Motion posters - A tale of glasses telling the stories

Have you ever noticed a movie poster closely? Though the mainstream has overcrowded the idea of posters with characters and their names, there are still a few who are determined enough to keep the stakes high.

The motion posters

Looking through the movie poster while walking down the underpass or at our nearest theatre walls was one of our favourite childhood memories that has now been replaced by digital devices. We usually tend to forget that before the excessive use of graphics on the posters, there was an era when a bare minimal object would convey the best about a movie.

The era of peeling retro movie posters from our room walls is long gone, and now it’s all about keeping your wall aesthetically pleasing. But this time, we might make you consider going back to pasting posters of Pulp Fiction and Star War right above your bed!

Through the looking glasses

Posters are not just a piece of paper with random pictures on them! Every aspect of that image, from a minute object to the placement of characters, every object on it has its own story to tell. The same goes with the eyeglasses on a motion poster!

The artistic ambitions of the designers skyrocket when the glasses take over the part of telling the story. And these smartly placed punchy designs never undersold the movies. In fact, there are a lot of movies that gained prominence due to their posters, such as Moonlight (2016), Jaws (1975), The Godfather (1972), and the list continues.

But here, we will explore the posters and how the glasses have independently carried the show.

The rarity of posters with glasses

You might call them lazy work or an unmistakable skip, but what stands true to all of its sense is that these posters have never failed to awestruck its audiences and have broken the ubiquitous.

Léon: The Professional (1994)

The theatrical release poster of Léon: The Professional, exactly speaks about the origin place and how? Let’s see. You must have noticed Léon wearing round sunglasses in the poster, and if you give a close look at it, you can see the skyscrapers on them, and that’s nowhere but New York. The whole movie is set in New York’s Little Italy and that is just clearly conveyed through the reflection on his glasses. The name Léon takes up a good space in the poster, suggesting he is not an American national. These minute details build the base of a movie.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

‘Fearless lives Forever’, this musical drama was nothing but a pure treat to our ears but did you notice one of the simplest yet smartest posters of all time. Yes, in its poster, you can see Freddie Mercury played by Rami Malek, looking straight at you wearing aviator sunglasses, the trendiest set of the time. Those aviators have ‘Queen’ written on it, that is one fine detailing, usually missed, and even the spotlight reflecting on the glasses conveys that the movie is about none other than Freddie. The deep purple that is used as the base is a sign of bravery,

The Aviator (2004)

One of DiCaprio's finest works, the movie is a biographical drama about Howard Huges. The official motion poster of the movie shows DiCaprio in his aviator avatar with round aviator glasses, which was different from the usual tear-drop shape. Though the poster is black and white, but his glasses show the sky and bright sunlight. The very first depiction is the common one where he is an aviator and glasses show the sky. But the one who has watched the movie knows that; the depiction of the sky on his glasses conveys his dreams, his dream to be a successful film producer as well.

Lolita (1962)

The theatrical poster of Lolita can be described in just one word – ‘striking’. You can see 14-year-old Lolita in her love-shaped red sunnies, and that’s where the movie creates an impact like no other. The perfect pick of shades for Lolita speaks a lot about her character; just by one glance, we can make out how passionate her character is, the colour red shows the love and life that young Lolita holds. It also depicts the danger of how her life will be changed the exact moment she lays her eyes on the antagonist ‘Humbert’.

The Terminator (1984)

This iconic science fiction is everything you could ask for; this movie seeded the idea of robots being killers of humankind in our minds as kids. The poster is so impressive that the name of Schwarzenegger is written on the top and is much bolder than the name of the movie itself. And another detail is that the one who does not have the slightest idea of him being a cyborg in the movie can easily make it out from the poster. Here Schwarzenegger is seen wearing thick wayfarer sunglasses, where at one side a code is displayed, and on the other side, it's his laser eyes, giving the best ideas of him being a cyborg.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

This poster is no heavy business, it’s simple, classy, and to the point, and that’s what Reservoir Dogs is all about. The perfect wayfarer look and sharply dressed appearance show professionality (professionality for a perfect crime). This poster gained a lot of prominence just by the style statement shown in the poster. The glasses given to them are beautifully used to hide who they really are and how dark is their business.