Film Posters of the 80's

by Tony Nourmand

The 1980s was a decade in which filmmakers pulled put all the stops to dazzle audiences and make them jump out of their seats. And just as they marked the development of the special effects technology that sparked a wave of blockbuster films, the Eighties also saw the advent of the cutting edge computer techniques used by graphic artists in the promotional posters for these unforgettable films.

It was the decade when filmmakers finally had the technology to transfer their visions to the screen, challenging graphic artists and illustrators to catch up, and many of its most enduring images are represented in this the glow behind the lenses of Arnold Schwarzenegger's gargoyle-framed sunglasses that characterized the monolithic menace of The Terminator; the sarcastically simple crossed-out cartoon ghost that enticed audiences into the theaters to see Ghostbusters; the silhouette of the mysterious, domino-clad stranger that haunts the unbalanced mind of Mozart in Amadeus; the wisp of cigarette smoke that bisects the image of Sean Young's stoic face on the poster for Blade Runner; and many more.

The poster art presented in this volume represents the work of a new generation of graphic artists and designers, equipped for the first time with a brand new technology, in collaboration with visionary filmmakers from Spielberg to Kurosawa, from Cameron to Ramis, from Foreman to Attenborough who continually managed to keep our eyes riveted to the screen.

Edited by Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Pop Culture, Film, Design

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Sotiris Makrygiannis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small collection of movie posters. Small observation, in x-ussr the public posters had no guns or violence, only in West guns were displayed in posters. The best? I liked more the Japanese "violent cop" but of course the classics like the wall, terminator, Ghostbusters are good as well. How much info one should put into a film poster and what template should use? I'm 60s you had mainly the protagonists, in 80s was about a projection of feelings and less info.

[Tim Lapetino · Rating 3 out of 5]

What to say about this book? It's a seemingly random collection of good-to-great 80s movie posters. There doesn't seem to any discernible order, curation or theme to the film posters chosen. Many are iconic while others are just notable films with lesser posters. It's not particularly huge or deep in scope and there is no additional insight into the posters themselves beyond a poorly-written introduction and at least two typos on the back cover.

BUT the reproductions are pretty darn good and the color and clarity of the images is great. So, that is the bare minimum for a successful art book, and this volume basically has it where it counts. A fun read that I'm sure I'll come back to for some kind of reference and/or inspiration. It earned a permanent place on my shelf, but just barely. :)

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool book! I love the '80s so it was cool to see the movie posters of that decade of popular films. Some even had foreign posters of the film (like the Star Wars one features a movie poster from Poland which was cool to see). Andy Warhol also made a movie poster! Not for Star Wars, some other film, but once I read Andy Warhol made a poster I went back to look at it again and I can totally see his style in it. Fun book! It would be fun to see the '90s movie posters too.

[Guillermo Galvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big sized book with full color photos of the greatest movies form the 80's. An excellent book to glance through while sitting on the toilet.

"Grrrr........... hmm.... what movie should I watch tonight? GRrrrrr!"

[Anton Klink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love many of the movies from the 80s and these posters evoke a lot of fine memories. A nice book to browse through if you are into movies and graphical art.