#16
Blade
A Poster Analysis
Requested by Inhuman
Introduction A while back I stated that the first X-Men film was probably the reason why we are living in the Comic Book movie renaissance today. Taking a short look back I have come to realize that I was quite off as another film managed to do a little more. Yes, X-Men gave us the ensemble Superhero film that probably certainly lead to the creation of Avengers, but another made all of this possible, Blade. Not only was it a comic book movie but also a successful R-rated film. Nowadays that isn’t an easy feature, especially when one considers Kick-Ass 2 from this year. It is admirable that a film with so much controversy managed to leave a legacy, but sadly is overshadowed by its successors. Now, to make up for my mistake it is time to take a look at the posters from the
Poster Analysis I have to say that it is fascinating to see how few posters were made for one movie back in the day. I was only able to find four posters for the film yet they say much more than one would think. Especially considering the entire motive behind the film, this was a time when people still had some form of respect when it comes to vampires. Before I approach the posters I have to say that I never knew that Blade was originally a comic book character. While finding out later he was originally white I could never imagined any other person portraying him. This poster does say a lot about the character. The insignia on his blade tell us that he is quite an experienced hunter, but also an honorable one. His blade (no pun intended) is quite similar to one of a samurai showing us that he works by an honor code. Furthermore, the deep red is easily connected to blood. In a way one could consider this showing his inner battle against his more animalistic urges while also the constant war against vampires. From the poster alone I would have never guessed him to be a daywalker though, but one could consider it through the existing reflections of his blade visualizing that he stands in the light of day.
Finally we get a better look of Wesley Snipes as Blade. The dark black clothes remind strongly of Matrix when one looks at it nowadays. It is still an interesting design when one considers that the only vampire to ever walk in sunlight would choose to wear black clothes. Maybe in a way it symbolizes his affinity to the darkness while hiding in plain sight. What I love about this poster are two specific elements. First of all seeing the main antagonist in the blood red does make one believe in the fact that he hunts down vampires. Additionally, it is a nice touch to have his blade swing above Stephen Dorff’s name showing their relationship and who exactly the bad guy is. Especially with the sword below his name is quite an obvious way to symbolize what he is and what he does. One thing that I find interesting is the fact that his weapon would make one believe he is living in the past, but his clothes show us that he is fighting in our day and time. Especially with the power of an immortal, one wouldn’t automatically understand what it means, but with the soul of a human line makes it clear that there is more than meets the eye with this character.
I couldn’t find this poster in a better quality, but the design does look a bit odd in my personal opinion. I understand that it is supposed to symbolize that he lives and works on the street, especially with the tribal design, but it seems to clear-cut to really be something a tagger would leave behind. His stance is a bit strange and actually was the first time I actually understood that this was a comic book film simply due to the way he is standing. Having the names in that tribal design is quite an interesting touch but it lacks the finish from the one’s before. In comparison it simply sticks out like something a fan made.
The last one is also quite a strange one. While the other’s clearly stuck to the red design for blood I do see why it has a much colder design. In fact it gives away a lot about the ending of the film and seems to be focusing more on the main antagonist. While one could believe there is a much darker feud between these two characters it’s the eyes that truly stick out. Dorff’s character has bloodshot eyes that truly symbolize the fact that our main enemies are in fact vampires, or at least have very animalistic traits. The blood motive is still in the designs and this time added to the title of the film. Pushing forward that the film is truly about Blade overcoming his inner bloodlust.
Conclusion So, what can I truly say about these posters. They had quite an interesting motive and say a lot about the film. What I find the most interesting though is that they say so much about the themes of the film through color. Color is known to have an intense effect on people, as we remember the stronger or brighter the colors easier. Certain one’s also make us think of specific attributes, which the tone of red chosen here easily helps visualize. The type of color strengthens our memory and the right combination allows for this effect here. Overall, I really like the posters and love the usage of symbolism throughout with only small touches to add to the effect.
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