Newbie Questions about Poster Release Dates

[ATLfun]

  Okay, I know these will be an couple of easy questions to answer.  Bruce has a Star Wars quad listed in Tuesday's auction.

http://auctions.emovieposter.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2264135  

I researched that Star Wars was released in the UK in Dec. of 1977 and the Academy awards were held in April in 1978. Since the movie was out for nearly 4 months in the UK before the AA, would this poster be a '77 original release?  Seems like it should be a '78 Awards release?  

  Is it normal to list a movie poster by year of initial movie release or the actual year of the poster's release date?  I never paid much attention before, which is probably shame on me.

  It is amazing that Star Wars ran for over a year in theaters.  Nowadays movies are not generally shown in theatres through the the AA.  So would a movie brought back out after the Academy Awards to make some extra cash  be a re-release poster or just an AA poster?  And if it is not a re-release, then what qualifies in movie world as a re-release?

  Just curious,

  Brian

[MoviePosterBid.com]

 It is amazing that Star Wars ran for over a year in theaters.  

I'll let someone else answer the question,  but I'll let you know this:

Gones With the Wind, Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia and many others played for 2 years!!

[Bruce]

Brian

You are correct! We will correct this to R78 and e-mail all the bidders.

You may not be aware, but back in the 1920s it was common for blockbuster movies to play only at ONE New York theater for a full year before it was released to the rest of the country! That let them charge much higher ticket prices, and build lots of good "word of mouth" during that year.

I wonder if they even bothered to make "regular" posters for that exclusive run, or if they were all "local theater" type posters (after all, why bother printing posters for one theater)?

Also, the number of theaters a movie could play in was always limited by the number of prints of the film that were made, and they were expensive. So if they made 200 prints, the movie could only play in 200 theaters at a time, and since there were tens of thousands of theaters it would take a couple of years (at least) for a movie to "make the rounds" (first playing in big cities, then small towns, then in bargain double bill theaters, etc).

Bruce

[eatbrie]

You are correct! We will correct this to R78 and e-mail all the bidders.

I disagree with that, because all it will do is confuse bidders.  The poster is not for a re-release, but part of the continuation of the original re-release.  It should be called an award poster, but the release date should still be 77, even if the poster was technically produced in 78. 

Star Wars had a very slow release pattern, since no one really believed in the movie, and a very long playability.  For instance, in LA, it was released in a small theater on Hollywood Blvd (now defunct), while the famous Chinese theater was contractually obligated to play Roy Scheider's Sorcerer, which was supposed to be a much bigger movie.  History proved it wrong.  A month later, Star Wars got in the Chinese theater and played there for a very long time.  It was eventually out of the theaters by the end of 1978, spawning another poster (style D) and re-released in 1979, 1981 and 1982.

I know it seems crazy nowadays since movies have a gigantic release pattern, stay in a theater for 2 months and disappear, but it should be pointed that VHS didn't exist yet and theaters were the only way to see a movie, aside from network TV many years later.

T

[jayn_j]

I disagree with that, because all it will do is confuse bidders.  The poster is not for a re-release, but part of the continuation of the original re-release.  It should be called an award poster, but the release date should still be 77, even if the poster was technically produced in 78. 

Star Wars had a very slow release pattern, since no one really believed in the movie, and a very long playability.  For instance, in LA, it was released in a small theater on Hollywood Blvd (now defunct), while the famous Chinese theater was contractually obligated to play Roy Scheider's Sorcerer, which was supposed to be a much bigger movie.  History proved it wrong.  A month later, Star Wars got in the Chinese theater and played there for a very long time.  It was eventually out of the theaters by the end of 1978, spawning another poster (style D) and re-released in 1979, 1981 and 1982.

I know it seems crazy nowadays since movies have a gigantic release pattern, stay in a theater for 2 months and disappear, but it should be pointed that VHS didn't exist yet and theaters were the only way to see a movie, aside from network TV many years later.

T

Disagree on Style D.  I saw Star Wars on national opening night.  The small city theater had a style D displayed and it blew me away.  It was the poster that rekindled my interest in collecting and one of the first posters I bought.  How long did it play in LA before national release?  The movie had lines around the block in all the Milwaukee theaters, which is why we went up to a small town 30 miles away.

Also, Fox had some wierd arrangement with some theater chains that they had to play another film for some length of time in order to get Star wars.  A turkey movie called "The Other Side of the Mountain" played to empty theaters for several months as a result.

[eatbrie]

I am pretty sure Style D is a 1978 poster.  If someone knows for sure, please chime in.  Star Wars was initially released in 43 theaters.  Like I said, Fox thought they had a major turkey on their hands, so it took a while to expend.  There were way less theaters in the US back then, so it was difficult to get screens you didn't book early on.  Do you remember when you saw the movie?  I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't reach Milwaukee until 1978.

T

[Harry Caul]

I disagree with that, because all it will do is confuse bidders.  The poster is not for a re-release, but part of the continuation of the original re-release.  It should be called an award poster, but the release date should still be 77, even if the poster was technically produced in 78. 

+1  If it is part of the original continuous release, they should all be considered originals.  This includes 2nd/3rd printings, different styles, and award posters.  The only time, IMO, that a poster should be classified as a re-release is if the movie leaves the theaters and then is reintroduced with a new and/or modified poster.

As for the poster in question, I have a hard time believing that Star Wars left the theaters and was subsequently re-released in only a 5-month span.  You have to remember that this movie had a crazy extended release with quite a few theaters playing it continuously for over a year!

[ATLfun]

  Man, you guys are a wealth of historical knowledge. I remember seeing Star Wars three times.  The last time was at a rerun theatre and it included like a 10 minute clip of ESB.

  And Bruce, I found the listing confusing but that is not much of a barometer.    I was so glad to see a low price on it, then I saw one in your archive without the AA stuff, then it dawned on me that it was a later poster.  Somehow when I first looked at it I missed all the AA stuff.  (Not sure how because it covers half the quad).  You and your staff give the best descriptions, sometimes brutally honest.  But as a buyer, I appreciate that.


 Brian

  

[jayn_j]

I am pretty sure Style D is a 1978 poster.  If someone knows for sure, please chime in.  Star Wars was initially released in 43 theaters.  Like I said, Fox thought they had a major turkey on their hands, so it took a while to expend.  There were way less theaters in the US back then, so it was difficult to get screens you didn't book early on.  Do you remember when you saw the movie?  I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't reach Milwaukee until 1978.

T

I saw the movie in early June, 1977.  I know that for a fact because I was finishing my masters thesis and had to take time off.  I completed it around August 1 and moved to Colorado the next week.

From wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope

Charles Lippincott was hired by Lucas's production company, Lucasfilm Ltd., as marketing director for Star Wars. As 20th Century Fox gave little support for marketing beyond licensing T-shirts and posters, Lippincott was forced to look elsewhere. He secured deals with Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and Marvel Comics for a comic book adaptation and with Del Rey Books for a novelization. A fan of science fiction, he used his contacts to promote the film at the San Diego Comic-Con and elsewhere within fandom. Worried that Star Wars would be beaten out by other summer films, such as Smokey and the Bandit, 20th Century Fox moved the release date to the Wednesday before Memorial Day: May 25, 1977. However, fewer than forty theaters ordered the film to be shown. In response, 20th Century Fox demanded that theaters order Star Wars if they wanted an eagerly anticipated film based on a best-selling novel titled The Other Side of Midnight.[5]

Within three weeks of the film's release, 20th Century Fox's stock price doubled to a record high. Before 1977, 20th Century Fox's greatest annual profits were $37,000,000; in 1977, the company earned $79,000,000. Although the film's cultural neutrality helped it to gain international success, Ladd became anxious during the premiere in Japan. After the screening, the audience was silent, leading him to fear that the film would be unsuccessful. Ladd was later told that, in Japan, silence was the greatest honor to a film. When Star Wars made an unprecedented second opening at Mann's Chinese Theatre on 3 August 1977 after Sorcerer failed, thousands of people attended a ceremony in which C-3PO, R2-D2, and Darth Vader placed their footprints in the theater's forecourt.[52][5] Some cinemas continuously screened the film for more than a year.

[jayn_j]

Also, my style D has a 1977 copyright and the NSS number 770021.

[eatbrie]

Well, then, now I'm confused.

The Kilian Star Wars check list states: With the re-release of Star Wars in 1978 came the style "D" one-sheet."  Many books also put it at 1978.  Yet, you saw in in June 1977.

Which is it, then?

T

[eatbrie]

Also, my style D has a 1977 copyright and the NSS number 770021.

That's normal.  It's the Star Wars NSS # and the movie came out in 1977.

[eatbrie]

The Star Wars website also puts it at 1978: Starwarsmovieposter.com

[jayn_j]

Not disputing the data.  I just know what I saw.

The poster was not on the front marquee or in front of the lobby.  This was a small theater in a town called Cederburg, WI.  The theater was on a corner and there was an alley in the middle of the block leading to the parking lot.  The poster was in a case facing the alley, but where it could be seen approaching the theater from the main street.  Perhaps this was a test print or something.  The references you gave do say that the style D was a midwest thing.  I do know it left a big impression on me.

[eatbrie]

Yes Jay, you are disputing the data, and that's fine.  If the data is wrong, it should be noted.  If you are wrong, after all we're talking about something that happened 34 years ago, it's okay too.  I'm going to ask Pete Vilmur, who is arguably THE Star Wars specialist.

T

[crowzilla]

Well, then, now I'm confused.
The Kilian Star Wars check list states: With the re-release of Star Wars in 1978 came the style "D" one-sheet."  Many books also put it at 1978.  Yet, you saw in in June 1977.
Which is it, then?
T

According to Struzan it was 1978.
http://www.theforce.net/collecting/posters/anh/style-d.asp

The Numbers website shows the 43-theater figure for 5/25/77 (which has long been accepted), it expanded to 157 theaters on 6/17, and then 360 theaters on 6/24 (Fox was striking prints as quickly as possible) and didn't break 1,000 screens until August of 77. It peaked shortly afterwards and then slowly declined until it was on 103 screens in April of 78.  In July of 78 it was re-released to 1750 screens and it's generally accepted that this is the campaign the style D was used for.
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1977/0STRW.php

[jayn_j]

If Struzan himself is saying he didn't produce it until '78, I guess I am wrong.  Perhaps I am remembering a different time, different state and different theater.  Sill, the memory is so clear and so strong, including the girl I was dating at the time and our conversation.

Old age sucks.

[crowzilla]

Also, my style D has a 1977 copyright and the NSS number 770021.

Jay,
on your poster, above the 770021 where the 20th-Century Fox Logo is, it shows a copyright of 1977 and not 1978?
Interesting, yours must be a rare variation - I just looked at 10 different copies of the style D on Heritage and they all have the 78 copyright.
I suspect Star Wars collectors would go nuts for your copy.

[Bruce]

Jay, someday these young whippersnappers will have THEIR memory lapses, and then young wiseacres will call them on it, and they will remember back to this day!

Bruce

[jayn_j]

Jay,
on your poster, above the 770021 where the 20th-Century Fox Logo is, it shows a copyright of 1977 and not 1978?
Interesting, yours must be a rare variation - I just looked at 10 different copies of the style D on Heritage and they all have the 78 copyright.
I suspect Star Wars collectors would go nuts for your copy.

I'm at work now and getting the info from my database.  I need to go home and confirm from the poster, and I expect it will say 1978.  I never claimed my actual poster was anything special.  I bought it from Hollywood Posters in Denver in 1989 for $40.

EDIT:  Yes, the poster does have copyright 1978.  Also note that the sig on the artwork is dated 4/77.

[eatbrie]

Per Pete Vilmur, the only Star Wars expert I trust: "Yes, the D was printed for the July 1978 release, although the artwork itself was finished in April, 1977."

So in a sense, everybody's right.