Film
Alien: Director’s Cut
1979, 2003 – Director’s Cut
Die-Cut Design with green plastic egg effect, UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided
British / UK
Very Fine plus – Near Mint minus / Originally rolled (as issued)
Ridley Scott
Bolaji Badejo, Harry Dean Stanton, Helen Horton, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto
One of the cinemas all time classic movies…Ridley Scott’s Oscar winning deep space horror “Alien”. Any paper for this film is extremely sought after with the alien ‘egg’ style, designed by creative arts agency Bemis Balkind the most recognisable. On halloween 2003 “Alien” was re-released in a remastered Director’s Cut format. Sensibly the Studio went with the original 1979 poster design and updated it by printing a small number of posters on heavy stock paper with a silver background and luminous green plastic panel (on reverse) offsetting a die-cut ‘bleeding’ edge to represent the Alien blood. The UK quad poster offered here is from this 2003 release and it displays and presents to excellent effect being originally rolled (as issued). There is no fading with deep blacks/greens & stand out silver colour tone…Hugely collectable, a desirable piece of original film movie memorabilia from a truly influential movie that defined the face of modern sci-fi horror.
Trivia: Dan O’Bannon‘s original draft title was “Star Beast”, but he was never happy with this. It was only after re-reading his script that he noted how many times the word “alien” appeared, and realized that it was a perfect title. It works as a noun and an adjective, and it had never been used before.
…more detailVintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +
The further we go in special effects, the more movies show us and ignore the unseen, the more people will return to dark horrors like “Alien“.
It’s hard to look at this film without considering the sequels and knowing the alien itself, however when made the alien was mostly unseen and a mystery. It’s difficult to forget what you’ve seen, but it’s important to approach this film first if possible rather than joining the series late.
It’s amazing that this is over 40 years old – apart from the actors looking so young, the film doesn’t feel dated at all. The sci-fi visions here are still bleak and futuristic as they were then – this is not the Star Trek vision of the future. The foreboding exists long before John Hurt spills his secret, Ridley Scott‘s direction is excellent throughout. Once the alien is “born” the tension is cranked up and the characters dispatched one by one (a formula we know oh-so well now!)
However here the characters are not merely alien-food but have some dimension to them. Sigourney Weaver is excellent, while the support cast is full of great support actors (Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm), but of course the real star is the one we see least of.
We barely see the alien in full detail, most of the time it is set in shadows, moving with deadly intent.The alien here is not simply a killing machine as seen in later films but is cruel with it. Witness the alien trap a female crew member and slowly rub up her leg, moving with slow seductive movements before moving with terrifying speed to kill another crew member sneaking up behind it. The slow movements betray the alien’s pure cruelty.
The film is a study in terror. It may not be as action packed as the other films in the series but it brings the claustrophobia of being hunted to a new level.
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Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.
Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.
Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.
Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.
Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.
Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.
Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.
All photographs and images used on our site are photographs of the actual poster/item you are buying, we do not use stock photographs.
LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.
WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.
HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.
INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.
STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.
ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.
THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.
BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.
BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.
ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.
2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.
FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.
