cuban drug lord Tony Montana has been shocking audiences with its explicit depiction of violence and drug use for nearly forty years. In contrast to the very graphic nature of the film, the movie poster is iconic for its black and white simplicity.
There are lots of fakes of this poster about. You can learn a little more about that in this blog post.
Thunderball (1965), British Quad
Estimate: 6,000 - 9,000 GBP
Sold for: 5,040 GBP
Very surprisingly, as the 007 market is usually very buoyant, many of the James Bond posters on offer did not make their high estimate. Perhaps the auction house had been a little punchy with its valuations.
There were some fantastic posters available, including this amazing quad with artwork by Robert McGinnis, which failed to reach its low estimate (but still did very well).
James Bond, Production Studio Sign (circa 1976)
Estimate: 5,000 - 8,000 GBP
Sold for: 13,860 GBP
This was a really unusual piece to see in such an auction and given that we are about to launch our own range of retro style cinema signs, it was one that caught our eye.
At least two bidders were keen to take it home and it smashed through its high estimate!
Blade Runner (1982), US One Sheet
Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000 GBP
Sold for: 3,780 GBP
It is now hard to believe that Ridley Scott's sci-fi noir masterpiece had a disappointing box office on release. Now considered a classic (and with a superb follow up in Bladerunner 2049), its brilliance is matched by John Alvin’s stunning artwork for the movie poster.
Star Wars (1977), UK Quad, Hildebrandt Brothers artwork
Estimate: 6,000 - 9,000 GBP
Sold for: 8,820 GBP
The original UK quad movie poster for George Lucas' Star Wars was only used outside cinemas of London's West End for a few weeks before being replaced by the more dynamic and vibrant poster by Tom Chantrell.
This example, brilliantly showcasing the artwork of Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, is a Star Wars collector's dream find.
Star Wars (1977), 40x60 'Style A' Poster
Estimate: 4,000 - 6,000 GBP
Sold for: 10,080 GBP
Talking of dream finds... Original unfolded 'Style A' movie posters for Star Wars are hard to come by. This example even more so - an even larger 40x60 inch poster printed on a heavier card like paper stock. In our opinion, card stock provides a fantastic surface for printing, giving even greater detail and depth of colour. The artwork of Tom Jung will have looked amazing on this example.
Jaws (1975), U.S. Subway Poster
Estimate: 3,000 - 5,000 GBP
Sold for: 11,340 GBP
We have seen a couple of Subway posters for Steven Spielberg's 'don't go in to the water' classic before, but never one without text below the JAWS title. Subway posters often had references to local movie theatres printed on them, so it is likely that the posters were mass printed without any text, with the local details being added later. This example does not appear to have been used and munched through its high estimate!
La Dolce Vita (1960), Italian Style A poster
Estimate: 18,000 - 26,000 GBP
Sold for: 37,800 GBP
Nominated for four Oscars, including Best Director for Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita ('The Good Life'), now frequently appears in top ten lists of world cinema. Renowned film critic Roger Ebert even listed it as his favourite film of all-time.
The poster, with artwork by Georgio Olivetti, provides the triple-threat of great film, great poster, great period.
The Man in the White Suit (1951), British Double-Crown
Estimate: 2,400 - 3,600 GBP
Sold for: 2,142 GBP
Thanks to designer Sydney John Woods, Ealing Studios' movie posters were pieces of art to match the movies themselves. This wonderful image of Alec Guinness, in a suit made of material that can never get dirty, was painted by Alfred Reginald Thomson.
Sabrina (1954), Original Production Still
Estimate: 500 - 800 GBP
Sold for: 1,134 GBP
Audrey Hepburn’s magic continues to cast its spell and this wonderful image from Billy Wilder's romantic comedy Sabrina shows that you can look beyond the little-black-dress of Breakfast At Tiffany's for some truly amazing pieces.
Yellow Submarine (1968), US Three Sheet
Estimate: 1,400 - 2,200 GBP
Sold for: 3,276 GBP
We are huge fans of The Beatles and were lucky enough to catch the Get Back roof concert in IMAX during its very limited UK release. It felt like a privileged window in to the group during their final year of musical output. Over five decades since they split, their creative genius continues to find new followers.
This stunning U.S. three sheet movie poster shows off the Yellow Submarine artwork of Heinz Edelmann brilliantly!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), U.S. Three Sheet (1958)
Estimate: 1,200 - 1,800 GBP
Sold for: 2,268 GBP
Disney’s output shows no signs of slowing, in fact, with the acquisition of Lucasfilm and Marvel, they dominate the global box office on a weekly basis. However, the animated feature length films have a magic of their own and Snow White is where it all began. This three sheet, from the 1958 release, is a stunner!
My Neighbour Totoro (1988), double bill with Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Japanese B2
Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000 GBP
Sold for: 3,276 GBP
Our final pick from the sale is this Japanese 'B2' movie poster for a Studio Ghibli double-bill of My Neighbour Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies.
We continue to see huge interest in posters for Studio Ghibli movies and this wonderful example for a Hayao Miyazaki's classic proved to be no exception.
You can find all of the results, with plenty more James Bond for 007 fans, over at the Sotheby's website.
We are off to look in the loft for some 1960's Italian posters!
Adam and the Art of the Movies.
