TRUE CONFESSIONS (1981) Movie Poster, Original Daybill, Robert DeNiro
Size AU Daybill Post-War (13" x 30")
TRUE CONFESSIONS (1981) Movie Poster, Original Daybill, Starring Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Burgess Meredith & Charles Durning, and Directed by Ulu Grosbard is in Very Fine+ Condition. Movie Poster...
TRUE CONFESSIONS (1981) Movie Poster, Original Daybill, Starring Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Burgess Meredith & Charles Durning, and Directed by Ulu Grosbard is in Very Fine+ Condition.
Movie Poster and Condition.
Condition: This Original Daybill, Movie Poster is presented in Very Fine+ condition, 2 Daybill folds, minimal handling and edgewear. Otherwise, this poster presents in excellent condition with a colourful clean presentation. This original Australian movie daybill is a collectible piece of 1980s cinema memorabilia, featuring the acclaimed crime drama starring Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall.
Movie Synopsis
True Confessions (1981) is a compelling American crime drama and neo-noir film set in the shadowy world of 1940s Los Angeles. Directed by Ulu Grosbard, the film stars Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall as two brothers whose very different lives become entangled in a murder investigation involving corruption, ambition, money and the Catholic Church. Adapted from the novel by John Gregory Dunne, the screenplay was written by Dunne and his wife, acclaimed writer Joan Didion.
Robert De Niro plays Monsignor Desmond "Des" Spellacy, an ambitious Catholic priest whose influence and political connections are helping him pursue an ambitious church-building project. His older brother, Detective Sergeant Tom Spellacy, played by Robert Duvall, is a hardened Los Angeles police investigator who has become increasingly cynical about the world around him. Although the brothers share a family history, their professions and personal values place them on very different paths. Des moves comfortably among wealthy businessmen and powerful church figures, while Tom spends his days confronting the city's criminal underworld.
The story begins with Tom investigating the brutal murder of a young woman whose body has been discovered in an empty lot. The case recalls the notorious unsolved 1947 killing of Elizabeth Short, known to the press as the Black Dahlia. As Tom follows the evidence, he encounters a network of influential people whose interests may be connected to the crime. One of those figures is construction magnate Jack Amsterdam, played by Charles Durning, a wealthy businessman with close ties to Des and the Church.
Meanwhile, Des is focused on expanding his church and securing the financial support required to make his plans a reality. His relationship with Amsterdam appears commercially convenient, but the arrangement raises difficult questions about the influence of money and questionable business dealings within religious institutions. As Tom's investigation progresses, the apparently separate worlds of his brother's church ambitions and the murder inquiry begin to overlap. The brothers are forced to confront uncomfortable truths about loyalty, family, personal ambition and the compromises they have made.
The excellent supporting cast includes Charles Durning, Burgess Meredith as Monsignor Seamus Fargo, Ed Flanders, Cyril Cusack, Kenneth McMillan, Rose Gregorio and Dan Hedaya. Each adds depth to the film's portrayal of a city shaped by institutional power, political influence and private secrets. Rather than relying on conventional action or a straightforward detective story, the film builds a brooding atmosphere through character conflict, moral uncertainty and carefully revealed details.
Behind the camera, cinematographer Owen Roizman gives the film a richly textured period appearance, recreating post-war Los Angeles across numerous real locations. Production took place in the Los Angeles area, with approximately sixty locations used, including Union Station. The production was made by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, the team also associated with Raging Bull. De Niro's preparation was particularly demanding: following his dramatic physical transformation for Raging Bull, he retained some extra weight for the role of Des. Duvall also spent time accompanying homicide detectives to better understand the work and routines of a real police investigator.
The film's score was composed by French musician Georges Delerue, whose atmospheric music reinforces the story's reflective, unsettling tone. True Confessions premiered in September 1981 and remains notable for the pairing of two exceptional actors at the height of their careers. For collectors of Robert De Niro movie posters, classic crime films and original Australian cinema memorabilia, this vintage daybill represents a distinctive drama from the early 1980s.
To find out more about True Confessions (1981) 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.