Film
Dark Star
1974
UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided
British / UK
Near Mint minus – Very Fine plus / Rolled (as issued)
John Carpenter
Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dan O’Bannon, Dre Pahich, Nick Castle
“What Do You Say To A Talking Bomb? All Systems Snafu!!!”
A very striking poster for John Carpenter’s cinematic debut feature “Dark Star” and a fantastic example of the supremely talented film poster artist Tom Chantrell – a master at illustrating anything aeronautical, outer space and especially space ships. And it’s an amazing illustration, if what rather serious; unusual as the movie has a largely comedic tone. This original “Dark Star” movie poster has it all; incredible graphics, great detail & amazing colours. It is very rare and one of the scarcest movie posters from the early 1970’s to find. The original, first release 1974 UK quad movie poster offered here is from the personal collection of the artist himself – Tom Chantrell and is accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity signed by the Curators of his archive; Shirley Chantrell and Mike Bloomfield. Originally rolled (as issued) it is presented in high grade unrestored condition. This genuinely rare cult classic represents an extremely desirable and collectable piece of sci-fi cinematic movie memorabilia.
Trivia: Co-writer Dan O’Bannon later reused the “alien mascot” section of the film as the basis of a script he called ‘Star Beast’. Due to the low budget of “Dark Star,” the ‘alien’ was clearly a beach ball that could only be played for comedy, but O’Bannon felt that with a proper budget, the premise of an alien creature stalking the crew of a spaceship could work as a genuinely tense movie. As luck would have it, directors Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott had both seen and liked “Dark Star,” and employed O’Bannon and designer Ron Cobb in projects that would finally lead to O’Bannon’s screenplay being filmed as Alien (1979).
Watch the Trailer HERE
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“A low budget, sci-fi satire that focuses on a group of scientists whose mission is to destroy unstable planets. 20 years into their mission, they have battle their alien mascot, that resembles a beach ball, as well as a “sensitive” and intelligent bombing device that starts to question the meaning of its existence.”
“Dark Star” is filmmaker John Carpenter theatrical debut, expanded from a college short he wrote with his fellow student, Dan O’Bannon. Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dre Pahich, and O’Bannon himself play a quartet of astronauts, 20 years into an incredibly dreary mission where they occasionally get to have some fun destroying “unstable” planets. Some trouble arises when one of their talking, sentient bombs malfunctions, and has to be reasoned with.
Although not nearly as slick as many of Carpenters’ subsequent efforts, the director and his crew do the absolute best that they can with a shoestring budget (supposedly, around $55,000 all told.) Executive produced by Jack H. Harris of “The Blob” fame, it benefits from a wonderfully wacky approach. It was always intended to be a comedy, and to lovingly spoof vintage science fiction while also paying tribute to it. Nicely performed by its no name cast (with O’Bannon a comic standout as the frustrated Sgt. Pinback), it does have some genuine tension as well. There’s a big elongated sequence with Pinback being forced to deal with an alien “mascot”, played by a beach ball with claws. O’Bannon chases the beach ball into a series of shafts, and this material works as a forerunner to some of the stuff that O’Bannon wrote for “Alien” several years later. Best of all is the way that Lt. Doolittle (Narelle) must engage in that philosophical debate with Bomb # 20. “How do you know you exist?”
Longtime Carpenter associates Nick Castle and Tommy Lee Wallace also worked on this show. Carpenter, as was most often the case with his work, composed the music himself, and it’s quite enjoyable. Carpenter also wrote the catchy country song “Benson, Arizona” (lyrics by effects expert Bill Taylor) that is heard twice, once over the opening credits and once at the end.
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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.
