Poster Pride & Prejudice: case study JAMES BOND

Where we look at one Scorching piece of artwork that generates excitement for what it is advertising.

Then on the flipside we also have a Torturous piece that makes you wonder how it ever got approval to promote the product...

With 24 films to choose from in the James Bond franchise there are plenty of choices for our Poster Pride & Prejudice category.  There are lots of beautiful hand drawn posters, especially in the earlier years as that was the popular trend at the time.  Later years have seen more composite style posters.  My personal preference has always been for drawings over composites so it is hardly surprising which styles end up in both camps.

The Scorcher

I had such a hard time deciding which poster I liked the most from the many choices.  In the end A View to a Kill won the day over close runner up Thunderball.
I love the vibrancy to this particular poster.  There are many shades of blue but the blending of these shades is done perfectly.  The blue helps focus your attention straight on James Bond in his standard tuxedo, who is the focal point of the whole picture.
The scene is also central to the plot and setting of the film; which is something that can't be said of all the Bond posters.  Having the striking red frame of the Golden Gate Bridge helps break up the colour; even if Bond and his damsel in distress seem to be defying the laws of gravity!

The Torture

Out of all the Bond posters the ones that I particularly dislike all seem to star Pierce Brosnan.  It was bound to be one of these that worked its way into the Torture category.
Once again it was a close call, this time between our dubious winner GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies.  To be honest there is very little to choose between the two; neither one is particularly inspired but GoldenEye is distinctly more boring.
The washed out sepia tone to Bond and the Bond girls placed in the corners, makes this one look really bland.  The 007 logo gets a little lost in amongst the flames too; which are the only bright spot in this art piece.
I would have thought that the return of Bond to the big screen after a six year hiatus would warrant something more spectacular to promote it other than this boring poster.  It certainly didn't hurt the film's box office though so I guess sometimes the accompanying promotional material can be overrated.

Below is a collage of all 24 of the Bond posters for you to decide which ones would get your vote.