James Bond: 50 Years Of Movie Posters Review

• 27th Nov 2012

DK get in on 50 years of bond with this heavy, must have collection. Over 300 pages of original and varied designs if bond posters for all 23 official (and also the two unofficial) Bond films that have been released since 1962.

This hardback book comes encased in a thick cardboard outer shell offering extra protection. The book itself is littered with some immaculate designs from varied artists over five decades. Te introduction is by current Bond production designer Dennis Gassner. The book is them quite simply split into chapters by film in chronological order. As well as the main designs commonly associated with each film there is introduction text with commentary on the designs and usually a slew of cinema art cards, disused alternatives and world wide variations on each design: Pretty much all you need to get a good grasp of what was used at that specific time for each film.

Lucky buyers are also treated to a couple of large pull out art cards.

If there is one area left out then it is probably the modern redesigns for each film for the home entertainment release (but considering most of these aren’t very good, we suspect no one will be complaining). But perhaps even a page or two on how the films have been packaged for home entertainment might have been an interesting extra peek. But for the large part this is about the cinematic experience.

The accompanying text is kept to the minimum letting the artwork speak for itself. There is also the index of artists at the back which is handy for anyone wanting to do their research on the people responsible for the visuals.

DK have put together the best book on Bond Posters to date. Designs that never die.

www.dk.com

Steven Hurst