Promotional movie posters are designed to advertise upcoming releases in order to boost box office takings. For a movie poster to be a success, it needs to be visually arresting and although bright colors are scientifically proven to catch the human eye more easily, black and white posters often take the most powerful hold over us. You’ll notice that while all the posters below are essentially black and white, many do use touches of color to draw attention to the title or release date.
Black and white posters are surprisingly common across all film genres, but particularly so among in-depth character studies and those which focus on dark and gloomy subject matter. Take a look at the 30 stunning examples below and see if you can identify any other common threads between them.
1. Star Trek
These two posters were released to promote 2009’s woefully underrated Star Trek movie, which takes an in-depth look into the personalities of its two main characters - James Tiberius Kirk and Spock. It’s only right, therefore, that they should feature so heavily in the design.
2. Scarface
This is one poster we’ve all seen before. Hung on millions of male student dormitory walls around the world it’s an absolute classic. The film tells the tale of the murderous and malevolent Tony Montana, who can be seen depicted in black and white, gun in hand.
3. The Stud
1978 movie, The Stud, based on the Jackie Collins best seller, is a raunchy account of nymphomaniac club owners and intra-family affairs. The understated promotional poster is every bit as steamy with a silhouette of Fontaine Khaled, the movie’s main protagonist, being caressed by a mystery male.
4. The Family That Preys
Is it a hand or is it a face? It’s both actually, thanks to this rather clever optical illusion. Black and white, save for a couple of blue words, it’s not the most eye-catching poster ever designed, but perfectly captures the back-stabbing nature of the movie, which features two warring families - one white, one black.
5. White Hunter Black Heart
OK‚ so it’s not technically a black and white poster, but the main image of Clint Eastwood’s face is monochrome so I included it in this list. Eastwood himself directs, produces and stars in the movie about film-maker John Wilson, who shoots elephants while filming on location in Africa. He wrestles with the rights and wrongs of this most un-noble of pursuits and such a struggle can be seen on his troubled face.
6. The Bourne Ultimatum
This, the third film in the Bourne trilogy, is widely regarded as the best of all (personally, I like the first most, but what do I know?) Bourne holds a gun in one hand, like the Scarface poster, while his image is overlaid with angular lines and patterns reminiscent of circuit boards and other high-tech computery things.
7. American History X
Bleak and unforgiving, this poster encapsulates the views and personality of Derek Vinyard, a neo-Nazi played expertly by Edward Norton who is the main character in the story. Clutching his large swastika tattoo, he carves an oppressive figure.
8. Athlete
The poster above is every bit as unusual and idiosyncratic as the film which it promotes. Athlete, which came out earlier this year, is a documentary which chronicles the stories of four extraordinary individuals who take part in endurance events - a cancer patient, a blind man and twin sisters.
9. Un Prophéte
The designers of the promotional poster for French film, Un Prophete, used black and white to echo the lack of color and emotional depth experienced by those locked up in prison for long periods of time. In the image, jail bars are etched onto the face of the film’s main character.
10. Burlesque
Using a single color on an otherwise black and white poster is a great way of creating a striking and conspicuous image, which is what most poster designer’s want. The dark pink color makes the poster for Burlesque really stand out from the others on the movie theatre wall.
11. The Elephant Man
David Lynch’s The Elephant Man tells the story of a severely deformed man in 19th century London, played by John Hurt. Due to the social stigma of his affliction, he’s forced to hide in the shadows, much like he does in this dark poster.
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of the best movies in the history of American cinema and its promotional poster does the quality of the classic film real justice. Just like the movie itself, the poster centers on Jack Nicholson’s character, the anarchic but warm-hearted criminal called Randle Patrick McMurphy.
13. Remember Me
Starring the biggest heartthrob of the moment, Robert Pattinson, Remember Me was always going to do pretty well as the box office (it ended up grossing $56,223,951). The monochrome poster above gives the film a timeless and romantic look. The movie, however, was anything but a classic and received a poor critical reception.
14. Walk The Line
Admittedly, this isn’t the most circulated Walk The Line poster and it’s not even properly black and white. Black and white, however, is certainly the look the designers were going for. The image combines the monochrome look of photography in the 1950s, when Johnny Cash was starting out in the music industry, with hints of color to represent a modern retelling of his story.
15. Righteous Kill
While the film didn’t reach anywhere near the dizzy heights expected of a Robert De Niro/Al Pacino double whammy, any poster which features both of these giants of the silver screen is OK in my book. The design’s a bit rough round the edges, just like the actors themselves.
16. The Transporter
A black and white Jason Statham, guns blazing, hovers in the background of the poster for The Transporter. The lack of color in the background draws the viewer’s eye to the name of the movie plastered across the centre.
17. American Gangster
Black and white seems to be a popular theme running through gangster movie posters and the one for American Gangster is no different. Smart like a well cut mobster’s suit, black and white is perfect for the genre.
18. Rambo
The fourth installment in the Rambo franchise, this outing was also the most poorly received. The poster is vintage John Rambo stuff, ideal for a stone-cold assassin who sees life in black and white.
19. Sweeney Todd
Dark like the Victorian London which Sweeney Todd inhabits, not to mention his gloomy barber’s salon and basement, this poster is incredibly austere. Red has been used to accentuate the image and can be seen seeping through the floorboards - a sign of what lurks beneath.
20. The Twilight Saga: New Moon
With a name like New Moon, the poster for this film could never be a colorful affair. The film’s vamp stars stand dappled in moonlight which streams in from the top left of the image.
21. Ray
A simple poster with a simple title to match. As we all know, the film’s a biopic of Ray Charles and his unmistakable silhouette can be seen here complete with trademark collar and glasses.
22. Eagle Eye
There were two main posters published to promote the release of Eagle Eye. One is in color, full of flames, explosions and action, but it’s the one above, which captures the emotional side of the struggle faced by the film’s two young stars, which really strikes a chord.
23. An Inconvenient Truth
For those who haven’t already seen An Inconvenient Truth, it’s a documentary warning the world about the perils of global warming. Supposedly caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels and the gases they emit, it’s only right that the film’s promotional poster should be dominated by grays.
24. The Expendables
The promotional budget behind The Expendables was absolutely huge with many different posters used to publicize the film’s release in different parts of the world. This is one of better ones, focusing on a straightforward, bold image instead of relying solely on the draw of an incredible cast.
25. Wanted
If you’ve got Angelina Jolie starring in your movie, my advice is to use her as the sole focus of your promotional poster, and if she’s holding a big gun then that’s even better! After all, it must have been Angelina Jolie that people wanted to see when they watched this film as the plot was absolutely ludicrous. Not recommended.
26. The Ugly Truth
The Ugly Truth is a romantic comedy with a message - women love with their heads; men love with their genitals. It’s not the most groundbreaking concept ever expounded, but the poster does a pretty good job of transferring the message to an audience.
27. Jackass: Number Two
Extremely uncomplicated and clear-cut is the poster for the second outing in the Jackass movie series (number three in 3D out this month). The skull and crossbones is a thoroughly eye-catching symbol in its own right. Replacing the bones for crutches lets all the Jackass fans know to expect more of the same this time round.
28. Lonely Hearts
Taking a black and white image and accentuating it by coloring a lady’s lips deep red is the oldest trick in the book, but it works well and will continue to do so. This is a great example with the red of the lips mirrored in the words below.
29. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
More blue and white than black and white, this poster features Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore in a typically wizard-like pose. Who says kids are only attracted by bright colors? This movie grossed $58.2 million on its opening day in North America alone.
30. Buried
This movie might not be familiar to some of you. That’s because it hasn’t come out yet. It’s an upcoming indie-thriller about a man who’s buried alive. Unusually, this poster focuses more on typography than images, using quotes from early reviews to excite prospective viewers.
About the Author
Tom Walker is a writer at a leading print cartridge supplier based in the UK offering franking machine ink to the creative industry.
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