polish posters

September 27, 2001 5:53 PM

polish posters not only does poland have the best cinematographers, but their movie posters are really awesome, too. inflammatory, erotic, surreal, and cute... well, not cute :) truly art as advertisement and good for decoration!
posted by kliuless (26 comments total)

wow.
posted by elle at 6:11 PM on September 27, 2001

Cool, I wonder if Polish people respond to this. Can anyone explain the significance of the Weekend at Bernie's poster?
posted by phatboy at 6:19 PM on September 27, 2001

What great stuff! Thanks, kliuless. I'm about to move in to a new apartment. Now I know how I'll decorate it. I especially like this one.
posted by jpoulos at 6:48 PM on September 27, 2001

Wow those are definately the best movie posters I have ever seen. Great post.
posted by rift2001 at 6:56 PM on September 27, 2001

Thanks a lot for pointing that out. Those are phenomenal. I've lived in my house for well over a year, but the walls are mostly bare. Like jpoulos, I know what I'll be hanging up very soon. They'll go great with the Belgian Fitzcarraldo poster I just ordered.
posted by BoatMeme at 7:03 PM on September 27, 2001

This one's always been a favourite of mine.

This used to be at poster.pl, but I don't know what happened there...?
posted by mkn at 7:28 PM on September 27, 2001

Wow. Thank you, kliuless.
posted by holgate at 8:33 PM on September 27, 2001

Is Weekend at Bernie's secretly Polish?
posted by D at 8:35 PM on September 27, 2001

And here's a poster site for y'all, that's even from Poland!

Great link, kliuless!
posted by silusGROK at 9:08 PM on September 27, 2001

phatboy: Can you read braille? Only way I know to explain it.
posted by bjgeiger at 9:14 PM on September 27, 2001

Speaking as a graphic designer, I'd add I like that these posters emerge from a different, older aesthetic than the posters of today's Hollywood. The idea that an idea can be communicated in succinct, abstracted visual strokes rather than in a celebrity face shows great intelligence. Dig into Saul Bass (fckn Flash, can't bookmark the movie posters, but keep digging until you find Vertigo and others) or Milton Glaser to see the hand that American designers had in fueling this aesthetic.

On the other hand, I remember that one movie of recent years -- Happiness -- tried to get by with an illustrated poster rather than a photograph. Several people I know who didn't see the movie told me they thought it was animated. Sheesh.
posted by argybarg at 9:23 PM on September 27, 2001

bjgeiger: You mean sign language, right?
posted by argybarg at 9:23 PM on September 27, 2001

Can you read braille? is just what I have heard asked when someone used that particular finger configuration.
posted by bjgeiger at 9:38 PM on September 27, 2001

BTW kliuless, an excellent link. Too bad there is no "Link of Day" award. You would definitely be in the running.
posted by bjgeiger at 9:41 PM on September 27, 2001

Several people I know who didn't see the movie told me they thought it was animated. Sheesh.

convention is an aid to communication none the less.
posted by elle at 9:43 PM on September 27, 2001

elle: True. The reason movie poster designers avoid illustrations is not because they're crass, but because style signifies within a specific context.

But I do like illustrations.
posted by argybarg at 9:47 PM on September 27, 2001

A different world. Darker, expecting more from the viewer, kind of reminds me of Terry Gilliam's sensibility (the "Weekend at Bernie's" poster for example). More stimulating and personal but distinctly lacking in, um, cheerfulness. From a place where paintings and films are equally appreciated? A nice diversion, thanks kliuless.
posted by aflakete at 9:50 PM on September 27, 2001

None of the links work : (
posted by ParisParamus at 10:05 PM on September 27, 2001

i've purchased several posters from the warsaw gallery that vis10n linked to above. great prices & service.
posted by judith at 11:37 PM on September 27, 2001

Polish graphic arts and poster art are a longstanding tradition, starting early in the 20 c and flourishing even during the Communist Regime in the 60s and afterwards. There's a small bit of the history here. Poland is a country with a tremendous history and culture. There was a very good documentary on PBS sometime ago that covered the Polish School of Poster greats but my memory fails me, sorry. Here's another site rich with other types of examples like the circus and sports.
posted by mmarcos at 4:51 AM on September 28, 2001

Damn, this would be so cool in my dorm room. Too bad I don't have money to spare.
posted by dagnyscott at 8:26 AM on September 28, 2001

Handpainted Japanese movie billboards are unusual too. Traditionally, Most billboards around Japan are paintings. You can see some examples here

Link

I think the Indians do this too.
posted by dydecker at 9:09 AM on September 28, 2001

Awesome link. I don't think I'm ready to spend $750 on this 1980 Solidarity poster but it sure looks cool.

I especially liked the politics section. There's some real gems in there.
posted by Witold at 9:56 AM on September 28, 2001

Funny, I'm now reminded of much of the graphics work done in Spain before and during the Civil War.
posted by mmarcos at 8:10 AM on September 29, 2001

WOW - what to say - Thanks to all of You who wrote good words about my site - well, yes www.polishposter.com is my site. I am Polish and I am in Poland. If You would have any questions regarding any of the posters on my site, or any other Polish posters - You are welcome to write directly to me - I hope that I can answer them. I think that this is the subject on which I know more than just something :)
You saw maybe some other sites with Polish posters over the net - my site is on the web since 1996 and as far as I know has the largest selection of Polish posters images on the web.
I also have online few hundered Russian movie posters - something really hard to find on any other site. I don't want to make a comercial message here so here is the link to the site with just images of Russian posters, not to the shop, but anyway, if You place a link to polishposter.com somewhere - my greatest thanks! so Russian posters are here:
Russian posters


I think that I should also introduce myself. My name is Krzysztof. You know that I sell Polish posters - it is my hobby ( a job too) but my job ( a hobby too) is photography.
my photography page is here You are welcome to comment it - it is in Polish language but there is much to look at than read...
thanks for reading and for all the post i received from this forum memebers in last day.
posted by Krzysztof at 8:27 AM on September 29, 2001

Franciszek Starowieyski is amazing. I also dug up this short history of Polish posters.

And Krzysztof, your photographs are incredible. Thank you.
posted by spandex at 8:51 AM on September 29, 2001