Movie Poster of the Week: Brian De Palma in International Posters

Celebrating a documentary and a retrospective with the best lesser known De Palma posters from around the world.
Adrian Curry

Above: Thai poster for DRESSED TO KILL (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980).

American posters for Brian De Palma films—at least for his best known works—are overly familiar. The black and white posterized vision of Al Pacino for Scarface may be the most reproduced modern movie poster in the world. Then there is the even starker monochrome of John Travolta mid-scream for Blow Out, or the dual images of Sissy Spacek pre- and post-blood soaking for Carrie, or the orgasmic image of Melanie Griffith behind the venetian blinds for Body Double, or the stockinged legs of Angie Dickinson (or her body double) for Dressed to Kill. So to celebrate the essential Brian De Palma retrospective running all this month at New York's Metrograph, as well as today’s release of Noam Baumbach and Jake Paltrow’s loving documentary De Palma, which has a beautiful poster itself, I thought I’d showcase the best international posters for the director's films. Those I’ve found all come from the 70s and 80s; after that the international posters tend to be retreads of the American campaigns. But among the thirty-odd posters below there are a staggering variety of approaches to De Palma’s films, albeit with a disproportionate number of of disembodied female legs (understandable for Dressed to Kill, less so for the French, Spanish and Yugoslavian posters for Blow Out.) 

The posters are presented below in chronological order.

Above: Spanish poster for Hi, Mom! (Brian De Palma, USA, 1970).

Above: Italian poster for Sisters (Brian De Palma, USA, 1973).

Above: Italian poster for Sisters (Brian De Palma, USA, 1973).

Above: Japanese poster for Sisters (Brian De Palma, USA, 1973).

Above: Spanish poster for Sisters (Brian De Palma, USA, 1973). Design: Jano.

Above: Thai poster for Sisters (Brian De Palma, USA, 1973).

Above: German poster for Sisters (Brian De Palma, USA, 1973). 

Above: Italian poster for Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, USA, 1974).

Above: Japanese poster for Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, USA, 1974).

Above: French poster for Carrie (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976). Design: Jouineau Bourduge.

Above: Turkish poster for Carrie (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976).

Above: Japanese 1982 re-release poster for Carrie (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976).

Above: French poster for Obesession (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976).

Above: German poster for Obsession (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976).

Above: Japanese poster for Obsession (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976).

Above: Spanish poster for Obsession (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976). Design: Jano.

Above: Italian poster for The Fury (Brian De Palma, USA, 1978).

Above: Japanese poster for The Fury (Brian De Palma, USA, 1978).

Above: French poster for Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980). Design: Michel Landi.

Above: Italian poster for Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980).

Above: German poster for Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980).

Above: French poster for Home Movies (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980).

Above: Italian poster for Blow Out (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980). Design: Renato Casaro.

Above: French grande for Blow Out (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980). Design: Michel Landi.

Above: Spanish poster for Blow Out (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980).

Above: Yugoslavian poster for Blow Out (Brian De Palma, USA, 1980).

Above: Venezuelan poster for Scarface (Brian De Palma, USA, 1983).

Above: Polish poster for Body Double (Brian De Palma, USA, 1984).

Above: Hungarian poster for The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, USA, 1988).

Above: Polish poster for The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, USA, 1988). Design: Mieczyslaw Wasilewski.

Posters courtesy of Heritage Auctions, Posteritati, Film Art Gallery, KinoArt.net and CineMaterial.

Don't miss our latest features and interviews.

Sign up for the Notebook Weekly Edit newsletter.

Tags

Brian De PalmaMovie Poster of the WeekColumns
0
Please sign up to add a new comment.

PREVIOUS FEATURES

@mubinotebook
Notebook is a daily, international film publication. Our mission is to guide film lovers searching, lost or adrift in an overwhelming sea of content. We offer text, images, sounds and video as critical maps, passways and illuminations to the worlds of contemporary and classic film. Notebook is a MUBI publication.

Contact

If you're interested in contributing to Notebook, please see our pitching guidelines. For all other inquiries, contact the editorial team.