It’s often said that films aren’t as good as they used to be – and the same argument could be applied to movie posters. Recent designs tend to be lackluster and safe – and some are downright awful. Perhaps the rise of technology and the increasing focus on digital advertising is to blame. But not since Pulp Fiction in 1994 – ironically the year the internet was born – has there been a film poster that really caught the public’s imagination. And rarely since Metropolis, all the way back in 1927, has there been one truly spectacular. But as the images on these pages show, there have been many memorable film posters over the years. All of them have the same basic function – to entice audiences – but they use a wide range of different design styles to do it. Let us take you on a journey through movie poster history and show how the images have moved with the times – and not always for the better.