My Movie Poster Collection: I

Remember that you can always click on the images themselves to see them (hopefully) larger:

I WALK THE LINE (John Frankenheimer, 70). Folded, VG
I bought this at first glance. I had never heard of the movie, but the sight of a golden-age actor (Gregory Peck) giving what for to a hippie-age actor (the beautiful Tuesday Weld) is too dynamic to ignore. I saw the movie after I bought this. I liked it alright, but I wondered if something more authentic could've been had. Still, an amazing poster, with a strong shout-out to Johnny Cash.

I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND (Robert Zemeckis, 78). Folded, VG
I LOVE this movie. It's my movie. It's my baby. And the poster is yellow and bright, and it has terrific copy, and it features Wendy Jo Sperber, Theresa Saldana, Eddie Deezen, and Nancy Allen. What the frick?? This was a must for my collection.

IDA (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2013). Rolled, M

AN IDEAL HUSBAND (Oliver Parker, 99). Rolled, VG
I like the movie, and the stars, but I dislike the poster. ZZZZZZZ--zaaa? Wha? Don't bother me, I'm sleeping...

THE IDIOTS (Lars Von Trier, 98). Rolled, VG
Another unfortunately ugly movie campaign. I understand why it is as such, but it don't make for a convincing sale. Nevertheless, the movie is outstanding.

I'M ALL RIGHT, JACK (John Boulting, 59). Folded, VG
Is this the oldest poster in my collection? Going 52 years old--pretty elderly for a piece of paper, it seems. This early Peter Sellers (supporting) vehicle is a classic of British cinema, but I found it deadly dry...maybe I needed to be British to appreciate it. Or maybe I wasn't in the mood. It happens, y'know?

INHERENT VICE (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014). Rolled, M.

INLAND EMPIRE (David Lynch, 2006). Rolled, NM
It was a miracle I got this poster, but I did. I think there were very, very few of these produced (at our pre-screening at the Plaza in Atlanta, Lynch offered to whatever # ticket-buyer a special door prize: a silver-signed copy of this poster. It's cleanly pressed on thick card stock, with strange art that punches much differently up close than it does from far away. Thus, it regularly creeps me out maybe more than any other David Lynch one-sheet. Also, outside of Eraserhead, the poster is the most rare of Lynch's movie graphics. Love that I have it.

  
INNOCENT BLOOD (John Landis, 92). Rolled, NM. 

INSIDE MOVES (Richard Donner, 80). Rolled, VG
This looks like it was done by one of the great poster artists...maybe Drew Struzan. But I can't find any info on who did it. No matter. Even if the poster sucked, I'd have to get it, because Inside Moves is absolutely one of my favorite sleepers. I interviewed director Richard Donner back in 1985--in one of the most unusual ways, sitting on a park bench in downtown Atlanta--and he revealed to me that it was his personal favorite of any of the works he'd done up to that time. There you have it. It's now released on DVD, so view it forthwith!

THE INSIDER (Michael Mann, 99). Rolled, NM
An incredible movie, one that gets better with each viewing, somehow. The one-sheet reflects this quality. It's perfectly designed. I won't part with it.

INTERIORS (Woody Allen, 78). Folded, VG
One of Woody's most majestic one-sheets, with elegant typography and an obvious photographic reference to Ingmar Bergman. The shot included is the final shot of the film, and it is superb. "RENATA: The water's so calm. JO: Yes. It's very peaceful."

INTO THE NIGHT (John Landis, 85). Folded, G. A forgotten entry into John Landis' ouvre, unjustly so.

IRMA LA DOUCE (Billy Wilder, 63). Folded, G
My copy has a FOR ADULTS ONLY sticker pasted on it. Saul Bass may have done this poster art; Billy Wilder can't remember (which is not as surprising as it should be). That said, no one has any proof the art belongs to Bass. But what do you think?

IS PARIS BURNING (Rene Clement, 66). Folded, VG
Wow! This one-sheet is outstanding! So much crisp to read copy and jagged graphics to take in! I really, really love this piece. And the movie is underrated--huge cast and on-point crew does well with a script co-written by Francis Coppola and Gore Vidal!

Film #29: Inside Moves

I'll never forget catching Inside Moves on cable back in the early 80s. It was like finding buried treasure, it really was. This 1980 film has now been almost totally forgotten--it's not even on DVD. But if you ever get a chance to see it, and have a prediliction for the sentimental, the beguiling, the intelligent, the well-crafted film, then you will love it as much as I did.

Richard Donner, normally the director of blockbusters like Superman, Lethal Weapon, The Goonies, and The Omen, dialed down the grandstanding he does so well to create this little personal movie about refound hope. After a fantastic credits sequence, we meet Rory (John Savage, in one of his few leads), a walking corpse whose attempt at suicide leaves him severely disabled. Across the street from his recovery house, Rory discovers Max's Bar and, inside, a vaudevillian trio of long-term patients (wheelchair-bound
Bill Henderson, blind Burt Remsen, and Harold Russell, in only his second film after winning two Oscars for playing a WWII soldier who'd lost his hands in 1946's The Best Years of Our Lives). Behind the counter is bartender Jerry (David Morse), a wanna-be basketball star with one leg shorter than the other. It's here, with these guys, that Rory does his healing.

It's impossible to conceive of the person who wouldn't like this winsome movie. The performances alone carry you through. Add the brilliant John Barry score, the tender scripting by Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin, and the rich cinematography by Lazlo Kovacs, and you've got an unbeatable force. Yet, it's weird how this title has disappeared from people's view. For instance, it has one of the best Christmas-related scenes of all time (John Savage and Oscar-nominated Diana Scarwid slow dance to Sinatra's "Put All Your Dreams Away"). I'd play this film on TV at Xmas in a heartbeat. But where is it come yueltide? Nowhere. More importantly, why wouldn't Inside Moves be out on DVD yet? Music rights issues, perhaps? The Sinatra estate, maybe?


Yes, okay, the movie can be charmingly trite at times, with its subplot about Jerry's prostitute girlfriend (Amy Wright, a familiar face around the early 1980s) and her dealings with a red-suited pimp named Lucius (Tony Burton). But its scenes of genuine emotion, particularly between Savage and Scarwid, and between Savage and Morse, are enough reason to seek it out. I remember interviewing Richard Donner back in 1985 when he was going around the country promoting Ladyhawke. Though I was just a lowly college journalist, he graciously agreed to meet me for a one-on-one chat in Atlanta's Central City Park. I was a fan of some of his movies at that point, but mostly of this one. When I threw out how much I liked Inside Moves, his eyes lit up. "Wow," he said, "rarely does anybody mention it, but that's my favorite of my own movies." Justifyably so...