Movie Posters and VHS Covers-A Lost Artform...

Many of you may remember those glorious days in the late 80's and early 90's when one could walk through a Blockbuster or mom n' pop video store and be engulfed in mysterious and mind tingling, VHS box cover artwork. That faint smell of rotting cardboard still gives me a warm feeling inside. Today, however we are being bombarded by the worst movie posters and DVD covers one could ever imagine. Instead of the beautiful paintings of yesteryear, now some idiot on photoshop vomits up a turd with some movie stills and calls it a day. Here's a perfect example, take a look at the fine detail and beautiful work put into the poster for the film Excalibur:

And now take a look at the dvd cover:

What on earth was the studio thinking? I would fire someone if they handed that into me as a final product. It just looks terrible!  Did they hire some homeless guy off the street and say, "Here, fuck up this great poster with some shitty photos..." Are the suits running the studios really this idiotic? Let's see some more examples...

Okay, this is so much more amazing to look at than this...

Here we have a piece from painter Matthew Peak, who did posters for the first six "Nightmare on Elm Street" films, his artwork was surreal and visually stunning:

 From that to this...

I'm trying to figure out why studios are marketing movies like this now. Do they really think that a painting can't sell a movie? I mean movie poster paintings have been around since film began and now it's been abandoned for photoshopped portraits. I miss the days when you could really see artwork shrouding a motion pictures exterior...

Here's a great website that has numerous original VHS box cover art: 

http://www.critcononline.com/video_companies_cover_art.htm

Be careful, you'll spend hours on it... It's mind blowing!

IRONHORSE DVD NOW AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM

Product Description

Take a trip into the delirious world of IRONHORSE, a horror/musical unlike anything you've ever seen before. When a mad scientist creates a formula
that brings in-animate objects to life, two artists use it to bring their most wild creations into the real world. Unfortunately there are dire consequences for these two as their creations turn into murderous beasts, destroying everyone in their path.
Featuring amazing special effects, IRONHORSE
is a visual feast for the eyes you won't soon forget. Starring adult superstar Brittany O'Neil,
Carl Crew (Blood Diner, Dahmer:The Secret Life) and Eric Lutes (Caroline in the City, Bram Stoker's the Mummy).

Special Features Include:
The Making of IRONHORSE
Trailer
The Lightbulb Factory (cartoon short)

REVIEWS

"A strange blend of David Lynch, Jan Svankmajer, and J. Michael Muro (and yet somehow more demented than all of them), Chris Miller has established himself as a filmmaker to watch."
-Nathaniel Bell (Daily News Film Critic)

"Ironhorse is a pleasure to watch...a film not only mad, but deluded and wonderfully satisfying."
-Michael Wheeler (Reevue film critic)

"A weird and lively piece of work."
-Jim Woodring (creator of the FRANK comics)
OWN IT TODAY!