Great documentary about the history, art and love of film posters. It’s really interesting to see how things developed both in good ways and bad. Whether the films were good or not, often the posters are fantastic and the stories behind them really inspiring. Everyone in this speaks with such delight and passion, so many great names, so much great work, such a wonderful celebration of art. It’s not all positive though, there’s a great animated interlude with a timeline illustrating all the amazing work from the 20s to the 80s. Then the 90s happen... “Forget about art, don’t get artists. Use photoshop, take pictures, big face, big tits, that’s what people want. Shit this really sucks!” quips one illustrator. It’s another damning indictment of celebrity culture, with films only sell if the star looks great on the poster. There’s a something more concerning here too, the loss of appreciation for things like this, due to our desire to live life at a faster pace. No longer do we take the time to live in a poster, enjoy it, study and notice hidden elements. Now a poster gets 10 Seconds in a thumbnail on Netflix. The backlash is coming though, great work is still being done, for both new films and old. A blossoming industry that’s fighting back, long live the illustrated film poster. Not an extension of a film, but often the long lasting image that lives with us, as iconic as the films themselves. #findjaws
8/10
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