Film Posters of the 80s

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.