When Samuel Beckett said that “every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness,” it’s doubtful he was referring specifically to movie posters. Still, the internet has decided that plenty of posters look even better without all those pesky titles, names, and credits getting in the way of the artwork. Over on Imgur, a user called JoinYouInTheSun (whose profile says, “I love everything about movies.”) has assembled an alphabetically-arranged gallery of 60 such textless movie posters, ranging from About Schmidt to The Wrestler. And for those still not satisfied or perhaps those looking for specific titles, JoinYouInTheSun helpfully provides a link to “a 1000+ collection” of textless posters. In the more manageable Imgur gallery, meanwhile, the cinema fan will find any number of verbiage-free delights. There is, for instance, the pure zen beauty of the Stand By Me one-sheet.
Gorgeous, right? And then there is the brooding, menacing masculinity of Casino Royale’s poster.
And, of course, there is the Chevy-Chase-getting-electrocuted fun of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
In all, JoinYouInTheSun’s gallery, which the curator describes as “some of my favorites/some just interesting,” is an awesome opportunity to ponder the beauty, power, and splendor of movie posters and to see them as works of visual art rather than as mere promotional tools. Some very talented artists have worked in the medium of movie posters and have won their own fan followings in the process. An obvious example is Drew Struzan, who is well known for his work on the advertising campaigns of the Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Back To The Future movies. The Imgur gallery helps shed some light on Struzan’s less-celebrated work, like his remarkable rendering of the cast of 1981’s The Cannonball Run. Truly one for the ages.