For their 1,000th issue, Entertainment Weekly has gathered 1,000 “New Classics” representative of the last 25 years in the realms of books, movies, music, and television. 50 of those new classics are prime matter for discussion among graphic designers: 25 Perfect Movie Posters and 25 New Classic Covers. Like any list, theirs is as valid as yours or mine, and unlike a design annual, the selections in this list seem more inherently tied to the pop cultural impact of the movies or books these designs represent, instead of putting the spotlight brightly on the typography, art direction, and concept — meaning, Almost Famous as the most perfect movie poster ever seems impossible. Following are the top 5 in each category, and in order. Agree, disagree, and recommend your own.
No. 1 / Almost Famous / Poster design by Pulse Advertising / Unless you are a fan of Kate Hudson’s lips, I don’t quite see how this is the best poster in the last 25 years. The reflection-on-the-sunglasses is a cliche, and there is nothing particularly unique about the rest of the it. For my money, the Hancock poster pulls this off more convincingly.
No. 2 / Amelie / Okay, so in this case I’m a fan of Audrey Tautou, and the photography is interesting. I just wish someone had actually handwritten the title, instead od just using a typeface out of the box. Or at least, modified the repeating characters a little bit.
No. 3 / American Beauty / Poster design by Pulse Advertising / I wasn’t sure about this one, but if you consider the simplicity of it, it’s quite remarkable that it’s so uncluttered for a Hollywood poster. Too bad that when you look closer, as the poster suggests, you are rewarded with some badly spaced Times.
No. 4 / Back to the Future / Illustration by Drew Struzan / Hard to argue against this master illustrator, and the “logo” for the movie is quite clever but, then again, I’m a sucker for reverse italics.
No. 5 / Batman / Poster design by B.D. Fox Independent / Yes. Although not as hot once you put in all the other poster crap, nor when you outline badly the actors’ names.
No. 1 / The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood / Design and illustration by Fred Marcellino / I’m going to have to claim ignorance on this one. Not sure why it’s in the top spot.
No. 2 / A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey / Design by Rodrigo Corral / Few book covers have been in the news and the mainstream’s attention like this controversial candy-coated one. The aqua background looked great in all the newscasts. Even without the attention, this is a memorable cover.
No. 3 / Everything is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer / Design and illustration by Anne Chalmers / Lovely type illustration. But is that enough?
No. 4 / Born to Kvetch, by Michael Wex / Design by Jennifer Carrow / Great photo. Great type. However, not all Hasidic Jews are Yiddish, and not all Yiddish-wielding Jews are Hasidic, so there is a little bit of a reductive representation here, but it does convey the idea of the book quickly.
No. 5 / Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton / Design by Chip Kidd / With six covers in the top 25, Chip’s cover for Jurassic Park topped in at the five spot. While I am not a fan at all of heavier “J” and “P” in the title — some work should have been done to maintain even weight among the letterforms — the starkness of this cover is pretty captivating. Also, bonus points go to a book cover influencing the logo for a movie franchise, at the designer’s credit expense.
I prefer the Almost Famous poster to the Hancock interpretation because all the title information is kept centralized and incorporated into the imagery. It makes for a more singular image. Best poster in the last 25 years? That's a tough call.
Maybe I missed something, but I always wanted the American Beauty poster to have something hidden within. The "look closer" line obviously applies to the movie's central theme, but it seemed like it should have been incorporated into the poster.
On Jun.27.2008 at 10:32 AM