James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 7

The result of this poster being in the number seven spot among top domestic one-sheets for the James Bond film series might have been swayed a little by my feelings for the movie itself, but I do like the restraint that is used in the following poster.

 

 

7. Goldfinger

In today's world of ADD marketing where every square inch of the frame must be utilized, the poster for Goldfinger might have looked something like this.

 

 

This is the re-release poster used in the United States in 2010.  It is actually labeled Overdrive Release, which somewhat solidifies my point that even the names of things today have to be amped up in order to grab the attention of moviegoers.  Subtlety isn't really in the lexicon of marketing departments.  But if you look at the poster at the top, it is three small photos centered on a black background, with one image blocking the naked bottom of a golden model.  The only other coloring found is in the tag line and credits.  Much of the poster is dead space, which you just don't find much of in today's posters.

 

While I very much enjoy the poster at the top, I am also a fan of the French Grande, which mirrors many of the French posters found in the James Bond series.

 

 

The use of drawings instead of photographs, the action between Bond and Oddjob, and the conformity with other of the film's posters from around the globe of blocking the golden girl's behind with Bond's face are well balanced to create a great-looking piece of artwork.  And that is exactly what it is.  It's not just a promotional piece to market Goldfinger, but an artist's work that was thoughtfully crafted.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 8

Moving into the eighth spot on my list of the best 007 posters from the United States we find a film that on nearly every other list I have made about this franchise is at or near the bottom.  About the only bright spots of this movie are the villain and the poster, with every other aspect of the movie being either dull or obnoxious.

 

 

8. The Man With The Golden Gun

The artists throw a lot on the page with this poster, but unlike other marketing designs that have come before it on this list, everything seems to be well placed and it doesn't feel like it is overkill on the action sequences and character reveals.  One of the things I like most about this poster is that the title character, the man with the golden gun, isn't found except for his hands on the aforementioned weapon and a bullet with our hero's number etched into the casing.  By leaving the villain unrevealed, it heightens the mystery and suspense of who he is and why he is out to get James Bond.

 

While I do enjoy the above poster, the second version of the domestic one-sheet, labeled Style B, is even better.

 

 

It was a big gamble for the producers to advertise that Scaramanga would be as iconic a villain as those featured in this poster.  Prior to the release of this movie, Dr. No, Rosa Klebb and Red Grant, Goldfinger and Oddjob, and Blofeld were the series' top villains, and it remains that way today as well.  Francisco Scaramanga, played by Bond novelist Ian Fleming's cousin Christopher Lee, who was mostly known at the time for his role as Dracula, had a lot to live up to once that poster was released in movie theaters across America.  Luckily for him, he did not disappoint.

 

Scaramanga is ruthless, cunning, sophisticated, and pretty much in every way the exact match to James Bond.  What separates him from our hero is that he is an assassin and gun for hire, whereas 007 does his duty for queen and country.  Lee personifies Scaramanga and added another classic villain to the film's series.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 9

There are two things I like about the next poster in my ranking of the best James Bond posters found in the United States: it is simple and it is sexy.

 

 

9. The Living Daylights

There isn't much going on in the frame above.  In the background is 007, played by Timothy Dalton in his first outing of the series, wearing his typical black tuxedo centered in the famous gun barrel, which is tinted blue.  In the foreground is a blonde woman, which may be Maryam d'Abo or it might just be a random model, in a white negligee holding a silenced handgun.  And that is it.

 

No explosions.  No action spoilers.  Just two characters, three colors, some credits, a title, and the tag line, "Living on the edge.  It's the only way he lives."

 

Needless to say, or maybe it does need to be said, the U.S. one-sheet poster for The Living Daylights is my favorite that was used from around the world for this film.  Looking at what it was up against though, it didn't have to try very hard to be better.  This is the one-sheet poster for the United Kingdom, which is similar to what was also used in Japan, Australia, Spain, and Thailand.

 

 

The image of Bond in the gun barrel is the same, but instead of tempering moviegoers' expectations with subtle and sexy imagery, we are assaulted with so many characters and illustrations from the film that you could probably piece together 75% of the entire movie without ever seeing a single frame.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 10

With the latest entry in this series, we enter the top ten of best domestic James Bond posters.  The following was found in U.S. theaters in 1971 to promote Roger Moore's debut as British superspy 007.

 

 

10. Live and Let Die

The marketing department did a really good job this time of combining the necessary elements of any James Bond poster, which includes the star himself, the women, and the action.  But what makes this poster better than most is that it includes a major theme of the film, which is tarot card reading.  As you can see above, different characters are portrayed on each of the cards, with many elements of the film's violence and action set pieces at the bottom of the frame.

 

I also like the use of a knife as an "I" in the word die.  This hasn't been utilized too much by the Bond team when promoting their films, unlike finding ways to incorporate "007" in different words, like what is found on the Live and Let Die poster with Roger Moore's name.  That marketing technique is used ad nauseam in the 53-year history of the film's franchise.

 

The artwork used above can be found on the majority of posters throughout the world to advertise Moore's first Bond feature, so instead of something better, which I couldn't really find, I will include some appealing fan art.

 

 

This first one is interesting in that it features a side character who truly stole the show, even from Moore himself.  Baron Samedi, or the voodoo God of Death, was portrayed by the late Geoffrey Holder and quickly became a fan favorite.  He doesn't get much screen time, but as you can see above, his legacy in the series was strong enough that fan art would make him the primary focus of a poster about James Bond.

 

 

The final piece of fan art plays off of the film's poster by using the tarot cards, but instead of featuring the actors from the movie the artist drew their own portrayal.  Likely this is something created to promote Ian Fleming's novel more than it is the movie, but it still works well.  The afroed skeleton is quite chilling and a good centerpiece feature for the poster/book cover.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 11

Normally I am not one for campiness in a poster, unless the movie is meant to be that type of comedy.  Yet, somehow it works with the next 007 poster on my list of the U.S. one-sheet posters.

 

 

11. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Go ahead and look over that poster a little longer.  There is a lot to take in.  There is the obvious shots of James Bond and girlfriend, but in the background is a barrage of henchmen and action.  Even for a Bond poster, that is a lot of bad guys chasing after our hero.  But what makes this poster even more outlandish is what Diana Rigg is wearing.  In what world does she live in that snow falls enough to ski and wearing a pink low-cut, short skirted go-go dress is a practical idea?

 

My only real complaint, other than Rigg's costumer for this poster, is the movie's title card being placed right in the middle of the action.  I assume the thought process behind this was, "Well, 30 henchmen with automatic weapons might be enough to put on this poster.  Go ahead and cover up those extra 70 henchmen with the title of the movie and other needed credits.  We don't want to be excessive, now do we?"

 

I really like the poster at the top, but my favorite would probably be the U.S. advance teaser poster.

 

 

With Sean Connery retiring from the role after You Only Live Twice, this was the first time audiences had gone through an actor change with the role of James Bond.  Keeping the actor a secret for the teaser poster of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is somewhat of a bold move as it doesn't do much in the way of promoting your film, but it does generate buzz, which is the point of posters and other marketing strategies.  A shirtless, faceless Bond surrounded by bikini-clad women is an intriguing way to advertise your movie, especially since it was to be released in December and half of the plot takes place in the Swiss Alps.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 12

Today's entry in the domestic one-sheet poster list is partly the reason I started this series.  While the marketing artwork for Dr. No used in the U.S.A. in 1963, which was a year after its initial release in the United Kingdom where superspy James Bond hails from, isn't my favorite of the series, its French counterpart is.

 

 

12. Dr. No

As you've probably noticed by now, I find the hand-drawn posters more appealing than Photoshopped works.  So it is no surprise that breaking into the top half of the rankings is a poster with imagery completely created by hand and no still photos from the feature film are used.  Sean Connery, as our hero 007, is lazily holding his gun pointed at the ground and featured next to him are the women seen throughout the movie, dressed in the sexiest outfits they are found in at whatever point in the film, and in one case only a towel is covering her naughty parts.  The use of different colors for each girl also gives the poster a little pop that matches the title sequence of Dr. No.

 

However, like I said earlier, the above image is not my favorite for the debut film of the series.  That honor goes to the French Grande poster.  The artists used the same design for a few of the French posters, but changed the color on the right side of the frame where the title of the film is found.  My preferred of the three that exist is the pink stripped version.

 

 

The image of Bond doesn't change much from the one found in the U.S. poster, but I really like the more obscure drawings of the female faces on this poster and the way the colors are drawn on like they were done in a rush to add color.  The entire thing comes together very nicely and, like the U.S. poster, the variance in colors really makes the poster stand out.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 13

After so many of these entries about movie posters, you have probably noticed a common design theme with nearly every single promotional poster throughout the James Bond series.  It seems that many of these posters show 007 flanked by pretty women and selected action sequences or explosions scattered around the centered characters.  So what differentiates one poster from the next?  Well, I don't really have a good answer for that, but let's take the next film in this series and use it as an example of why it ranks where it does.

 

 

13. Moonraker

Following the 10th film in the series, The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli had planned to release For Your Eyes Only in 1979.  However, with the box office success and increased interest in science fiction following the release of Star Wars, it was decided to delay For Your Eyes Only and instead turn Fleming's novel Moonraker into the next feature film.

 

The U.S. one-sheet poster for Moonraker is quite similar to previous and later 007 posters.  James Bond is surrounded by girls, villains, and danger.  Truly, the only major difference between this and the marketing material for something like Diamonds are Forever or Tomorrow Never Dies is that Roger Moore is seen wearing a space suit instead of a tuxedo, which is to go along with the outer space theme of the film.  This leads me to ask again, what makes this artwork better or worse than the others used in the Bond series?

 

Other than the fact that Bond is seen in outer space, not too much of the plot is given away.  There is also the sex appeal of the women's costumes, which are very near to what is actually worn in the movie, but with a little more accent on cleavage and upper thighs.  Those two things combined make this poster stand out a little more than the ones that came before it on my list.

 

The above design was used in most of the marketing throughout the globe.  There was a different creation used, labeled U.S. One-Sheet Style B, that included more action sequences from the movie.

 

 

This poster uses more hand-drawn artwork and the space station's wings are canvases to show off the stunt work from the picture.  However, Moore and Lois Chiles are practically copied and pasted over from the other promotional material.  I don't necessarily think the Style B poster is better than the poster at the top because it gives a bit too much away from the movie's action scenes.

James Bond U.S. Poster Rankings: No. 14

The domestic one-sheet poster that comes in at number 14 on the list is definitely a product of its time, with much of the page layout taken up by taglines and text.

 

 

14. From Russia With Love

My favorite James Bond film has a poster that includes a lot of good action and still photographs from the film, but those images are regulated to a half-page size.  Posters in the 1960s relied less on photographs selling the film and more on expository fanfare from its writers.  Taglines have always been used on posters, but it wasn't until about a decade after James Bond films started getting made that taglines were regulated to one or two sentences.

 

 

The other material used to promote From Russia With Love, labeled Style B and seen above, enlarges its images of 007, alone with different women featured in the movie, but it still restricts the amount of space allowed because of marketing parlance.  This version also drops all sneak peeks at any action that might be taking place.

 

 

The greatest use of a poster for From Russia With Love was found in France, which not only used a style of drawing the characters, instead of using still photographs from the film or taken by the production company's photography department, but also implemented a use of colors that is lacking in the U.S. one-sheets.  It also balances the amount of action and sex behind a large image of our hero, who is front and center in his customary gun pose.