Here we see a selection of UK and international posters and promotional material sent to distributors and cinemas to promote the release of THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO. Most do concentrate on the ZERO X despite showing its demise which is odd considering it rather gives the game away for potential audiences.
This cannot be levelled at the Italian release poster however. There is nothing at all to connect it to the THUNDERBIRDS concept. The poster for CAVALIERS OF SPACE, as it is I believe translated, does however sport some gorgeous looking artwork worthy of perhaps a later Anderson production but in no way reflects the action seen in the David Lane helmed production
The final images show the US press book for the films 1967 release. The series itself was largely unknown despite the earlier shows being popular in North America. It is interesting to see that United Artists thought the movie would stand alone as a cinematic presentation rather than attracting viewers who may know the characters and vehicles from the small screen as they would have in the UK.
Jim Lewis
5 comments:
Great article.
I wonder if the Italian poster is re-using an image from another film?
Smashing stuff. I love the poster at the top featuring TB2.
Yeah, these are great finds!
"The final images show the US press book for the films 1967 release. The series itself was largely unknown despite the earlier shows being popular in North America. "
I can't entirely agree with "largely unknown" in the States. The problem was that Thunderbirds didn't air on one of the big television networks (CBS, NBC, or ABC) and instead went into syndication, which means that small local stations all over the country bought it on an individual basis and aired the episodes whenever they wanted. Some places, that meant every day after school; other places showed it Saturday morning; some places showed the episodes once and dropped them, others cycled through the series over and over again. It had a fanbase here, but without network advertising behind it, there wasn't a lot of merchandising or promotional stuff so it didn't have that "stickiness" in most American children's minds. When the show stopped airing, most American kids forgot about it…except for the real diehards. Anecdotally, I knew other kids who loved the show, but none of them quite as obsessed as I was.
(I still vividly remember when that movie opened in a town a half hour's drive away; it was like making a pilgrimage…)
I wonder if the Italian poster is re-using an image from another film? ...
I wonder if the talian poster artist was on drugs .... LOL
Nice story from your childhood, Richard!
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