Movie posters have really evolved over the 100+ years of cinema history.
In their infancy, they were rarely photo-based, usually featured original artwork, and included lots of tour-de-force taglines to get audiences interested.
Along the way, they changed and began to evolve into high art.
For a while, posters stayed artistic, trying to evoke a sense of old Hollywood excitement.
But more often than not, studios frequently rely on the uninspired standby of the "big-head" poster.
In the case of Christopher Nolan films, the marketing team seems to have taken a more specific approach.
The majority of Nolan's posters have adopted a design I have dubbed "God's Lonely Man" imagery — a reference to the dialogue and poster of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver.
In this poster, and in most of Nolan's, a single figure is displayed in the center of the frame. Oftentimes, they're standing above the title of the film like a monolith.
While early Nolan films and posters were different, as he and the studios were trying to find his voice...
...it didn't take long for a style to evolve, both in his directing and in his poster art.
The seed of the solitary man image seemed to be there from the beginning, as you can see in this still from his first indie film, Following.
When he transitioned into a summer blockbuster-type filmmaker, the poster image really took root.
Even when a few of Hollywood's infamous big heads fill most of the image, there is still a line of loneliness drawn down the center.
Sometimes, the initial teaser poster shows it off the most...
...but when the official one-sheet is released, the solitary figure remains.
There's literally an artistic line drawn down the center of the frame.
Even this heroic franchise was not immune to the lonely imagery.
The stories grew, but the imagery stayed the same.
Even in a movie depicting a war of thousands, the poster is all about one central figure.
And when the script goes sideways, the poster always stays centered.
Though Nolan has ventured away from longtime collaborator Warner Bros., his current partner, Universal Pictures, has still employed the singular imagery for his new film, Oppenheimer.
Whether or not you've ever noticed this trend in Christopher Nolan's movie posters, it helps create a subconscious thread throughout his entire filmography.
Do you have a favorite? Sound off in the comments.
Christopher Nolan's latest epic Oppenheimer hits theaters July 21. As with all of his movies, it deserves to be seen on the big screen.
