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Phantasm

£150.00

Film

Phantasm

Additional information

Year

1979

Size/Type

UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided

Country of Origin

British / UK

Condition

Very Fine / Tri-Folded (as issued) – No horizontal foldline

Director

Don Coscarelli

Actor/Actress

Angus Scrimm, Bill Thornbury, Kathy Lester, Michael Baldwin, Reggie Bannister

SOLD - this item is sold. Please browse our currently available stock

“Beware the ball, beware the tall man, beware the never dead !”

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Don Coscarelli’s cult horror masterpiece “Phantasm” will leave you with more questions than answers but I will say this about the film. In an era and age where you get when a series of prosaic, banal and myopic efforts grace our screens and you compare them to films like “Halloween”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Phantasm”, you quickly realise that the 70’s and early 80’s was a veritable oasis for horror film fans. This original 1979 British UK quad film poster for “Phantasm” features design and artwork by Joseph Smith and is presented in very good tri-folded (as issued) high grade condition with strong colour tones and dark unfaded black background. His distinctive, memorable horror imagery makes this a fine example of the genre and a nice piece of original 1970’s movie memorabilia.

Trivia: The song, “Ace of Spades” by Motörhead was released the year after this film and is reported to have its origins in the film. At a New York screening of the movie Lemmy was heard to have muttered that Mike’s head looked like the ace of spades and then spent much of the rest of the film writing out the lyrics in a notepad. He used the pencil that had been given to him earlier that day by the actor David Soul.

 

 

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Film Description

Phantasm Movie Poster

“Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, afraid to lose his brother follow him to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lifting a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate, and discovers that the Tall Man, protected by his flying spheres, is shrinking dead bodies down to half their normal size and reanimating them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.”

Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) and his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury) are mourning the death of their parents in a small Oregon town. Together with their friend Reggie (Reggie Bannister), an ice cream man, they must do battle with a nefarious undertaker known only as The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) and his various minions…not to mention a neat flying sphere that can puncture skulls.

Writer / director / cinematographer / editor Don Coscarelli truly hit paydirt with this enduring fan favorite, a horror / fantasy classic that spawned a franchise spanning over three and a half decades. A great film it is not, but it is a fun and entertaining. The acting is mostly amateurish and our heroes less interesting than our villain. But Coscarelli clearly enjoys himself playing with as much “it’s all supposed to take on the tones of a nightmare” shtick as he can. He never does worry about any of this making sense.

Baldwin, Thornbury, and Bannister are at least likable as our heroes, especially Bannister, whose character turned into more of a badass as the series went on. Kathy Lester is alluring as a mysterious “lady in lavender”. ButPhantasm ultimately belongs to the imposing Scrimm, whose appearance is very memorable.

The film also benefits from a music score by Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave that is pretty catchy, in particular its haunting, somewhat “Halloween”– esque main theme.

The main set piece involves the sphere mutilating a caretakers’ face; Coscarelli fought the MPAA to keep this sequence in the film and actually succeeded.

 

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.