24 x 36: A Movie About Movie Posters

 



Director - Kevin Burke
Starring - Paul Ainsworth, Dave Alexander (Fury of the Demon, Untold Horror), and Andrea Alvin (John Alvin Neon Tribute, Amsel: Illustrator of the Lost Art)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Documentary
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

     I'm a movie collector and have been for well over 20 years.  I started with VHS but when I was in college my drug addled sister stole my collection and sold it so I was forced to start over.  It was mid-2000s so VHS was already obsolete and DVDs took their place.  I didn't mind.  I just wanted the movies.  Over time I started collecting some novelty items like board games, toys, posters, and props.  Sadly, my collection of movies has grew to the point to where I can no longer collect other items because I've ran out of room for my movies.  I get collecting and I completely understand why someone feels the need to.  I've always respected collectors but there is a group of people that often leaves me baffled and that's the movie poster collectors.  Most of these collectors are obsessed with poster manufacturers and artist.  They collect anything they print regardless if they have seen the film or not.  This obsession is featured in the 2016 documentary 24 x 36: A Movie About Movie Posters.  I was recently send the film to review on DVD and did not know what to expect. 

     The documentary starts with the beginning of movie marketing at the turn of the century with the amazing works of arts with the artist virtually going unnoticed.  This changed several decades later when the artist began getting more and more recognition for their amazing work.  We then jump to the size of the poster and how marketing changed with the times before we get to the modern reimagined posters that are commonly 24 x 36.

      Documentaries are always fun.  I often find myself spending hours on my days off watching some of the most random documentaries on Netflix and Hulu.  I love when I get one in for review because horror is such a broad genre with so many fringe topics to cover.  I honestly was not expecting a documentary about posters and the collectors but someone made one...and it was pretty damn entertaining.  The interviews in this offers up a great range of perspective surrounding the subject.  We have directors, actor, and collectors giving insight on the subject along with friends and relatives discussing several different artists from the heyday of poster art.  I really like how the topics were spaced out and in chronological order.  This made the film move along very well and was very informative.  I would have liked to see a negative side explained in the documentary like how the unofficial posters affect the market for collectors and so on but that does not take anything away from it.  Finally, I liked how the editing was and how each topic transitioned from the next.  You can tell the team behind this is truly passionate about movie posters and they approached this with great care.  Overall, 24 x 36 is a solid documentary for fans of movie collectibles and documentaries alike.  Check it out.