From Publishers Weekly
Ranging from the stunning to the silly, the vintage movie posters gathered in this illustrated book reek of campy nostalgia. Edwards, a contributor to STEP inside design magazine, calls them "small-scale masterpieces of strategic communication." She's ransacked the Turner Classic Movies archives to come up with a playful bunch of film ads, shown here in full-color matte images, that serve as "an introduction to classic movies presented through the prism of their posters." Among the subjects covered are femmes fatales (e.g., Lana Turner in 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice and Joan Evans in 1951's On the Loose), "acrimony-in-matrimony" (e.g., Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall in 1957's Designing Woman) and heartbreak and yearning (e.g., Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in 1932's Red Dust). Edwards holds off on making in-depth comments about the posters, letting viewers deduce for themselves the underlying meaning of the suggestive poster for 1952's The Lusty Men. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Turner Classic Movies may be best known for running the timeless films we never tire of watching, but behind the scenes is another treasure few get to see: a vast archive of posters from more than seven decades of movie making, including the remarkable collections of the great studios RKO, MGM, and Warner Bros. Picture Show gathers more than 150 of the most compelling and memorable examples for a scenic tour of Hollywood history and a dazzling compendium of graphic design excellence. From the great dramas such as Casablanca to one of the most distinguished monster movies, King Kong, to the legendary comedy of the Thin Man series, these emblems of another era speak volumes about the evolution of film, design, and popular culture. Throughout, author Dianna Edwards elucidates the historical relevance and touches on the stunning tropes of the posters, peppered with juicy bits of star-powered gossip. Including a number of seldom-seen examples, Picture Show is an introduction to great movies through their treasured posters.


About the Author
Dianna Edwards is the author of several books on graphic design, including Catalog Design: The Art of Creating Desire. She lives in Atlanta. Robert Osborne is prime-time host and anchor of the Turner Classic Movies cable television network and renowned columnist-critic for The Hollywood Reporter.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Turner Classic Movies may be best known for running the timeless films we never tire of watching, but behind the scenes is another treasure few get to see: a vast archive of posters from more than seven decades of movie making, including the remarkable collections of the great studios RKO, MGM, and Warner Bros. Picture Show gathers more than 150 of the most compelling and memorable examples for a scenic tour of Hollywood history and a dazzling compendium of graphic design excellence. From the great dramas such as Casablanca to one of the most distinguished monster movies, King Kong, to the legendary comedy of the Thin Man series, these emblems of another era speak volumes about the evolution of film, design, and popular culture. Throughout, author Dianna Edwards elucidates the historical relevance and touches on the stunning tropes of the posters, peppered with juicy bits of star-powered gossip. Including a number of seldom-seen examples, Picture Show is an introduction to great movies through their treasured posters.