We can tell that the more gruesome details are being held back, which only heightens our desire to see the movie and find out what the big secret is. This minimal imagery stands in stark contrast to the dark subject matter of the film, easing the viewer in before scaring them. Viewers see the outline of a body, reminiscent of the chalk outline at a murder scene, but the body is comprised of different individual parts to indicate вЂњanatomy.вЂќ The title is spelled out within the clever imagery. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)ДЄnother example from Saul Bass, this poster for Anatomy of a Murder is as simple as it gets, yet it speaks volumes. Bass must have expected the film to survive for the long haul, and weвЂ™re sure his movie poster helped it do just that. The poster is also a bit prophetic: it refers to the film as вЂњAlfred HitchcockвЂ™s masterpiece,вЂќ an extremely unconventional thing for an original poster to say at a filmвЂ™s first release. Not a single element is wasted-even the hand-drawn typography, which is a throwback to 1920s era German expressionist films, gives you a sense of vertigo. Legendary Hollywood designer Saul Bass created this movie poster for the psychological thriller Vertigo to be both complex and hypnotically simple, immediately drawing in and disorienting the audience. So it only makes sense that the marketing for this film would be created by someone who was equally adept at using visual effects to manipulate the audienceвЂ™s emotions. Vertigo (1958)Дirector Alfred Hitchcock was exceptionally skilled at working in a visual medium any designer could learn a thing or two from watching his movies. As a designer, you can never be certain if your ideas are strong enough to stay popular for a century, but those that do are typically the ones that are ahead of their time. Take the font, for example-even though itвЂ™s nearly 90 years old, it looks like the kind of logo you might see on a hair metal bandвЂ™s album in the вЂ™80s or even one of todayвЂ™s graphic novels. Not only is it an art deco masterpiece, the poster blends the style of the вЂ™20s with a taste of whatвЂ™s to come in the future. Only four surviving originals are known to exist, one of which was reportedly valued at over $1 million in 2012.

In fact, the poster is even more valuable than the silent movie it advertises.

Metropolis (1927)ДЇritz LangвЂ™s Metropolis is the oldest film in our countdown and a great example of classic cinema-and we think this movie poster had something to do with that longevity. Want to see how these designs have contributed to the evolution of movie posters over the years? Take a look at this easy-to-download summary graphic. So what makes the best movie posters so iconic? And how do you apply their positive traits to your own designs? The only way to find out is to study the greatest movie posters ever made. And in twenty years, theyвЂ™ll probably still be hanging on our walls. These are the kind of designs that will last for generations (in fact, some already have).

Where some do less than impress, others shine brightly like a homing beacon, calling designers to a higher standard. With many designers already questioning whether the future of movie posters is in jeopardy, our blog seemed like further proof that this art form is on its last legs.Д«ut movie posters are just like any other print design. We recently rounded up some of the worst movie posters of all time to show you what not to do when you tackle a design project.

Woman in 28 days later movie poster