Somebody finds a box of 50 and the market is kaput.

[Harry Caul]

Too bad I can't flag this response to automatically pop up in 15 years with an "I told you so"

I don't know what you are going to tell me so about... I wasn't expressing an opinion.  I was only pointing out that this thread is a discussion of value and scarcity--who cares about whether it is due to limited printings, large amounts getting tossed/damaged, high printing but even higher demand, perceived scarcity, unexpected stashes being unearthed, etc...  

If you want an opinion, I expressed it above.  I don't think there is much difference between 80s and 90s.  Each decade will have 10-20 posters that will (at some point) define a generation in someway and will become highly collectible.  However, the other 9,980-9,990 posters from those decades still won't be worth shit.  

Now the 2000s... don't get me started!  There is nothing but crap now-a-days!  

[stewart boyle]

I agree,i would bite someones hand off for a Some kind of wonderful quad,its my wifes favourite movie..but most Hughes fans will go for Ferris posters probably as its the most well known.

Stew

[wonka]

Now the 2000s... don't get me started!  There is nothing but crap now-a-days!  

I would even argue that the drop off in quality films really happened in the mid-90s...been getting worse and worse ever since.

I used to go to movies all the damn time, now I never go.

[erik1925]

I don't know what you are going to tell me so about... I wasn't expressing an opinion.  I was only pointing out that this thread is a discussion of value and scarcity--who cares about whether it is due to limited printings, large amounts getting tossed/damaged, high printing but even higher demand, perceived scarcity, unexpected stashes being unearthed, etc...  

If you want an opinion, I expressed it above.  I don't think there is much difference between 80s and 90s.  Each decade will have 10-20 posters that will (at some point) define a generation in someway and will become highly collectible.  However, the other 9,980-9,990 posters from those decades still won't be worth shit.  

Now the 2000s... don't get me started!  There is nothing but crap now-a-days!  

+1 --  you beat me to it here, Matt.

[jayn_j]

You probably won't like hearing it, but I also expect that poster values come with an expiration date as well.

When I was a kid, lots of Dads were restoring Model T and Model A Fords.  The values of these things skyrocketed through the '80s and then crashed and crashed bad.  These days everyone wants to spend insane money on '60s musclecars.  The guys who loved the pre war Fords started dying off and the supply exceeded the demand.

Universal horror probably will never crash, but I notice that 40-50 musicals are getting more affordable these days.  Can't get my kids to watch anything black and white, or even acadamy ratio stuff is tough.

We see it now where a Titanic or Avatar poster is unrealistically priced for 6 months and then you can't give them away.  Prices will come back in 20 years, but then they will drop back 20 years later.  It is probably time to start selling off the stuff from the 60s and 70s

[Posteroid]

I don't think the absolute number of collectors will grow significantly in coming years. Older collectors will die, younger ones will join the hobby - but overall we won't see the base increasing exponentially. And I would assume that for the majority of posters from the 80s, 90s and 00s, the available number of copies is higher than for films of the 70s and older. So based on those two assumptions, the average prices for posters from the 80's onwards will always be lower than for those for the 70's and older.

Armin

[stewart boyle]

I would even argue that the drop off in quality films really happened in the mid-90s...been getting worse and worse ever since.

I used to go to movies all the damn time, now I never go.

I have always regarded 1986-1988 as the years that the movies peaked...there are some gems since but the 80`s was a time when the next Blockbuster was exactly what it says on the tin..something that will blow you away..nowadays,you still get the same claim but 95% of the time i find i leave the Auditorium thinking.."that was an utter waste of everyones time"...

Stew

[Posteroid]

Universal horror probably will never crash, but I notice that 40-50 musicals are getting more affordable these days.  Can't get my kids to watch anything black and white, or even acadamy ratio stuff is tough.

You are right and it certainly depends on the genre. I have the impression that for example collectors of classic Westerns are slowly dying out, and so are collectors of samurai dramas ("chambara") in Japan. These films are just not shown as frequently on TV anymore so the next generation has no exposure to them. Collectibles for horror, sci fi and a limited number of other films from all genres will always be popular because they will always have a following.

Armin

[Zorba]

I dont see any of it. I can make long lists of movies I love in every decade since talkies.

Now if we are talking about the posters themselves, well then, thats a different story.

Just buy what you love and you'll never be disappointed.

What he said 

[Harry Caul]

You probably won't like hearing it, but I also expect that poster values come with an expiration date as well.

When I was a kid, lots of Dads were restoring Model T and Model A Fords.  The values of these things skyrocketed through the '80s and then crashed and crashed bad.  These days everyone wants to spend insane money on '60s musclecars.  The guys who loved the pre war Fords started dying off and the supply exceeded the demand.

Universal horror probably will never crash, but I notice that 40-50 musicals are getting more affordable these days.  Can't get my kids to watch anything black and white, or even acadamy ratio stuff is tough.

We see it now where a Titanic or Avatar poster is unrealistically priced for 6 months and then you can't give them away.  Prices will come back in 20 years, but then they will drop back 20 years later.  It is probably time to start selling off the stuff from the 60s and 70s

+1  I think some of the older titles from the 30s-50s are already depreciating.  As Armin said, the total number of collectors probably won't change all that much, but younger collectors will replace older ones and they definitely have different tastes.  The 60s-70s will probably peak in the next decade as well and then decline with the baby-boomers. 

Younger collectors will be scratching their heads asking why they should pay $500 for a boring poster of some tool named Steve Mc-something-or-other in a "cardigan"--whatever the hell that is! 

[wonka]

1986-1988

That is an incredibly narrow margin.

In regards to 80s, early 90s blockbusters/huge hits you are leaving out (off the top of my head):

The Shining
Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T.
Return of the Jedi
Indy/Temple of Doom
Back to the Future
Gremlins
Ghostbusters
Goonies
The Terminator
Batman
Indy/Last Crusade
Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2
Jurassic Park
Schindler's List
Pulp Fiction
Shawshank Redemption

I am missing on some others right now, but I would stack most if not all of these against the bulk of the years you mentioned in terms of favorites, personal or otherwise.

[stewart boyle]

  would take a while.
Most of the titles you listed are as i said amongst the gems that turn up..except Shawshank..i still dont get Shawshank..or The Goonies..

Stew

[Posteroid]

I have always regarded 1986-1988 as the years that the movies peaked

For all of us, movies peaked when we were at an age to be most impressed by them (10-20 years of age I would think, it definitely was for me).
I was born in 1967 and the films I love are mainly from the late 60's, all through the 70's and into the early 80s as that was what I watched when I grew up. I find movies from the late 80's already a bit weaker although for someone born a few years later than I, they might be the greatest. I know some horror poster collectors in Japan who were born in the late 50s and consider THE EXORCIST the last great horror film, everything after that is boring to them. Understandable if you think about the age difference.

There are always exceptions of course (classic horror, sci fi and a limited number of dramas and action films) that will likely not lose their appeal. But in general I think the time during which we spend our teens forms our preference for movies and movie posters.

Armin

[erik1925]

That is an incredibly narrow margin.

In regards to 80s, early 90s blockbusters/huge hits you are leaving out (off the top of my head):

The Shining
Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T.
Return of the Jedi
Indy/Temple of Doom
Back to the Future
Gremlins
Ghostbusters
Goonies
The Terminator
Batman
Indy/Last Crusade
Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2
Jurassic Park
Schindler's List
Pulp Fiction
Shawshank Redemption

I am missing on some others right now, but I would stack most if not all of these against the bulk of the years you mentioned in terms of favorites, personal or otherwise.

Good list and as I mentioned above, there will always be the exceptions.. I don't think anyone is making an overall blanket statement (aside from T's "80s are red hot..."    ). It's also about perception and what genres are liked. Think back to the 40s and 50s when the B films (and worse), were cranked out by the studios on very low budgets and, many times, with relatively unknown casts.

Posters for many of those films can still be gotten rather inexpensively today.

However, certain genres, actors and directors (including those from the early decades) will always command better prices, as they will remain collectible. IMO, I dont think posters from titles like GWTW, WIZARD OF OZ, CASABLANCA, early animated Disney or Universal horror (just to name a few random examples) will ever be tumble drastically in price.

[Disheveledamethyst]

Anybody claiming that movies peaked and have been on a decline since the 80s really needs to shake off the nostalgia. I mean, really. There are great movies every year, including successfully franchised films like your beloved Indys and BTTFs. Are you forgetting The Lord of the Rings and Nolan's Batman movies so quickly? Even Pirates of the Caribbean?

These movies are all in the same boat. The only difference is you're not 16 anymore.

I have to agree whole heartedly that all movie memorabilia comes with an expiration date. Unless the movie was a landmark of the genre or medium (Toy Story is all that comes to mind), its value will diminish rapidly with its popularity. No movie is popular forever, no matter how good it is.

[guest8]

Even the greats are subject to what people are exposed to and what they like.. I had exposure to the classic monster movies .. So IMO the universal monsters will continue to thrive .. But GWTW and Casablanca are already forgotten to me .. For soem odd reason I remember watching  Wizard of Oz and having seen the Broadway show Wicked I have a soft spot for it and see it maintaining for a little while longer .. Now the true trick is trying to guess how many people think more like me or more like ... someone else ...

[Zorba]

For all of us, movies peaked when we were at an age to be most impressed by them

Bingo!

[stewart boyle]

Bingo!

Agreed,
Anthony,anyone can pick out examples of great movies since 1988 or before,i did not say that all movies since 1988 are sh*t...neither have i said that all movies before 1986 are sh*t.
In 20 years time you will be sick to the stomach of how many times you have basicallly paid good money to watch the same formula film over and over and over.

 
Stew

[jayn_j]

In 20 years time you will be sick to the stomach of how many times you have basicallly paid good money to watch the same formula film over and over and over.

Unfortunately, any innovative movie basically becomes the "formula flick of the future"

Show Psycho to a young person and watch him yawn.  Been there, seen it a million times.

[Disheveledamethyst]

Unfortunately, any innovative movie basically becomes the "formula flick of the future"

Show Psycho to a young person and watch him yawn.  Been there, seen it a million times.

This.

And my only advice about paying for a movie you that turned out a waste of your time: Don't see it. The internet is a wonderful tool. There's no reason you should ever not know what you're getting into.

[stewart boyle]

Unfortunately, any innovative movie basically becomes the "formula flick of the future"

Absolutely,jayn,18 screens,5 times a day, seven days a week,..eventually you`ve seen it all.
Stew

[erik1925]

Anybody claiming that movies peaked and have been on a decline since the 80s really needs to shake off the nostalgia. I mean, really. There are great movies every year, including successfully franchised films like your beloved Indys and BTTFs. Are you forgetting The Lord of the Rings and Nolan's Batman movies so quickly? Even Pirates of the Caribbean?

These movies are all in the same boat. The only difference is you're not 16 anymore.

I have to agree whole heartedly that all movie memorabilia comes with an expiration date. Unless the movie was a landmark of the genre or medium (Toy Story is all that comes to mind), its value will diminish rapidly with its popularity. No movie is popular forever, no matter how good it is.

Many were not making blanket statements about the films of the 80's ( or any decade) as each has had and will have some gleaming gems, in amongst the piles of coal. And because film is SO subjective to personal opinion, you will certainly find people out there that have found (or will find) some of your examples as mediocre. It just happens-- whether it be film or any other art form.

Few are the examples that will transcend time.. Those that do have become (or will become) the classics. But with so much dreck being quickly churned out today, the gems (sometimes smaller, indy films) can get lost in the quagmire.

And there is certainly no question that some of the worst films ever can be made to look exceedingly good, in well edited trailers. 

And as far as no movie being popular forever (a rather broad term).. i disagree.  One only need mention a film like THE WIZARD OF OZ-- 70+ years old, still going strong and instantly recognized by toddlers today and loved by most who have experienced it, time after time, to show that some films will remain very much, the cream of the crop. 

[oldposterho]

I do declare, this thread is giving me the vapors.  Where are my smelling salts?

Any poster definitely has an expiration date.  I'd hate to be holding deep Shirley Temple, Errol Flynn, or Clark Gable right now.  On the upside, these are wonderful times to be pushing your collection into out-of-fashion decades as quality material can be had at previously unthinkable prices.  It boggles my mind sometimes to see some quality piece from the '20s - '50s go for less than some flash in the pan from 5 years ago.  Don't worry though, it'll happen to your Ferris Bueler poster too.  As noted philosopher, N. Muntz so eloquently put it, "Haw haw."

And you kids keep offa my lawn.

--Peter

[erik1925]

I do declare, this thread is giving me the vapors.  Where are my smelling salts?

Any poster definitely has an expiration date.  I'd hate to be holding deep Shirley Temple, Errol Flynn, or Clark Gable right now.  On the upside, these are wonderful times to be pushing your collection into out-of-fashion decades as quality material can be had at previously unthinkable prices.  It boggles my mind sometimes to see some quality piece from the '20s - '50s go for less than some flash in the pan from 5 years ago.  Don't worry though, it'll happen to your Ferris Bueler poster too.  As noted philosopher, N. Muntz so eloquently put it, "Haw haw."

And you kids keep offa my lawn.

--Peter

Fiddle-di-di...   

[110x75]

I do declare, this thread is giving me the vapors.  Where are my smelling salts?

On the upside, these are wonderful times to be pushing your collection into out-of-fashion decades as quality material can be had at previously unthinkable prices.  It boggles my mind sometimes to see some quality piece from the '20s - '50s go for less than some flash in the pan from 5 years ago.  

Cheers to that