I think it’s fair to say that most of the staff here at Dangerous Minds has an appreciation for lurid B-movie poster art. It’s a topic we enjoy posting about from time to time. I’m a huge fan, especially of ‘60s-‘80s exploitation and horror posters. Over the years I’ve amassed a decent collection of original one-sheets, picking them up cheap here and there at flea markets and junk shops. Unfortunately eBay and the collector’s market has really made it difficult to find classic exploitation paper in the wild. Nowadays if you’re looking for, say, an original Ilsa, She Wold of the SS poster, you can expect to pay no less than two hundred bucks online. It’s a hobby that can get expensive quickly.
If you’re not stuck on the notion of owning an original, and have access to a decent printer, you can decorate your dwelling from floor to ceiling with classic horror, erotic, grindhouse action, and kung-fu poster images taken from one sheets, half sheets, daybills, locandinas, and quads from all over the world.
I recently discovered a site called Wrong Side of the Art, which apparently has been around for years, yet under my radar. This site is a treasure trove of cult and trash poster images with an emphasis on high-resolution—meaning that if you have a good printer you can have rather nice prints of hundreds of classic poster titles. Of particular interest are the foreign posters… those are always the coolest.
My printer will go up to 13"x19”, so I was able to print off a few decent-sized prints before my toner went bye-bye. I’m not sure how the image quality maintains on larger prints, but if you have access to a poster printer, give it a shot and let us know how it works out. I was able to print these just now:
They look especially impressive in person
Wrong Side of the Art is one of those sites that makes me truly appreciate the Internet. There’s so much cool, well-curated stuff there that you can easily get lost for hours scrolling through classic Italian Giallo, Japanese Pinku, and good ol’ American women-in-prison prints. There are hundreds of titles and the quality is the best I’ve seen online. The amount of work that’s gone into maintaining this site for the benefit of B-movie fans is apparent and should be applauded. Thank you Wrong Side of the Art!
Here’s a brief gallery of posters you can find high-res prints of. The site has hundreds more. Go there now. It’s seriously one of the best things on the Internet.
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Beyond the Valley of the Lurid Exploitation Film Posters of the 50s, 60s & 70s
The eyes have it: Eye-catching movie posters that have a very similar look
Sex, Sadism & Swastikas: Psycho ‘70s Nazi sexploitation cinema cycle