The movie poster is something of a lost art. The glory days of the medium–when talented artists captured the spirit of films as stylistically diverse as Star Wars, Rosemary’s Baby, and Jaws with an iconic image–may be behind us. By the ’90s, poster art was, in many cases, reduced to airbrushed headshots of a given picture’s stars. Since these are typically the images associated with not just the film’s theatrical posters, but also VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray releases, a whole generation may be largely unaware that movie posters even existed as an art form.





That’s something that Matthew Chojnacki is trying to rectify with his new book, Alternative Movie Posters, which is out now. In the book, Chojnacki collects “Film Art from the Underground,” as the book’s subtitle describes it–posters created by independent artists to celebrate the medium of poster art and the movies themselves. Some of them are independently produced pieces of fan art, sold as limited-edition prints; others are commissioned by galleries like Austin’s Mondo to fuel a growing market for poster art. Chojnacki’s book collects over 200 pages of posters from both camps. And these posters span the history of film: You’re as likely to see a fresh take on Vertigo as you are Little Miss Sunshine within those pages. We asked Chojnacki to help us understand what makes a great film poster, using examples from his book.

There are a lot of different styles and approaches to the posters in Alternative Movie Posters, but there are a few unifying themes that cross the different styles, according to Chojnacki.





“It’s quite an undertaking to boil down an entire feature film into one two-dimensional image,” he says–a dilemma that also exists for the not-quite-as-dead art of album cover art. “Essentially, the poster should compel you in some way to see the film, as well as convey the film’s spirit. Oh, and it should let you know about the casting. The last point is always a fixture of current mainstream theatrical posters, but the others are frequently missing.”

Chojnacki cites two favorites that you’re probably familiar with that hit all the right notes: The Exorcist and National Lampoon’s Animal House. “Both were able to visually grab moviegoers, but also captured the essence of the films. Show any teenager in 1978 the Mad Magazine-style artwork of Animal House and they’d probably plunk down their two dollars for admission.”

Movie posters may be a dying art, but they’re not dead yet. Chojnacki can name a few filmmakers who pay a lot of attention to the way their films are marketed, which includes the posters–directors like Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Tim Burton, all of whom have had iconic images associated with their films. And Chojnacki says that those posters that do stand out these days are even more effective now.

“Variety always catches the eye,” he says. “I remember first seeing the poster for Doubt a few years back. It was a black and white, hand-drawn, gothic-looking cross. The simplicity of it really made it stand out from the back, and perfectly communicated the theme of the film without an extreme close-up of Meryl Streep or Phil Seymour Hoffman.”