Blaxploitation film posters

I watched an excellent documentary a few nights ago called American Grindhouse which outlined the rise of the grindhouse film scene in the States, starting with it’s roots back in the 1930s. They showed all the important and influential films from the scene complete with footage and a lot of posters.

A big part of the film was the Blaxploitation sub-genre that erupted in the 1970s. I’ve been a big fan of these films for quite some time, primarily for their over the top dialogue, action scenes and plot lines. But it was pretty clear while watching American Grindhouse that Blaxploitation films had the best, and most badass posters by far. I decided to round up some of my favorites. Typically showcasing the stars and scenes on a white background, each poster has their own unique characteristics. I simply love the arrangements and killer title treatments, just look at that Super Fly T.N.T. poster. Lighting his smoke with lit dynamite?! So good.

All of these were yanked from the mighty The Wrong Side of Art, which I highly recommend having a look through if you have 8 hours to spare. While your at it, you should listen to Can You Dig It?. Perfect soundtrack.


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11 responses to “Blaxploitation film posters”

  1. Thiago Dias Avatar

    Nice!
    I noticed one thing on the post on top… they are always with the white background.

  2. protski Avatar

    Great compilation, but it lacks Black Dynamite :D

  3. Jayson Avatar

    Movie posters used to be a ton better in the day, even for b-movies.

  4. Alex Avatar
    Alex

    I love that all the protagonists seem to be holding or firing off guns. The straplines are ace too

  5. Mike Avatar

    Ah Shaft is a classic, I own the vinyl record of the first movie. Gotta love Isaac Hayes’ music

  6. ryandupre Avatar

    Nice collection! The SYSK (Stuff You Should Know) Podcast guys did one on exploitation films kind of recently and a few of these got mentioned.

    “Shaft’s Big Score” title treatment is my favorite!

  7. Jorden Tually Avatar

    Love old movie posters so so much! this is no exception! :)

  8. Joost Avatar
    Joost

    Like Protski said, it lacks Black Dynamite.. the best comedy from the last few years.. :)

    http://goregirl.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/black-dynamite.jpg

  9. kay486 Avatar

    Hi there! Really nice post. Thanks for sharing.

    I just love that font wich is used on the “Foxy Brown” poster, ive seen it before on the poster for “Jackie Brown” movite and even somewhere else too, cant remember what it was. Is there a chance that you might know the name of the font or even better, where to get it?

  10. David Biederbeck Avatar

    @Kay486 The type treatment is a bit different as it is a custom font. However, there is a very similar font call “shifty Chica” which is actually free. I have used it several times, including in my logo on my website.

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