Bob Peak and the decline of cinema, pt. 2

Some little girls collect barbie dolls...others collect lipstick...and others may have collected those stupid trolls figurines

Hufflepuff!


I collected movie posters. Every week I would go down to the local video store (my mom would drive me, cause I was cool like that) and I would raid their posters like Templeton the rat in the fairgrounds ("after the crowds go home!"...you're singing it, come on). I would sort through hundreds of duck taped cardboard tubes, torn or water stained prints and stock cards to find anything I liked, particulary those movies I enjoyed at the time. And due to a unhealthy crush on Jim Carrey and Kevin Costner, most of the poster hunting was dedicated to finding their faces. Then I came across this:

And I was like...Holy shit...that's soo cool. Beautifully hand painted, the credits reduced to a periwinkle 18 font on the bottom. The single image of a light saber being the sole focal point and that's all it needed. The observer was given just a taste and excitement in seeing that movie grew like hunger from within. 
And my quest for movie poster art began. (Though Kevin lives on in my memory) I love the creativity and design that goes on behind capturing an audience's attention from the get go.  Over the years I aquired a eye for vintage posters which are become rarer by the day, due to the importance not being the actual "picture" but the "star power" that is in it.
What was once this:

 and this:

has now mutated into this:

 and this:

Aghg! I feel my dinner wishing to rise up and out through my mouth! Do another comparison! Go on. We have blah blah photo shopped pretty young things and a dwarf,  a ginger and that annoying assburger, Billy Bob. ( I can't pick on Bernie, he's no longer with us.)  How boring. How sad. Not even a spark of creativity, of magic.  Now look at the other posters: Apocalypse Now and Back to the Future. Don't you just crave to have one hanging on your living room wall? Both were hand drawn and/or painted, respectfully by Bob Peak  and Drew Struzan.
Excuse me, who?
Ah, my point is reached. How can a film poster artist be successful if no one even pays attention to their work?  Does anyone stop and consider who the artist behind the piece could be? What work goes into just one poster? One image to sum up the movie as a whole as well as intrigue the human psyche?
Not today, forget it.  No one is interested. I don't see any little fourteen year old girl going up to a Harry Potter poster and scrolling down the credits to see who did the artwork (you won't find any, it was photo shopped too)
Film poster art is a dying breed, yet there are still some artists trying to keep the artistic value alive.
Check out Mondo!   Here you will find a gaggle of some of the coolest movie posters being created today from artists like Olly Moss and Ken Taylor.  And the coolest thing is that they use current movies...that's right...recent Hollywood mouth vomit and make them look as if they are actual amazing movies...
Exhibit A(sinine):

 Exhibit Mondo!

Mondo: No cheesy blurb from some hack film critic from the Christian Science Monitor. No star power recognition. No "Saw" like torture-porn imagery to tempt the muddled brained video game playing eighteen year old.   The Mondo print is strong and confident in it's choice of imagery and immediately draws the eye. "Ooh..what's that all about?"  It's a tip of the hat to the good old days when I first glanced at the Return of the Jedi poster.
And yeah, the movie could be shit (which it kinda was...sorry. Just read the original Swedish novel it and it's older sister film was based on)  but at least your imagination was pleasantly tickled at the beginning. (Like on a blind date, only to find out it's your old gym teacher...yikes)
Ooh, let's do another one!

Exhibit B(orning):

 Exhibit Mondo:

Which one you want to see? One one where Jake Gylenhaall is about to get a hundred paper cuts, or hit by some random tire. (Look out Jake! Every second counts!) or the poster that could be a  take on a Hitchcockian thriller? At least Olly Moss, the Mondo artist, thought outside the box.
How about this one!

 And this one!

 And this one!

Ooohh... Ok, getting way too excited.

If you want to see what the true masters are all about, you should check out Bob Peak, the Godfather of the modern day movie poster. He was a genius.  Also Saul Bass, a famous (deceased) graphic designer has many iconic film posters in his portfolio.
Heck if you type in "vintage movie posters" at google, a whole slew of the most deliciously designed posters pop right up and you can spend hours looking through link after link. It's quite a beautiful thing. Oh, and if you get truly hooked and have your credit card ready, go here: At the movies
It's a shame more artists today aren't trying to acheve the greatness of those from the past, especially in the world of cinema, where like much of modern culture, is at a static creative standstill.
But hey, there's always that fabulous remake of Straw Dogs to look forward to...ugh.

And that's all for today's lecture.....