Film
Le Cercle Rouge
1970 (2003 RR – BFI)
UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided
UK / British
Very Fine plus / Originally Rolled (as issued)
Jean Pierre Melville
Alain Delon, Andre Bourvil, Francois Perier, Gian Maria Volonte, Paul Crauchet, Yves Montand
From the British Film Institute (BFI) comes this striking UK quad film poster from their restored and remastered 2003 re-release for the French gangster classic “Le Cercle Rouge”. Produced in very limited numbers these are incredibly rare posters for use in the specially selected ‘art-house’ cinemas; Renoir, The Screen on the Green, NFT & Electric and were never commercially available to buy. With clever eye-catching design and the the two major stars (Alain Delon & Yves Montand) featured this really is a great looking poster. In excellent condition this originally rolled example is truly impressive and represents a fine piece of original film memorabilia…’The New York Times’ described it as “Profoundly, ineffably cool”.
…more detailVintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +
Jean Pierre Melville’s “Le Circle Rouge“ is the final hymn to American cinema (not counting 1972’s Un flic, which he as good as disowned) takes his career-length preoccupation with genre iconography and crafts a majestic formal distillation of said tropes, as indebted to the open plains of the American west as to the streets of its east. Even more so than with his earlier masterpiece Le Samouraï (1967), Melville reconfigures the work of his idols, teaching them how to properly pronounce noir as he elevates it to the level of Greek tragedy.
Le Cercle rouge shows Melville as master wrangler of archetype and myth, his mise-en-scène as precisely orchestrated in the minutiae of one of cinema’s great set-pieces (the heist, tipping its hat to John Huston and Jules Dassin) as in the existential spaces under a vast, growling sky. His is a cinema of exquisite detail, where gesture reigns over talk, words saved and deployed like bullets. It’s a reduction of genre, the ingredients simmered down to their essence with a uniquely Gallic culinary flair, to allow their flavours to be tasted more keenly.
Melville’s is a defiantly masculine world, the codes of honour and conduct as rigidly defined as the frames within which he fixes them. These would be God’s Lonely Men, if there were any god present. Nothing exists beneath the trench coats and fedoras. With no interior life of their own, they’re pawns in someone else’s game. It may be an image of a laughing Buddha under which their fate is spelt out in the film’s opening frames, but the words – and their fate – belong to Melville.
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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.
