Frenzy
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| Poster Origin : | United Kingdom |
| Poster Size : | British Quad Crown / 40 x 30" |
| Poster Year : | 1972 |
| Poster Version : | First Release |
| Poster Printer: | W E Berry, Bradford, UK |
| Film Origin : | United Kingdom |
| Film Director : | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Film Year : | 1972 |
This is clearly inspired by the suite of Saul Bass posters for Vertigo, 14 years earlier. It is not known whether Hitchcock actually requested this deliberately, or simply chose not to object to the obvious similarity.
The Vertigo spiral motif is borrowed to imbue the whirlwind of media and public hysteria, implied by concentric circles superimposed over the red image of the screaming Anna Massey, while the two neck-ties provide the whirling arms spiralling outwards. To complete the tribute, we have a white line-drawn figure, similar to those of Scotty and Madeleine ‘falling’ into the spirograph on Vertigo.
The vertically striped title lettering comes directly from the film’s title sequence, which is a metaphorical device; with an increasing frequency and intensity of red as the word unfolds, it follows the increasing sense of anxiety and panic experienced by the characters, and viewers. Conversely, the solid black lettering also ebbs away into the hellish red, signifying the weakening breath and petering out of life during the strangulations.
In a final touch, the neck-ties are printed to resemble the pearlescent appearance of woven silk, as worn by the killer during his private audience with Babs.