Red Cliff Poster Analysis Essays Examples

A representative image like an advertisement is a purposeful piece of creation that has a lot of subtle content projected in combination with specific function to serve. While primarily the purpose is that of dissemination or advertisement of the film, it also is meant to represent numerous subtle hints or content of the story and theme of the film. But achieving the combined effect or purpose takes a lot of technical and thematic consideration, and well thought out and designed construction. Considering from that view, the poster of Red Cliff is a brilliant creation with very richly projected concepts through ingenious elements and techniques.
The basic image is one that represents the content on multifold level. It is a multiple content medium image with layered elemental content with thematic implication; that is the poster is Iconographic in an overall sense, and also provides incentive to the potential viewers placing them at the visual center from a distance to have a holistic perspective of the elements that represent the story in its visual content. The visual elements represent both the central tension and incidents that carry on the thrill and ravages forward. With the use of symbols, like the royal seal being burnt by raging flame, it conveys the gist of the story and its central imperial conflict, and the outcome of war is reflected through the scenario of the battlefield. Overall, the poster is an adequate purposefully successful depiction of all that the film is about.
The composition itself is one that is relatively placed in a very effective manner. The very deep coloured foundation is laid within a latent frame with designs typically representative of the region and culture. Then follow a lighter shaded background with shadowy structures that have a sublime hue of the ravages of war. These two are placed as a the most spatially distant element that forms the basis of the poster. Then follows the most highlighted figures of the central characters with the most dominant of the emotions that each of them represent in the movie. The facial expressions in the mutual context speak more about the possible story than the rest of the poster. In fact, their appearance, understandably highlighted most, itself constitute the thematic delivery of the story. Being set at the middle ground of the dimension, they serve as the best elemental and thematic connector of all the elements at the rear and foreground of the poster. Then, closest to the central focus of the audience is the scene of the battlefield, topped with the flaming royal flags and horsemen, with the sword of war dividing the title of the film. The spatial distance of the overall poster content is set at a distant as would be a middle shot of a camera; allowing a clear and holistic window to the entire representation. This placement is one singular feature that does clear justice to its purpose. Overall, this is a very well balanced and in depth relative composition of the elements of the poster, representing everything the movie is about. Interestingly enough, a temporal sequencing is visible is the placement of the elements and symbols in the layers of vision. While the distant past is kept as a blurring basis of all that takes place, it is the theme of division placed through the division of the title at a time distance that represents immediate distance in the then time scheme of the movie. In short, the overall composition is brilliant one as far as conveying the gist and themes of the movie is concerned.
If there is anything more important and worth noting is the pictorial elements and their ultimate representation. The time and generation are represented through the slight but gradual intended blurring of the visual of the characters as they proceed from the foreground to the rearmost flat. This is a really ingenious representation of the literal and thematic temporal contexts of the very complex milieu of the movie.
In the haze of the most distant background lies the success of the intentional hue of the mysterious and the unfolded. The child on the lap of a soldier is representative of the vastest destructive impact a war has on a community and culture, with such subtlety that the image is a striking juxtaposition with the contrasting authoritative gesture of the characters and the eyes of the old man at the back of all which are full of wisdom yet helplessness. The centrality of the burning royal flag and the words overlapping it, represents the unity of the plot on a symbolic level. Then again, the placement of the sword dividing the two words of the title implies the possible imperial division or collision leading to the destruction the image of such splitting implies on a suggestive or connotative level. The counter ego and individualistic stance of the imperial communities or parties are also implied beautifully but very subtly in the designing of the title alphabets as the brick- like appearances as typical of a strong fort. Overall, the pictorial representation of the poster is brilliant. However, understandably enough, it is evident that it is highly unlikely that this single poster would be able to represent every aspect of the plot, but considering the scope of the poster, it is complete enough to attract a great multitude of audience in home and abroad.
Considering its impact on me as a member of a potential audience, the above consideration leads me to a very deep understanding of the working of content like this. Analyzing the poster, I can develop a much deeper understanding and implication of the plot of the movie, along with responding to the impact it is intended to have on me. The central theme of the movie has become clear to me along with generating in me anticipations about the peripheral themes of the movie as well. The exclusive possible working of the movie elements has become predictable and clearer and so are their individual immediate units of purpose, aiding the central theme and objective of the movie. With the potentially likely exposure to the possible themes of the story, forming ideas about character, themes, possible turns and outcome of plot, and the like aspects become more transparent to me. The realism latent in the image provides me with a window to the gravity of the story told and to the possible objectives behind its making. In short, this seemingly little analysis empowers me with much greater insight into the coming movie than any other passing and brooding audience on the street or mall.
It is the purpose that determines how one wishes to depict the content of a movie in hand to the potential audience, how successful it would be in appealing to the audience in the way it intends. The poster of Red Cliff is, in such considerations, the most comprehensive possible predisposition to the plot of the movie, that successfully appeals to the interest, intuition and intention of the surrounding audience in a very effective manner.