Author Topic: Criteria  (Read 2643 times)

Offline ChromaticAberration

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Criteria
« on: February 05, 2021, 07:04:52 PM »
Many constraining factors may come into place when any type of collecting takes place, money or logistics are the obvious ones, thus for most people I guess some type of criteria must com into place when deciding to pull the trigger on the next item.

Personally I favor good movies... I know, I know, 'good' is purely subjective, I mean, movies that I find good, really good or movies that I realize are not THAT good but still never fail to entertain me. On the other hand, only very rarely will I own a poster I am not fond of in terms of the composition, the artwork, the overall aesthetics I guess.

Having been born in the mid 80's I am mostly drawn to movies of the 90's onwards but as I started enjoying the seventh art more and more, movies from the 70's and 80's quickly climbed my preferences ladder.

Anyway, do you guys have any kind of criteria?

Offline bigmike

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2021, 10:18:57 PM »
I’ll buy what I like, whether it be the movies or the art on the poster. But most of the time, I will like the movie.
The only criteria for me: obviously no reprints.. But will not buy a poster that has a ‘signature’ or ‘autograph’ on it.

Online eatbrie

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2021, 11:41:57 PM »
I have so many criterias.

First and foremost, I must have seen the movie.  That's a prerequisite.  Movie and poster go hand in hand for me, so if I haven't seen a movie, its poster has zero relevance, regardless of its art or significance in cinema history.

I have a few sub-collections and I will go to no end to complete them.  It means that I will sometimes buy a poster from a movie I do not like just to fill a hole in a particular collection.  Take Bardot for example, as much as I love her and believe in her cultural significance, she did make a bunch of clunkers.  It doesn't matter to me, I must own them all, regardless of price.

I have a thing for condition.  I want anything post 1980 to be in mint condition.  Period.  Anything older, I'll accept small damages.  Lobby card sets must be complete and without pinholes.

I hate linenbacked posters and will go to no end to find a folded copy.  I will only accept linenbacking if I know I cannot find a poster otherwise, or if a damaged one I own will not be found again and is at risk of more deterioration.

And like bigmike, no autographs of any kind (they're ALL fake) and obviously no reprints.

That's it.  I'm pretty easy going otherwise hahaha  Ask my kids.

T

« Last Edit: February 05, 2021, 11:46:23 PM by eatbrie »
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Online Antoine1973

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2021, 01:03:33 AM »
I try to have seen the movie too, but that's not a hard rule.  In the past, I have bought posters for some obscure films that I then made a point of tracking down and watch.  This is actually part of the fun for me: discovering new movies after I came across their posters.  I would estimate that I've seen about 90% of the films that I own posters for.   

While I tend to gravitate towards posters of films that I like, I don't particularly worry about the movie in question being "good": many terrible movies (particularly 1950s B-movies) have fantastic poster art, while I can think of a few classics with less-than-inspired artwork that I personally wouldn't touch.  I'm much more interested in the visual appeal of the artwork than the actual quality of the movie in question.

I mostly collect larger sizes (US one-sheet, 3-sheet and 6-sheet, French 47x63 and up, Italian 2F and 4F, UK quads), as I'm not interested in US inserts, lobby cards, window cards, etc...  Once in a blue moon I will buy a half-sheet if the design is different/more interesting than the one-sheet, but I typically don't seek out those very much.   

My other general criteria is the time period: I mostly collect paper from the 1930s all the way up to the mid-1980s, with a big focus on the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.  I was born in the 1970s but somehow I'm much more drawn to movies from earlier decades, go figure!  I really don't care for any of the modern posters aside from a few rare exceptions.

Since I'm interested in earlier periods, I'm quite flexible about condition, as it can be difficult to find an 80 or 70 year-old poster in pristine state (this is particularly true of the lesser quality of Italian paper, which tends to be especially brittle).  I actually don't mind a bit of wear and tear, as to me that's part of the poster's history. 

Like Thierry, I really much prefer a folded copy and will only reluctantly buy a linenbacked poster if I really can't find an unrestored example otherwise.  Although I have relented in recent years and have started to acquire more linenbacked examples, I have done so for large format only, and as a result I don't own a single one-sheet that's not folded.  I can get behind the concept of linenbacking in those cases, as it is convenient to have a poster that was printed in 2 or more separate pieces held together by one single support (particularly in the case of those pesky old Italian 4F and their brittle fold lines!).   

Online eatbrie

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2021, 11:05:17 PM »
90% is good.  So what happens if you buy a poster for, let's say $3,000, because you like the artwork, but you've never seen the movie, and once you see it, you realize it's shit, what then?

This is why I can't do it.  I just can't take the risk.

T
My Personal Collection


- I wish to thank all APF members for being part of the World's Largest Social Gathering of Movie Poster Collectors
- "Wishing you the best of luck with All Poster Forum and in encouraging others to appreciate the magical art of film posters" - Martin Scorsese (2009)

Offline DekeThornton

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2021, 12:49:59 AM »
I am pretty sure this movie is shit. And I will never see it.

This is still indisputably a $1,000+ poster.


Offline ChromaticAberration

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2021, 09:02:04 AM »
Personally I am not the kind of "collector" that would pay such sums of money for a sheet of paper, either it be a movie poster or the declaration of independence, hence It would be very hard for me to get my hear around that rationale.

The thing is, at least for me, if I am collecting MOVIE posters, the movie of the poster will always be part of the deal, but then again, tastes are purely subjective, I am getting to an age where I find difficult to "invest" (*cough* waste! *cough*) +2h of my life watching, let's say, a superhero movie, very few make the cut because they are all about full on action sequences to an extent I get rapidly fed up with. BUT, some of the posters for those movies I find quite nice, for example:


I do not own this poster, I have not seen the movie and probably never will because reviews are bad enough that it is not even one of the better superhero movies, I won't waste my time.
Still the thematic evoked by the minimalistic presentation does catch my eye... It is not a poster I would refuse getting if it came my way at a price I found to be reasonable.

Online Antoine1973

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2021, 10:32:07 AM »
Thierry, as I mentioned, the actual quality of the movie isn't a big factor for me, as I'm mostly drawn to the graphic quality of the artwork on the poster.  That's why I have no problem shelling what most people would think is too much on a piece of paper for an absolute stinker of a movie such as Invasion of the Saucer-Men or Captive Wild Woman.  Both are for movies I eventually watched long after having acquired the posters, knowing full well that the films they were advertising were quite terrible, yet I never felt an ounce of regret for either purchase even after I got confirmation of their abysmal quality upon viewing them. 

I don't collect modern posters, but I agree that the example shown below for X-Men: Apocalypse is a good illustration of the same principle of a good graphic image used to promote a bad movie, so I could see why someone would want to purchase it regardless of their feeling for that shitty film.  On the other hand, I would never be tempted to acquire posters for movies that I do love if I find their visual appeal lacking.  It's all subjective of course, but that approach seems to be working for me.




Offline ChromaticAberration

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2021, 10:40:27 AM »
I also forgot the "type of poster" appeal, which seems to be a more recent trend, maybe only from the 90's, which are teaser/advance posters. Graphically-wise they are always more minimalistic, many times purely to induce a certain suggestion, they barely if at all mention names, maybe sometimes only the director in order to ramp up the hype to some hardcore fans he might have but all and all that ends up, at least to me, as being a more artsy way of looking at it.

An example from a recent movie:


Many times I find teaser posters to best released for the movie and some of my favourite.

Offline Neo

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2021, 02:26:56 PM »
I'm more on the side with the folks who really like the films.  Some of my favorite posters I was lucky to acquire for relatively very little $, and they're mostly my "5 star" posters because they're from my favorite films.  As beauteous as "Zona Roja," etc. are, I probably wouldn't purchase them because to me collecting movie posters is more about the movie.

Rarity is an important factor for me.  If something is widely available, it's not as "valuable" in my opinion; value in a broader sense of the definition - not only in the sense of monetary value, and of course that is another topic.

Offline DekeThornton

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2021, 03:32:35 PM »
I definitely understand the whole connection to the film thing.

And my posting of Zona Roja is mostly tongue-in-cheek.

I wouldn't buy a poster simply because the broader market perceived it as valuable or it was considered a "must have" poster or whatever.

But for myself, my collecting habits for my Mexican movie poster collection have evolved to be artist-centric rather than film-centric.

I like the style of Rafael López Castro, the artist for the Zona Roja poster. And many of his other posters can be found for $20-$50. Similarly for my collections of posters by Ernesto Garcia Cabral, Josep Renau, etc: I've enjoyed collecting the posters, learning about the artists themselves and the artistic movements they were parts of, and learning about (and collecting some of) their non-movie poster work like fine art, political cartoons, and other commercial and illustration art.

Offline ealingmovieposters

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2021, 05:53:20 PM »
Deke,

You and I are on the same page, I got this piece of art recently after much research.

This isn't the image of my fine example, this is one a retailer is selling linen backed for $350. Let me know if you want the link to grab it. or I can trade you mine ;)




Regards

Ian
« Last Edit: February 08, 2021, 06:00:42 PM by ealingmovieposters »
Regards

Ian

Offline Tang Lung in Rome

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2021, 09:24:08 PM »
"no autographs of any kind (they're ALL fake)"

No , they are not......but if you dont do research prior to purchase then you can be burned yes , esp with high value signatures. Also people take JSA , PSA & Beckett for the gospel truth and you might as well ask people online re : authenticity as they might have more knowledge/time than the authenticators
« Last Edit: February 15, 2021, 09:26:02 PM by Tang Lung in Rome »

Offline okiehawker

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Re: Criteria
« Reply #13 on: February 19, 2021, 11:47:12 PM »
I have to like the image/art.  Some stone lithos are just so beautiful, though the movie may not: stand the test of time; exist; been good to start with; and/or exist in bad quality. I buy what I find beautiful and/or striking regardless of the movie. That being said, liking the movie is a bonus. Okie