24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 22, 2018

If movies offer an escape into another world, then movie posters are the doorways to those worlds. Often before buying a ticket, settling into a seat, watching a barrage of obnoxious advertisements (remember back in the day when it was just a blank screen until the trailers?), viewing the latest trailers, and finally reaching the endpoint that is the beginning of the film, posters are what one often sees first when going into the theater. Exterior walls are usually lined with them, previewing coming attractions that used to be, for many, the first announcement of a new film, a rush of adrenaline that largely dissipated with the proliferation of all things movie related on the Internet and digital reveals on Twitter or Instagram or wherever. Posters have become less relevant in a way, particularly since so many are more concerned with identifying actors rather than telling a story. The now offer fewer, if any, opportunities for an artist to sell a movie and more opportunities for moviegoers to make sure they know whose face they will see on the screen. But as Director Kevin Burke's 24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters reveals, there's a resurgence of nostalgia for handmade movie art that has become big business and made household names of some of the most popular alternative artists working today.

The film opens with a passionate nostalgic retrospective on yesteryear’s movie poster art. A number of individuals -- filmmakers, collectors, resellers, artists -- share how vintage, often larger-than-life movie artwork influenced their moviegoing habits but also helped fashion their passion for both cinema and the art promoting cinema. The film delves into the history of poster printing, poster creation and evolution over the decades (including hand-drawn art, the universally loathed “floating heads” and photo-based image era that is still hanging on today, the computer revolution, and modern “Mondo” and “Screen Printing” techniques). The film keys in on various vintage artists (Bob Peak, John Alvin, Roger Kastel, Richard Amsel, Drew Struzan) while also giving ample screen time to many of the new wave artists working today in the aforementioned Mondo and Screen Print fields. The film also explores the business of the movie poster including reselling, licensing, and legalities.

The film is, of course, filled with examples of the amazing, and sometimes not-so-amazing, poster artwork that has graced, and in many ways defined, cinema's landscape through the medium's history, dating back to iconic images emblazoned into the minds of every film fan -- Gone with the Wind, Vertigo (this Blu-ray is a great example of a classic image largely done away with for the modern style), Apocalypse Now, and Jaws -- while pointing out some of the worst examples of the "floating heads" era (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer). The film spends most of its second half exploring the new wave of movie image artwork that is becoming increasingly popular with movie fans and art collectors and is even beginning to be sold as alternative artwork on home video packaging.

But 24x36 isn't just an image gallery. It's a fluid, well-versed film that blends history with passion, interviewing those who cherish the vintage works; those who can be credited with helping to create today's resurgence in more personal, organic, originally conceived movie art; and, yes, trashing the unimaginative corporate-dictated, bottom-line influenced Photoshop and "floating heads" trend that took off in the 1990s, a trend from which the studios have yet to fully retreat. The film dabbles in the story behind some of the most iconic images but is mostly concerned with introducing audiences to those new-wave artists and the gorgeous, creative, and oftentimes vastly superior (particularly considering newer films) or complimentary (particularly considering older films with well-established original artwork) art they make. It's interesting to listen to each artist, to hear how they became interested in the medium, to feel the joys they find in their work, and to understand the challenges they face beyond the canvas. Burke has made the film as much a human interest story as it is an exploration of a subject. It's a high quality work that every movie fan needs to see.

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The image is proficient overall but lacking much character or true visual excellence. Core textural qualities are fine, with various interviewees appearing nicely detailed and revealing adequately complex skin and clothing textures. Background environments are sharp, with enough detail to identify individual books, posters, and various textures on walls and furniture. Colors are suitably strong, with enough core vibrancy and stability on display. Noise and banding occasionally interfere and spike to severity in a few scenes to become a distraction. For the style of movie and focus more on subject than technical prowess, the Blu-ray's presentation is just fine beyond those few unsightly bursts of noise and banding.

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters features a pair of Dolby Digital tracks, one of the 2.0 variety and one of the 5.1 variety. The 5.1 track delivers a capable, albeit essentials-only, listen. The film is predominately constructed of interview snippets, which can be a little tonally uneven, with some sounding clear and lifelike, others hollow and tinny and with one or two examples of underlying hiss. There is some musical drift into the rears, which is gentle and subtle, but music, often a bit shallow and never much of a competition to the dominant dialogue, delivers adequate clarity.

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters contains additional interviews and a trailer. A high resolution poster image gallery would have been a logical supplement; it's a shame FilmRise didn't, or couldn't, work that in. No DVD or digital versions are included.

• Additional Interviews (1080p, 30:13): essentially a collection of deleted scenes that further develop the stories of some of the artists working today. There are some excellent poster images here that are missing from the final film as well.
• Official Trailer (1080p, 1:52).

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

24x36: A Movie About Movie Posters is a top-end Documentary, one aimed at film fans but it's also a fascinating account of cultural shifts and expectations. One of the movie's most fascinating scenes comes towards the end when viewers are privy to a focus group that is discussing the pros and cons of two posters, one more representative of the stale flavor favored by today's Hollywood marketing machine and a more vintage, hand-drawn artwork. The scene is revealing in how response has been shaped by the prevailing winds of recent years but also shows hope for more dynamic imagery in the future. The film is a rousing success and an engaging watch, particularly for cinema aficionados. FilmRise's Blu-ray release delivers decent video and audio and about half-an-hour's worth of, essentially, deleted scenes. Highly recommended.