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March 10, 2006 7:49 AM

You know those posters put up en-mass on hoardings (the plywood around building sites and whatnot). There are some really cool ones for a certian upcoming movie I've spotted around Toronto. How can I get my grubby little hands on these? It seems like with so many printed and put up, it shouldn't be hard. Just peeling them off the wall never works.
posted by Capn to grab bag (15 comments total)

You might try and contact Grassroots. They are responsible for a lot of the wildposting campaigns around the city.
posted by Robot Johnny at 7:56 AM on March 10, 2006

Aside: Those V posters really are fantastic. If the movie is 1/10th as good as the posters, or 1/100th as good as the comic, I will be mightily psyched.

Can anyone tell me what that style is called? It reminds me of Lenin-era Russian graphics.
posted by The Bellman at 8:08 AM on March 10, 2006

Soviet constructivist? I'm no art history major though.
posted by GuyZero at 8:11 AM on March 10, 2006

I have two hanging in my wall courtesy of eBay.
posted by junesix at 8:11 AM on March 10, 2006

Examples.
posted by GuyZero at 8:12 AM on March 10, 2006

I have two hanging in my wall courtesy of eBay.
Well, like I said, these things are literally covering whole street level blocks, it really seems like I should be able to obtain one.
posted by Capn at 8:36 AM on March 10, 2006

They're probably hung with wheatpaste. The point of wheatpaste is that it permeates the paper you're pasting up, making it hard to get off the wall. Your best bet is to get your hands on one before it's been pasted up.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:00 AM on March 10, 2006

Think GuyZero got it. The posters look like they were influenced by Russian/Soviet Constructivist propaganda of Stalin's Five Year Plans in the 1920s-30s. Chief among the style of the time was the photomontage work of Gustav Klutsis and his wife, Valentina Kulagina (1 2 3).

The Plan generated a mass of strictly controlled propaganda. Strident posters appeared everywhere, in factories, farms and all public spaces, in vast quantities and variety. The country was "on the attack": fulfill the plan, exceed quotas, defend the USSR. The master of this message was Gustav Klutsis (1895-1944), a Constructivist artist who transformed the techniques of the ‘20s into a visual glorification of the plan and the new society. His colors were simple - usually only red and black - but his photomontage composition was dynamic and astonishing, with novel proportions and perspectives, juxtaposed with bold typography – All designed to stress the monumental and heroic aspect of the age.

(This stuff would make for a great post in the blue.)

By the looks of the Wikipedia article on wheat pasting that nebulawindphone linked, it doesn't look it can be removed without tearing.
posted by junesix at 10:28 AM on March 10, 2006

Here in Los Angeles the (arguably) premiere comic book store Meltdown had stacks of all four posters, free for the taking. I would suggest contacting the Beguiling in Toronto. Good people, very helpful, fantastic store.
posted by samh23 at 10:42 AM on March 10, 2006

You can view all of the posters at the official film website.

How about a telephone call to Warner Bros Studios (Burbank, CA 91522) -- and ask someone in marketing at their Theatrical Motion Pictures Production & Distribution unit, if they can send you a poster.

It never hurts to ask.
posted by ericb at 10:43 AM on March 10, 2006

Warner Bros. Entertainment
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
Phone [phone]
posted by ericb at 10:54 AM on March 10, 2006

those are amazing. thanks for pointing them out for me so that now i too will be looking for some.

personally, i'm going to keep my eye out for some bus shelter ones.
posted by teishu at 11:48 AM on March 10, 2006

Try asking your local theater for copies once the movie's run is over, especially if you know someone who works there.
posted by mediareport at 7:33 PM on March 10, 2006

I was going to suggest Nostalgia Factory but a quick search turned up nothing. Maybe they'll get it soon?
posted by eatcake at 8:19 PM on March 10, 2006

it doesn't look it can be removed without tearing.

False. It most certainly can be removed, provided a couple of conditions are met: 1. You have plenty of time on your hands; 2. The bills have been pasted on top of other bills.

I saw some ridiculously cool bills when I was in Prague, and managed to remove two of them. The trick is to find one that's in relatively good shape (i.e., not glued with folds or rips) and has a large amount of other posters under it. Get a pocket knife and slowly cut away at a larger area around the poster--that is, leave plenty of room between the area you're cutting and the poster you're after. The basic method is: cut, pull, tear, cut, pull, tear. Cut into a bit, pull on that part, tear a bit off from under.

If you've got a thick enough base (other old posters), this will work. The 'tear' part is the most delicate--you want to only rip up a bit, then cut again. If you rip too much, you'll rip right up to the top layer (the poster you want to salvage). If you rip too little, you'll be there for hours and hours.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:33 AM on March 11, 2006