FILM BY DESIGN The Art of The Movie Poster

A scholarly examination of film poster design, this is a groundbreaking and comprehensive exploration of the international and Hollywood movie poster as a dynamic artistic and cultural formation. Drawing inspiration from genres like horror, science fiction, and noir, the twelve essays in this collection provide insightful analyses of the movie poster as a vital component of the cinematic landscape from the silent era to the contemporary period. Dozens of illustrations, some in color, index. Movie posters, regardless of their country of origin, have become indelibly linked with the films they represent, often assuming a status as visual encapsulations of films within collective memory. Long after their initial role in promotion is complete, these posters endure as iconic images, etched into film history and cultural consciousness. One can hardly hear mention of Steven Spielberg’s landmark production Jaws, for example, without immediately picturing the evocative poster art of Roger Kastel. Each chapter, whether focusing on controversies, Cubism, or Cuba, is accessible to scholars, students, and fans alike. Film by Design reveals the movie poster to be an ever-evolving medium, firmly grounded in both theory and practice, while serving as an essential and enduring element within the realm of film art. "This book should hopefully inspire a new wave of scholarship that finally gives the movie poster the sustained academic attention that it deserves." - Iain Robert Smith, senior lecturer in film studies, King's College London Author Gary D. Rhodes is also the author of The Birth of the American Horror Film and writer/director of Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula. Robert Singer is retired professor of liberal studies at CUNY Graduate Center. Rhodes and Singer are co-editors of ReFocus: The American Directors Series.