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Le Mans

Name: Le Mans
SKU: 14393
Price: 2995.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

£2,995.00

“Steve McQueen takes you for a drive in the country…The country is France. The drive is at 200 MPH!”

Incredibly rare original 1971 “Le Mans” film poster. Any paper from this sought after Steve McQueen motor racing title is scarce but this British UK quad film poster is one of the the rarest (and the best) for this iconic McQueen movie. Beautifully painted artwork by Tom Jung, emphasising the patriotic red, white and blue colours of the America flag and also matching McQueen’s racing overalls. Originally folded (as issued) this unrestored example presents and displays to excellent effect and is easily the best example I have ever offered for sale. A film where any posters are genuinely scarce and very hard to find due to the very limited cinematic release at the time. It has (over time) become an iconic and much admired motor sports film showing just why Steve McQueen was the true King of Cool…Highly recommended; a personal favourite, classic and elegant…A great looking piece of truly collectable movie and motor racing memorabilia and it’s STEVE MCQUEEN ! …“Racing’s important to men who do it well. When you’re racing, it’s life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting”

Film Description

Le Mans Movie Poster

“The ultimate motor racing film”

The reason why most racing movies fail, is because the Hollywood people try to tie in some cheesy plot to the highly professional sports of auto racing. “Le Mans“ is real life car racing, there is no dramatic love story, no struggle between good and evil, no rebel against the authority. In real life, racing is all about speed, physical strength, and concentration, anything else is just distraction…Rather than put in a third rate plot to make a crappy story out of it like Driven or any other racing flick has done (including the “Grand Prix“), Steve McQueen‘s “Le Mans“ has chosen to walk the different path, to bring the true spirit of car racing on the big screen. Who cares if there is no plot, no conversation, or no love story. If you are looking for those things, you are watching the wrong movie. The sound of the 917 blast down the Mulsanne at full throttle is well worth the time to watch this movie…Sadly, this is probably the last of the true racing movies. The world today is impossible to make a movie out of real racing car (every single race car in “Le Mans“ is real. The Porsche 917, the Ferrari 512S, The Lola T70). Driven uses mock CART car based on Indy Light, plus a whole lot of crappy CGI car, Grand Prix uses the F2 car that looks like the F1 at the time. A movie like Le Mans probably will never be made again.

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria

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.

Most Popular Poster Types

US Posters

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 Posters

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 Posters

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 Posters

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.

PUT ON A HAPPY FACE…

It’s Business as normal. We are open and carrying on as usual with new items being added daily with domestic and International shipping available.

“Steve McQueen takes you for a drive in the country…The country is France. The drive is at 200 MPH!”

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Film Description

Le Mans Movie Poster

“The ultimate motor racing film”

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