Orange Doesn't Work

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Some kind of orange fetish has recently caught on among movie-poster designers. Last night in the 14th Street and 8th Avenue station I snapped a just-mounted one-sheet for Anton Corbijn's The American (Focus Features, 9.1). And then this morning Awards Daily posted an OMG Posters display of various Olly Moss one-sheet designs for several classic films. Was Moss hired by Focus Features to do an American poster, or is it just what it seems -- a coincidence?

Orange has always seemed like an overly provocative color. Rude, obnoxious -- doesn't get along well with others. Splashy, splotchy. What's orange good for besides napkins or kitschy '50s furniture or summer dresses for older women? The fact that orange was Frank Sinatra's favorite color always made me think less of the guy. So I'm not a fan of orange-dominated movie posters. I never cared for that orange Vertigo poster from way back, and I'm not that intrigued by the American poster, and I think Moss's posters for On The Waterfront and Rocky are kinda strange and what-the-fucky.

I understand that designers have to go where they want to go, etc., but let's dump the orange at the first opportunity. Mustard...now there's a color!

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 4, 2010 at 2:30 PM

comment #1

The Hoyk says ...

Christmas has always smelled like oranges to me.

Posted by The Hoyk at August 4, 2010 3:44 PM

comment #2

Bass Ackwards says ...

The American is its own thing, but the classic posters redone with the orange theme is because they were all done for the 2010 Rolling Roadshow Tour, so they're all supposed to look like they were cut from the same cloth (well, I guess in this instance they actually were).

Posted by Bass Ackwards at August 4, 2010 4:09 PM

comment #3

Chase Kahn says ...

Disagree. That American poster is easily the best I've seen for a film this year and that There Will Be Blood poster is bloody brilliant and that shocking red/orange is essential to the mood that it evokes.

Posted by Chase Kahn at August 4, 2010 4:09 PM

comment #4

the sandwich says ...

Long, long time lurker. This was the straw that finally made me post. Who rails against ORANGE? What do you suggest we do at Halloween sir, carve watermelons? Are you calling cheddar provocative? Hogwash.
P.S. That Dirty Harry poster is fantastic (in any 70's melamine color).

Posted by the sandwich at August 4, 2010 4:11 PM

comment #5

lazarus says ...

I never was a fan of orange as a color, but I disagree strongly about the Vertigo poster. That's one of the greatest ever, and I imagine the negative feeling you get with the color is something that's appropriate considering how disturbing the film itself is.

Posted by lazarus at August 4, 2010 4:16 PM

comment #6

televisiontears says ...

"The fact that orange was Frank Sinatra's favorite color always made me think less of the guy."

I love this so much. Classic Wells.

Posted by televisiontears at August 4, 2010 4:21 PM

comment #7

matt cousens says ...

These are gorgeous posters. I always figured you to have some orange crocs in yer closet, Wells.

Posted by matt cousens at August 4, 2010 4:31 PM

comment #8

Hollis Mulwray says ...

Read once, that the REESE'S Peanut Butter cup packaging (Orange and Brown) was overwhelmingly picked by product packaging designers as being a legendary home-run.

Posted by Hollis Mulwray at August 4, 2010 4:40 PM

comment #9

actionman says ...

the american poster is a total class-act. old-school cool.

Posted by actionman at August 4, 2010 4:43 PM

comment #10

DiscoNap says ...

http://www.impawards.com/1987/robocop_ver2.html

The Robocop is outstanding. I'd pay to have that on my wall.

Posted by DiscoNap at August 4, 2010 5:01 PM

comment #11

DiscoNap says ...

P.S. as a DC resident how hard would it have been to put on All the President's Men here (say in Rosslyn, VA) during the roadshow?

Posted by DiscoNap at August 4, 2010 5:04 PM

comment #12

Jonathan Spuij says ...

Would the orange have any connection to the oranges-motif in the Godfather? I was just wondering, could it be an indication that the main character will die in the film?

Posted by Jonathan Spuij at August 4, 2010 5:15 PM

comment #13

Mr. F. says ...

Vaguely reminds me of the (classic) reddish-orange one-sheet for another Clooney movie: OUT OF SIGHT.

One of my favorites. Damn shame they redid it for home video...

Posted by Mr. F. at August 4, 2010 6:55 PM

comment #14

DiscoNap says ...

indeed, truly great:

http://www.impawards.com/1998/out_of_sight.html

Posted by DiscoNap at August 4, 2010 7:02 PM

comment #15

Tom Brazelton says ...

Orange is the most visible color in the light spectrum. So, from a marketing standpoint, it makes sense that a designer would utilize it to help cut through the clutter. You may not like it personally, but it achieves what movie poster is meant to achieve by drawing your eye to it.

Posted by Tom Brazelton at August 4, 2010 7:08 PM

comment #16

Spartan Tell says ...

Spent a number of years in the printing business and learned pure red is one of the most expensive inks. To aim at anything that is a pure mix to one side or the other of the opaque spectrum you either have to go for magenta or for orange.

I also note the three poster examples you posted AND the excellent Robocop poster are ALL about or allude to extreme violence.

Take a look at the color of arterial blood. These posters may be all a matter of Blood and Money.

Posted by Spartan Tell at August 4, 2010 7:15 PM

comment #17

cgulli says ...

DiscoNap, What a great idea! The whole Roadshow is pretty cool, but who wouldn't want to see All the President's Men on the top floor of some parking garage.

Posted by cgulli at August 4, 2010 7:29 PM

comment #18

Josh Massey says ...

Fuck Tennessee.

Posted by Josh Massey at August 4, 2010 7:44 PM

comment #19

lipranzer says ...

Now I have R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush" running through my head.

I've never minded the color orange. Pink, on the other hand...

Posted by lipranzer at August 4, 2010 8:16 PM

comment #20

iamjoe says ...

Ehhhh, not with you on this one, Jeff.
Clooney's THE AMERICAN poster looks pretty damn great. Come to think of it, so does the poster I have framed hanging in my side room for his OUT OF SIGHT. More orange:

http://thisdistractedglobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/Out%20of%20Sight%201998%20poster.jpg

Posted by iamjoe at August 4, 2010 8:30 PM

comment #21

matt cousens says ...

Joe, you should read the whole thread...

Posted by matt cousens at August 4, 2010 8:45 PM

comment #22

animal bones says ...

a clockwork...

Posted by animal bones at August 4, 2010 10:27 PM

comment #23

bmcintire says ...

Jeff - I can't tell if you are kidding or not. This Roadshow is being called the "We Are All Workers Rolling Roadshow," orange being shorthand for the construction / working class. You even put the word 'Work' in your headline.
Take a look at the cluster of posters on The Daily What and tell me the first thing you think of isn't "Construction Zone."

http://thedailywh.at/post/885636731/alt-movie-posters-of-the-day-the-alamo-drafthouse

An awesome collection of posters AND films.

Posted by bmcintire at August 4, 2010 10:38 PM

comment #24

animal bones says ...

wells isn't the brightest orange in the bunch

Posted by animal bones at August 4, 2010 11:06 PM

comment #25

Jeffrey Wells says ...

I'm supposed to ease up on my orange phobia because orange is a working man's color? That's a little arcane, I think. And it overlooks the point I'm trying to make.
Orange is a basic stand-out color used for plastic construction hats, street traffic cones, hunter jackets, prison jump suits, etc. Obviously. But this in itself makes it seem like a symbol for regimentation and social pigenholing. It's a working-class color, yes, but with socially segregationist connotations. A kind of negative branding, if you will.

If you're a certain kind of prole (or, not to link the two, a criminal), you're going to have to make a place in your life for the most obnoxious color in the spectrum. No ifs, ands or buts -- you're just going to have to deal with it. But if you're an X-factor or an upscale professional-class type or a naturalist, orange can be avoided or at least be segregated as an accent color (which is okay from time to time). The point is that professional class or X-factor types have a choice to keep orange in its place (and they all get this, of course), and many proles for the most part don't.

Orange symbology in this sense is so burned into general public consciousness that it almost diminishes the natural attractiveness of orange in nature -- the fruit, the occasional flower, the oriole, sunsets. Notice that nature is tasteful enough to use orange very sparingly. Nature knows what Frank Sinatra and Olly Moss didn't recognize -- that orange used with any kind of force or emphasis feels kind of oppressive. It's a safety color when you're hunting or standing on a busy traffic road in the evening, but it's also a kind of Kafka-esque control color -- a symbol used to enforce rules and segregate prisoners and make people stay within boundaries. Orange doesn't say "life can occasionally be beautiful or transporting." It says "do this," "watch out," "don't go there," "slow down," etc.

The notion that orange is a kind of aesthetic repellent if delivered in heavy doses is not exotic rocket science. I think everyone understands this deep down. Like aromas, colors matter much more than people seem to realize. They permeate and create moods, etc.

I know if I see a football team with orange jerseys, something in me will start rooting for them to lose. Neurotic as this sounds, I never liked the sound of Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange because of this phobia. During the '70s orange always seemed a bit odious by its association with Irish Protestants (I've always sided with the Catholics in that conflict). I always winced a bit when I visited Jett in Syracuse from '06 to '10 with orange being that university's color -- banners, jerseys, T-shirts, signs. (It used to be blue and orange, but then they dropped the blue.) I think I found a way to relax early on with Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange because it was clear from the get-go that it was just a name or sound that Anthony Burgess had selected at random and had nothing to do with a color scheme.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at August 5, 2010 4:45 AM

comment #26

The Fisch says ...

Hey thesandwich, you need to get some better cheese. Cheddar surely hasn't been orange since the seventies?

Posted by The Fisch at August 5, 2010 8:27 AM

comment #27

the sandwich says ...

While my cheese tastes run in the salty, crumbly variety (feta monster), the universally accepted color of cheddar in most supermarkets is orange. And though Jeff has now clarfied his views on the color, the idea of cheddar being "provocative" or "rude" still makes me laugh.
Besides, you calling Ken Nordine a liar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8Ir1djOAs

Posted by the sandwich at August 5, 2010 9:02 AM

comment #28