Leonardo DiCaprio Is Rumored To Own the World’s Most Expensive Movie Poster – Armessa Movie News

We all love vintage movie posters but when it comes to some of the most expensive of all time, it takes a fortune and a half before you can hang one up on the walls of your living room. The international version of Fritz Lang’s science fiction masterpiece Metropolis sets the record for being the most expensive of them all. To be fair, the record-breaking distinction couldn’t have gone to a more fitting film. A pioneering work of sci-fi, and often considered the first feature-length entry into the genre, Metropolis remains a landmark cinematic achievement that inspired everyone from Ridley Scott to Terry Gilliam.

Concerning a forward-looking futuristic utopia only to swiftly reveal the ongoing exploitation that made it possible, the poster of Metropolis prominently features the synthetic Maschinenmensh, also known as the Machine-Man, becoming one of the first films to feature a scientific automaton rather than a mystic one, as seen in 1920’s The Golem. If nothing else, I’m sure we can all agree that the original 1927 poster, nailing a pitch-perfect balance between Art Deco and German expressionism, is nothing short of absolutely rad.

‘Metropolis’ Sold for a Whopping $690,000

A German production, the version sold for the astronomical sum of $690,000 isn’t the original but the overseas version of the poster, removing the German lettering. It was sold in London by the Reel Poster Gallery to an unknown U.S. collector for an original price of £393,300 and is one of a mere four copies known to exist worldwide.

According to the Guiness World Records, those copies reside in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Berlin’s Film Museum, as well as another undisclosed private location. The rumored buyer? None other than Leonardo DiCaprio himself! While there’s no way to confirm the rumor short of breaking and entering which, after watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we can’t in all honesty recommend.

Who Designed the Most Expensive Poster of All Time?

The poster was designed by graphic artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm and is by far his most iconic and enduring work. That’s not to say however that he wasn’t across several iconic posters from the golden era of the silent age and beyond, including The Mark of Zorro, Gulliver’s Travels, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Around the World in 80 Days. These are of course the German variations of the poster rather than the studio’s originals, but still illustrate the designer’s expansive body of work and contributions to his local film industry.

What Other Posters Rank Among the Most Expensive Ever Sold?

In 2016, the Chicago Tribune erroneously reported that 1931’s Dracula held the honor of the most expensive movie poster ever sold, itself landing at a jaw-dropping $525,800 at Heritage Auctions. Of course, given that the original Metropolis poster was sold in British pounds, it’s somewhat possible that given the strength of the currency at any given point, Dracula may have been crowned the winner. In fact, outside of Metropolis, the original Universal monster movies dominate the top 10, as claimed by the Guardian in the first link above. This includes 1932’s The Mummy which sold for $435,000, 1934’s The Black Cat, and 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein, both of which sold for $334,600. That’s three Boris Karloff classics and that’s only rounding out the top five! To be fair, the man had a face that screamed terror and earned him the epithet of ‘Karloff the Uncanny’.

Still, no matter how popular the resurgence of Universal monster movies is, they can’t seem to cross the line established by Metropolis in 2005, and fair enough! Whether you’ve seen Metropolis or not, you probably know the poster. Time will only tell whether posters from our current era will eventually sell for half as much down the line, but gazing upon the sheer ambition emanating from the golden black-and-white sets of Metropolis, one can easily understand how its ultra-sleek design catapulted to the top of these specific rankings nearly 100 years later.