Mise-en-scene of film poster

For my film poster analysis I will be analysing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’.
 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures. Set in 1969 Los Angeles, the film follows a fading character actor and his stunt double as they navigate the rapidly changing film industry, with the looming threat of the Tate-LaBianca Murders hanging overhead. It features multiple
 storylines in a modern fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age.  

From this poster, we are shown that there are three main characters, played by Leonardo De Caprio, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, which is clearly written at the bottom of the poster, maybe this was purposefully done to attract a grater audience to watch this film knowing it stars famous actors and actresses. We can guess that Leonardo De Caprio is the star of the film and plays the main character as Rick Dalton. He is in centre stage of the poster looking confident, this could signify that maybe his status is greater importance than the other characters below him. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate who is a powerful woman in this film, she clearly plays a big role along with Brad Pitt who plays Cliff Booth. Guessing from the positioning of these characters in the poster, perhaps these 3 people are good friends throughout the film or play a powerful, strong role in the storyline. Maybe there’s a spark of romance between these men and woman.

The poster conveys a sense of gender stereotyping, we can see various pictures of women dressed in shorts and with blonde hair, hinting that it attracts a male audience and maybe in the film it mocks the male expectation of women? Due to the time in history it was set in, we know that feminism was a rising movement and that the film industry was rapidly changing. The poster reflects a humorous and action packed tone, it seems quite fun, light hearted and we can guess that love plays a big part in this film. We can see in the poster that it is obviously set in Hollywood as there is lights, the sign and stereotypical images of Hollywood. ‘Hollywood’ is bold in the poster, instantly this makes us as the audience think of stereotypical things that we expect to see in such a place, like for example, the classic bright lights, old fashion movie signs and old cars. The poster presents itself as a vintage film poster, it is set in the 1960’s so maybe it wants to give off the impression of a throwback to the old days to the audience of the modern day. The vintage posters have been created by Steven Chorney, an artist known for his illustrated posters from the 1980’s. Chorney created posters for films such as Labyrinth and Who Framed Roger Rabbit and his work here is similar to his previous designs.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood seems to be mocking its own posters in a unique way. Quentin Tarantino's ninth film takes the audience back to one of Hollywood's prime eras in the late 1960s while also providing a brief look into the making of movies and television. Of course, a film like this, which not only takes place during an infamous time in Hollywood's history but also includes portrayals of several real-life people.

In this poster, we can recognize the way people are dressed. I can see cowboys dressed in their hats and boots actresses dressed smartly in large sunglasses and  tight clothes, maybe this shows how women in the Hollywood film industry were viewed and dressed. Rick Dalton gives the impression from the way he is dressed in the poster that maybe he comes from Western America. Rather than the opposite of Sheron Tate who is dressed quite classy and neat, this could imply that maybe she is playing as a actress in this film, living in LA or Hollywood. Maybe the three of them have united together in the film industry working in Hollywood but have all come from different backgrounds and areas in America.