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Fantastic original movie posters from Art of the Movies

 

 

Sotheby's February 2022 Auction - Some Amazing Results…

Sotheby's Sale of Original Film Posters - February 2022

 

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.

 

An original movie poster for the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction

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.

 

An original movie poster for the Al Pacino film Scarface

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).

 

An original UK Quad movie poster for the James Bond film Thunderball

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!

 

James Bond Sound Stage Sign

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.

 

An original movie poster for the film Bladerunner

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.

 

An original UK Quad Movie Poster with artwork by the Hildebrandt brothers for Star Wars

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.

 

An original movie poster for the film Star Wars

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!

 

An original subway poster for the Steven Spielberg film Jaws

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.

 

An original Italian movie poster for the film La Dolce Vita

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.

 

The Man In The White Suit - Original Movie Poster

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.

 

Sarbina - Theatrical Still of Audrey Hepburn

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!

 

Yellow Submarine - Original Movie Poster

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!

 

An original movie poster for Snow White and Seven Dwarfs

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.

 

An original movie poster for My Neighbour Totoro

 

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.

 

Fantastic original movie posters from Art of the Movies

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