Free Downloads
Picture Show: Classic Movie Posters From The TCM Archives

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.

Series: Turner Classic Movies

Paperback: 168 pages

Publisher: Chronicle Books; 2nd edition (November 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0811841545

ISBN-13: 978-0811841542

Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.7 x 12.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,358,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #118 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Posters #138 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Publishing & Books > Bibliographies & Indexes > Art & Photography #20195 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies

Another reasonably priced addition to the slowly expanding library of movie poster books. Because it is based on the TCM archives it is very generalised and basically covers movies of the thirties, forties and fifties. The chapters are dictated by what is available in the archive so there is no collection of comedy classics, 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House', for instance and other light-hearted titles are included in the chapter called Battle of the sexes.The posters are presented in various sizes and mostly you'll be able to read all the text, especially the percentage credits that usually appear at the bottom of each poster. Some of this is quite interesting because plenty of people named are complete nobodies now. Rather annoyingly the whole page posters have been enlarged a bit too much so that bottom credits are missing.I think it is fair to say that there is not a well designed poster in the book, so no stunning Saul Bass work or Bob Peak graphics but you'll get to see the best portraits that Hollywood marketing departments could offer.Overall a good title to have if you like poster art and if you have an interest in the thirties have a look at Reel Art: Great Posters From The Golden Age Of The Silver Screen, a huge, beautifully produced coffee-table book showing three hundred posters. A lot of MGM productions are in the TCM Archive and probably the most complete showing of this studio is in

The "Picture Show" is a vibrant and eclectic collection of movie posters culled from Turner Classic Movie's library of over 3500 vintage films. The book is an over-sized, soft cover reprinting hundreds of movie posters. Lesser known films may appear two or three to a page while greater classics are reprinted in full page glory. The book begins with a short history of movie posters and the explanation of "One-sheets" "Half-Sheets", "Three Sheets" etc...before breaking down the posters into several different chapters.We lead off with "Bad Girls" and movies like "The Mask of Fu-Manchu", "The Outlaw", and "Born to be Bad". These are some of the more sexy and seductive posters found and highlight screen vamps such as Bette Davis, Myrna Loy, Joan Fontaine, and Jane Russell. From there the next chapter features the Battle of the Sexes, featuring classic films like the Thin Man movies, and the various Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn films.The chapter on Fancy Footwork highlights those great musicals of the 30's and 40's such as "Footlight Parade" with James Cagney, "Girl Crazy" with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and "An American in Paris" with Gene Kelly. Forward March reprints posters from great war films. "Back to Bataan" and "Flying Leathernecks" with John Wayne, musicals like "Anchors Aweigh" and "Follow the Fleet" and one of my favorites "The Dirty Dozen"Since Warner Bros is one of the prominent studios featured we naturally get to see many of their great adventure film posters included: "The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Captain Blood", and "The Sea Hawk" as well as "The Three Musketeer" and "The Prisoner of Zenda" There are also chapters devoted to westerns and to tough guys like Cagney, Mitchum, Bogart and McQueen.

Picture Show: Classic Movie Posters from the TCM Archives THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN: JAMES BOND MOVIE POSTERS VOL 8: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards, Movie Stills And Merchandise From The Movie FRANKENSTEIN MOVIE POSTERS, VOL. 2: Son Of Frankenstein & The Ghost Of Frankenstein: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards, Movie Stills And Photographs ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE: JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOK, VOL 6: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards, Movie Stills And Photographs From Around The World (JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOKS) THUNDERBALL: JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOK, VOL. 4: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards And Movie Stills From Around The World (JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOKS) YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE: JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOK, VOL 5: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards And Movie Stills From Around The World (JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOKS) FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOK, VOL. 2: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards And Movie Stills From Around The World (JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOKS) GOLDFINGER: JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOK, VOL. 3: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards And Movie Stills From Around The World (JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOKS) OCTOPUSSY JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOK, VOL. 13: Movie Posters, Lobby Cards, Movie Stills And Photographs From Around The World (JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE POSTER BOOKS) 60 Great Sci-Fi Movie Posters: Volume 20 of the Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters (Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters, Volume 20) BAD GIRL MOVIE POSTERS 1940-1980 VOL. 2: OVER 225 Movie Posters, Lobby Cards And Movies Stills Of BAD GIRLS And WICKED WOMEN BAD GIRL MOVIE POSTERS 1940-1980: OVER 225 Movie Posters, Lobby Cards And Movies Stills Of BAD GIRLS And WICKED WOMEN Crime Movie Posters (Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters) Sports Movie Posters (The Illustrated History of Movies Through Posters Series)) "CLASSIC SCI FI MOVIE POSTERS" Vol. 1 1919 - 1989: From Alien Invasion To Space Exploration To High Adventure Processing the Past: Contesting Authority in History and the Archives (Oxford Series on History and Archives) The Posters that Won the War: The Production, Recruitment and War Bond Posters of WWII 111 Of The MOST EXPENSIVE MOVIE POSTERS In The WORLD: A Surprising Look At The Value Of A Printed Piece Of Paper COWBOY AND WESTERN MOVIE POSTERS 1900-1999 VOL. 3: T-Z 1900-1999: Vol. 2: Movies T-Z Alternative Movie Posters II: More Film Art from the Underground