SUDDEN DEATH (1995) MOVIE POSTER, AUSTRALIAN ONE SHEET, VAN DAMME
Size AU One Sheet (27" x 40")
Sudden Death (1995) Australian One Sheet Movie Poster, Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, Directed by Peter Hyams is in Very Fine Condition. Movie Poster and Condition...
Sudden Death (1995) Australian One Sheet Movie Poster, Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, Directed by Peter Hyams is in Very Fine Condition.
Movie Poster and Condition
Condition: This Australian One Sheet Movie Poster presents in Very Fine condition. Fold wear is present together with some cross fold wear, edgewear on left top hand side and right hand side towards the bottom side edges. This Poster is currently stored folded and will be shipped in an acid free polyprop bag with acid free backing board.
This is an authentic theatrical release poster from the 1995 Australian cinema distribution, making it a genuine piece of action movie memorabilia from the golden era of Jean-Claude Van Damme films. The one sheet format was the standard theatrical size used in Australian cinemas during this period, and this particular poster features the dynamic artwork that captured audiences' attention during the film's original Christmas 1995 release.
Movie Synopsis
Sudden Death is a high-octane action thriller directed by Peter Hyams and released in December 1995, starring the legendary Belgian martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme in one of his most memorable roles. The film was written by Gene Quintano, based on an original story by Karen Elise Baldwin, wife of then-Pittsburgh Penguins owner Howard Baldwin, who also produced the film. This marked the second collaboration between Van Damme and director Hyams, following their successful partnership on Timecop the previous year.
Set against the thrilling backdrop of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the film follows Darren McCord, a French-Canadian firefighter with the Pittsburgh Fire Bureau who has been demoted to fire marshal at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena after a traumatic incident where he failed to save a young girl from a house fire. Hoping to reconnect with his children, McCord takes his daughter Emily (played by Whittni Wright) and son Tyler (played by Ross Malinger) to the championship hockey game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks. What should be an exciting family outing quickly transforms into a deadly race against time when McCord discovers that the arena has been taken over by a ruthless gang of terrorists.
Leading the terrorist operation is Joshua Foss, brilliantly portrayed by Powers Boothe in a menacing performance that ranks among the best villains of 1990s action cinema. Foss, a former CIA operative fired from the US government, has masterminded an elaborate extortion plot, holding the Vice President of the United States (played by Raymond J. Barry) and thousands of unsuspecting hockey fans hostage. The terrorists demand a ransom of one billion dollars, with payment milestones cleverly coordinated to coincide with the game's progress. To ensure compliance, Foss has planted explosives throughout the 17,000-seat arena, threatening to detonate them if his demands aren't met.
When McCord's daughter Emily witnesses a murder and is taken hostage in the VIP box, the fire marshal must use all his skills and courage to rescue her, neutralise the terrorists, and prevent the arena from being blown to smithereens. In a film often described as "Die Hard at a hockey game," Van Damme delivers both his signature martial arts action sequences and surprising dramatic depth as a father desperate to save his child. The film features numerous memorable set pieces, including an unforgettable fight scene with the Penguins mascot and a sequence where McCord must pose as the team's goalie to evade the terrorists, successfully defending a shot during actual gameplay.
The supporting cast includes Dorian Harewood as Secret Service Agent Hallmark, Kate McNeil, and Michael Gaston. The film also features real Pittsburgh Penguins players and hockey personalities, including Luc Robitaille, whose character scores the crucial equalising goal that sends the game into sudden death overtime, extending McCord's desperate mission. Interestingly, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis were all considered for the lead role before Van Damme secured the part, with Willis declining due to his commitment to Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Shot over 98 days from August to December 1994 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Middletown, New York, the production faced unique challenges, including the 1994-1995 NHL lockout, which forced producers to arrange exhibition games with players from the Johnstown Chiefs and Wheeling Thunderbirds. The crowd scenes utilised between 2,000 and 3,000 extras along with cardboard cutouts to create the illusion of a packed 17,000-seat arena. The film's cinematographer was Peter Hyams himself (the director often operates his own camera), with editing by Steven Kemper and a pulse-pounding musical score by John Debney.
Sudden Death opened in US cinemas on 22 December 1995 on 1,681 screens, ultimately grossing over $64 million worldwide against its $35 million budget. While reviews were mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 53% approval rating, critics praised the film's action sequences and Hyams' direction. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it two and a half stars, noting that while the film wasn't about common sense, it succeeded at "the manipulation of action and special-effects sequences to create a thriller effect." The San Francisco Chronicle called it "one of the best action thrillers of 1995." The film has since become a cult favourite among action enthusiasts and remains one of Van Damme's most entertaining and well-regarded films from his 1990s prime, demonstrating his ability to carry a big-budget Hollywood action thriller with both physical prowess and emotional resonance.
To find out more about Sudden Death (1995) click here to go to IMDB.com.
Special Notes
Images may have a small 'MPA' digital watermark and this does not appear on the poster. Posters are being held by magnets in the corners to take photographs, so you may see some magnet and shadows from the magnets in these areas. The magnets are not included in the sale of the item.
Postage, Insurance & Your Country Taxes
Postage costs are quoted for this item, include insurance up to AUD$100, but if you reside outside of Australia, the price does not include any import taxes/fees that you may be required to pay when the item reaches your borders. Please check with your local authorities for any additional taxes or fees. If you would like full insurance coverage for your purchase, please message me and I would be happy to quote the additional cost (estimate is AUD$2.50 p/AUD$100 or 2.5% of the item value, up to a maximum item value of AUD$5,000).
FAQ
At Movie Posters Australia, the love and conservation of movie posters comes first, and we like to share this passion. Our commitment to quality means we will provide high quality memorabilia to our customers. Posters are carefully chosen and authenticated to ensure originality and value. We want our customers to trust MPA, so we always try to be as open and transparent as we can, provide detailed condition information and images, to ensure customers are comfortable and confident in their purchase.
While the industry does have a few condition rating standards, there is no movie poster condition rating system that has become the accepted standard world wide. This unfortunately makes condition terms vary from movie poster dealer to movie poster dealer. Terms like Mint, Near Mint, Very Fine, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor, seem to be universal to most condition rating standards, but most standards still lack definition about what and how many flaws/defects/damage defines a specific condition level. For more information on how Movie Posters Australia grades the condition of its movie posters, daybills, lobby cards and other ephemera please see out Movie Poster Condition and Grading page.
In the early days of cinema, posters were primarily hand-drawn and printed in various sizes, often tailored to fit the available space in theaters or promotional areas. In the United States, the "One Sheet" size (some times called '1 Sheet' or '1SH' approximately 27" x 41", became the standard during the 1930s. This size was manageable for theater display and suited the needs of a growing film industry.
Different countries developed their own poster sizes and styles, which also changed sometimes over the decades, and were influenced by local preferences and practical considerations, like available paper sheet sizes and how many posters could be printed on one sheet.
In Australia, the most popular size, the Daybill, has evolved over the decades. Australian Daybills sizes in chronological order are:
- Long Daybills (15" x 40"), from 1920's to pre-WW2 or pre-1941, were printed two to a sheet, longer than current Daybill versions. There were size variances in width from 14.5" to 15" and in height from 39.5" to 40".
- War Time Daybill (10" x 30"), during WW2, for a short time to conserve paper during a war time shortage, four Daybills were printed on one sheet. Information from Press Sheets also referred to these War-Time sizes as "New Size Daybills".
- Post-War Daybill (13" x 30"), this 13" x 30" Post-War size carried through until the 1980's, but also varied in size from 13"-14" x 29.75"-30.25".
- Post-80's Daybill (33cm x 66cm, or 13" x 26"), over a few years in the late 80's, the size changed again to a metric 33cm x 66cm, although these have also varied from 32-33cm x 64.5-66cm. New sizes from the late 80's were created, sometimes called a Mini Daybill or Mini Poster, in 9" x 12", 11" x 17" and 13" x 20".
In the UK, the somewhat unique 'Quad' poster, measuring 30" x 40", became popular, offering a larger landscape format that allowed for more elaborate designs.
In Japan, movie poster sizes were smaller, such as the "B2" (20" x 28"), which suited the more compact living environment of larger cities, smaller advertising spaces, and unique aesthetic sensibilities.
The 1970s and 1980s, witnessed the rise of the "six-sheet" (81" x 81") format, reflecting a trend towards larger and more visually impactful advertising.
Overall, the variation in movie poster sizes across different countries and decades highlights the interplay between technological printing advancements, paper resource availability, paper sheet size changes, cultural preferences, and the evolving nature of movie marketing.
At Movie Posters Australia we tag each poster we sell with a 'size' and 'condition' description at the very top of the page for our customers to easily see. There may however be some slight variations to sizes by up one inch due to variations in production and guillotine methods by printers over the decades.