Through The Magpie Eye: Polish Film Posters

20.06.2017

Polish poster reading Hitchcocka and Zawrót Głowy, a skull topped with a green, blue and red target above a dark suit

There is no real reason for us posting this, but Polish film posters are mint, so we decided to show you a few.

There’s actually a pretty interesting story behind why they’re so bonkers: in communist Poland, film posters weren’t meant to celebrate celebrity and whatnot, they were supposed to celebrate the film itself. Also, they banned U.S promotional products, so there’s that as well.

Needless to say due to these bans and restrictions, Polish poster artists had to use every ounce of their creativity to advertise films in an interesting and "arty" way. The posters ended up being utterly insane, off-their-heads and obviously amazing.

We’ve collected a few of our favourites which include (going off what the posters suggest) Gun-Head Man, Screaming Bowling Pin, Foot-Kisser, Belt-Tooth, and Man Punches Other Man So Hard His Hand Pushes Through His Head, part 2 (part 1 is still a classic)

Polish poster for Lola by Jacques Demy, a red-haired face in profile under a black top hat, smoking a cigarette Poster for Federico Fellini's 8 és 1/2 with Marcello Mastroianni: a black hat and dark glasses above a large 8 Polish Casablanca poster, directed by Michael Curtiz: a white hat on red with a city skyline in its band and a cigarette Poster for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining in red lettering, a painted screaming face with wide eyes and long dark hair Polish Apocalypse Now poster, Czas Apokalipsy, a scratched bald head in deep red with glowing red eyes Polish poster for The Big Lebowski, a crowded cartoon of figures, yellow lightning bolts and stars in bright colours Pen and ink poster for Terrence Malick's Badlands, two figures holding hands, one aiming a revolver at a skull-faced sun Polish Fassbinder poster for Gorzkie Łzy Petry von Kant, a face with red lips kissing a green high-heeled shoe Polish poster for Werner Herzog's Stroszek, a painted face under a wide-brimmed hat with the US flag across one cheek Poster for Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, a blue mask-like face with red lips above a white collar Poster for The War of the Worlds: Next Century by Piotr Szulkin, a bald head with bared teeth and a buckled leather strap Polish Raging Bull poster, Wściekły Byk, a scribbled black and white boxer throwing a punch on a red background Polish Return of the Jedi poster, Powrót Jedi, a black helmet bursting apart into wires and machine parts Polish Tootsie poster, a stubbled face in red lipstick above a hand holding a lipstick

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