poster analysis - Angels & Demons

Angels and demons is an american mystery thriller based on the novel by Dan Brown. The film is heavily based around religion and secret societies.

The largest figure in this poster is Tom Hanks, he is centered which suggesting that he will be the protagonist.  Furthermore, he is dressed all in black giving away nothing of his job or any plot points, he is also frowning which suggest that not everything goes to plan in the film, all of which add an air of mystery. Directly behind his head is a radiating light which pierces through the dark colours around and radiates around his head. This semiotic iconism can simply be deduced to be a religious connotation as Christ is often depicted with the same circle of light radiating from behind his head. The light could also represent a sense of hope in this film as everything else in the poster is dark and gloomy.
In the background there are two stone statues, an angel on the right (depicted as a woman to portray innocence) and a demon on the left. However they are facing away from the protagonist suggesting that the statues themselves are not characters but representations of them. The statues appear to be made of stone which suggests their natural place is atop a historical building, such as a church. This portrays the theme of the past which is evident throughout the film. There is also a barely visible hand beckoning from the left which looks ominous and could suggest secrecy. Behind the statues there is dark cloudy sky possibly pathetic fallacy, suggesting the dark nature of the film. The dark hues of the poster teamed with the religious connotations portray to the audience that this will be a horror/thriller.
There are three main pieces of text in this poster, all are in white which contrasts with the mutes dark hues of the rest of the poster, and also portrays that a main theme will be the struggle between light/dark good/evil.  First there is the title which is positioned at the bottom in a large text so the words 'angels' and 'demons' coincide with the statues either side in the background. The tittle is written in Times New Roman which is a historical looking type that carries further connotations of the past. 'Demons' is in bold whilst 'angels' is not, this suggests that evil is more prolific in the film than good. '&' is in red as is 'may' (the release date to let the audience know when the film will be in the cinema) this draws the eye down toward the bottom of the poster where the title is and Tom Hanks name. As angels and demons is a best selling book and Tom Hanks is an award winning well known actor, by drawing attention to this they can entice and exploit the existing fan base of the book and of Tom Hanks. Dan Brown is the best selling author of the book and so by mentioning his most well know book at the top the same effect is also achieved. This method is used again by having the phrase 'is Robert Langdon' beneath 'Tom Hanks.'

Overall I think that this is an effective poster as it portrays the main themes of the film and draws on its assets (Tom Hanks and Dan Brown) in the most efficient and beneficial way.