I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

 

I'd seen some other people reading and discussing Alternative Movie Posters here on Booklikes and it made me very curious. I really like clever movie posters, preferably with a lot of references you'll only get after watching the actual movie. Unfortunately, nowadays there are few of these posters left. A random photoshopped picture of the leading actor/actress just doesn't feel the same.

 

This book shows art from the 'underground' alternative movie front. Some of the covers featured were very clever, and were far superior to the ones actually used. Another nice aspect of this book was the artists talking about their favourite/first movies. It reminded me of a bunch of (mostly) '80s movies I still have to see.

 

It's not a book to read in one go, but I'd definitely recommend it.

 

I am a huge fan of art and movies so, when I came across this book, I just could not resist.  I agree wholeheartedly with the author's intro - movie posters these days (except for a small few) are quite sad.  They don't put the time and effort into them - into portraying the movie - like they once did.   This book is full of absolutely amazing pieces of art - some simplistic, some elaborate - and the added artist bios were a lot of fun to read, especially the "behind the poster" sections.  These artists really captured the movies in a truly beautiful way.  This is the kind of movie art that I want in my home (and what's awesome is the author provides the websites where you can find these guys). 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves movies, whether you are old enough to remember the awesome movie posters from the 70s and 80s or not.  I think that, once you see these, you will take a new look at the movies that are portrayed. 

Note: I got this from NetGalley.

This is going to be a short and sweet review on an aspect of media that I think about more often than not in the scheme of things. Many of us take for granted the impact that movie posters have in advertising/displaying/showcasing the symbolic and meaningful quality of a film. Matthew Chojnacki tackles the subject of "Alternative Movie Posters", a compilation of posters from films as displayed in various locales and times from a wide variety of different artists. I was surprised to see how many individual contributions were showcased in this collection. While they vary in quality and personal appeal to me, I appreciated hearing the snippets of backstory behind the creation of each poster. Some of the designs in this were directly taken from aspects related to the films they showcase, and some were products of the time and place in which they were created surrounding the film. It made me crave a time when movie posters used to have more diversity to them, because I always appreciated the kind of thought, creativity and expansion that such posters had compared to the usually photoshopped graphics we see today in many posters (The one that's coming to mind is "Thor: The Dark World", though I'm laughing about it because I think of the photoshopped fan version that was showcased in China and that sold its point just as much.)

In any case, I think if you're a media/film buff who wants to partake in this lost collection of movie posters from a wide variety of films past and present, this is a worthwhile addition to your collection. I very much enjoyed the read for the time taken to peruse it.

Overall score: 4/5 stars

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

I have posted my review of this book on my blog, The Itinerant Librarian. Here is an excerpt of the review:

 

"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, sometime around the 1990s."

 

Click on the link to read the full review: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/10/booknote-alternative-movie-posters.html

I love films, although my husband Dave is the real movie buff in the household. The art of the movie poster has undergone a real transformation over the decades. The iconic posters of yesteryear still deserve pride of place. That's great, but it's sad too. The great movies of today also need great poster art. Sometimes the promotional art seems more of an afterthought.

That's where Alternative Movie Posters comes in. Meet the designers with a passion for film and film artwork. From The Shining to Heathers, from Rushmore to A Clockwork Orange, this is a brilliant array of stunning artwork.

This will be the perfect Christmas gift for movie lovers, those who love art and graphic design, people who enjoy reading about pop culture and anyone who likes to see a different creative perspective. It's a beautiful, beautiful volume.

**I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any additional compensation and all views are my own.**