Question about Japanese Chirashi posters...

[Harry Caul]

I'm thinking about using a bunch of these for a collage section on my media room wall.  The idea was to use wall-paper paste and basically 'wild' them right to the wall. 

Can someone with experience tell me how thick the paper is?  I assume this will only work if the paper is thin enough to become saturated with the paste.  If they are on cardstock I'll probably have to come up with something else for the space...

Note: I would never do this with regular posters of course, as it will surely ruin their value.  However, Chirashi's seem to be on the extreme opposite end of the collectibility spectrum, just under Mexican lobby cards and maybe a touch above 11x17 modern US handouts!  There are TONS of Chirashi titles available (new and old) in large quantities for just a few bucks a piece.  Does anyone know why they are shunned so much? 

No offense to those who collect them of course... They usually have the same beautiful artwork as their larger counterparts, many of which are out of reach for collectors due to cost and/or rarity considerations.

Thanks in advance!

[ddilts399]

They are printed on poster stock. They are heavily collected in the Japanese market and sometime can bring quite a bit of money.

New ones are shunned because there are tons of them available and they are free. Kind of like the 11x17 here in the states that ship in lots of 100 at a time to a single theater.

[Harry Caul]

Thanks for the quick reply!  Looks like I may go ahead and give it a shot.  I can get about 25 for $100 so I won't be out too much money if the don't work with wall-paper paste. 

[Carson]

It's a fun idea. Lots of fun. Ask kovacs about a Chirashi/B2 plastered restaurant in Japan. You have to see the pics to believe it.

[Harry Caul]

That restaurant sounds awesome... I would love to see pictures of it.  I think what originally inspired me was a combination of A) the Chungking Express HK poster, B) the general idea of a wilding wall/building like you'd see in NYC and C) a collage wall that Dario posted photos of once upon a time on MPF.  I think it was in a bar and done with scraps from his restoration business.  It looked amazing of course.

I would basically be trying to replicate that to some effect, but I'll line up the corners of the chirashi posters (not a true, multiple-layer wilding) to make a vertical stripe with them (3-wide x 9-tall).  Then again, I would like to avoid ruining my new drywall in the process!  That is why I was thinking of using wall paper paste as I'm pretty sure it is removable/reversible if we ever sell. 

Who knows, it could look awesome or it could be a total disaster!  I'm usually game for these type of things, though, so I guess we'll see

[holiday]

It's a fun idea. Lots of fun. Ask kovacs about a Chirashi/B2 plastered restaurant in Japan. You have to see the pics to believe it.

I'd  love to see some pics of that.

[kovacs01]

I will post some pics of it this weekend.  Its the same place that has urethane covered Leone B0's and others plastered to the outside wall.

[supraman079]

Yeah, those Leone B0's were amazing! And Holiday, I'm pretty sure you saw them a year or two ago when he posted them up on another forum. You probably just don't remember. Either way, we need them posted on this forum too Schan.

Chad

[Harry Caul]

That is definitely the collage I was talking about!  Isn't that incredible?!

That's a good question about Dario... I don't see 'vintagemoviearts' as a registered user.  Has anyone invited him here yet?  He must know about APF from NSFGE, no?

[Harry Caul]

So, my Chirashi posters arrived from Japan last week... I was supposed to leave for Mardi Gras on Saturday early morning but all flights into and out of Atlanta were canceled due to the weather.  I still made it to Mardi Gras on Sunday (and am still recovering), but I was able to spend Saturday putting up my mini-wilding wall.

I love to hear what people think...


Just after I finished




Close-up of bottom section




Close-up of middle




Close-up of top




Couch back in place 1




Couch back in place 2




I think it turned out pretty good and the mix of colors was better than I expected.  The wallpaper paste was surprisingly easy once my wife and I got into a rhythm. It really lets my projector blend into the environment more... you hardly notice it now.

When I get my last few posters up I'll take some pictures of the complete room.  Pretty much everything on the walls are movie related.  I'm still waiting on a 1/2 sheet that will go above Le Samourai, something horizontal to go under Grande Illusion (maybe a small Belgian) and something BIG to the left of the Chirashi.  I have my L'Avventura on the other side of the room so I was thinking of putting up my R51 Belle et la Bete to balance it.  It will just barely fit in that space.

More pictures to follow when I make some more progress...

[brude]

Outstanding use of the chirashi, Harry. They really work nicely with your framed pieces. Look forward to the addition of the Belle et la Bete.

[supraman079]

Great job Harry. I like it.

[linder1]

What's the pink poster with the office girl on her knees?

[Harry Caul]

Thanks for all the kind comments everyone.  It was really pretty easy... I just got a bottle of something like this from Home Depot.  It is meant for wallpaper borders/edging, but the built-in roller worked great. 



And actually, I think it looks better than the pictures can convey.  After putting paste on the back, I kind of buffed out the front of the poster with a dry towel so it really stuck down well.  That allowed poster to take on the texture of the wall and really look like part of it, not just sitting on it if that makes any sense.  This picture might show it better than I can explain it...




True wilding-style, not just more pictures on wall (which there are many).  Now, if you do them crooked or overlap them it might look even better depending on what you are going for...

Be warned, some of the posters were thicker and not as glossy (Kill Bill, for instance)... those didn't adhere in the same way.  They still look good (and I would use them again), but I think the glossy thin-stock ones turned out best.  Also, be careful when you are buffing them down as paste will come out the sides.  Wipe off excess and then clean off the front of the poster with a wet sponge (and the adjoining poster you just slobbered all over).  If you don't most of the poster will look glossy and nice but the borders will be all snotted up.  I also started with a painters tape stripe along the right side so I would get a straight line and to keep excess paste off the wall.  However, when I got the left side I just lined them up with the others.  It turned out ok so long as you wipe the excess glue off your wall/paint as well.  Any more questions...  just let me know. 

It really did turn out nice though... I often walk by and stop, wishing I did the whole wall!  That would have cost a fortune though as these 29 cost me $100 shipped from Japan.  Definitely worth it if you want a really cool accent though...

[Harry Caul]

Any chance we could get a look at the other framed pieces, Mr. C? Samurai and La Grande Illusion look great. The Persepolis art is my favorite; great selection of Charishi.

In due time... still waiting to get a few more up before I take everyone on the tour.

[linder1]

The Secretary

I've never seen it aside from Charishi, myself.

Another one for my list...  thanks Carson.

Anyone have a better picture of the chirashi (i.e., without equipment in the way)?

[Carson]

I dig it, Harry. In home "Wilding style" posters have got to be one of the greatest Ideas ever. Inexpensive and fun. I see what you mean regarding making the paper part of the wall instead of "on the wall".

Here you go, Erich. If you ever find one send up a flare. It's a real ghost. The only non-charishi I've ever seen is a singular example of the tri-color B2 below.

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

More pictures to follow when I make some more progress...

Great stuff Harry - the archetype of awesomeness!

[erik1925]

Are chirashis seen in the same collectible light as other JP paper to any degree? Or are they produced in such massive quantities as to be seen or viewed more as just "giveaway" items (let alone the B5 size)?

[guest4754]

I'm far from the authority on the subject but my guess is they're more  of giveaway items. i got a japanese poster not too long ago and the dealer threw in 5 or so chirashis for free. it does seem some people like to collect them though so i don't really know.

[Posteroid]

Chirashi are the most widely collected movie paper in Japan (due to their size).
How expensive they are really depends on the title and the rarity. The chirashi for PLANET OF THE APES or A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS cost many times the price of the B2 poster or even the tatekan. Sometimes cinemas printed their own chirashi which makes them particularly collectible.

Even newer chirashi can be expensive if they are from a special screening where only a few chirashi were available. When MATINEE premiered in Japan for example, a special chirashi was created for the film MANT which is featured in MATINEE. That chirashi costs way over $100 and is very sought after.

The titles that are offered on ebay are not valuable. The sellers from Japan know very well that collectors from the US or Europe would not pay the high prices that the really expensive stuff is worth locally.

Armin

[erik1925]

Thanks for the info and perspectives, e & Armin.

I figured, in general, they were more giveaway kind of items, (with exceptions, too).

Armin, can I ask why a Planet of the Apes chirashi (and i'm assuming you mean from the original Heston /McDowell version) would go for many times more than a B2?

[eatbrie]

I probably have a pile of 1,500-2,000 of them.  Never paid much attention to them.  Whenever I get a poster from Japan, B2 or B1, I get 3 or 4 of those.  I just stack them up for no particular reason.  They are worthless, but I'm a collector.

T

[Posteroid]

Armin, can I ask why a Planet of the Apes chirashi (and i'm assuming you mean from the original Heston /McDowell version) would go for many times more than a B2?

Supply and demand I believe. There are many chirashi collectors and that title is popular. PLANET OF THE APES chirashi usually go for $800-$1.000.
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS is around $2.000.

Armin

[erik1925]

WOW...  

thanks for the APES and DOLLARS info, Armin.

Jeff