A Tale of Two Posters
Here are the two posters, French and English, for the 2011 film “Les Hommes libres” (“Free Men”), which I reviewed earlier today. Check out the differences.

The French emphasize Michael Lonsdale (top), an actor I could watch forever, and various religious aspects of the story. They don't shy from Islam but they hide the gun.
The U.S.? We emphasize the handsome lead, Tahar Rahim of “Un Prophete.” We also emphasize Paris (which, thanks to Woody Allen, is big again among movie marketers), the Algerian flag (or at least a star, which is always big) and the gun, which has ruled Hollywood forever.
To be honest, neither poster captures the true feeling of the movie.
Tags: French films, Tahar Rahim, Michael Lonsdale
COMMENTS
Erik wrote:
Great observation on the use of color. Great commentary from Julen, too. He's right, of course: the dude on the right does look cooler than the dude (same dude) on the left.
Comment posted on Tue. Apr 24, 2012 at 12:44 PM
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kristin wrote:
and then there is the use of color...red...fire/explosions/blood...and the far tamer (and more calming) brown + tan + white.
you may find it interesting also, that Julen was just now reading over my shoulder, pointed to the US poster and said “I want to watch that”. I pointed to the other and said...“well, what about this one?” nooooo, that one looks too boring mom!!“ and he commented that the ”dude“ on the right was far cooler than the ”dude" (same dude) on the left.
Comment posted on Tue. Apr 24, 2012 at 12:37 PM