Dr. No (1962)
Dr. No was the first film to begin the Bond franchise, bringing the materialistic, virile, admirable figure to life, from the books to producing a cinematic experience you wouldn't forget. To the left is the first Bond poster, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as 'James Bond'. The use of colours within this poster is dominated by the surrounding colour of a pale blue, which allows certain colours to stand out boldly and clearly from the poster. This pale blue colour has many connotations, which could suggest many things about the film. Firstly the colour could imply the type of setting the film is located, for example, it suggest a sunny and exotic place as it symbolises clear blue skies without a cloud in sight. It could also connote for sadness and even despair as blue is usually associated with these emotions, which creates an enigma through using this enigma code technique. However
due to it being a light blue, it makes the poster seem summery, suggesting that
the location of the film is in an exotic place, which follows the heritage of
the Bond films, and also follows the convention of an action film. There are other colours which also attracts us to looking at the poster, such as, the colouring effect on the girl. This yellow golden colour of which the lady present in the poster is, makes her stand out from the rest of the poster, suggesting she is highly important within the film. This golden colour makes the woman seem irresistible, inspirational and even goddess like, as something being this colour denotes to it being valuable and of high importance and significance. Having used this colour effect only on the lady, makes the audience believe she has significance within the film and is most likely to be the romance of the film, as most Bond fans know that there has to be a Bond girl. The lady would also attract the male audience to watching this film, due to the attractiveness and how desirable the lady is portrayed.The font of 'Dr.No' is one of the most eye-catching element of the poster, as it is due to the font and colour used. The font used connotes as the same font as a typewriter, which emphases the sophistication which could be present within the film. The colour of the font is red which symbolises many things; danger, love, and death. These connotations such that there's going to be elements of danger and even love, which is supported by the lady figure present within the poster too. Having a black shadowy outline of the title of the film further makes the font stand out from the background colour, ensuring people would be attracted to the poster. Having this red shows the importance of this character called 'Dr. No', which also creates an enigma on who they are. This red colour is also used for the name of the actor playing the iconic figure, which is of course 'James Bond', who is played by the memorable 'Sean Connery'. Having the actors name in the red colouring suggest this is one of the films unique selling points (USP), as having such a big actor within their film , would attract a large audience both female and male. Having 'Sean Connery' above the title says that the main focal point of the film is him. The other font is smaller and in white, suggesting that this isn't as important as the writing in red, but is still important as its on the poster. The size of the font shows what is the most important, for example the title being the biggest and the names of other actors, producers and directors are in small below. This white allows it to stand out from the background colour making it readable and reasonably clear.
The writing in the top right corner, gives an insight into the film allowing the audience to know what the film is about. Having the slogan 'He's licensed to kill...' denotes that the film is going to be an action thriller film, which involves violence or some sort of weaponry. Having used an ellipses at the end of kill creates another enigma as it intrigues you on who and why.
This film poster is fairly different from the other Bond posters, which you'll see later, as there is an absence of guns and fire, which connotes danger and action, that are all present within the other posters. Having the absence of these items, makes the poster seem more of a romance than an action film, as you can only see a man and women standing in the foreground. The symbolic code of having the male figure placed more in the foreground than the woman, suggests that he is the more dominant character within the film, therefore we assume it is James Bond himself. This placement attracts the female audience as having an attractive man in the foreground, would catch the eyes of this audience. Although they do not have the usual props of guns and explosions within the poster, they do have people running in the background of the picture, and what looks like the evil villain in between the characters within the foreground. This creates an enigma of who is this person and creates a sense that they are the antagonist from the film. This is because this person is placed between the two main characters, suggesting that he is the one stopping them from being together.
The technical codes used in this poster vary from each other, such as the typography used. The typography is very bold allowing it to contrast with the background. This means that the font would stand out and therefore attract the audience.
Goldfinger (1964)
There are four picture present within this poster, which three of them are lined up in the centre of the poster and the other one horizontal in the middle. Firstly, the picture at the top suggest Bond is in a difficult situation due to him gritting his teeth and concentrating on something below him. This creates an enigma as you want to know why and what caused him to do this face. The use of clothing (mise en scene) in this photo, shows a black suit and tie, a very stereotypical piece of clothing which Bond wears and what spies are portrayed to wear. This use of mise en scene gives further insight to his character as being sophisticated and smart, therefore undetectable as being a spy. The second picture in the middle of the poster is the iconic pose of James Bond have the side of the barrel of the gun next to mischievous impression on his face. This would attract bond fans due to recognising this iconic pose but also would attract female audience, as having an attractive male figure in the centre of the poster, would definitely catch their eyes. Having the use of the gun (mise en scene), within this picture denotes that the film is an action genre, as stereotypically they involves guns, weapons, explosions etc. The third picture below the centre picture, is of two people having a passionate kiss. Having another woman present in a Bond poster, like 'Dr.No', suggest that there is going to be another love interest, implying that there's going to be an element of romance within the film. Having the lady wearing white suggest innocence and purity, making her most desirable, therefore appealing to the male audience. Also having Bond over the lady shows his dominance over her and the dominance he has in the film. This dominance is shown in both posters ('Dr.No and Goldfinger'), which emphasises he is the main character but also to show that their unique selling point is 'Sean Connery'. The final picture, which is behind the central picture is a golden lady lying on her front naked, which to some extent could be link to being the same lady within the previous film poster 'Dr. No', as they are both golden. Having this repetitive golden effect on the ladies, suggests that they have high significance within the films and that they are seen as being precious and vulnerable. Having the lady lying there would attract the male audience as they can see all her curves, making her be seen as desirable. Having her in the background of 'Sean Connery's' shows that he has further dominance over her. However, on the other hand, it could suggest that he is protecting her as the placement of his picture is in front of hers.
There are four main colours used in this poster; black, white, yellow and red. Having background black allows all the colours to stand out meaning it makes the poster more eye-catching, bold and readable. Black stereotypically denotes death and misery, however having the white font, suggests a tuxedo, so sophistication which our Bond figure has.This white font is used for the more important information; the title and the slogan. One of the reasons of having the important information being in white was to make it sound out from all the other font used and as the background is black, white is the best colour to stand out. However the font size of the title is no different to the size of the font in yellow, which isn't the stereotypical conventions of a poster, as the title is usually the biggest font on the poster. The font in yellow is also a slogan 'Everything he touches turns into excitement', which emphasises that the film is action packed. The yellow font also associates with the title of the film 'Goldfinger', therefore the font reinforces the title of the film. The final font colour is red, which is used for the directors, actors and producers names, therefore reasonably small sized font. In comparison to 'Dr. No' poster this colouring is seen as not as important even though it is in red font, connoting importance and danger. However even though the font is small it does suggest that there may be an element of danger present in the film.
This 'Octopussy' film poster has gone with a different approach with having a totally white background, therefore allowing everything on the page to stand out from each other and the background. The white connotes purity and innocence which could be present within the film. This background allows us to engage with the main focal point of the poster, which are the people on the right. As you can see, the male figure we assume is James Bond, which is played by Roger Moore. As he is in the foreground it connotes that he have more dominance and power within the film and also the lady or ladies behind him. The use of mise en scene of the clothing shows his chic classy attitude which is demonstrated by the use of the black and white tuxedo. Furthermore, using this tuxedo shows the connection with the other James Bond posters, even though it is a different actor playing the character. The gun in his hand shows that he has someone life in his hand and he can choose to take it or save them, which shows that there is going to be a lots of action within the film. Also the gun is smoking suggesting he has already fired the gun, creating another enigma. The lady standing behind him suggests many things about the film and her character. Having her in a pinkish red dress makes her seem enticing and that she would be the love interest as red connotes love and lust. In comparison to the previous Bond analysis, the bond girls, we presume, are all blonde except from this one; suggesting that she may not be the girl in Bonds love affair, which occur in almost all the films. The lady also has many arms, eight in fact, which could be liked to the title of the film, being called 'Octopussy' as 'Oct' means eight in Greek. This means that she could in fact be the villainous antagonist of the film, due to having eight arms but furthermore the deceitful and suspicious expression on her face. Within the hands of the lady, there are many objects, which are hereditary items which are associated with Bond; for example the use of the martini glass, where the phrase 'Shaken but not stirred' came from. This suggests that the lady is at Bond's command, as she's getting everything what he wants. Four other hands are fixing and tweaking his suit, which furthermore supports that she does everything to keep Bond happy and pleasant. However, the other three hands contradicts this message or implies that she isn't who she turns out to be, a twist in the story line maybe... In one had she is holding what looks like to be an golden egg, which is help out away from Bond, therefore suggesting she is hiding or protecting it away from him. In another hand is a sharp curved dagger which help just under his heart, which implies she may be out kill him, which creates a further enigma of why? The final is stroking the smoking gun, connoting that she either pleased in the decision of who the bullet went through or she had something to do with the shooting, even poisoning his mind into shooting an innocent person.
The slogan 'Nobody does him better' doesn't give you a clear reference to what it means. This creates an enigma as it intrigues the audience on what the poster is going on about. It could be in reference to someone else playing the character, therefore reassuring that the actor, Roger Moore', is better than whoever played Bond before. In comparison with the other Bond posters, the slogans are more clear and gives you more of an insight to the film, unlike this slogan.
The font used within this poster ranges from thin to bold, the bolder font being the title, the actors name and James Bond, whereas the thinner font is for the actors who else is starring in the film. The bold red font allows the title to stand out from the rest of what occurring in the poster; however having octopus-like tentacles coming from the 'O', emphasises this is a main factor what will be present within the film. Having 'Roger Moore' and 'James Bond' in this font size and colour shows how well know the actor is therefore enticing audience who like this actor. Also the iconic '007', would attract previous audience who watched the previous films due to the recognisable logo, which everyone now associates with this Bond franchise. The smaller font suggest it isn't as important at the larger font, which makes it seem less important. However, on the other hand, it may make the audience want to look at the poster more to see who else is in the film. This font size is similar to the previous film poster of James Bond.
Similarly to the poster 'Dr. No', this poster isn't a photograph of the characters, they are painted or drawn. this makes the poster feel as if they were like the propaganda poster which you used to see in the war. Having this effect makes it them stand out from the other posters which were produced during this time as they are different, therefore more eye-catching.
Goldeneye (1995)
The background colour of this poster fades from blue to black creating a colour gradient. This background allows the elements within the foreground to stand out and but also could imply good things turning bad. Also within the background are surveillance maps, which spies use to trace people, suggesting there would be high tech equipment and gadgets within the film, following the conventions of an action film. This style of poster has developed into posters we see more presently, as posters nowadays have one or two main focal points, a slogan and the title of the film, which are the main parts of the posters, with tiny font people do not usually read. Whereas the other older Bond posters had a lot more information on them, which could be due to less ways of advertising back in previous years therefore more information had to be put onto posters.
At the bottom of the poster is where the institutions names are, which shows which company made the film, the more recognisable a institution, stereotypically the more people who expect a good film. Just above these is the white font, which is minuscule compared to the rest of the poster, suggesting it isn't vital information, but tells you who else is starring within the film and directors etc. Above this is the slogan of the film, 'No limits, No fear. No substitutes.' The use of repetition suggests that there's only one way out and Bond won't stand for anything. This also emphasises that the film would involve lots of action and stunts as Bond has no limits...
The title of the film is 'Goldeneye', which is in big, bold golden font, with what appears to be a ring around the 'E'. The colour associates with the title having the word 'Golden' in it, however from an outside perspective, the ring has an uncleared message, creating an enigma. Having the title placement here allows the picture to be the main focal point of the poster, so the title does not disturb the picture. However, as the title is the only font in gold, it automatically draws your eye to this after the picture, letting the audience see the name of the film clearly and easily.
The picture is the main focal point of the poster, which could be due to the fiery explosion involving bright yellows, oranges and reds. This explosion follows the convention of the film having an action genre as explosion are essential in this genre. Within the explosion are planes and helicopters, which some have blown up and some are still chasing the man we presume to be 'James Bond' This suggests that he may be running away from someone very powerful and who wants him dead. Having all these high tech vehicles suggests that lots of gadgets and expensive vehicles will be present within the film. The use of mise en scene through the use of clothes, which the man is wearing, suggests he is undercover as he is all dressed in black, stereotypically what undercover spies wear, when they don't want to be seen. Emerged in the flames is the iconic '007' where the seven is made into a gun, symbolises violence and weapons. Having this in the middle of the poster draws our eyes here, and as it is so recognisible, people would automatically know what the film is. Above the flame is a man pointing a gun so you can only see down the barrel, making the audience feel as if they are the villains he is after. As the man is placed in the centre of the poster, we presume he is 'James Bond' due to him holding the gun and him being in the centre. Although it is a different actor playing James Bond, the character having brown hair all associates with previous Bond's posters, ensuring the audience he is the same Bond. On either side on the man are ladies one wearing a black dress and the other is wearing a white dress. This use of mise en scene connotes that the lady on the left wearing the white dress, is innocence and pure, therefore we are forced to believe she is good; whereas the lady on the right, wearing a black dress is seen as evil and dangerous due the black dress, therefore not to be trusted and evil. Having the ladies behind Bond suggests he is protecting the ladies suggesting woman mean a lot to him.
There are many similarities between the these Bond posters, for example in 'Octopussy' and 'Goldeneye' the woman are always seen as being behind Bond, suggesting protectiveness over them or dominance. Also they all have the logo of '007' which is progressively increases in size as the posters are becoming more present, suggesting that just having this logo tells people exactly what film it is, iconic. Finally all the posters involves having a woman in them suggests that there is always a love affair or interest, reinforcing the attractiveness of Bond.
Skyfall (2012)The shot used for this poster is a long shot, which allows us to see many elements and factors which would be involved in the film and attracts the audience . Firstly the long shot reveals the location of the film, London, which suggest the sophistication and swerve of what James Bond film consist of. This also would attract audiences who are patriotic which broadens the audience of the film. Having this location also gives a little background information about the character, although everyone does know Bond is one of the best British spies around. This long shot reveals the clouds in the sky, which are very dark, suggesting something dark and evil is coming to London and through the use of motif, it may reinforce Bonds expression. The shot also allows us to see the iconic Aston Martin, which is present in all foregoing Bond films, therefore showing the heritage of previous films, increasing the popularity of the film.
Having
Daniel Craig within the foreground of the poster represents he is the dominant
characters throughout this film. It also shows his body language and posture,
which suggest despair and loss rather the originally determination face, which
are present within other Bond posters, which creates an enigma of why is he is. The use of mise en scene, through the use of clothing allows the audience to gain an insight of Bonds, sophistication and coolness he brings to where ever he goes. This suit and tie is an iconic piece of clothing which previous Bond audiences would automatically recognise. The
use of the gun secretely in his hand, suggests that the genre is
action. However, as it is a small gun and slightly hard to see, it could
suggest that there isn’t as much gun use but something else…
The
font used for this poster is bold and simple so very easily readable from large
distances. The font colour has a slight tinge of silver to it, which suggests
the sophistication of the film; however on the other hand it could suggest
bullets, therefore mirroring the genre of the film, action. The colour of the
‘007’ is gold, which again associated with previous films, and stands out from
the background. Having this on the poster attracts previous audience to go and
watch the film.
Using
a black and white filter, suggests solemn and despair, suggesting something
upsetting or shocking will occur within the film. However, it could suggest that the Bond films are going back to its old roots, as introducing the old Austin Martin compensates this.
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