Here's where to start for those wishing to build up a classic or vintage movie art collection.

 It is useful to know that one-sheet poster used for film poster advertising is a specific size before 1985 they were 69cm by 104cm, and after 1985, they were 69cm by 102cm. Depending on the era of the movie, it may affect the size.

Jaws

The Jaws poster is pretty much one of the most iconic movie posters of all time. Its terrifying image of the great white shark rising with its mouth agape, its victim mindlessly swimming above the water, not knowing what lies beneath. 

It is a terrifying piece of visual marketing. We get to see how large Jaws is compared to the human, the rows of jagged and uneven sharp teeth. Its image is enough to frighten any audience member and was intriguing and straightforward enough to draw in masses with no further plot information. 

Raiders Of The Lost Ark

The first of the Indiana Jones movies, this poster perfectly sums up the adventure and tense excitement the audience feels when watching this iconic title. The re-issue in 1982 depicts the original release poster, with Jones holding a whip that's slung over his shoulder, the iconic wide-brimmed sable fedora nestled on his head. 

It's gritty, exciting and reads of all its adventures.

Star Wars

The classic Star Wars poster adapted the style of pulp artist Frank Frazetta for their movie art. Tom Jung's theatrical poster encompasses the first movie of the original trilogy quite perfectly. The helmet of Darth Vader enlarged and looming in the background gives us a sense of who the main villain is.

The droids on the right, slightly in the foreground on dunes, convey the sci-fi elements perfectly with the ships in the sky'our two main protagonists Luke and Leia, entirely in the foreground. Jung shows Luke lifting the lightsaber, its bright light against the mask of Vader, to convey the film's moral struggle of good and evil.  

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Much like the "Creation of Adam" ceiling piece from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, this reproduction poster displays E.T's like the hand of God and Elliot's as Adam. 

It's a great reflection of the film's deep religious analogies and has become a very iconic identifier of the movie itself. Later years, Amblin replaced the poster with an image of E.T and Elliot flying across the moon on a bike. However, the original poster has become the most known to fans. 

Vertigo

Filmmaker and graphic designer Saul Bass created numerous iconic movie posters and title sequences in his lifetime.

 However, many would agree that his imagery for Hitchcock's Vertigo is one of his best. The use of Lissajous spirals to recreate the movie's titular sensation is a simple design but incredibly effective. It can translate seamlessly into the film's opening titles and is remembered by movie buffs. 

Alien

The simple format image of a glowing, eerie cracking egg has become synonymous with Ridley Scott's iconic, chilling space horror. Whilst it looks almost nothing like the Xenomorph eggs that appear in the film, it is still an effective and memorable poster. The title's sparse typography and the bioorganic green texture on the floor creates an ominous feeling. An audience member would know nothing of the film other it likely being about aliens. It's foreboding and the chilling tagline "In space, no one can hear you scream" is enough to send a shiver down your spine. 

Jurassic Park

Sometimes, the more straightforward and easier a poster is to decipher, the better and often the more iconic it becomes without showing a page splattered with confusing imagery.

 The park's classic logo of the silhouette of a T-Rex against a simple black background with the tagline "An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making" is instantly identifiable to numerous audiences young and old. Its simplicity is an excellent testament to the concept of less is more. 

The Silence of the Lambs

While the poster also comes in red with the same image but of Hannibal, Anthony Hopkins, the most famous poster is the blanched image of Clarissa, played by Jodie Foster. Her eyes coloured a deep red, and the death's head moth in centre focus splayed over where her mouth would be. The skull of the moth on its back is made up of two nude female forms. Audience members and film lovers can draw up so many conclusions and pull so much symbolism from the colours, details and moth's placement. It's a genuinely chilling image that most of us have burnt in the back of our mind. 

American Beauty

The seductive nude image of Mena Suvari's character, Angela, sprawled in the centre of a bed of roses and petals to disguise from her lower torso up to her chest is a nod to the films most memorable scene. 

They designed a new poster in later years, including a bare torso with a hand draping one single rose across has now become an equally defining image to depict the movie. 

Back To The Future

The Back To The Future poster almost perfectly encompasses many of the themes of the story. The artwork of Drew Struzan selects vital objects such as the DeLorean, Marty's threads and the flaming tyre tracks, combining them into one chaotic image. It amps up the sci-fi elements of the story seamlessly, and to top it all off, the character is looking intently at his watch to indicate the movies overarching theme of time. 

Chinatown

The very classic noir style poster by Richard Amsel is an icon in creating fantastic poster art for numerous movies. It displays Jack Nicholson's character J.J Gittes, cast in the shadows at the forefront. The clouds of smoke from the cigarette in his mouth draw up and around the top frame of the poster, surrounding Faye Dunaway's disembodied face. Its a very stylish poster 

The Godfather

The movie art for The Godfather presents a striking image of Marlon Brando's character Don Corleone holding his ginger cat. He's suited up in the famous black tuxedo that fades into an all-black background. One of the most recognisable features of this poster is the 'puppeteer' design worked into the logo.

The design lifted straight from Mario Puzo's book cover. The simple black and white filter tell us everything we need to know. 

Airplane

The very famous Robert Grossman created this cartoon-style movie art presents a knotted Boeing 707. It's bright and colourful and has an undeniable air of comedy and satire.

The tagline across the bottom, "Thank God it's only motion picture!" enhances this playful comedic touch and will have indeed reached all the right audiences. 

Pulp Fiction

The effortless cool image of Uma Thurman's smouldering gaze and dark-haired bob depicting the cover art of a piece of "Pulp Fiction" is arguably one of the most iconic movie posters in film history.

The creases splashed over the cover, the dog-eared corner and the 10c price tag give it a unique flair that makes it appear like a book. To this day, you may still walk into bedrooms and accommodations and find this poster plastered on walls. 

Ghostbusters

Much like the Jurassic Park logo, the Ghostbusters movie art is one of the most simple yet easily recognisable movie posters and imagery in cinema. 

It's possibly just as recognisable to audiences worldwide as the emblem on Superman's chest or the Christian cross. John DeCuir invented the 'no ghosts' sign, and it is directly referenced in the screenplay by Dan Aykroyd. 

The Usual Suspects

The silhouette visual of the several criminals meeting in a police line-up across the page has been cemented as one of the films most iconic scenes.

It's straightforward, and the titles large text covering half the screen makes it very eye-catching. The simplicity is easy to understand, and it has made it immediately identifiable. 

The People Vs Larry Flynt

Milos Forman was clever in choosing to make a very censored movie art for a movie all about censorship. In the background, a woman's bikini bottom clad lower half is displayed.

On top, in the foreground, lays a mostly nude Woody Harrelson in the crucifixion pose as a way to modestly cover her up. As titillating and jarring as the design was, it was effective because many conservative corners of America found it incredibly scandalous. 

Trainspotting

Often Trainspotting's movie art is debated to be one of the best British film posters.

Its gritty character-defining line-up poses, the iconic jarring shade of orange and series of quotes and platform announcements ensure its place in film poster history.