Poster posture: The fantasy mound

There's a recurring motif in posters from fantasy movies of the late 1970's and continuing through the 80's: the (almost always) male hero posing on top of a mound, surrounded by images of the characters and landscapes of his adventure, weapon raised, with a woman placed next to him — sometimes seemingly submissive and dependent upon him for protection, at all times sexualized and occupying a lower space in the composition.

Below are examples of this motif from several movie posters. Some of the films were probably lower-budget attempts to cash in on the sword-and-sandal craze ostensibly set off by Conan the Barbarian (1982). Others were almost certainly sex-and-violence exploitation films (I admit there are a few on this list I have not seen). But this poster style was used by more successful mainstream films as well, as early as 1977's Star Wars. The style was used outside of the fantasy genre (though perhaps just barely) in the Clint Eastwood cop adventure The Gauntlet, parodied by two of National Lampoon's Vacation comedies, given a female hero variation for Barbarian Queen (1985) and Warrior Queen (1987), and echoed decades later in the poster for Tron Legacy (2010), the sequel to Tron (1982), which also used the style.

This motif reflects the concerns of a genre often aimed — accurately or not — at a young male audience: weapons (frequently phallic), life's challenges made physical and solvable by battle, and the role of women as the hero's reward.

Star Wars (1977)

The Gauntlet (1977)

The Norseman (1978)

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Tron (1982)

The Beastmaster (1982)

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

Fire and Ice (1983)

Sword of the Barbarians (Sangraal, the Sword of Fire, 1983)

Warriors of the Wasteland (The New Barbarians, 1983)

The Blade Master (Ator 2 - L'invincibile Orion, 1984)

The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

Barbarian Queen (1985)

Warrior Queen (1987)

Tron Legacy (2010)

Homage, reference, and free association: Harry Potter edition

With today's release of the last Harry Potter movie, Second Reel presents a look at several memorable moments from the series and their counterparts from other films.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Star Wars: A New Hope Excalibur On his eleventh birthday Harry is visited by Hagrid, a man from the magical world who tells Harry his parents were not Muggles who died in a car crash, but wizards who died fighting the Dark Lord Voldemort. Hagrid tells Harry that he, too, is to be educated as a wizard. Luke Skywalker encounters the Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi — described by Luke's uncle as a "wizard" — who tells Luke that his father was not a space navigator but a great warrior who died fighting a corrupt Jedi named Darth Vader; Obi-Wan invites Luke to accompany him on a rescue mission and to learn the ways of the Jedi. After extricating the legendary sword Excalibur from a rock, young Arthur is confronted by the wizard Merlin, who tells him that his father was actually King Uther, and that Arthur, too, is destined to be king.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Clash of the Titans (1981) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Harry is given a magical cloak that makes him invisible, much like the helmet bestowed by the gods upon Perseus. Frodo's cloak, given to him by elves, has the power to conceal by mimicking its surroundings, at one time looking like a rock in the presence of Sauron's minions.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	Clash of the Titans (1981)
Harry must defeat the basilisk, a giant serpent whose stare petrifies anyone who looks it in the eye. Perseus must battle Medusa, a half-woman, half-serpent creature who can turn men to stone with her eyes and which, like the basilisk, can only be safely viewed in reflection. The heroes use severed parts of the creatures to save the lives of their future wives: Harry uses a basilisk fang to vanquish the fragment of Voldemort's soul that threatens to kill Ginny, and Perseus uses Medusa's severed head to petrify the Kraken before it can kill Andromeda.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Cinderella
When school is not in session, orphan Harry lives with his only remaining family — the Dursleys, who never conceal their animosity toward Harry and treat him horribly, all the while lavishing attention on their bratty son Dudley. Lady Tremaine and her cruel, spoiled daughters are just as unpleasant to Cinderella.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Harry looks into Dumbledore's Pensieve, a basin full of the professor's swirling memories. In it, Harry sees a scene from Dumbledore's past which has bearing on Harry's present. Frodo is invited to look into the Mirror of Galadriel, a basin which shows visions of past, present, and possible futures. Frodo sees what things might be like if he fails to destroy the One Ring, and he changes his present plans in response.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
After battling Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic and learning of a prophecy made about him and Voldemort, Harry has a frightening realization. "It means one of us is gonna have to kill the other, in the end." Dumbledore solemnly confirms the fact. After Luke unsuccessfully duels Darth Vader in Cloud City, the spirit of Obi-Wan tells him, "You can not escape your destiny. You must face Darth Vader again," this time to kill him.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	X-Men: The Last Stand
In flashback, Dumbledore meets Tom Riddle — the future Voldemort — for the first time in order to enroll him at Hogwarts. Tom lives at an orphanage where an apprehensive headmistress tells Dumbledore that strange events surround the boy. Acknowledging the unusual abilities that Tom claims to have, Dumbledore tells him, "I'm like you, Tom. I'm different," adding "At Hogwarts you'll be taught not only to use magic, but how to control it." Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr — the future Professor X and Magneto — visit young telepath Jean Grey — the future villain Dark Phoenix — to enroll her at their academy for mutants with similar powers. "We're mutants, Jean," says Xavier. "We're like you." After witnessing her potentially dangerous power, Xavier says, "The question is, will you control that power or let it control you?"
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	The Ten Commandments (1956)
To protect himself and Harry from a horde of Inferi, Dumbledore produces a swirling ring of fire that keeps the reanimated corpses at bay. Moses witnesses a column of swirling fire which prevents the Egyptian army from overtaking the Israelites as they flee across the desert.
Dumbledore then creates a clearing in the fire through which he and Harry escape, much in the same way that Moses parts the Red Sea so he can lead his people to safety.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Harry and Frodo watch helplessly as their wizard mentors fall to their deaths from a great height. Both Harry and Frodo later replay the wizards' deaths in their thoughts or dreams.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
As a provision of Dumbledore's will, Harry's friend Ron is given the late headmaster's Deluminator, a magical device that pulls the light from lamps, "in the hope that, when things seem most dark it will show him the light." Ron later uses the Deluminator to find his way back to Harry and Hermione. The Elf queen Galadriel gives Frodo a magical phial of light, saying "May it be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go out." Frodo's friend Sam later uses the phial to battle the spider Shelob and reunite with Frodo.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Harry and his friends wander the wilderness thinking of how to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes — magical objects the evil wizard needs in order to become all-powerful. Frodo, Sam, and Gollum wander the wilderness en route to destroy Sauron's ring, a magical object the Dark Lord needs in order to become all-powerful.
Along the way, the three are captured by agents of Voldemort and questioned about their possession of the sword of Gryffindor before they are able to escape. Frodo and his companions are also captured and questioned by Gondorian rangers about their possession of the One Ring before they are released.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The friends take turns carrying Voldemort's locket around their necks. The locket has negative personality-altering effects on all three wearers, demonstrated when Ron, under the locket's influence, angrily abandons his friends. While worn on a chain around his neck, the One Ring has a similar effect on Frodo, who attacks Sam after Sam saves him from one of Sauron's Ringwraiths.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
While wearing the locket Horcrux, Harry begins to have visions of Voldemort's activities, clearly seeing the Dark Lord as he quests for the Deathly Hallows. While wearing the One Ring, Frodo has visions of the Eye of Sauron, which is desperately seeking the ring Frodo carries.

See also:
Homage, reference, and free association
Homage, reference, and free association: Round 2

Homage, reference, and free association

After catching references to Mission: Impossible and Return of the Jedi in Toy Story 3, I started thinking of favorite such moments from other films. Here's a collection of shots, scenes, or moments from movies that were — or appear to have been — inspired by others. Suggest any you know of or think about in a comment.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	The Wizard of Oz
In order to get to Mordor — where they can destroy the One Ring and end their long journey — Frodo, Sam, and Gollum make a difficult climb up a rocky cliff, much in the same way Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow do on their way to rescue Dorothy from the Wicked Witch's castle.
At the top of the cliff, the characters look down on well-guarded gates.
Sam, Frodo, and Gollum watch columns of Easterling warriors march toward the Morannon gates bearing long, bladed spears; Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow watch the similarly-armed Winkies file through the gate of the witch's castle.
A pair of Easterlings breaks off to investigate noises made by Sam and Frodo, who luckily go unnoticed. A trio of Winkies find Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man after Toto barks.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace	Forbidden Planet
This shot of the Neimoidians watching Qui-Gon's lightsaber cut through the bridge door is strikingly similar to one of the Id Monster melting its way through a similar door.
Both doors have multiple panels which slide together.
Jurassic Park	Citizen Kane
The backlighting used in this scene from Jurassic Park — where Mr. Arnold reboots the computer system — recalls the screening room scene from Citizen Kane.
Henry V (Branagh)	The Godfather
The opening shot of the traitors scene in Branagh's Henry V has always made me think of the opening shot of Luca Brasi's death scene in The Godfather. Both show soon-to-be-deceased characters through a panel (Luca Brasi being shown through a glass window etched with goldfish, foreshadowing his fate of "sleeping with the fishes") who enter with thoughts of deception, only to realize they have been found out — albeit too late to avoid the fatal consequences.
Iron Man 2	Silent Running
The final battle in Iron Man 2 appears to pay homage to Silent Running when Iron Man battles robotic machines called "drones" inside a geodesic "bio-dome." Silent Running is about a man caring for the last of Earth's forests, which have been placed in geodesic domes and sent into space for protection. Assisting the caretaker are three robots called "drones."
Iron Man 2	Predator
As the villain Whiplash lies dying at Iron Man's feet, he tells Iron Man "You lose." A light on his armor begins flashing and Iron Man quickly realizes that Whiplash has triggered a bomb, so he immediately flies to a safe distance to avoid the explosion. As the Predator lies dying at Dutch's feet, he asks Dutch "What the hell are you?" then activates a control on his wrist. Dutch realizes that the alien has triggered a bomb, so he begins to run to a safe distance to avoid the explosion.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow	The Mechanical Monsters (Fleischer Superman cartoon)
There are many examples from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (the film is a pastiche of classic sci-fi and adventure elements), but this one is my favorite.
Star Wars	The Searchers
After finding the Jawa sandcrawler burning in the dessert, Luke races home only to find that Imperial troops have killed his aunt and uncle and set the farm on fire. Similarly, Martin runs home after learning of the Comanche attack, only to arrive after Scar has killed his aunt and uncle and set the ranch on fire. (But while a sequel would tell us that Darth Vader is Luke's father, we're left to guess at Martin's paternity.)
Aliens	Them
Newt, the sole survivor of an attack by alien creatures, mirrors the little girl from the beginning of Them!, herself the only survivor of an attack by giant ants.
Ripley burns the alien nest with a flame thrower, just as the soldiers destroy the egg chamber of the giant ants.
Raiders of the Lost Ark	Citizen Kane
This one was pointed out to me by one of my college professors during a unit on Citizen Kane. The most important objects from each film are in the end relegated to seemingly endless warehouses — each shown in high-angle tracking shots — full of similar items.
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones	The Searchers
Anakin's nighttime rescue of his mother from the Tusken Raider camp appears to have been inspired by Martin's pre-dawn rescue of Debbie in The Searchers.
The Untouchables	The Battleship Potemkin
I hadn't yet seen The Battleship Potemkin when I saw The Untouchables in its original release, though the scene on the train station steps — modeled after the Odessa steps sequence from Potemkin — was still a highlight.
Henry V (Olivier)	Alexander Nevsky
Eisenstein's battle on the ice was a blueprint for Olivier's staging of the battle of Agincourt. (For more examples, see A Chorus' Lines.)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park	Raiders of the Lost Ark
This scene from The Lost World — where Drs. Harding and Malcolm question Ludlow on the whereabouts of the baby t-rex — reminds me of the scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones and Brody attempt to learn the location of the Ark of the Covenant from the government agents. When Jones is told that the ark is being worked on by "top men," he pushes further, asking "Who?", only to be answered with a more emphatic "Top men." Similarly, when Malcolm is told that the t-rex is in a "secured facility," he asks "Where's the facility?"
The Abyss	Gojira (Godzilla)
After Bud disarms the nuclear warhead and realizes that he doesn't have enough oxygen to return to the surface, he messages back to his estranged wife, "Don't cry baby. Knew this was one way ticket but you know I had to come. Love you Wife." Serizawa, after successfully detonating the oxygen destroyer, effectively killing Gojira, radios his fiancée and the man she appears to truly love, saying "Both of you, be happy. Good-bye. Farewell!" He then cuts his oxygen tube and perishes in the deep.

See also:
Homage, reference, and free association: Round 2
Homage, reference, and free association: Harry Potter edition