5 comments about Academy Award Winners' Movie Posters (The Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters Series; Vol. 3)).

1. Bruce Herhsensons' series of poster books have become the bible of the poster world. The images captured are of extremely high quality and are a must have for any collector of movie materials. I highly recommend these series of books to anyone who is interested in the subject matter.



2. This book, along with its companion volume, "Best Pictures Movie Posters" 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 Academy Award winning movies, illustrates innumerable examples. 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.



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. Gorgeous color reproductions of great movie posters remind you how captivating the appeal of movies has been. Bruce Hershenson's books are a tremendous value, and his efforts to record movie history through poster art represent a real service to movie lovers.



5. 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 comments about The Lord of the Rings Poster Collection: Six Paintings by Alan Lee.

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," we get to see some of Lee's best work.
   
   "The Stone Trolls" shows the three trolls that Gandalf turned to stone in "The Hobbit." Now they're mossy and immobile, as the hobbits and Strider walk by. "The West Gate of Moria" is an exquisite play of light and shadow, showing the Fellowship looking up at the glowing doorway. And the best poster of all is "Battle of the Hornberg," a grimly detailed picture of the orcs flooding through the smashed fortress wall.
   
   On the Mordor front, we get three different posters. "The Black Gate" is a panoramic look at the hobbits and Gollum lurking on a stone outcropping, and watching as troops pass through the spiky Black Gate. "Gorbag and Shagrat" shows a pair of creepy orcs in full armor, waiting against a stained stone wall, apparently in conversation. And "Mount Doom" is a bleak slope of barren rocks, but with a light shining somewhere behind the mountain.
   
   Perhaps the only flaw of this collection is that three of the pictures are from "Return of the King," and only from Mordor. Don't expect any coronations or Grey Ships in this. A little more variation would have been nice, but 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 Stone Trolls
   2. The West Gate of Moria
   3. The Battle of the Hornburg
   4. The Black Gate
   5. Gorbag and Shagrat
   6. Mount Doom
   
   The six works are large, stand alone posters on heavy stock contained within an attractive folder featuring The West Gate of Moria 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. Having never owned any of Alan Lee's LOTR artwork before, I bought this collection on the advice I had found in many places online. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.
   It is true what is said about Lee's visual mastery of Tolkien's words. The images are often much like what I pictured from the books . . . even Gollum.

   My only issue was with the scenes chosen to be depicted in the collection. Three of the six are from Mordor (Gates of Mordor, Gorbag & Shagrat, and from the foot of Mount Doom), the artwork of which is not at all bad, but it is repetitive, when there is so much more. I'm most anticipatory to find Lee's depiction of the Ents somewhere. ^_^

   The paper quality is good & thick, and the posters come in a glossy protective folder with information on the artist, text bits that were the basis for the paintings, etc.




4. Tolkien�s �The Lord of the Rings� is the first fantasy � science fiction book I have ever read. It is hands down the best. No one writes with such prose and detail as Tolkien does. Granted, it does not have as much magical pyrotechnics as other fantasy books out there, but it makes up for that in a well-structured plot and the resourcefulness of the characters involved. The magic that does happen in the book is spectacular and well worth the wait. Tolkien�s battle scenes are excellent. He unfolds the story as it happens. There are no chapters that begin with �Ten years later�� rather the story progresses in real-time. No wonder many people think that this work is the greatest of the 20th century.



5. As a collector of Tolkien artwork, I must say that Lee's paintings of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are some of the best in circulation (or out). This poster set is one more addition to a venerable stack of Lee artwork. If you're a Tolkien fan, this is a must!

No comments about Movie Posters: 75 Years of Academy Award Winners.

No comments about Hollywood Movie Posters, 1914-1990.

3 comments about War Movie Posters: Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters.

1. This is arguably the finest entry in the Bruce Hershenson published series of film genre graphics books. Though all of his volumes are impeccable in style and presentation, this book approaches film advertising illustration not only as art, but as world history. Instead of compiling war film posters in order of their release year, they are here presented chronologically by the time of the actual war itself, adding profound depths of sociological and psychological perspective to the long sad history of hell on Earth. I write this review not for all the film buffs out there or poster collectors or illustrators, but to historians, to all teachers and students of the human journey. Here, from flag waving to burning, are the images of war as hope, promise, necessity, waste and despair. More than the films themselves with all their shooting and shouting, these posters silently command and provoke our senses all the way to the last shreds of wonder.



2. This is the eighth book of Movie Posters that I have purchased from Bruce Hershenson and each time I remark on the extremely high quality of the reproductions. This is obviously a job done from the heart but the visual aspects of the book strikes something in the sub-conscious and suddenly you are back in some cinema watching that movie again. More than just a coffee-table book but a reference source and one to take to work and get a discussion going as an alternative to football. A great read and highly recommended.



3. Bruce has done it again. In one book he has included the best and most graphically appealing posters from the greatest WAR movies of all times. Not only does he have the U.S. posters but many times he has selected the foreign poster that has better graphics. When you view this book you will be "transported" back to the films that you loved. I had forgotten about many of the great WWII films that I saw as a kid until seeing Bruce's book. How will he top this??

1 comments about Railway Posters 1923-1947.

1. This volume immediately moved onto my all-time favorites list. It is chockablock with color illustrations of wonderful British railway posters from that medium's golden age, the creation of the Big Four in 1923 until their nationalization effective January 1, 1948. A book simply stuffed with posters would have been sufficient, but the authors have placed the works of art in their appropriate historical and cultural context, and added to a poster lover's knowledge with interesting asides on artists and their subjects. (The authors both work as curators for the National Railway Museum's extensive poster collection, a job that seems the rough equivalent of dying and going to heaven every Monday through Friday.) There is one serious criticism to be offered: I see no reason why the book should not have been at least twice as long.

No comments about Movie Poster Prices.

No comments about French Posters Postcard Book.

No comments about Michael Engelmann: Poster Collection 10 (Poster Collection).

No comments about Cocoa and Corsets: A Selection of Late Victorian and Edwardian Posters and Showcards.