The Cinema Posters That Tell Us Who We Were

In the age of streaming, we may not think too deeply about the impact of film posters, but for decades these designs played a vital part in guiding cinemagoers on what to see. In a new book edited by Tony Nourmand, a vast selection of posters spanning the past century offers insight into contemporaneous tastes and styles, showcasing the medium’s eye-catching artistic innovations: glamorous paintings for 1922’s Salomé, scratchy, left-field illustration for 1987’s Withnail and I, and that terrifying, looming shark for 1975’s Jaws. “These images and artworks that covered our streets and consciousness over the last 100 years did not just appear by accident,” says Nourmand. “They were and are the work of some of the most talented artists of our time.”

• 1001 Movie Posters: Designs of the Times will be published on 3 September by Reel Art Press