Spanish Poster for 'Gangster Squad' Beats Ours to Pieces

I say it over and over. Foreign/international posters for our movies are almost always better than domestic versions. The new sheets for 'Gangster Squad' bear that out...again.

Here's one of the latest (U.S.) character posters.

Nothing wrong with it but pretty generic, flat. Here's the latest (Spanish language) poster.

Works nicely. Dynamic layout. Captures the energy of the time. Has a dangerous soap opera 40s noir feel. I like the smoke in the upper left.

Above poster draws you in better than the domestic version (below) which resorts to big flames to stoke interest but just looks posed.

Graphically, the domestic sheet is jangly. The central image (the big fire) looks out of place. Figure in lower right is of a different scale than the rest and is placed too far in the corner. (The scale is not different enough -- she is not smaller than the rest by enough. See above Spanish poster for the correct way to do this. The four men in lower right corner are much smaller than the rest of the group, while Sean Penn is much larger than the rest. This works. In the domestic sheet Emma Stone just looks odd. Unfortunate).

The sky in the domestic poster is wrong -- it should be plain (without clouds) or have a deeply saturated sunset, or perhaps solid black (like the background in the Spanish poster). The title is too big and the font lacks elegance (compare to the above rendition). The fact that the letters are so large makes it necessary to push the fire triangle up too far (it's dead center, which is almost always off limits. Nothing goes in the center, usually. Again, see above Spanish poster for the correct way. There's nothing in the center. There is only negative space, which makes you look elsewhere for content, and that creates a visual dynamic).

Also, the hot colors of the fire don't match the smooth air-brushed quality of the faces. Again, see above. Spanish poster color/contrast characteristics match corner to corner.

This has a 40s sensibility, yes, but in a hammed-up way. It almost looks like the movie is a parody of the style. Tonally, it's hard to take seriously, hard to feel the gravitas they were going for. There's no flow, nothing which pulls the viewer into the story, and the layout is clunky at best.

I don't know why but international posters beat ours. Theirs are more intense and artistic and have better design while ours tend to be coarse, utilitarian and, if we're lucky, non-engaging.

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Airbrushy, Too Smooth, No Hook

'Gangster Squad' continues its ungainly roll-out. Trailers are good, but soap-opera-y. Posters are similar. Here's a couple new ones (there's a few more) that don't capture the violence or grit of the story but, rather, focus on a kind of dreaminess that isn't what the movie is about. The air-brushed smoothness doesn't help.

This campaign is in a bit of trouble. Not too late to switch tacks. 'Gritty' is what posters for this flick should be. As is, it's like a movie about producing radio dramas in the 20s and 30s. They ain't working. Nobody really wants to see this.

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Poster for 'Gangster Squad'

Nice triangular composition both in the fire and the three male leads. The only elements that don't fit into this neat shape are the barrels of the guns, the hand holding a burning cigarette, and the woman.

The tagline: No names. No Badges. No Mercy. is a bit much, but the footage we've seen is over-the-top violent. Makes me wonder if it was really like that back then in Los Angeles. 

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Connect-The-Dots Character Banner/Poster for 'Gangster Squad'

Love how each character has his/her associated (and, I'm guessing, subordinate) character behind them in each panel.

Really, very nice work. Just for fun, here's the 40s/50s-style noir version, which works as well if not better.

I like how, in the 1st and 3rd panels, the background characters are on the right and, in the 2nd and 4th panels, they're on the left. Balances things out.

Also, in the 1st and 3rd panels, the character in front looks directly at the viewer while, in the 2nd and 4th, they look away to the left.

Both Gosling's and Penn's characters appear first wearing a hat, then not.

The only deviation (really, for this banner, it's an error) is the position of Gosling's head just below the top of frame, whereas everyone else has the top of the head cut off. Another inconsistency is the placement of the background characters in the 1st and 3rd panels -- Gosling is closer to center and his left shoulder is in frame while Penn is closer to the edge and his left shoulder is cut off. Background characters in the 2nd and 4th panel have matching placement.

However, all things considered, nicely thought out.
















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New Operatic Trailer for 'Gangster Squad'

Opens 9/12. Should be huge. Over-the-top. Beautiful.

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Stills and Placekeeper Poster for 'Gangster Squad'

If you haven't seen the trailer, check it out

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Jaw-Dropping Trailer for 'The Gangster Squad'

Like...wow. The only question is: How much of this is real? How much of this actually happened?

Sean Penn is huge here. Ryan Gosling looks good. Josh Brolin looks good. Nick Nolte looks good (was wondering if that was still doable). Emma Stone looks very good (I knew that was still doable).

Even if they took a lot of liberties with the facts, this movie rocks. If they're telling it like it was, this movie will crush.

"A cop that's not for sale is like a dog with rabies. You just gotta put him down."




















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