In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the original Star Wars’s theatrical release, here’s a look back at the space saga’s history through its posters. Also check out this interesting read from Film School Rejects’s William Dass detailing the stories behind some of these iconic pieces of movie art. Continue Reading ›
(Above) A monkey-masked John Landis guides the action on the set of his directorial debut Schlock (1973). Landis, who also wrote the script and played the simian lead, was only 21-years-old at the time the monster movie spoof was shot in 1971. Makeup effects master Rick Baker, seen standing to the left of Landis, was only 20. Baker had the budget for just one ape suit, part of which was constructed by gluing hair and a rubber chest piece onto a pair of long johns worn by Landis.
Here’s Baker’s recollection of Schlock, from Anthony Timpone’s book Men, Makeup & Monsters: Hollywood’s Masters of Illusion and FX.
“We shot in Agoura during a heat wave, like a hundred and twenty degrees. And John was sweating like mad – the hair was dripping wet and just kept falling off. We lost about half the hair on the first day! And it took a while to lay all that hair on there. So we started taking the suit off him between takes if we could, and fortunately it cooled down some. It was an experience.” – Rick Baker
The Averardo Ciriello-painted Italian advert for 1971’s Trafic, which marked the cinematic adieu of writer/director/star Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot character. Though his career spanned four decades, Tati directed only six feature films – all of which you can find in a single Criterion Collection box set.
Poster via Heritage Auctions.
Orson Welles and cinematographer Russell Metty on the set of Touch of Evil (1958) – the first film Welles had directed in the United States in nearly a decade following 1948’s Macbeth. An Oscar winner for lensing Kubrick’s Spartacus, Metty also shot Bringing Up Baby for Howard Hawks, The Misfits for John Huston, and Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, and Written on The Wind for Douglas Sirk.
A small sampling of the unique work done by the prolific Tony Stella. He’s also a great Twitter follow who shares classic movie art and other filmic ephemera.
Check out more of Deep Fried Movies’ favorite poster artists here.
Above – Werner Herzog’s cameraman on Stroszek (1977) serves as a human car mount. Looks like a string of sash is serving as his safety line, but it’s wrapped around the headlight so I’m sure he’s good.
Pic via the blog Kino Images.
A towering Gill-Man coaxes residents of Okinawa into theaters to see Revenge of the Creature (1955). This pic comes from the Facebook group Universal Monsters and More and was posted by David Crouse, whose uncle snapped the photo while stationed in Okinawa in 1957/1958.
Like its predecessor – 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon – Revenge was shot in 3D and director by Jack Arnold (It Came From Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man). The sequel also features the screen debut of Clint Eastwood in a small role as a lab technician.
Check out more Pics of the Day here.
A rock star is brought back from the dead when his final album is played backwards in 1986’s Trick or Treat. The horror flick was one of a slew of movies – both high brow (Blue Velvet, Manhunter, Crimes of Hearts) and low (King Kong Lives, The Cat’s Eye, Maximum Overdrive) – shot in North Carolina for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis before his De Laurentiis Entertainment Group went bankrupt in 1988.
Trick or Treat features early work from legendary cinematographer Robert Elswit (Nightcrawler, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and several films for Paul Thomas Anderson) and an uncredited dialogue polish from Final Destination scribes Glen Morgan and James Wong.
For more Pics of the Day click here. Poster courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
