Film Posters of the 80's: The Essential Films of the Decade (Hardcover)

by Tony Nourmand (Editor), Graham Marsh (Editor) "The film posters of any given period offer an unerringly accurate reflection of the tastes and aspirations of the audiences they were designed to attract..." (more)
Key Phrases: film posters, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Blade Runner, John Alvin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Flashdance, Fame, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Right Stuff, Top Gun, The Terminator-all are standard references when talking about classic Hollywood films from the Reagan years. The proprietor of London's Reel Post Gallery, Nourmand here offers another ten-year stock taking (Film Posters of the 40s; Film Posters of the 50s; etc.), again with graphic designer Marsh as collaborator. Many of the 131 full-color illustrations are full-page (the book is 9 1/4 x 11 1/2); the reproductions are sharp enough to read almost all of the credits and fine print, though the colors could be brighter. For anyone who lived through the era, the images will seem familiar, so ubiquitous were they (and are now, in the video store aisles), so there are almost no surprises here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
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 volume: 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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (September 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585672009
• ISBN-13: 978-1585672004
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #921,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars MOVIE POSTER REFRENCE GUIDE, January 2, 2009

By	Joel Katte "BASEBALL MEMOIR COMING SOON! from... (Home of the Milwaukee Brewers) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Film Posters of the 80s: The Essential Movies of the Decade (Paperback)

People are still stumbling upon the exciting hobby of collecting vintage movie posters. Tony Nourmand has created dozens of movie poster books that are sure to help you learn about these rare collectibles. His books cover the most important posters for each decade and also focus on certain genres of film like SCI FI and HORROR and film historian favorites like ALFRED HITCHCOCK and JAMES BOND. His photographs are top notch and his eye for selecting the most interesting images for our favorite classi films is extraordinary. Buy one and you will surely be back to check out his other books too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Que Gran Epoca fueron los 80's, February 16, 2007

By	Fernando Valdes Martinez "Lazlo-Lozla" (Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Film Posters of the 80's (Paperback)

No solamente la musica fue victima de la cultura POP, sino tambien el cine y es en este libro con los posters mas relevantes de le época en donde el arte POP se ve a la perfeccion. Desde los poster clasicos hasta lo posters mas extraños. Ya que esta recopilacion no solamente tiene los artes que conocimos pegados en los carteles del cine, sino que ademas contiene artes muy extraños. Destaca la recopilacion de artes de las cintas de David Cronenberg. Muy REcomendable.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Best Era of Movies, August 26, 2003

By	James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is by far the greatest collection of the essential movies of the decade series. The 80's created blockbusters like The Terminator, Friday the 13th, Poltergeist, Fletch, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Rainman, The Breakfast Club, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop, Robo Cop and Rambo to name but a few. They're all inside just begging to go up on your wall and be admired along with heaps of others.

You could either keep this intact as a collection of posters in a book to show and discuss with friends, or cut the book up and actually have a vast number of posters up on your wall. This book is about a third the size of your standard film poster and most movies are full page colour. Any of them would look great up on the wall. If there's a better poster collection out there then it must be really good as this is sensational!