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    The man who launched a million “minimalist movie posters” (try not to hold that against him), graphic designer Saul Bass may have spent most of his career advertising other people’s work, but in doing so he quietly became one of the most iconic pop artists of the 20th century. He didn’t work in the movies very often, but many of the posters and title sequences he created have grown to be as famous as the films for which he created them. 

    Directors were floored by Bass’ ability to distill a story down to its bare essence — how his thick black lines and bold swatches of color seduced and focused a viewer’s attention where other posters would simply try to overwhelm it — and legendary auteurs like Otto Preminger would fight the studios to protect Bass’ creative freedom. His style was so striking and influential that it was widely copied in his own time, and many of the posters that are still attributed to Bass were actually created by imitators (e.g. “West Side Story” and “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World”). 

    Please enjoy this gallery of every movie poster that Saul Bass ever designed, presented in chronological order.

  • “Champion” (1949)

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  • “The Man With the Golden Arm” (1955)

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  • “Edge of the City” (1957)

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  • “Saint Joan” (1957)

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  • “Love in the Afternoon” (1957)

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  • “Vertigo” (1958)

    Note: The spinning figures on the red “Vertigo” poster were actually drawn by Art Goodman, not Saul Bass.

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  • “The Big Country” (1958)

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  • “Bonjour Tristesse” (1958)

  • “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959)

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  • “Anatomy of a Murder” (1959)

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  • “Exodus” (1960)

  • “The Magnificent Seven” (1960)

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  • “The Magnificent Seven” (1960)

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  • “Spartacus” (1960)

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  • “One, Two, Three” (1961)

    Note: This poster was rejected after Coca-Cola threatened to sue for copyright infringement. 

     

  • “One, Two, Three” (1961)

  • “Advise & Consent” (1962)

    Image Credit: Advise & Consent poster Saul Bass

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  • “The Cardinal” (1963)

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  • “The Cardinal” (1963)

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  • “Nine Hours to Rama” (1963)

  • “Bunny Lake Is Missing” (1965)

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  • “In Harm’s Way” (1965)

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  • “Grand Prix” (1966)

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  • “Seconds” (1966)

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  • “The Two of Us” (1967)

  • “The Firemen’s Ball” (1967)

  • “The Fixer” (1968)

  • “Very Happy Alexander” (1968)

    Note: The actual poster that Bass designed for “Very Happy Alexander” seems to have disappeared without a trace. The image pictured here is a mock-up that features the illustration Bass drew for the poster. 

     

  • “Such Good Friends” (1971)

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  • “The Double McGuffin” (1979)

    Bass maintains a deisgn credit on the poster for this Joe Camp film, though the piece is technically credited to “Saul Bass / Herb Yaeger & Associates.”

     

  • “The Human Factor” (1979)

  • “The Shining” (1980)

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  • “The Shining” (1980)

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  • “Return from the River Kwai” (1989)

  • “Schindler’s List” (1993)

    Note: This poster was ultimately rejected.

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  • “Schindler’s List” (1993)

    Note: This poster was ultimately rejected.

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