Film
Superman II
1981
UK Quad / (30″ x 40″) / Single Sided / Printed in England by W.E.Berry Ltd. Bradford
UK / British
Very Fine plus; originally folded (as issued)
Richard Lester
Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Terence Stamp
Richard Lester’s “Superman II” is widely regarded as one of the greatest super hero movies ever made and an excellent sequel to Richard Donner’s much loved masterpiece. Made in a era when CGI was unheard of the special effects were breathtaking and ground breaking. Barney Lettick who made such a success of the first “Superman” poster was again commissioned for “Superman II” and hasn’t disappointed producing a truly outstanding poster image. Offered for sale is an original “blue-border” UK quad movie poster for “Superman II” from first year of release in Britain 1981. This rare folded (as issued) example displays and presents to excellent effect with only very minimal handling wear. Beautiful design and deep unfaded colours this is an outstanding example of investment grade quality, very collectable original movie memorabilia.
…more detailVintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +
“Superman II“ has got to be the bench mark for future producers of Superman movies. They must be sat down with this film, because it is an absolute classic, and as far as Superman films go it will be hard to top. Richard Lester, is not very popular with some Superman fans, because he took over on a movie that they feel would have been better had Richard Donner been allowed to complete. But Lester has his admirers, and iam one of them. The first Superman movie tended to go along with boring philosophising, or over sentimental dramatics, these are mainly absent in Superman II,. They are replaced with cut to the action dramatics by Richard Lester who in my opinion saved the movie, or at least made it all the more exciting. I enjoy his sense of comic book adventure, and the final Times Square battle between Superman vs Zod, Non and Ursa is straight out of a comic book and is all Lesters. The main thing that complements the movie is the towering performance by Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent/Superman. Reeve is hillarious in his Cary Grant-a-like interpretation of Kent and wonderfull as a humanistic Superman. Margot Kidder is fabulous to and it is the acting of theese two that makes the Superman/Lois love triangle work. Terence Stamp as Zod is very creepy, and Sarah Douglas as Ursa very sexy, but the man who very nearly steels the show is Gene Hackman hilarious as Lex Luther. The special effects are brilliant, because they look glossy, and the Ken Thorne variation of John Williams Superman theme is at its best here. The best aspects though is the action, the aforementioned Times Square battle, and the interaction between the actors. Well done Richard Lester. A True classic of Superhero cinema.
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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.
