Italian Film Posters (Pre-Owned)

The golden age of Italian cinema, through the art of its posters.

Thanks to a culture uniquely rich in the visual arts, an artisanal pride in fine printing, and an innate predisposition toward the grand and passionate, Italy produced perhaps the finest film posters in the world for much of the 20th century. 

Italian Film Posters is the first collection of these inventive, colourful, and highly evocative images to be published in English — tracing the tradition from the Art Nouveau-influenced designs of the silent era, through the stunning lithographs of the 30s and 40s, and into the gloriously idiosyncratic offset-printed creations of the 50s and 60s.

The 128 colour illustrations are organised thematically into six sections: Fantasy & Adventure, The Musical, The Western, Melodrama, Film Noir, and The New Wave — an arrangement that invites striking comparisons across genres and decades. Posters for classics like L'Avventura, 8½, Casablanca, The Lady from Shanghai, and Bicycle Thieves are included, each with captions giving context on the poster and its creation.

Published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, with an introduction by Martin Scorsese. 

A rare and collectible volume for cinephiles, graphic design lovers, and anyone drawn to the visual culture of mid-century cinema.