Soila English 102
28 February 2015

Movie Poster Comparing Analysis

Any reader who comes across the two posters gets an immediate sense that it is an advertisement (purpose) of western movies (genre). These posters are intended to promote to action packed movies: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars. This is clearly portrayed by the images of the cast whose dress code is western where cowboy hats and natural beards are evident. In addition the use of bold western font and the color selection, particularly of sunset-like orange and brown, makes it so western. More revealing, is the prominence of the guns. Clint Eastwood prominently occupies the central portion of the poster. In the poster on the left (Good, Bad, and Ugly), he is smack in the center. On the poster on the right he dominates at least two thirds of the poster. On the poster on the left, the reader will notice scenes of action casting heated gun battles and on the forefront are three men standing in confrontational postures. These features would quickly capture the interest of an audience that is interested in western movies (genre) that is also interested in real action, energy, or those with a fascination for violence (logos). This action and energy is suggested by the mean faces and guns (one each per poster). The two posters are engaging in that they equally draw the reader who is interested in action to look further into the background and see further portrayal of action.
Facial expressions and body language are very important as they send forth a strong message to the reader. For example, in casting the promotion for the movie A Fistful of Dollars, the media producers used what appears to be a telephoto lens on the close up shot to blur out the background and put more attention on the imposing facial expressions Clint Eastwood, the main character. In both posters, the movie director, Sergio Leone successfully portrays men who look long-weathered by work and the desert sun - and, perhaps anger and brutality. With their eyes gazed at a distance, it bring out the “shadowy” minds of the characters to bear upon the imaginations of the reader. Also, the orange, fiery lighting makes it look and feel sinister and as the shadows provides the impression of deceit and evilness.
Any Western film with Clint Eastwood is just Legendary. For the poster on the right, the reader is confronted by the mean looking facial image of Clint Eastwood, an accomplished movie actor (ethos), dressed in western attire consisting of the usual high-crowned, wide-brimmed, soft-felt western hat. In both posters, the movie director, Sergio Leone successfully portrays men who look long-weathered by work and the sun, perhaps anger and brutality, in the western deserts. With their eyes gazed at a distance, it bring out the “shadowy” minds of the characters to bear upon the imaginations of the reader images of tactful planning and focus on part of the cast.
In the background is the image of a desolate western town at sunset. The only visible life is that of three alert “cowboys,” namely: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Greef, and Gian Maria Volonte. This, certainly is an image intended to grab the interest of the viewer who has a love for North American western movies (audience). On the poster promoting the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, the three main characters of the film are represented as "the good" (Clint Eastwood), "the bad" (Lee Van Cleef), and "the ugly" (Eli Wallach) – (ethos). The most noticeable words which appear on the poster on the left is title of the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the renowned movie director Sergio Leone (ethos).
For the poster on the right prominence of the words A Fistful of Dollars is clearly the title of the movie. A vast empty Western landscape (again, this adds to the ethos). The titles of the two movies are short, catchy and crafted in a manner that would attract the target audience by using what might be considered as star-power and gangster strap lines, which would encourage the viewers to watch it. A close study of the two posters brings out imposing shots of the cast which offers the reader an opportunity leads to nowhere in terms of associating the message portrayed by the visuals to images.
For example, in The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly, the first question that comes to the reader’s mind is fact that the title is definitely associated to the three men. This association is portrayed by the simple placement of the movie title above the portraits of the three men. The question that now remains, is who is good, who is bad and who is ugly among the three men? As it regards the poster for A Fistful of Dollars, the caption is placed right under the imposing image of Clint Eastwood and thus the response is look for the hand that has the dollars. In this case there are no hands visible and that includes the hand that might be holding the ready to blaze gun.
In conclusion, the poster makers were successful in their efforts to promote the two western movies to the use of color, background, and demeanors of the cast. Both were equally engaging with enough content to captivate and hold the reader’s attention long enough to become interested. The movies featuring Clint Eastwood captures the attention of a viewer who naturally has an interest in action packed western movies. Honestly, the messages presented in both posters are certain not to allow a viewer to go into the movie theater with preconceived notions the two movies will not be packed with action. To me, I believe these posters were well done. If I were to serve as member of a panel of judges, I would give the creators of the posters a huge 10!