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Selected original release advance double-crown
posters (20" X 30") |
In addition to those
double-crown posters
intended for use on the front and back of London's iconic red
double-decker buses, alternate versions were often produced for
display on the London Underground. These usually appeared ahead of the
release and were replaced with the standard quad-crown poster when the
film was actually in cinemas. In the case of the Goldfinger
(1964) double-crown this was actually just the credits half of the
Style B quad-crown poster produced predominantly for the Irish
Republic. The alternate Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
double-crown combined the credits from both
advance posters and also appeared on the London Underground ahead of the
December 30th release date. |
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Goldfinger
(1964) |
Thunderball
(1965) |
Casino Royale
(1967) |
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You Only Live
Twice (1967) |
Diamonds Are
Forever (1971) |
The Living
Daylights (1987) Piracy Style |
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A few weeks before The Living Daylights received its first
public screening and whilst still in the editing stage, low-grade
videotapes purporting to be the new James Bond film were circulating in the UK. These
tapes were compiled from unedited footage stolen during production and
missing key action sequences, major special effects and all the music.
Worried that the tapes would damage the films box-office takings, EON
Productions and distributor United Artists published newspaper announcements,
and produced warning posters that
began to appear on the London Underground and across the country in the
weeks leading up to the world premiere. Although these double-crown
posters were alerting the public to the existence of the tapes, they also
served as a teaser poster for the release of Timothy Dalton's debut as
James Bond. |
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Selected original
release anti-piracy quad-crown posters |
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Since the advent of home
video in the early 1980s the James Bond films were frequently available on
low-grade videotape, later DVD and then as digital downloads, which made
distribution far easier for those who knew where to look. The cinema
industry has therefore tried to alert audiences to these illegal copies
which invariably impacted on the box-office takings of the films upon
their original release. The Living Daylights (1987) was the first
film to be connected to a major breach when unedited footage was obtained
and released ahead of the June 1987 opening. United Artists and EON
Productions issued a double-crown poster [pictured above] to alert
cinemagoers to the tapes. In more recent years cinemas took to displaying
bespoke quad-crown posters in light-boxes outside the auditorium at
screenings of the James Bond films in multiplex venues. These simple
text-only posters rarely made their way on to the collectors market and
were usually destroyed after the original cinema engagement of the film.
Two surviving examples are pictured below. Both Casino Royale
(2006) and No Time To Die (2021) were available to download from
peer-to-peer torrent websites within hours of the film first screening in
the UK. Usually captured on a static digital camera, or by audience
members with an unsteady smart phone, these versions of the film are
generally of very poor quality. |
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Skyfall
(2012) Anti-piracy quad-crown poster (30" X 40") |
Spectre
(2015) Anti-piracy quad-crown poster (30" X 40") |
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Selected non-standard
original UK
release
posters
Posters illustrated below
not to scale |
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In addition to the
quad-crown and double-crown posters used in cinema displays, advertising
hoardings and throughout the London Underground, several
other sizes were produced to promote the James Bond films on
their original release. These posters would have been
produced in much smaller quantities than those intended for use in
cinemas, and varied in size depending on where they were displayed.
Very few
Sixteen-sheet (120" X 80") posters exist nowadays as most would have been pasted onto
outdoor advertising hoardings and later covered up by the next film to
be publicised. Most were listed (although not always illustrated) in
the original Exhibitors’ Campaign Book for the film.
Sixteen-sheet posters
continued to be produced for the James Bond films until the late
1980s. |
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A Sixteen-sheet for
You Only Live Twice (1967) was displayed in the window of West End
department store Selfridges on London's Oxford Street [pictured
above] to accompany a display of props featured in the film and the
various toys and accessories available to purchase in-store. Later films in the
series also had special large posters (48" X 70" approx) produced for display in light-boxes
at bus shelters which usually featured the opening date of the film.
Generally only displayed in London to
promote the premiere of a new James Bond film, more recently this
style has been adopted for use across the country. The Daniel Craig films
have also been widely advertised on the sides of double-decker buses
across the UK. |
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Dr. No
(1962) Sixteen-sheet (120" X 80") |
From Russia With Love (1963)
Sixteen-sheet (120" X 80") |
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The
Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Bus stop (40" X 60") |
Moonraker (1979) Bus stop (40"
X
60") |
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For Your Eyes Only (1977) Bus
stop (40" X 60")
Premiere style |
Never Say Never Again
(1983) Bus stop (40" X 60")
West End style |
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Octopussy (1983) Bus stop (40"
X 60") |
The Living Daylights (1987) Bus
stop (40" X 60") |
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GoldenEye
(1995) Bus stop (48" X 70") |
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Bus
stop (48" X 70") |
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Skyfall (2012) Bus
stop (48" X 70") |
Spectre (2015) Bus
stop (48" X 70") |
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No Time To Die (2021) Bus
stop (48" X 70")
Withdrawn April 2020 style |
No Time To Die (2021) Bus
stop (48" X 70")
2021 release style |
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Additional original
release UK promotional
posters
Posters illustrated below
not to scale |
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In the early 1980s many
cinemas had been converted into multi-screen venues and advertising space
was at a premium. In addition to the standard sized posters available for
use in cinemas, United Artists also produced other smaller promotional
materials available for use in lobbies or window displays. These were
advertised in the Exhibitors’ Campaign Book for each film. |
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For Your Eyes
Only (1981) Colour poster (15" X 10") |
Octopussy
(1983) Teaser advance (28" X 17") |
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Original release UK
character posters |
More recent James
Bond films have also adopted the character poster as a means of
promoting the release of a new entry in the long-running series. UK 1-sheet
posters are similar in size (27" X 40") to their US and International
counterparts, and other larger sizes were designed for display in bus
shelters (48" X 70" approx). Similar posters were produced for other
territories, often adding additional characters to the series. The
latest James Bond film No Time To Die, went through a
series of delays due to the Coronavirus pandemic, before being finally
released in the UK on September 30, 2021.
Different versions of the
character posters were issued and then withdrawn as release dates
changed. For the eventual release a series of six quad-crown (30" X
40") character posters were issued for display in cinemas and on the
London Underground. |
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Casino Royale
(2006)
Judi Dench as M (27" X 40") |
Casino Royale
(2006)
Eva Green as Vesper Lynd (27" X 40") |
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Casino Royale
(2006)
Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre (27" X 40") |
Casino Royale
(2006)
Caterina Murino as Solange (27" X 40") |
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Skyfall
(2012)
Daniel Craig as James Bond (48" X 70") |
Skyfall
(2012)
Javier Bardem as Silva (48" X 70") |
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Skyfall
(2012)
Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny (48" X 70") |
Skyfall
(2012)
Bérénice Lim Marlohe as Sévérine (48" X 70") |
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Skyfall
(2012)
Judi Bench as M (48" X 70") |
Skyfall
(2012)
Ralph Fiennes as Mallory (48" X 70") |
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No Time To Die
(2021) [proposed & final
release dates]
Daniel Craig as James Bond
(30" X 40") |
No Time To Die
(2021)
Rami Malek as Safin (30" X
40") |
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No Time To Die
(2021)
Léa Seydoux as Madeleine Swann (30" X
40") |
No Time To Die
(2021)
Ana de Armas as Paloma (30" X 40") |
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No Time To Die
(2021)
Lashana Lynch as Nomi (30" X 40") |
No Time To Die
(2021)
Ben Whishaw as Q (30" X 40") |
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See also:
007 MAGAZINE Collectors'
Guide to US James Bond posters |
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ALSO AVAILABLE:
007 MAGAZINE ARCHIVE FILES James Bond Promotional Posters & Artwork
File #1
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