Friday One Sheet: DA 5 BLOODS

Netflix and Design Agency Gravillis Inc. have done yeoman's work with the series of Key Art and One Sheets for the upcoming Spike Lee Joint, Da 5 Bloods. Recently, they hired one of the best in the business, Akiko Stehrenberger, to give a more 'propaganda' style poster than the colour collage style images used. While the fold lines feel a bit unnecessary (a trope that will not die) it is entirely on point when evoking a handbill.

The design itself achieves a number of things instantly. The 'Big Red One' of the division evokes back to Sam Fuller's film of the same name, about soldiers being thrown to the slaughterhouse in World War II. The slogan/tagline immediately establishes the war, and the raised fist in place of the G.I. yields the political context at home. While, the familiar military stencilling, if you look closely is actually not red ink, but blood, and it runs a little off the S. Framing the illustration with a beige background also gives it that 'aesthetic period piece' common in key art throughout the 1970s. 

The only shame here is that this striking bit of advertising will not actually hang in a movie theatre lobby in 2020. Consolation: The film itself will be accessible to everyone in a week on the streaming giant.