This film poster is from the film ‘La Dame de Shanghai’ also known as ‘The Lady from Shanghai’ which is an American film-noir thriller released in 1947 and directed by Orson Welles. I choose to analyse the French version of the film poster because I found it more anesthetically pleasing and I felt that it embodies the spirit of film noir well.
The main layout of the poster is quite different to the current set up of a conventional modern day thriller. This is due to the overlapping of different images, which almost tells a story in its own right, introduces the characters and lets the audience begin to draw their own conclusions about what they think the story is about.
The extreme close up on the female lead shows her expression and emotion which leads the audience to believe that her emotions are of importance. The shadow on one side of her face signifies that she may have a darker side to her nature. This image dominates the whole screen showing her importance as a character and that conveying that she is the main role.
The red sky in the background of the poster has connotations of danger and excitement.
This contrasts to the dark sea which conveys mystery and volatile passions. The dark clouds in the sky emphasize this and connote that there is danger and trouble on the horizon, while the image of a small boat signifies a voyage/journey/adventure of some kind.
The cartoon style of images with the lead female and male protaganist in a clinche pose on the front show their relationship as the hero and heroine. This shows that this film will have very defined roles, such as the hero, villian and heroine, perhaps similar to a melodrama.
The cartoon style is synonamous with the film noir posters from this time period. The cartoon effect gives a dramatic and intense effect and connates that the storyline will be dramatic and interesting. The bright, bold and clashing colours are effective in making the poster very eyecatching and exciting.The technology at the time was also limited and they could only have black and white pictures and films. This meant that to have a colourful poster was to have a cartoon poster which was drawn.
Main list of conventions from this poster:
Bold cartoon style writing
Bricolage effect of characters images
Bright colours
Dark detective characters
Femme fatale character with classic 40s make up
The main layout of the poster is quite different to the current set up of a conventional modern day thriller. This is due to the overlapping of different images, which almost tells a story in its own right, introduces the characters and lets the audience begin to draw their own conclusions about what they think the story is about.
The extreme close up on the female lead shows her expression and emotion which leads the audience to believe that her emotions are of importance. The shadow on one side of her face signifies that she may have a darker side to her nature. This image dominates the whole screen showing her importance as a character and that conveying that she is the main role.
The red sky in the background of the poster has connotations of danger and excitement.
This contrasts to the dark sea which conveys mystery and volatile passions. The dark clouds in the sky emphasize this and connote that there is danger and trouble on the horizon, while the image of a small boat signifies a voyage/journey/adventure of some kind.
The cartoon style of images with the lead female and male protaganist in a clinche pose on the front show their relationship as the hero and heroine. This shows that this film will have very defined roles, such as the hero, villian and heroine, perhaps similar to a melodrama.
The cartoon style is synonamous with the film noir posters from this time period. The cartoon effect gives a dramatic and intense effect and connates that the storyline will be dramatic and interesting. The bright, bold and clashing colours are effective in making the poster very eyecatching and exciting.The technology at the time was also limited and they could only have black and white pictures and films. This meant that to have a colourful poster was to have a cartoon poster which was drawn.
Main list of conventions from this poster:
Bold cartoon style writing
Bricolage effect of characters images
Bright colours
Dark detective characters
Femme fatale character with classic 40s make up
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