1 comments about Film Posters of the 90s: The Essential Movies of the Decade (Film Posters of the Decade).

1. For 10 years, I have sought another chance to glimpse a European poster I had seen for Casino on a trip to the continent when the picture was current. This book offers me that.
   
   For that alone, it gets 4 stars. It's not the book's fault that the 90s offered a bunch of rehashes of the posters for Eraser and The Peacemaker. And scores of big faces with guns. Plus, the ascendance of computer design. Zzzzz.
   
   Still, that Casino poster is a haunting and lovely image. One of cinema's finest.

1 comments about The Posters of Jules Cheret: 46 Full-Color Plates and an Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne, Second, Revised and Enlarged Edition.

1. This is the authoritative source for all the artwork and posters of Jules Cheret, who perfected color lithography in the late 1800's. There are a number of color slides of original Jules Cheret posters plus excellent descriptive information to help one identify a suspected Jules Cheret poster. The catalog is by theme or advertiser without an index or table of contents to help one located the exact page where, let's say, Moulin-Rouge or Olympia might start. This does then force scanning to find the start of the catagory one might want - an inconvenience. In spite of this, once you discover the catagory area, the material is informative and precise enough to help with identification.

2 comments about The Lord of the Rings Poster Collection 2.

1. In the world of Tolkien artwork, two artists sit at the top of the heap: Alan Lee and John Howe. These two artists have devoted a lot of ink to sketching scenes from J.R.R. Tolkien's masterworks, and in the "Lord of the Rings Poster Collection 2," we get to see some of Lee's best work.
   
   "The Halls of Moria" is one of the most stirring pieces of artwork -- an enormous dark hall full of pillars and vaulted ceilings, with a beam of light shining over the Fellowship. "Tol Brandir" shows a tangle of leafless branches, mossy rocks and stone steps. And then there's the "Golden Hall," a beautiful landscape crowned by a hill, on top of which is Theoden's home. Lee's painted clouds look as if they are glowing.
   
   "Orthanc" shifts the focus to grimmer subjects -- Saruman's stronghold is immense, menacing, vaguely insectile with its black shiny look. And, of course, it's surrounded by floodwater. "The Siege of Gondor" is tightly packed with grinning, creepy orcs with spears, and a few human warriors, one of whom is dead. And "Two Orcs" has a pair of suitably creepy-looking orcs, not doing much.
   
   Of the two poster collections of Lee's work, the second is obviously superior. We get a range of subjects, from all three books, and it shows the different kinds of artwork that Lee can do. The posters themselves are lovely -- high quality paper, clear reproduction. As for the pictures themselves....
   
   Alan Lee does "still work" the best -- even when his subjects are in motion, they look very quiet and almost dreamlike. There's a lot of detail poured into these, since even small twigs, cracks and stains make their way into his artwork. They also tend to have muted, faded colours, lots of soft greys, browns and greens. Some of them look like sepia photographs.
   
   Looking at these beautiful posters, it's easy to see why Lee was one of the designers for the "Lord of the Rings" movies' exquisite sets. A wonderful collection of fantasy artwork.



2. This collection features six works of Alan Lee who, along with John Howe, was one of the principle conceptual artists for Peter Jackson's films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings".
   
   The six works featured in this collection are:
   
   1. The Mines of Moria
   2. Tol Brandir
   3. The Golden Hall
   4. Orthanc
   5. The Siege of Gondor
   6. Two Orcs in the Land of Shadow
   
   The six works are large, stand alone posters on heavy stock contained within an attractive folder featuring "Orthanc" on the front cover. The prints--the originals were done in watercolor--have a black border with the name of the work and the artist at the bottom in small print.
   
   These prints are an excellent addition to any Tolkien fan's collection.

3 comments about Disney Poster Book, The.

1. This book features some of the rarest and oldest posters from the collection of Tony Anselmo. It's so nice that such a great and rare collection can be shared with everyone. Disney fans will love this. The posters are gorgeous, and this book is something you can keep for years and enjoy the history and artwork it holds.



2. This large book is a visual treat and features mostly rare vintage movie posters from both classic animated Disney shorts and classic animated Disney features. The book complements the similar Disney Poster Book published under the Hyperion label in the early '90's. This publication is quality-bound (with pages sewn, not glued, into the binding) and the graphics reproduction is generally excellent. It's truly amazing how much artistry went into many of these posters. A delight even for casual enthusiasts and a definite "must" for hardcore Disney aficionados!



3. This book is a superb supplement to the earlier Disney Poster Book from Hyperion (1993). These early posters certainly reflect the emphasis on quality by the original Walt Disney Studios. It's sad that movie posters are not what they used to be. It's even sadder that this tome shows (in miniature) a theater poster from the "Martins & Coys" segment of "Make Mine Music", yet today's Disney Company has decided to censor (i.e., "cut-out") this wonderful, creative segment in its recent DVD release, thus cheating its many fans . Anyhow, all aspects considered, I strongly recommend this tome as an essential addition to any Disney library.

2 comments about Gil Elvgren: The Wartime Pin-Ups (Vignettes).

1. An excellent presentation of the greatest pinup artist of all time



2. I am a begining collector of pin ups and I would recomend this book to people who are just starting out. It gives good basic background information on Elvgren as well as some of his best work. If you like drawn pin ups of the 30's, 40's and 50's. This book is for you.

4 comments about More Cowboy Movie Posters (The Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters, Vol 6).

1. Excellent book for the western enthusiast. was a little disappointed that posters were not full page but guess I'm being a bit picky.No text apart from the introduction, many memories came flooding back of favourites such as Charles Starrett, Allan Lane, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry etc.
   These books will end up collectors items so strike while the iron is hot.



2. More Cowboy Movie Posters is a fabulous art book and truly invaluable, offering the highest quality images from good and bad westerns. As someone who collects western posters, I have used this book as an important aid to purchasing posters illustrated within. Without such a quality reference I would have needed to peruse a stack of catalogs to find the same amount of images. For the non collector movie buff, the book is equally a delight and tremendous value at the low price.



3. This review can easily apply to any of the books in the Bruce Hershenson edited series of film poster history. Hershenson rightly treats film graphics not just as pop culture artifacts but true works of art. His books are filled with a curator's eye for superior choice and reproduction, each poster in striking color and with a clarity of printing that rivals most any coffee table art book. Somewhere between advertising and illustration, film posters, like book jackets and record covers, inhabit that imaginative and atmospheric zone where one art reflects another. It's not just the history of film or the history of film design, it's a history of twentieth century Saturday afternoons and Saturday nights. How often we would go into the dark theatre armed only with the ideas and ideals of the posters outside, and then return to them afterward, perhaps with nodding affirmation or smirking disillusionment, but still a vision of what could be. This series of books should be subtitiled: THE FINE ART OF ANTICIPATION,for no matter if expectation was filled or emptied by the films behind them, their posters kept on shining.



4. All the great heroes of Hollywood westerns are represented in a book that's a delight to flip through. It's packed with the colorful, dramatic, enticing art that made movie posters even more appealing than the movies, themselves.

5 comments about Horror Movie Posters (The Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters, Vol 7).

1. From the first few pages of LON CHANEY SR POSTERS you wont be able to put it down.The photo of Dracula and Frankenstein are worth the price of the whole book.The Thing half sheet, Or The fly six sheet would make any one want one in there collection. Book goes all the way up to the movie Scream.You cant go wrong



2. Horror Movie Posters is at once a beautiful book to browse and a fascinating chronicle of advertising art through the decades. Just a cursory look reveals how the graphic art evolved, from the incredible stone-lithography of the golden age (silents to late '30s) through the more garish '50s style to the photo-based designs so common today. As a collector of movie memorabilia, I have found this entire series an invaluable resource; one needn't be a collector to enjoy these books, however. Any film aficionado will treasure this volume. Highly recommended!



3. This review can easily apply to any of the books in the Bruce Hershenson edited series of film poster history. Hershenson rightly treats film graphics not just as pop culture artifacts but true works of art. His books are filled with a curator's eye for superior choice and reproduction, each poster in striking color and with a clarity of printing that rivals most any coffee table art book. Somewhere between advertising and illustration, film posters, like book jackets and record covers, inhabit that imaginative and atmospheric zone where one art reflects another. It's not just the history of film or the history of film design, it's a history of twentieth century Saturday afternoons and Saturday nights. How often we would go into the dark theatre armed only with the ideas and ideals of the posters outside, and then return to them afterward, perhaps with nodding affirmation or smirking disillusionment, but still a vision of what could be. This series of books should be subtitiled: THE FINE ART OF ANTICIPATION, for no matter if expectation was filled or emptied by the films behind them, their posters kept on shining.



4. For lovers of film, film history, and specifically, poster art, Bruce Hershenson's series of full-color books is the cream of the crop! And, the quality of printing and photography is superb, with razor sharp images and vibrant colors.



5. Horror Movie Posters shows photographs of 306 movie posters in chronological order. All are in color, and very clear. The ones that are more detailed are larger. It's a picture book, meaning the author does analyze the posters. He lets the visual content speaks for itself.

   It is very intriguing to see some posters from movies before my time. It's funny to see that the movie picture industry treated horror movie posters in a somber mood in the early days, and then moved to "silly" posters in the 50s. Now in the 90s, after having viewed some of the horror movies, the poster is the scariest thing.

   If you are really into movies, I think this would be a really cool book to own.

No comments about Gunter Rambow Posters.

5 comments about Cartoon Movie Posters.

1. All of Bruce Henderon's books are worth a dozen times what he sells them for; flawless, stunning reproductions of great movie posters. Buy them ALL!



2. As previous reviewers stated, this is a marvelous book, & it does have far too many Disney & Popeye posters in it. Considering the wealth of other 'vintage' cartoon posters that are around (even just searching on the net), Im suprised they didnt have a better selection for us to look at. Otherwise, Im very happy to have this book, and I'd LOVE to see a volume 2 some day!!!



3. I'll be truthful: I received Bruce Hershenson's CARTOON MOVIE POSTERS as part of a "grab-bag" special he was throwing a couple of years back. My tastes lie in the somewhat more arcane area of Horror & Science Fiction posters. What would a guy like me who covets copies of posters like BEAST WITH 1,000,000 EYES want with...harmless, namby-pamby kid's stuff? Plenty, as I soon discovered once I opened this excellent book. First-the reason I had been so unaware of cartoon posters, especially ones from the seven minute variety, is that so many of them are practically extinct. Cartoons, being the VERY bottom of the bill, were treated as 4th-class citizens, and if the studios bothered to make a poster at all, there weren't very many of them and the vast majority of those were tossed. What a shame! This book, which contains close to 400 exqusitely printed images, is an absolute riot of color and imagination that easily rivals any of my beloved fantasy pieces. Starting from cartoon pioneer Windsor McCay in 1911 and ending with the X-rated FRITZ THE CAT in 1972,(and touching on all points in between), Bruce includes examples ranging from the obvious (Disney, Warner Bros, & Fleischer) to the wonderfully obscure (there are several pages of pictures from Ub Iwerks'fairy tale cartoons from the 30s that are gorgeous, more than a little strange, and as rare as hen's teeth.) If you have even a passing interest in movie posters, it is mandatory that you order at least a couple of Hershenson's poster volumes. If you are a rabid, hopeless poster fiend like myself, they are invaluable for both reference and entertainment. Everything about them is first-rate: the printing, the choice of posters (ah, those 30s & 40s Disney 1-sheets...!)the short, inobtrusive, well-written snippets regarding the history of various posters: it's very tough to find fault here. This is the perfect gift for hard-core poster geeks and casual film/cartoon aficonados alike. Five stars all the way, and...abbah-dee, abbah-dee, abbah-dee....That's All, Folks!



4. Everyone has their own favorite film genre (animation, action and adventure, science fiction, etc.). Next to crime/film noir films, animation is mine. The beautiful thing about this book is the unexpected. Rather than delve into the standard Disney fare (which is included in great detail nevertheless), this book includes artwork from posters from "lesser seen or only mildly popular" titles. Besides Disney, everything from Fleischer to Avery is represented, works of art that can only be bought for thousands of dollars today at many of America's high echelon auction houses. If you are the least bit interested in the jaw-dropping beauty of what has become a lost art -- the exercise of drawing images associated with the advertising of a Hollywood film -- this is the book to have. This book is part of movie poster maven Bruce Hershenson's exhaustive multi-volume series of books highlighting the history and beauty of what much of mainstream America has only in the last ten years begun to recognize. And that is movie posters are a "popular art" form that can stand proudly next to all other styles of art from gothic to modern, from expressionist to impressionist. Great film art borrows from all of these styles and this volume, which focuses only on posters associated with animated films, illustrates innumerable examples whereby despite the restrictive nature of the genre (cartoons), not all posters went in the same direction in terms of style and presentation. From Pinocchio to Popeye, Hershenson and Allen have built an incredible archive (and legacy) of images in all of his books, capturing a period (when all posters were drawn by hand and then printed, as opposed to today's method of using photographic stock and manipulating them digitally and printing them by the thousands) that would otherwise be lost forever. A fine book for any collector (get the hardcover edition if you can, it's harder to find; if Amazon doesn't have it, it's available from Mr. Hershenson directly at mail@brucehershenson.com).



5. This review can easily apply to any of the books in the Bruce Hershenson edited series of film poster history. Hershenson rightly treats film graphics not just as pop culture artifacts but true works of art. His books are filled with a curator's eye for superior choice and reproduction, each poster in striking color and with a clarity of printing that rivals most any coffee table art book. Somewhere between advertising and illustration, film posters, like book jackets and record covers, inhabit that imaginative and atmospheric zone where one art reflects another. It's not just the history of film or the history of film design, it's a history of twentieth century Saturday afternoons and Saturday nights. How often we would go into the dark theatre armed only with the ideas and ideals of the posters outside, and then return to them afterward, perhaps with nodding affirmation or smirking disillusionment, but still a vision of what could be. This series of books should be subtitiled: THE FINE ART OF ANTICIPATION, for no matter if expectation was filled or emptied by the films behind them, their posters kept on shining.

5 comments about Alphonse Mucha: An American Collectio (Vignettes).

1. This is a VERY small book, smaller than a cd case. The illustrations are great and it gives a very general overview of Mucha's life. I purchased this book as a reference for a report on Mucha for a college level class and it was definitely not very useful for that purpose.The author does not cite any resources for the information in the book and other than looking good on the bookshelf it was not worth the price.



2. I run enrichment programs for school age children and this book along with the other books in the Vignette series from the Collector's Press have been terrific in introducing kids to great artists. This book does a great job of chronicling Mucha's life and career. I highly recommend it as an introduction to Art Nouveau and Alphonse Mucha.



3. I found this book to be a great addition to my library of art nouveau reference books. It is small and concise. The author obviously loves his subject matter. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an overview of Mucha's work in a quick read.



4. Don't even bother. There is a magnificent book published by Art Services Inc. in association with Yale University which, after years of searching, is the definitive book on Alphonse Mucha. "Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau", 1998, by Victor Arwas,Jana Brabcova- Orlikova and Anna Dvorak. Costs more $$, but you're really getting something! Exquisite! Text and great color pieces. A treasure.



5. Don't even bother. There is a magnificent book published by Art Services Inc. in association with Yale University which, after years of searching, is the definitive book on Alphonse Mucha. "Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau", 1998, by Victor Arwas,Jana Brabcova- Orlikova and Anna Dvorak. Costs more $$, but you're really getting something! Exquisite! Text and great color pieces. A treasure.