Film
Footloose
1984
UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided
UK / British
Near mint minus; originally rolled (as issued)
Herbert Ross
Chris Penn, Dianne Wiest, John Laughlin, John Lithgow, Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Sarah Jessica Parker
“The music is on his side….All he wanted to do was dance.”
The energy, rebellion and unmistakable style of 1980s cinema are captured in this original UK Quad poster for Herbert Ross’s “Footloose”. The atmospheric design places Kevin Bacon’s Ren McCormack in motion against a cool blue and purple backdrop, dramatically divided from the black title panel by a vivid yellow line.
Released in 1984, the film follows a city teenager who moves to a conservative small town where dancing and rock music have been prohibited. Determined to challenge the ban, Ren inspires his classmates and confronts the community’s strict authority. Kevin Bacon stars alongside Lori Singer, John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest. The hugely successful soundtrack features Kenny Loggins’ iconic title song and Bonnie Tyler’s rousing anthem Holding Out for a Hero.
The memorable slogans—“The music is on his side” and “He’s a big-city kid in a small town”—perfectly capture the film’s youthful spirit. Measuring approximately 30 × 40 inches, this highly collectable poster is presented rolled (as issued), and remains in excellent condition. A superb display piece for collectors of the movie, Kevin Bacon and classic 1980s cinema.
Trivia: Tom Cruise and Rob Lowe were both slated to play the lead. The casting directors were impressed with Cruise because of the famous underwear dance sequence in Risky Business (1983), but he was unavailable for the part because he was filming All the Right Moves (1983). Lowe auditioned three times and had dancing ability and the “neutral teen” look that director Herbert Ross wanted, but he pulled his knee, and the injury prevented him from taking the part. After watching Diner (1982), Ross had to convince the producers to go with Kevin Bacon.
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“Big-city teenager Ren relocates from Chicago to the small rural town of Bomont, where its inhabitants have imposed an unjust ban on Rock ‘n’ Roll and dancing. Feeling trapped and confused, Ren tries to fit in; however, he will soon find himself neck-deep in trouble when beautiful Ariel Moore, the preacher’s daughter, catches his eye. Now, to convince the city council to lift the ban on dancing, Ren has no choice but to fight prejudice and the community’s fire-and-brimstone preacher through dance. But is Ren fighting a losing battle?”
“Footloose” is a lot of fun to watch. The main high-school characters are very likeable and we sympathise with their “oppression.” Even the initially unsympathetic authority characters, led by the Rev. Moore (expertly portrayed by John Lithgow), are given some genuine depth in this movie. They aren’t just mindless martinets. Their beliefs are shown to have some credible foundation, although most of us wouldn’t agree with them.
The kids, led by Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer are shown fairly realistically. They are not portrayed as over-idealized defenders of artistic freedom. They just want to have fun. And it is fun watching them have fun. I was particularly drawn to the slightly goofy, yet faithful, secondary characters played by Chris Penn and Sarah Jessica Parker I thought to myself, “Those are the kind of people I’d like to hang out with.” The picture of adolescent friendship shown in this movie is very appealing.
Sure, the plot is a tad formulaic. But who says you can’t have fun with a good formula, particularly when it presents a decent message embodied in decent characters? And oh yeah, the dancing and the music are good too.
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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.
