The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films [Hardcover]

Marcus Hearn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2010

Over fifty years ago, with the release of The Curse of Frankenstein and Christopher Lee’s iconic performance in Dracula, Hammer ushered in a whole new era of blood and barely-restrained cleavage in glorious color, mixing sex and horror with a style and panache that made the small British company world famous.

The Art of Hammer collects the very best and most iconic movie posters produced for the Hammer studio. This lavish hardcover brings together rare artwork from around the world. Featuring Hammer’s greatest films, including The Curse of Frankenstein, the Dracula series, and many more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hammer Films gave us some of the world's most unforgettable, most awesome movies. But they also gave us some of the most beautiful poster art of all time. " -- io9

"...serious eye candy for horror and Hammer fans alike." -- Moviefone 

"A must for the Hammer fan in your life." - popdose.com

"The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films is a great addition to your personal library, and one that should take up some room on your coffee table so it can entertain your guests. It's a celebration of the Hammer legacy, a time capsule that gives praise and serious study to an artform that no one suspected was an artform at the time of its creation." -- Coming Attractions

About the Author

Marcus Hearn is the acclaimed author of Hammer Glamour and The Hammer Story (with Alan Barnes). His other books include authorised biographies of filmmakers George Lucas and Gerry Anderson, and Eight Days a Week, the story of The Beatles’ final world tour.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Titan Books (November 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848567375
• ISBN-13: 978-1848567375
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 0.8 x 13.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Hammer product from Titan Books, November 29, 2010

By 

Dan Day (South Bend, IN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films (Hardcover)

Titan Books and Marcus Hearn have done it again. The team which produced "The Hammer Story" and "Hammer Glamour" have now come out with "The Art of Hammer", a fantastic collection of Hammer film posters. Over 300 posters representing the famous company's output are showcased. All the posters are in color, and some get a full-page picture. Posters from non-English speaking countries are included, and these are some of the most interesting and artistic in the book.
Of course Hammer is know best for their Gothic horror films, but Hammer's non-horror productions are presented as well. As for the classic monster movies Hammer fans love, they're all here--the famous poster from "The Mummy", all the Frankensteins, the Draculas--any monster movie kid will go crazy seeing these images.
While going through this book, one notices that some of the posters are more exciting than the films that they are advertising! But that was the whole reason for the posters in the first place. You don't have to be a Hammer or monster movie fan to appreciate the great collection of poster artwork here. But if you ARE a Hammer fan, you MUST get this book! Hopefully, Titan Books and Marcus Hearn have many more Hammer-themed books in store.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surprising omissions, June 19, 2011

By 

Brad the Impaler (Moldavia Heights, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films (Hardcover)

James Hahn's review is right on the mark. Some of the best posters issued for Hammer films are MIA (see James Hahn's review). A negative surprise to say the least. This presents a blown opportunity as it is unlikely that another book on this topic will ever be published. Younger fans that are unaware of the amazing French and Italian artwork for some of the Hammer titles will have no idea of what they're missing, and that is unfortunate.
All of Marcus Hearn's books on Hammer are a bit like enjoying a delicious appetizer, beautifully presented and flavorful, but then there's no main course and you leave the table hungry. I'm always left with the feeling that his books never go far enough and this one is no exception. Speaking purely for myself, I'd gladly spend more money on a book if it meant having a more comprehensive volume.
While Mr. Hahn's description is perfectly accurate, my opinion is that the posters that ARE shown and the quality of the overall presentation earns this effort higher than a one star rating. Despite the major omissions, this is a nice sampling of Hammer posters offered up in a beautiful book. Warts aside, I think that all fans of Hammer films will enjoy this book. Fans of movie poster art may not have quite as enjoyable of a ride.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hammer Horror Poster Art, December 24, 2010

By 

Matt J. Blankner (Florida USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films (Hardcover)

Growing up on these movies as well as the many American b&w horror classics, this book brings back fond memories and presents an excellent overview of a major horror studio. Hammer was notorious for its gore and sex, mixed with the horror genre. Since I saw most of these movies on TV, I very rarely got to see the wonderful poster artwork growing up. This beautiful book does justice to the artistic and exploitative quality of these posters. The format is large enough to show off the amazing work, but reasonably sized at under 200 pages thick to maintain an economic price tag. I have many poster art books, but this certainly resides in the upper echelon of quality.