Similar Poster – Bokya Satbande

Noticed this nice poster which thematically looks similar to the poster of Holes… which anyway reminds you of Taranino’s TrunkShot

Art Inspired by other works of Art – 01 – Johannes Vermeer’s Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window

Vermeer was one of the greatest Dutch masters of the 17th Century.  Like Caravaggio, the name Vermeer induces deep respect. What is to be remembered is that his works were “rediscovered” after critical re-assessments made him out to be the unsung genius.

His body of work numbers just 35 paintings and that in Canvas years is merely a handful. But the number of artists, writers, film-makers & composers who have been obsessed with him & his life in Delft is stunning.

Let us start with a famous Artist – Edward Hopper (Of Nighthawks & Automat Fame) :

Edward Hopper’s Morning in a City borrows its visual language from Vermeer’s A Girl reading a letter by an Open Window. The window in a corner is omnipresent in many of Vermeer’s works and is a device borrowed from Pieter de Hooch’s works

Tom Hunter, a British Photographer who creates vignettes based on famous paintings has captured the somber mood of Vermeer perfectly in his Woman reading a Possession Order. Tom Hunter’s own take on the photo.

Jonathan Janson is the author of the book “How to paint your own Vermeer” and is also a successful artist. His version of  the same painting has a “Young Woman reading Glamour” Magazine

More versions , courtesy Google Images

And finally, the Variants of the painting by none other than Vermeer himself!

Marching Ants – Allah Ke Banday, City of Gold & other Bollywood Posters

The creative agency has figured out a way to make the poster look good – sprinkle some gold dust and get the sun behind the subject. Voilà – Classy looking poster. But, when you do it too many times, it is called overkill.

Marching Ants have created some of my all time favourite Bollywood posters – Be it Ishqiya, Dev D, Help, LSD, Udaan, Blue Umbrella or Udaan (again).

At the same time, they have done enough shameless rip-offs

Kisna (From Braveheart),

Lakshya (Shadow Concept from Mad Magazine & Some Posters),

Johnny Gaddar (From Big Lebowski and countless posters featuring sunglasses with reflective surfaces,

Johnny Gaddar (Again) (From countless “Running Man” posters)

Once upon a time in Mumbai from Mr & Mrs Smith,

Anjaana Anjaani (From An Education) and even their old posters like Ek Hasina Thi,Vaastu Shaastra & Goal were lifted .

Take a look at their creations and you will see both the Genius & the Copycat there. Sad that a talented agency has to resort to pinching others’ work.

Now for the Overkill bit…

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai & Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Emraan Hashmi = Angelina Jolie ; Ajay Devgn = Brad Pitt !!

Inspired by “In Cold Blood”

One of the most Iconic Genre-defining Books of all time is Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. It heralded the arrival of the Non-fiction Novel.

The 1967 Movie Version of this book has a unique poster. The eyes in the movie poster are actually those of the real-life killers Dick Hickock & Perry Smith (and not of the actors).

The 2007 Film An American Crime is based on the real life murder of Gertrude Baniszewski, a housewife. So, aptly, the poster pays a tribute to In Cold Blood.

Plagiarism in Forthcoming Movies – I – Red Alert

Sunil Shetty is the Bakra for poses which are ripped off

I have been able to ID the sources for  3 of the 4 posters which the makes of this movie have released. Shame.

1. The pose is originally from Flashdance and then Sharon Stone’s Basic Instinct 2 repeated the same. Now, a downcast Sunil shetty churns out the same pose.

2. This borrows from 2 posters – The top half which shows Sunil Shetty’s face peeking out is from a poster which I am unable to place . The soldiers walking silhouette is from Band Of Brothers / Passchendaele and even Platoon.

3. The pose is a side view of the classic “Platoon Pose”. The Platoon movie poster is itself a recreation of a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon. This photograph was recognized as the 13th greatest military photograph in a Sept 2000 issue of the Army/Navy/AF Time.

The movie poster depicting Elias with his hands in the air, is a recreation of a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon. This photograph was recognized as the 13th greatest military photograph in a Sept 2000 issue of the Army/Navy/AF Time.

The One for which I could not ID the source looks familiar.

Poster Tributes / Homages – I

6 Quick Side By Side comparisons of Original Movie Poster and the Homage

Nayee Padosan

This 2003 Movie is Poster heaven – 3  posters used in this movie are “inspired” from other famous posters

1. The 1st design ripped off  the iconic poster from The Graduate (Aitraaz had ripped off the same design a year later; I am unable to locate that  poster)

2. The 2nd design uses a Standard A-Frame Poster – The most famous examples of an A-frame poster are For Your Eyes Only & Transporter 2.

3. The 3rd design cleverly modifies the poster of My Big Fat Greek Wedding . Hulchul did a shameless ripoff of the original design a year later.

Art and Movie Posters –IV–Michelangelo Buonarroti

1. Creation of Adam Vs E.T & Bruce Almighty

Some Trivia on the E.T poster:  This poster idea had been suggested by Steven Spielberg and who was inspired by Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. John Alvin, who can be called one of the Greatest Movie Poster Artists, used his daughter, Farah Alvin, as the human hand model.

You can also see a few other “inspired images”.

2. Moses Vs Ten Commandments

This is not so much of an “inspiration”… But, IMDB states

“Charlton Heston was chosen for the role of Moses by Cecil B. DeMille because he bore a resemblance to Michelangelo’s statue of Moses in Rome.”

I have seen some movie poster resembling La Pieta, but am not able to recollect it.

Art and Movie Posters – III – Andy Warhol

You either love him! Or absolutely hate him!

Whichever way, there is no denying that Warhol made the 60′s more memorable (or notorious if you please).

1. The Movie Poster for I Shot Andy Warhol is based on his Triple Elvis.

2. His Marilyn Silk-Screen prints have been repeated multiple times : For the Movies Kids (Rosario Dawson’s Big Screen debut), Tyler Perry’s Madeas Family Reunion and for 2 movies about him – Superstar & Factory Girl

Update : I had not noticed the album art of Sivaji The Boss. Hat Tip: Mensa & Badri