Sometimes there are movies whose title and concept far exceeds the execution. Vampire Circus IMHO is one. Now, admittedly some horror fans love this movie, and it is a great title, but if you have seen the movie you will know it is cheaply made and poorly acted, like much of Hammer’s 1970s output. Sadly,…
Notorious / Under Capricorn / The Paradine Case
This is a trio of original Belgian posters for Alfred Hitchcock movies from the late 40s that I bought last year. Notorious is one of Hitchcock’s most famous classic thrillers, with great set-pieces and fantastic chemistry between leads Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Mint copies of this poster have sold for over $1000 at auction….
Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact was the point when the Dirty Harry series lost it for me. I love the first two movies in the series, but after 1973’s Magnum Force, the quality of each film dipped and the character of Harry became progressively both more reactionary and all-conquering – with the movies differentiated as much by the…
The Pit and the Pendulum / The Premature Burial
This is a pair of Belgian posters for two of the series of loose Edgar Allen Poe adaptations that legendary producer Roger Corman directed in the 60s. These followed on the success of Corman’s House Of Usher adaptation for American International Pictures. All starred Vincent Price, who is the one in the cowl in…
Battle Of Britain
Here are a striking pair of French posters for this classic – and very British – war movie. Battle Of Britain was released in 1969 and depicts the RAF’s ultimately successful air war against the Luftwaffe at the height of WW2. The amazing cast represents a who’s who of British actors from the period. Renowned…
The Magnificent Ambersons
This poster is both a rarity and an oddity. It also illustrates the challenges one finds sometimes when trying to authenticate rare posters. Usually, if I am looking to buy a poster I can find a reference for it online from previous sales (for example, the eMovie and Heritage Auctions databases are both great resources)….
The Living Daylights
I thought Timothy Dalton was terrific as the new James Bond in The Living Daylights. In fact, I found the whole movie something of a breath of fresh air after the ludicrousness of the latter Roger Moore Bonds, where pretty much everything ended up being played for cheap laughs. In the movie’s gripping opening sequence…
The Red Shoes / Tales Of Hoffmann
Here are a pair of very rare posters for Powell/Pressburger classics. This directing/producing team produced many beloved British movies in the 40s/50s, including A Matter Of Life And Death and Black Narcissus. Now, I first have to admit that I have seen neither The Red Shoes nor Tales Of Hoffmann, movies set in the worlds of…
Kill Bill
Kill Bill is my joint favourite Quentin Tarantino movie, along with Pulp Fiction. Tarantino movies tend to veer between breathlessly exhilarating and sluggishly unwatchable. His tendency to deliberately drag scenes and dialogue out to breaking point reached its nadir for me with The Hateful Eight which I, well, hated. Kill Bill Volume 2 was a…
The Thing
John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of those movies whose reputation has grown over the years. It got some stinky reviews when it came out and under-performed at the time, but it has since been reappraised and had a second life on DVD as a horror classic. Carpenter subsequently made some pretty rubbish movies (hello…