The movie up for the most awards this season is David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. With a total of thirteen nominations, it's clear that Mr. Fincher must
have done something right ...including his poster. The images displayed of Benjamin Button in theaters were rather unique in their layout; there were two variations of the graphic, one featuring Mr. Pitt, the other, Ms. Blanchett. The one of Ms. Blanchett is featured left, with the title of the movie, its stars, its opening day, as well as the word Life printed behind the text. The name of the main character, Benjamin Button, is written in what appears to be Trajan Pro font, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, the Cate Blanchett poster, while quite beautiful, is not particularly noteworthy by itself: after all, Cate isn't even the main star of the movie. That distinction lies with Brad Pitt. And it is Mr. Pitt's poster that creates a level of singularity in the Benjamin Button franchise.
The image at the right is the second in that series of graphics. Much like Ms. Blanchett's piece, this one advertises the title of the movie, its stars, its opening day, as well as the word Life printed behind the text. The only aspect different in this poster (minus the part where it's Brad Pitt's face as opposed to Cate Blanchett's) is the fact that the text--with the exception of the film's opening day--is written backwards. The significance of this, if you haven't already figured that out, is (spoiler alert!) the plot of the movie is that Benjamin Button ages backwards. In this way the graphic artist responsible for this series is using text to symbolize the theme of the movie: regression, reversal, and opposition to the norm. It's a fairly simple concept, mirroring the words to represent a larger motif, but its effect was certainly enough to make me stop and wonder. And isn't that exactly the point of graphic design, to make a person stop, wonder, consider, examine?
4 comments:
I too am a huge movie fan and always look forward to the Oscar season. I have yet to see this film, but I really like the posters. I like they way that the Cate Blanchett poster alone, seems like a very well designed, but rather "plain" poster. A close up of here face an text that is appealing to the eye is great, but it's not exactly earth-shattering. What makes it great, however, is when you see it with the Brad Pitt poster. Now, suddenly, you see where the graphic designer was going with their design. The Pitt poster makes both posters so much cooler and better designer. All the text written backwards not only catches your eye, it gets you asking questions. Why is it written like that? What could this mean for the plot? Why is the Blanchett poster written regularly ? I love that a single poster and just the text written in a certain manner can pose so many questions.
I agree. I really like how the words on the Brad Pitt poster are backwards to give a sense of, as you wrote, "regression, reversal, and opposition to the norm", while the words on the Blanchett poster are normal because she does not age backwards.
I also like how the word "Life" is printed so elegantly, denoting an older time. In fact, I like the simple fact that the word is written there. It's so vague that it makes you--or at least me--wonder how it's connected.
Yes, I definitely agree. I haven't seen this movie, but the Brad Pitt poster is very creative and effective. When seeing the typeface written backwards, at first I would think nothing of it. But then I would look again and wonder why is it written like that? Clearly, everything a graphic designer does has a purpose and with the words backwards, there is obviously a reason. I also think it is effective enough that it makes you wonder why it is like that, but also does not give the movie away. No one is going to be able to figure out the reason for a backwards typeface, but instead it will make someone want to see the movie.
I think the way they did the Brad Pitt poster is perfect. It really does make you stop and look at it. And then it makes you wonder why its written backwards. Most poeple who see this would stop and dig through their memory to recall a commercial for the movie, depicting a man who live his life backwards. Then its like "oh cool" maybe I'll go see that. I saw it, and I thought it was great!
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