Here we have a poster for a film many of you will have heard of, and some of you will have watched right here on Open CulÂture: StalkÂer, wideÂly conÂsidÂered the most masÂterÂful of SoviÂet auteur Andrei Tarkovsky’s career full of masÂterÂpieces. NeedÂless to say, the film has inspired no small amount of cinephile enthuÂsiÂasm in the 37 years since its release, and if it has inspired the same in you, what betÂter way to express it than to hang its poster on your wall? And why not take it to the next levÂel by hangÂing a StalkÂer poster from anothÂer counÂtry, such as the ItalÂian one here?
We found it on PosÂterÂiÂtati, a New York movie poster gallery whose online store also funcÂtions as a digÂiÂtal archive of over 40,000 of these comÂmerÂcial-cinÂeÂmatÂic works of art, all conÂveÂnientÂly sortÂed into catÂeÂgories: not just Tarkovsky posters, but posters from the forÂmer East GerÂmany and Iran, posters from the Czech New Wave, and posters designed by the JapanÂese artist Tadanori Yokoo (whose works, said no less an observÂer of the human conÂdiÂtion than Yukio MishiÂma, “reveal all of the unbearÂable things which we JapanÂese have inside ourÂselves”). And that’s just a small samÂpling of what PosÂterÂiÂtati has to offer. If you dig deep enough, you can even find posters from Poland and the Czech RepubÂlic with cats in them.
Avid Open CulÂture readÂers might find PosÂterÂiÂtati’s phiÂlosÂoÂphy secÂtion espeÂcialÂly worthÂwhile, conÂtainÂing as it does posters for movies we’ve preÂviÂousÂly feaÂtured and movies about thinkers we like to write about, like DerÂriÂda, ExamÂined Life, WittgenÂstein, and of course the Slavoj Ĺ˝iĹľek-starÂring The PerÂvert’s Guide to IdeÂolÂoÂgy and Ĺ˝iĹľek!
They also sell posters at the site, though even the ones not in stock remain availÂable to view as images: just togÂgle the “IN STOCK ONLY” switch to the OFF posiÂtion, and you can then see all of the posters in the colÂlecÂtion. No matÂter what your cinÂeÂmatÂic, intelÂlecÂtuÂal, or aesÂthetÂic interÂests, you’ll find at least a few posters that pique your interÂest. The JapanÂese poster for Orson Welles’ F for Fake just above, for instance, repÂreÂsents a near-perÂfect interÂsecÂtion of most of my own interÂests. Just as well PosÂterÂiÂtati doesÂn’t have it in stock — I’d probÂaÂbly pay anyÂthing.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
50 Film Posters From Poland: From The Empire Strikes Back to Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Strange and WonÂderÂful Movie Posters from Ghana: The Matrix, Alien & More
JapanÂese Movie Posters of 10 David Lynch Films
A Look Inside MarÂtin Scorsese’s VinÂtage Movie Poster ColÂlecÂtion
100 GreatÂest Posters of Film Noir
StrikÂing French, RussÂian & PolÂish Posters for the Films of Andrei Tarkovsky
Watch StalkÂer, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mind-BendÂing MasÂterÂpiece Free Online
F for Fake: Orson Welles’ Short Film & TrailÂer That Was NevÂer Released in AmerÂiÂca
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities, lanÂguage, and style. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer, the video series The City in CinÂeÂma, the crowdÂfundÂed jourÂnalÂism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los AngeÂles Review of Books’ Korea Blog. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.