Raiders of the Lost Ark Movie Poster and Daybill versions released in Australia
With the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark in Australia in the early 80's, it was inevitable that multiple printings of Daybill movie posters for the promotion of the movie would be needed. M.A.P.S printers in Sydney were the printers for the three known first release printings for this title and using the famed artwork by Richard Amsel. But at a glance, most collectors won't see a difference between the three printings.
These three versions of original release Australian Daybills, that we are aware of, show very few differences, but so you identify them we'll highlight them here:
- 1st Image: This Daybill poster measures 13.25" x 28" and the credits state 'Distributed by Cinema International Corporation'.
- 2nd Image: This Daybill poster measures 13.5" x 28" and the credits state 'Distributed by United International Pictures'
- 3rd Image: This Daybill poster measures 13.5" x 26.75" and the credits state 'Distributed by United International Pictures'
In 1981, United International Pictures (UIP) took over from Cinema International Corporation (CIC). With the movie being released in Australia on 14th August 1981, it stands to reason that the Daybills with CIC in the credits must be first printing just before the distributor changed their name. Image 2 and Image 3 above are very similar but state the distributor as United International Pictures (UIP) and therefore would have been printed after the name change. Comparing Image 2 and Image 3, they are different printings and show a slight variation to font size and weight to the 'DISTRIBUTED BY...' tags. But at this time, we do not have enough information to confirm which version was the second or third printing.
The paper stock on the CIC printing is more matte and of a higher weight than the other two printings.
So, it is safe to say that the printing with 'Distributed by Cinema International Corporation' is the First Printing for this popular title, is rarer, more desirable, and will arguably be more valuable.
What about the Australian One Sheets?
That's an interesting question. Of all the original release Australian One Sheets we have seen for Raiders of the Lost Ark, we have not identified any notable differences. They all have 'Distributed by Cinema International Corporation'. This could be for a few reasons: the original print run for one sheets was enough to satisfy the demand from movie theatres and drive-ins, or the printers used the same artwork without any change for a later printing (unlikely). We may not ever know the answer to this question. But if anyone has any additional information please feel free to drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you.
What about Raiders of the Lost Ark Re-Release/Re-Issue versions of this movie poster?
Richard Amsel created this design (pictured below) for the 1982 re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, emphasizing the film's iconic action elements, with Indiana cracking his whip, that gained notoriety in its initial year. The composition is beautifully balanced, featuring most of the main characters alongside the tagline “The Return of the Great Adventure.”, which references both the re-release and the film’s homage to past adventure classics from the 1930s and '40s. Since this artwork was released after the film's global tour the previous year, it is rarely found on posters outside the U.S.
Click here to see our Indiana Jones movie posters.
To find out more about Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, and its posters, you can visit IMDB here.
