Movie Poster – The Greatest Advertising Medium of All Time
Of all of the different forms of advertising that are available to the motion picture industry the movie poster
is one of the most flexible. This is a concept that is not lost on them as they have been using this inexpensive
advertising medium since the advent of the motion picture. The movie poster is a carefully created design that is
meant to create an instant awareness of the movie as people walk past it or stand in line waiting for their tickets
for the movie they have come to see.
These highly specialized pieces of art have found their home in many collections and over the years have created
an almost cult like following. They have become recognized as an art form in their own and there are galleries and
museums that are dedicated to nothing but the movie poster. These posters were the very first form of movie trailer
and were used to tease the viewer with a picture that said a thousand words.
The Movie Poster as a Collector's Item
Over the decades there have been thousands of different movie posters created for an equally high number of
movies. Some of them have become collector's items while others are merely used to decorate the walls of homes.
What makes a movie poster a collector's item, this is very difficult to put a finger on exactly, but in many cases
those that are worth the most money are the ones that were produced in very limited numbers for a classic movie.
The poster must of course be an original and in excellent condition.
Some of the more valuable ones are those that came from hit movies that were the last movie made by a particular
actor before their untimely death. Others are those from the early days of film where few copies exist, one such
poster sold for over $20,000 at a recent auction. To decide which ones are worth adding to a collection you need to
do your homework. There are plenty of ruthless dealers out there that sell copies and still charge full price,
others charge two or three times fair market value to those who do not know what true market price is.
Modern Collectibles
In recent years the motion picture industry seems to have caught on to the idea of creating collectible posters
by producing more than one poster for a particular movie. A classic example of this would have to be all of the
different Star Wars movies where sets of posters were released to different areas of the country and the world.
These posters have become a very much sought after commodity amongst Star Wars memorabilia collectors and movie
poster collectors often being sold for thousands of dollars for posters in pristine condition.
Not all movie posters are collectible and worth a lot of money, however they do make nice gifts and can be used
to decorate the walls of your house. All you really need is to purchase ones from your favourite movies and you can
create a visual treat that you can swap out from time to time much in the same way the theaters do.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.
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