24X36 A Movie About Movie Posters (2016)

The new documentary “24X36: A Movie About Movie Posters” explores some of the world’s best visual art, and IndieWire is exploring this craft by presenting some of the film’s finest posters. Be it daring original work from some of film history’s most sought-after artists, or bold new voices reenvisioning films for Mondo, these dynamic images leap off the page. Check out some of the key poster art through the years in this gallery, alongside quotes from the documentary that contextualize these brilliant artists.

Editor’s Note: This article is presented in partnership with Tribeca Shortlist, the streaming movie service that offers a curated collection of Hollywood and indie films. Click here to watch “24X36: A Movie About Movie Posters,” now streaming exclusively on Tribeca Shortlist.

“House on Haunted Hill” by Reynold Brown

“Prior to about 1965 they never really gave the artists credit for their work. Probably the most famous non-acclaimed artists was Reynold Brown who did most of the fantastic horror sci-fi stuff from the 50s. They have become some of the most sought-after pieces from that time period. He never really got the credit he should have gotten for his amazing artwork.” – Mike Orlando, Owner of Hollywood Canteen, Toronto

“This Island Earth” by Reynold Brown

“Creature from the Black Lagoon” by Reynold Brown

“Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman” by Reynold Brown

“Tarantula” by Reynold Brown

“The Sting” by Richard Amsel

“That he was able to not only achieve success but do such stunning work when he was barely in his 20s, he’d achieved more than most artists could ever aspire to. With Richard Amsel, to look at his work, you know that it’s the end product of someone taking pencil and pen and brush to paper and making magic.” – Adam McDaniel, Artist

“Flash Gordon” by Richard Amsel

“Max Max Beyond Thunderdome” by Richard Amsel

“The Dark Crystal” by Richard Amsel

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” by Richard Amsel

Roger Kastel with his work

“I went to the Museum of Natural History where I had done a lot of research for other things. And they had a shark exhibit. It was lunch time and there was no one working in there and I had my camera with me. And I took a picture of the great white body, the biggest teeth I could find and made it a combination of those.” – Roger Kastel on his iconic “Jaws” poster illustration

“Jaws” by Roger Kastel

“The Empire Strikes Back” by Roger Kastel

“My Fair Lady” by Bob Peak

“Bob Peak at the time was the premiere movie poster artist, one-sheet artist. With work like ‘Camelot’ and ‘My Fair Lady,’ he was blowing everyone’s minds. He was changing motion picture one-sheet art forever. So we all aspired to be like him.” – William Stout, Movie Poster Artist

“Star Trek” by Bob Peak

“Rollerball” by Bob Peak

“Superman” by Bob Peak

“Apocalypse Now” by Bob Peak

“Blade Runner” by John Alvin

“So, with the ‘Blade Runner,’ I remember he told me about how he sat in on one of the meetings and John was inspired by the architecture. To him it felt like it was another character in the movie and if he was going to do the poster he needed for the architecture to be represented. And it just struck a nerve with Ridley Scott and that’s how John wound up getting to do the poster.” – Leslie Combemale, Owner of ArtInsights Gallery, Reston VA

“Young Frankenstein” by John Alvin

“Arachnophobia” by John Alvin

“Gremlins” by John Alvin

“E.T.” by John Alvin

“Vertigo” by Gary Pullin for Mondo

“It’s affordable art. You know, not everyone can afford a painting, but if you can get a cool, screenprinted version of that painting, yeah, why wouldn’t you want to have that?” – Gary Pullin, on collecting screenprints

“The Babadook” by Gary Pullin for Mondo

“Teen Wolf” by Gary Pullin for Skuzzles

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” by Jason Edmiston for Grey Matter Art

“I build the colors in layers, and each layer is stacked on top of one another – sometimes opaquely and sometimes transparently. Like if you were to paint each color on a piece of glass to kind of stack it up to create one painting when it’s flattened together.” – Jason Edmiston, on designing paintings for the screenprinting process

“The Hateful Eight” by Jason Edmiston for Mondo

“Rocky IV” by Jason Edmiston for Skuzzles

“An American Werewolf in London” by Matt Ryan Tobin for Mondo

“It’s tangible, you know. You can feel the work in it. Picking it up you can feel that card stock and feel the ink. It’s handmade so there are going to be imperfections, but there’s a charm to that.” – Matt Ryan Tobin on screenprinted movie posters

“Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey” by Matt Ryan Tobin for Skuzzles

“Godzilla” by Phantom City Creative for Mondo

“We’ve won a few Key Art Awards, which are like the Oscars of movie marketing. And in LA we got the chance to visit a lot of the poster production houses, and they’re just like us – they want to create really great posters, but sometimes their hands are tied.” – Justin Erickson on studio movie poster producers

“Deadpool” by Phantom City Creative for Mondo