Saturday, March 14, 2009

Can You Afford Norma Desmond?

That may sound like a stupid question, because really, who can? But what I really mean to say is, can you afford to pay £6,000 for a vintage original Sunset Boulevard poster?

BBC
have a preview of some of the posters auctioned off at Christie's this coming Wednesday, and it includes an original print of Carl Dreyer's incredible The Passion of Joan of Arc, which is poised to appear in the upper echelons of my personal canon, if ever completed. It's definitely one of the more interesting designs, and its use of light and shade alludes to Dreyer's own technique, even if it's kind of a waste not to depict Falconetti's expressive power. The Vertigo one is very famous, and I love how it feels so breezy, like it's a part of the Wacky Races scenery, or something equally flimsy. Lighter still is the fluffy confection of Audrey Hepburn's Sabrina, firmly in control of everything and everyone without seeming to be. The Sunset Blvd. poster seems a lot more standard, with its emerging faces and promises of melodrama, although the knotted film reel is a classic touch.



If I had £6,000 lying around, and couldn't spend it on clothes, holidays, or anything else that might tickle my fancy a little more than seeing Swanson, Hepburn et. al on my bedroom wall of an evening, then I'd probably head for Lot Dreyer, with it being my favourite film of this bunch and the most abstract offering.

How about you? Do any of these strike a chord? Are you lucky enough to have vintage artwork already? Or is there another famous poster you'd love to get your hands on?

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