Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Booknote: Alternative Movie Posters

Matthew Chojnacki, Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art from the Underground. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2013. (link to publisher)



For film buffs, this is a book they will enjoy. Also, if you enjoy good creative art, then this is a book for you.

With the decline of good movie poster art from the movie studios, alternative art took off. Film buffs and artists had been creating alternative fan art movie posters before this, but their art really took off once the studios slacked off and just stopped making good artistic movie posters, something around the 1990s. Now artists and art houses lead the way; movie houses often commission these artists to create unique movie posters for their theaters. Also, collectors now actively seek out these unique creations. This volume brings together a very good sampling of these works.

The pages have a nice layout with a poster, credits framing the art piece on the side. Under the poster, you get a "Behind the poster" section that provides history, background, and trivia about the poster and its artist. Some of my favorites include:

  • "Leon the Professional" by James Rheem Davis. 
  • "Coffee and Cigarettes" by Viktor Hertz. I thought this was minimal yet unique. It does catch the eye. 
  • "Pulp Fiction" by Michael Waite. The neon art made it unique, and the poster does catch an iconic scene in the film. 
There is art here to satisfy different tastes. The book is definitely a pleasure to look through and browse. Posters are presented in full color and with good details.

Libraries with art and pop culture collections will probably want to add this one to their collections. Movie buffs will likely want to purchase it for their personal collections. I think many readers may be encouraged to seek out some of the posters.

5 out of 5 stars if you ask me.

Disclosure note: Once again, I get to tell you I read this as an e-book via NetGalley provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. There, that should keep The Man happy. This book is scheduled for publication on October 28, 2013. 

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