Selling the Movie
The Art of the Film Poster
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Book Presentation:
As long as there have been movies, there have been posters selling films to audiences. Posters came into existence just decades before the inception of film, and as movies became a universal medium of entertainment, posters likewise became a ubiquitous form of advertising. At first, movie posters suggested a film’s theme, from adventure and romance to thrills and spine-tingling horror. Then, with the ascendancy of the film star, posters began to sell icons and lifestyles, nowhere more so than in Hollywood. But every country producing films used posters to sell their product.
Selling the Movie: The Art of the Film Poster charts the history of the movie poster from both a creative and a commercial perspective. It includes sections focusing on poster artists, the development of styles, the influence of politics and ideology, and how commerce played a role in the film poster’s development. The book is richly illustrated with poster art from many countries and all eras of filmmaking.
From creating the brand of Charlie Chaplin’s tramp and marketing the elusive mystique of Greta Garbo, to the history of the blockbuster, the changing nature of graphic design by the decade, and the role of the poster in the digital age, Selling the Movie is an entertaining and enthralling journey through cinema, art, and the business of attracting audiences to the box office.
About the Author:
Film journalist, critic, and writer IIan Haydn Smith is the update editor of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and the editor of BFI Filmmakers Magazine and Curzon Magazine.
Press Reviews:
"Irresistible…a look at the history of this irresistible art form that doesn't hesitate to organize posters by genres such as French poetic realism, early Westerns and the gangster film. Beautiful and affordable both." ― Los Angeles Times Published On: 2019-01-02
"A well-designed, large-format book that will delight both the casual browser and the serious student of film and art history." ― PopMatters Published On: 2018-12-03
"One of the real pleasures of this book is seeing how styles and designs have changed over the years and what decades' posters are the most eye-catching." ― Deseret News Published On: 2018-12-06
"[A] classy, hardcover survey of the history of the images used to sell the movies." ― Outword Magazine Published On: 2018-12-13
"This movie-loving writer found Selling the Movie to be an essential book to own." ― Picture This Post Published On: 2019-03-18
"A beautifully designed book that should really appeal to most cinephiles." ― Cinema Literate Published On: 2019-07-10
> From the same author:
A Chronology of Film (2025)
A Cultural Timeline from the Magic Lantern to the Digital Screen
Subject: Theory
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2021)
Dir. Steven Jay Schneider and Ian Haydn Smith
Subject: On Films > Movie reviews
New British Cinema (2015)
from 'Submarine' to '12 Years a Slave'
by Jason Wood and Ian Haydn Smith
Subject: Countries > Great Britain
> On a related topic:
A Coffin for the Killer, Volume three (2025)
100 Eurowestern Film Posters From Italy (1963-1966)
Dir. G.H. Janus
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