Film posters that definitely don’t glamourise guns

The poster for the Angelina Jolie film Wanted has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for 'glamourising gun violence'. Surely there aren't other film posters that do a similar thing ... Xan Brooks investigates
  
  


Wanted
Angelina Jolie has a gun. James McAvoy has two. So far, so glam. But wait - the poster offers a coded, cautionary message. The tattoo on Jolie's arm reads 'TEARS'. Is this what comes of guns? Could this be the real message the film is trying to give us? Photograph: Kobal
Man with the Golden Gun
Roger Moore has a gun. But he is battling a man with an even bigger gun. At stake is a girl in a bikini, a laser gun, a midget (with a gun), and another girl in a bikini. Clearly these are stakes worth fighting for. Photograph: Kobal
Naked Killer
The heroine is a 'Naked Killer', which naturally leads us to believe that she kills while naked. Here she is naked apart from a leather mini-skirt, thigh-length boots, an ammunition belt - and a gun. In other words, she is not naked at all. Is this one for the Advertising Standards Authority? Photograph: Kobal
Hitman
So you become a hit-man and sell your soul to the devil and what does it get you? A sharp suit, a loose woman with a shapely back ... and a bloody great gun. This bloke, for one, seems happy enough with that. Photograph: Kobal
Gunslinger
Gunslinger gets to the nub of an age-old dilemma. 'Hired to kill the woman he loves,' reads the strapline and hey, we've all been there. But look closely at the poster. As well as sporting a fetchingly torn, off-the-shoulder blouse, Gunslinger's squeeze also has a gun. The message is plain: it is through the gun that these lovers will find their reconciliation. Photograph: Kobal
Gun Crazy
Notorious Laurie Starr is officially Gun Crazy, meaning that she likes her piece and - who knows? - is perhaps even too much for one man to handle. Her pistol is smoking and she is too. You wouldn't want to take this dame home to meet your mother, but whoo-whoo and hubba-hubba. Etc. Photograph: Kobal
Scarface
Here's 'Pacino Scarface', a Jekyll and Hyde character who straddles a world of black and white. One minute it's white, the next - whoops, who turned the lights out? So how is he to navigate this strange terrain? Only via the help of his faithful old gun. Photograph: Kobal
The Gentle Gunman
Looking for an antidote to Naked Killers and Gun Crazies and the infernal Pacino Scarface? Then meet The Gentle Gunman. Marvel at his gentle smile and the gentle way he seems to be embracing that other man (perhaps a blind pensioner in need of assistance). The gun is there almost as an afterthought. Photograph: Kobal
Magnum Force
Magnum Force does not glamourise gun crime. Yes, Clint Eastwood is wielding a gun, but it is either too heavy for him, or too scary. See how he struggles to hold it. His hand - and head - are trembling and the barrel is a blur. Help, he is saying. I can't shoot straight with this gun! I want to put it down. Photograph: Kobal
 

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