8. Chinatown
The design of this poster is simply sublime. The smoke rising from Jack Nicholsan's private detective Gittes' cigarette, frames Faye Dunaway's Evelyn's face looking every bit like she's wearing a 1930's headband. Her mysterious gaze, almost omnipotent above Gittes conjures up the femme fatale role of any great Film Noir. Gittes, too, cast in shadow is just as mysterious, evocative of any great private eye. In fact the whole poster looks like it has been pulled from the front cover of a pulp novel. It sells everything that makes a great film noir. Mystery. Sex appeal. A classy, intriguing detective story. Immediately you know what kind of film you are in store for. Despite the fact this was made in 1974, long after the Film Nor craze had passed audiences by, the poster takes the audience back the 1930's setting of
Chinatown. A poster that looks like it was made in the 1930s and still looks great now. It knows how to sell film from a genre past its heyday and still succeed.