I have researched a couple of films that have similar plot lines and themes as mine to see how the film's movie posters were designed. I'll be addressing some commonalities that I've noticed these movie posters share. It was a little challenging trying to find films that had a similar theme as mine and utilized the femme fatale trope. But I ended up finding a few films that were close to the theme of my film and the trope that is going to be used in it.
Here are the movie posters that I've researched as inspiration for my own film's poster:
Gilda (1946)
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Heartbreakers (2001)
The Hustle (2019)
One thing that I've noticed is that in almost all of these movie posters the women in them are standing up and their legs are revealed. If their entire body isn't shown at least 3/4 of it is. They almost all are wearing dresses and gowns or they have revealing clothing on. Their femininity is showcased and highlighted through these movie posters.
In the movie posters for the older films that I researched, the color red is used in some way. On the "Gilda" poster, her name is highlighted as it is the only text on the poster in the color red. On the "How to Marry a Millionaire" poster, all 3 of the main actresses' names are in red as well as William Powell's. Marilyn Monroe is also wearing red in this movie poster. Both Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe are wearing red on the original movie poster for the film "Gentleman Prefer Blondes". I assume that the color red was used on the posters of these films to catch the consumer's eye and highlight a specific aspect of the poster (for example: Gilda's name).
For the DVD Diamond Collection of the movie "Gentleman Prefer Blondes," Marilyn is wearing the iconic pink dress that she wore during the song "Diamond's Are a Girls Bestfriend". Jennifer Love Hewitt is also wearing pink for "The Heartbreakers" movie poster while Sigourney Weaver, who plays her mother in the film, is wearing black. Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson are also wearing black on the movie poster of "The Hustle". Since I have put the films that I've researched in chronological order, it appears that as time progressed, the costuming of the women on these movie posters has darkened.
If we compare the very first movie poster on my researched list "Gilda" to "The Hustle's" movie poster, there is a noticeable difference between the two. On Gilda's poster, she is wearing a light blue-colored gown and holding a cigarette while standing in front of a black background. In "The Hustle's" movie poster both women are dressed in black and standing in front of a luxurious car and a gold background. Gilda's costuming is bright which creates a contrast between her costume and the dark background while the costuming of Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway has the same contrasting effect but in the opposite way. They're both wearing a dark color and standing in front of a bright background which creates contrast but it does so in the opposite way than Gilda's does.
I found the "Caution: Dangerous Curves" caution tape wrapped around the hips of the mother-daughter duo in the movie poster for "The Heartbreakers" interesting. It has a double meaning and even though it's cringe and cheesy, it aligns with the theme and plotline of the film. This movie poster is also the only one out of the 6 that clearly shows a man. Having this man on the movie poster insinuates that he is involved with these dangerous women somehow. This is a good example of how there are various ways to convey the theme of a film with or without certain elements.
I tried to research a diverse range of film productions that use the femme fatale trope or tropes closely related to the femme fatale trope. These movie posters have helped me better understand the direction that I want to go in for my movie poster. I already have a few ideas for my movie poster that I am going to discuss soon. See you in the next blog!
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