Movie poster artists are without a doubt some of the most vital yet overlooked contributors to cinematic history. Long before the invention of the television and the internet, filmmakers relied on movie posters to persuade audiences to watch their films. Ever since the late 19th century, posters (or then simple 8 x 10 inch lobby cards) enticed audiences to spend their hard earned dollars, and even today, a movie poster can go a long way in helping build excitement and anticipation for a film. Posters occupy a space between art and advertising and have a clear commercial purpose – to promote an event or product – but they also have artistic value and find clever and creative ways to include a sensational one line description of the films; these tag-lines acting much like a newspaper headline. Over the years movie posters have found more value outside their initial purpose of promoting motion pictures. People now collect them and hang them on their walls and museums devote entire galleries to poster art. Every year, literally hundreds of films are released around the world, and they all come with at least one poster – some showing bursts of creativity and others are just lazy and unoriginal. 2013, has been a great year for movie posters: The controversial poster for Stranger By The Lake was removed from Paris suburbs due to a number of complaints from citizens who were offended by the slightly-risqué homosexual imagery of two men kissing; and the hand-drawn poster for Ain’t Them Body Saints spread like wildfire online – both examples of how great movie posters can go a long way in helping audiences discover a film. Every year, we look back at some of the best poster released. Here are our favourites from 2013.

Please note that we are not including fan-made poster art, nor posters by such boutiques as Mondo or Phantom Creative.

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