Similar Products (Task 12)- Poster Analysis 5 - Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious was a controversial yet relatively successful film directed and written by Quentin Tarantino. The film was criticised for its complete lack of historical correctness but praised for its sheer brilliance as an unconventional, unique and historical based piece of cinema. The poster directs how Tarantino intended for the film to be received by its audience.  The certificate is an 18, therefore appealing to an adult audience.

1. The tagline clearly shows the context of the film and suggests it is a historical based film with unconventional portrays, for example explaining a well known event such as the Second World War as a story "Once upon a time". The audience can gather what the film will be about and this tagline clearly identifies with an audience who want to watch the film. Although the film fits in the War genre, the poster shows it is by no means a conventional war film (as this may put many audience members off- especially those as young as 18 years of age). 

2. This part of the image shows what side the protagonists are on and also gives away what they do and what happens in the film. The battered Nazi helmet hanging off a signed bat shows many things:
- The Nazi's are the victims of this film, they are shown to be under threat and weak (unlike any other war film)
- The bat has been signed by multiple people and judging by the state of it, it has been used often- this suggests that there is a group of people working together against the Nazi's, the fun and light hearted nature of signing the bat shows the group enjoy what they do.
-The blood stains on the helmet and bat connote the film is violent and bloody, immediately connecting with its intended audience. 

3. The film title sells itself on previous successes and also sells the brand of 'Tarantino', those familiar with his films and fans of his work will go and see the film regardless of it's genre or plot. The swashsticker within the actual title again backs up the context of the film and creates a logo for the audience to identify with the film.




The poster is successful because it simply conveys the values of the film, forgetting all about the plot and characters, the audience immediately know it is a film about hunting Nazi's, it is based during the Second World War, it is unconventional and light hearted and it is a Tarantino film. 


However the poster could could portray the protagonist more clearly, both the baseball bat and the Nazi helmet are symbols of violence and hatred. But this could suggest the morals of the film, both are bad but one is far worse.