Design in Film Posters 5-'Raiders of the Lost Ark": Why'd it have to be snakes?

More movies posters! Today's is Raiders of the Lost Ark, another favorite of mine. Maybe this whole Design in Film Posters series was really just an excuse for me to talk about my favorite movies in a Design class...hmm...

Raiders of the Lost Ark

There's some really good simple design in this poster. No cutesy, clever image; no cliched tagline; just a fun poster. Every week i talk about how movie posters attempt to capture the spirit of a film in a single, static image. I think that's the fundamental principle behind movie posters, and I think that, better than anything I've looked at previously, this poster perfectly captures the adventurous spirit of Indiana Jones. The font used for the title is simple, yet evokes feelings of old comics and serials from the 40s, Jones' own era. Somebody thought the font was so effective at conveying that Jones feeling that they used it for all the titles and advertising for Duck Tales (which basically was my childhood). Beyond the font there's the great composition of the images. In the center is Indy in a class action pose and all around him are smaller images of key characters or key action sequences from the film. Plus the iconic image of the Ark of the Convenant across the bottom of the frame. This poster had action and adventure in every inch of it. There's a bit of mystery in there as some characters are shadowed or some are holding giant swords. All of that put together and then stylized to appear as a painting or image on an ancient temple wall comes together to create a perfect Indy experience on print. It's a great poster for a great movie. Good, solid, simple design here. I love it.