Just saw two webpages - here and here - about movie poster cliches. It’s surprising how many examples they were able to find of each.
Awesome comps. I’ve notice the back-to-backs and through-the-legs EVERY TIME. One they missed is the shot of the hero with his sword (or similar) raised to the sky while his lady swoons next to him.
http://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-12111/Conan_The_Barbarian.html
Forgot about that one. Obviously the cliche is adequately widespread to be spoofed.
The interesting thing is, the spoofs always have the girl hanging off the guy’s leg.
Another example: http://ca.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-86350/Army_Of_Darkness.html
White background for nearly every romantic comedy poster
This goes on to link to the ones in the OP, but a few weeks ago I saw the picture in the article somewhere else with a mention about how so many movies have a poster with a man standing and looking and an apocalypse.
I don’t know if this counts as a cliche, but I’ve noticed that movies with several major stars NEVER seem to line up their names with their mugs in the poster. For example, you’ll see, left to right, the faces of Paul Newman, Ted Danson, Bette Midler. And the names across the top of the poster will be Midler, Newman, Danson.
Obviously that example is made up, but I think it conveys the gist. I suspect this has to do with sharing the “top billing” somehow.
Alternate title:
In the Last 30 Years, A Few Movies Have Posters That Kind of Look Alike
I didn’t see one of the most obvious: Split-Face
Does anyone else think Don Lafontaine is needed here?
“In a world where movie posters are overtaken by cliches…”
Obligatory Cracked article.
Blue and orange, too. Of course, that’s part of a larger, insidious trend of orange-and-blue contrast being used in the movies themselves.
