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Africans Used To Hand-Paint Movie Posters To Draw People Into Cinemas And They’re So Bizarre, They’re Wonderful (100 New Pics)
Art traditionally is valued by its technical brilliance, the difficulty of execution, the composition and fundamentals of aesthetics. But some art circumvents all of these principles and criteria, and they're no worse for it than the former. Sometimes, a "bad" piece art can be more valued than the "good" one, and not just for reasons of bad taste. Enter the African (mostly from Ghana) bootleg movie posters, which have, as a matter of fact, a very rich tradition. Why? Well, because of the perennially poor economy, Africans were forced to create the means for their entertainment. Of course, there were no fancy printers or presses, and even if there were, they wouldn't bother with something as silly as posters for bootleg movies. And so came a tradition of artists who created posters to create interest in these movies, even if they had to hand-paint them on flour bags. Though the means of printing became much more accessible, the tradition survives because of its extremely unique entertainment value.
here. As you can see, the skill of the artists advanced by leaps and bounds, but their own unique culture is still (thankfully) very clearly discernable.
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#1
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
This doesn't describe anything in the film but IT SHOULD. I'd pay to see Don Felix take on the five families
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago
@Julia Atkinson - I don't think it is SUPPOSED to tell/ describe what's IN the film, just what you will SEE in the movie. IF that makes any sense.
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8Yorkies-and-63cats 4 years ago (edited)
The bossy look of the cat vs Brando's look of quiet resignation. According to this, the cat ate all the fish, killed the horse with its claw and ate that too, and Brando is wondering how he'll go on feeding this tyrant of a cat, who's eaten everything he's ever loved.
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Confession: I watched the film because of the random cat that showed up and made it into the movie.
RELATED:
#2
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago
ONE of my "favorite" movies of all time. I like how there are NO REAL "spoilers."
#3
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Nice to see the toilet get the prominence it deserves, but I'm struggling to find a name for the fetish depicted in the lower right corner
8Yorkies-and-63cats 4 years ago
I'm pretty sure, the artist googled: jurassic park cast sam neil - jeff goldblum, and this beauty came up: https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/2814818504774335#imgViewer
Madeline Isabella 4 years ago
What the actual... It's like a Trainwreck that I can't stop looking at.
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago
@Goth mouse (they/them)- "This" might help: https://gr.pinterest.com/pin/2814818504774335#imgViewer
Load More Replies... #4
Marcellus II 4 years ago
This is better than Alien Vs Predator --- ET vs Jackson or so.
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#5
Vicky Z 4 years ago
Yeah it's very accurate for Nicholas Cage but Travolta is unrecognizable
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Marina Bailey 4 years ago
Mostly from Ghana. In Mzansi we just, boringly, use the posters released by the studio.
#6
Shelby P 4 years ago
I think that's the same head as in the beetlejuice poster
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#7
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Oh please, the Czechoslovak poster takes the cake here! GB1PosterF...0e-png.jpg 
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
Wait, was Chewbacca in that movie🤔 that is a fabulous and terrifying poster! Thank you for sharing it ^-^
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Tyler Bt 4 years ago
Staring: Rosario Dawson, Roy Orbison, KD Lang, Patrick Wilson, Alan Arkin, and ........Glen Danzig? Billy Idol? IDK.
Ozymandias73 4 years ago
Yeah, all the 'busters (aside from Winston, for obvious reasons) look the same. Egon doesn't even have his glasses. The creatures/ghosts however are discernible
Load More Replies... #8
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago (edited)
Possibly one jet-propelled d i l d o in hot pursuit of another
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#9
Sue Grigg 4 years ago
I love that they added the MAGA moron from the Jan.6 attempted coup , a perfect example of the Idiocracy.
Troux 4 years ago
There are two of them there, the shaman and the 'wearing my work ID just in case' guy.
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Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
I haven't seen this movie, and until I read your comment I thought 'Oh cool it's Terry Crews, another reason to watch It!'
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#10
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Not sure the artist actually saw the film, but it stands on its own merits
8Yorkies-and-63cats 4 years ago
Maybe a child tried to explain the movie to the artist, who didn't have time to watch it? Edit: I don't think said child watched the movie either.
Moxxie️️️ The Queer 4 years ago
considering i'm pretty sure get out is rated r i hope said child isn't too young lol
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#13
Bacony Cakes 4 years ago
And also Adolf Jackson was there too. He shot a gun at Pythagoras.
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Joris Meijs 4 years ago
Mayday Mayday! We are sinking! - . . . . . .Hmm . . . ,ok . . . . . What are you thinking about?' (German accent / source - Dutch commercial)
Bacony Cakes 4 years ago
FRANKFURT TO ALL STATIONS: WHAT IS HE THINKING ABOUT?
Load More Replies... #14
Troux 4 years ago
This is kinda perfect. You get a little snippet of several parts, without fully understanding either of them, which is exactly what a trailer is supposed to do.
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#15
Marcellus II 4 years ago
I'd ask them to re-edit the movie, I want to see this cut.
Load More Replies... Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago (edited)
Looks like its a poster for the 4 theatrical releases. The Engineer,Female, Chatterer and Butterball from Hellraiser, Chanard from Hellbound, Camerahead and CD head from Hell on Earth, and Angelique from Bloodline. Nice work. Edited to correct autocorrect...
#16
Catherine Binder 4 years ago
So they saw this one before painting this. Kinda seems like cheating.
Lady Fos-Boss 4 years ago
Why are we not talking about the tiger? Its the most realistic one I've ever seen!
Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
The only character I can recognise is the boy as he turns into a monkey.
#17
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#19
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Batman's most deadly adversary, the Man With Sausage Rolls in His Hair
Serial pacifist 4 years ago
Batman cut off Taylor Lautner's head...yes, the Twilight saga is that bad
#20
#21
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Tell you what, cats and kittens - if the artist could just keep his decapitation fetish under control he'd be pretty good
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago (edited)
@Julia Atkinson - I know, right! What IS with all the beheadings, anyway?!
Load More Replies... Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
“What do you think boss, I’ve finished the poster” “Mmmmm. Add more severed heads. “
Adam Simpson 4 years ago
You think homophobia is bad in 'Merica - try Africa, that's what makes this painting so disturbing is its almost literal.
#22
Marcellus II 4 years ago
"Happy. You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."
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#24
Ozymandias73 4 years ago
With a side of The Butterfly Effect, Anaconda, Isle of Dr. Moreau....
BrandX 4 years ago
That was my 1st thought lol. I like the skeleton butterflies tho
Load More Replies... Julia Atkinson 4 years ago (edited)
Hannibal Lector vs the Mothmen, a low budget adaptation in which there is only one lamb
#25
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#28
Otter 4 years ago (edited)
Well usually he's naked, except for the bandolier.
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Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
Why does Han Solo have little baby legs? Apart from that it’s perfect!
#29
#30
Ashley Delacerda 4 years ago
I know right?!? The one poster where there SHOULD be a headless corpse!!! Lol
Load More Replies... Madeline Isabella 4 years ago
Am I the only one that's seeing a giant...uh...some giant lady parts?
Troux 4 years ago
If you look at the top of the letter T in the title, you see a dragon's head. If you look at the bottom of the T...
Load More Replies... #31
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
I scrolled one-third of the way down and thought "No, he didn't bother to watch 'Cujo'"
Tyler Bt 4 years ago
Again, haven't seen that movie, but I don't think that's an accurate idea of the plot.
Marcellus II 4 years ago
It's one of my favourite movies of all time. It's peak Jim Jarmusch, it quotes endlessly from the nicest-reading (inaccurate but lyrical) translation of the Hagakure, it has Isaac de Bankolé in a really entertaining role, the images are great and the plot moves inexorably because of Ghost Dog sticking with his own consistent but lonely logic.
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#33
#34
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago (edited)
"You got knocked the F%$K out!" My FAVE line in da movie! -Lol.
#35
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
I think the Vulcan is doing some kind of red coloured Kamehameha DBZ move 😆
#36
Ellen Ranks 4 years ago
Very well painted this one, I would buy it! Also, no blood or weapon in sight. Nice for a change.
Pat Bond 4 years ago
Yes, I liked this one too. No blood & guts, just some everyday use syringe's instead, one hanging out of sick boys arm, next to the spoon & lighter on the floor. The detail makes me chuckle.
Load More Replies... #37
Moxxie️️️ The Queer 4 years ago
why did i first think of eraserhead from my hero academia lol.
#38
Nicholas Zaal 4 years ago
I half expected to see an evil-looking Falcor with people between his teeth.
Marcellus II 4 years ago
Now I really want to see their take on Totoro and Catbus in particular!!
Load More Replies... #39
#40
#41
Goth mouse (they/them) 4 years ago
Omg YES i wish theyd done one with the 11th doctor and amy AND the 8th doctor!! Not with bowtie doc getting his arm chopped off though 😅
#42
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
I said I wanted frikkin sharks with 'laser' beams attached to their heads. These are dolphins 🤦♀️
Xavier Randall 3 years ago
Never saw the movie but is that monkey in the corner holding a bloody knife.
#43
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
I haven't seen this and now I desperately want to, so the poster has served its purpose
DDmaybeandor 4 years ago
I love this movie! The poster is actually accurate for about 10 minutes of the film, though Oden himself doesn't show up.
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Moxxie️️️ The Queer 4 years ago
why is odin there? and why does that guy have a trident? why r there horses?
Tim 4 years ago
If I remember right, someone had a trident in that gang fight scene.
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#45
imsouravmitra 4 years ago
What is it with the decapitation fetish of the artist? In almost every poster someone's head is flying...
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago
Darn! JUST when I thought the artist was DONE with the violence and the decapitations...THIS!
#46
#47
Marcellus II 4 years ago
This poster feels a bit... empty, without additional Michael Jackson and/or ET and/or other. Not even a decapitation!?
#48
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Get on the wrong side of Biker Dad and you'll end up drowning in porridge
Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
I love this film. This poster in no way represents anything that happens in it.
Marcellus II 4 years ago
Weird, his Nick Cage is so great in the other posters, like a distillation of Cagey-ness, and here he's just absent?
#49
#50
Moxxie️️️ The Queer 4 years ago
why is there more than one black panther poster on this list lol
Marcellus II 4 years ago
Because there's many cinemas, and the point is that it's not the distributor giving the image but local artisans making them on demand. Previous was for Bombay Teshie cinema, this one Mart Video Ashaiman. Hence multiple Star Treks, Face/Offs, etc.
Load More Replies... #51
Marcellus II 4 years ago
If you're hung up on such practical details this far deep down the list, you haven't paid attention. For example, how is there no dismembered arm or head here where it's somewhat relevant as opposed to the 90% above?
Load More Replies... Bacony Cakes 4 years ago (edited)
What's with the Revolutionaries in the corner there? Is that shark the Bastille?
#52
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
You cannot deny the truth of that statement, although I doubt if it was in the script
LeeAnne B 4 years ago
It's helpful that the artist cleared up the confusion though.
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#53
Otter 4 years ago
So do I! The original poster artist should have used bowling balls like that.
Load More Replies... #54
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Mary Stoker's classic tale of two feline scientists and their quest to create a green vampire. "It's alive!" - Dr Tiddles
#55
#56
#57
#58
#59
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago
I'm confused. WHAT do the chipmunks and flubber have to do with each other?
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Aw damn, I still remember the Flubber hype and getting a Flubber erases in a Kinder Egg!
#60
#61
Marcellus II 4 years ago
There's a 1982 movie of that name where it might somewhat fit... What the cone snail has to do with either is not clear.
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#62
#63
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
I think the artist could have done a better job of rendering Freddy's iconic stripy sweater
#65
#66
Ozymandias73 4 years ago
There aren't enough words to describe how much there is wrong with this
#67
#68
GFSTaylor 4 years ago
I have no idea what movie this is meant to be, but I kind of want to see it.
Marcellus II 4 years ago
Maybe the dystopian sequel to the Lego Movie, from its "Everything is awesome" themesong? I always hum it as "Everything is awful/ Only a fool is part of a team".
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#70
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago (edited)
I don't remember Keir Dullea's teeth being that bad, but there again I don't remember Horny Monster either
Angelar 4 years ago
They were pretty bad. The movie is so fascinating that one never catches that fact.
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#72
#73
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
The harrowing story of how a peace-loving community of leeches was brutally invaded and killed by a gang of humans
#74
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#76
#78
#79
anarkzie 4 years ago
Bottom left, duel wielding revolvers while doing the splits and smoking a splift, just like the movie.
Load More Replies... #80
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Anjelica Huston bitterly regretted taking part in this film, stating that the dismemberment scenes were edited in without her knowledge or consent
#82
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
When your large intestine struggles to escape from the crushing pressure of your abs
#83
grey galah 4 years ago
As the sound of Ennio Morricone's whistles and human bass break the silence, Clint's pony enters the cemetery with a US WW2 grenade in its mouth just in time to rescue him from the quicksand. "I think I'll take this skull as a souvenir," he quips.
#84
#85
Otter 4 years ago
Sadly, no "...this is bat country!". Such a missed opportunity.
Load More Replies... #86
#87
Angelar 4 years ago
That is such an incredible film that I'm just glad that anybody watches it. Even in the hope for a decapitation.
Xavier Randall 3 years ago
Guy with the axe came out the movie Nightmare City.
Load More Replies... #88
Catherine Binder 4 years ago
I don't know what this movie is about, but somehow I now know even less what this movie is about.
#89
#90
ChristopherRobin Marriott 10 months ago
Love the scene where Carey mulligan goes all "die hard" and shoots up the joint. Also is that a young Gene Hackman?!
ChristopherRobin Marriott 10 months ago
LOVE the scene where Carey mulligan goes all "Die hard"! Also where a young Gene Hackman gives that guy at home dentistry
#92
grey galah 4 years ago
"there's nothing like the smell of lighter fluid in the morning," thinks Pesci's character
#93
Don Golosso 4 years ago
I don't see ribs in thighs here... Only ripped skin.
Load More Replies... #94
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
I'd completely forgotten Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion skeletons in this film
#95
Xavier Randall 3 years ago
It's called sci-fi foreign version of the film.
Load More Replies... #96
#97
Julia Atkinson 4 years ago
Suspicion Breeds Confidence - coming soon to a motivational poster near you
#99
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What do you think ?
Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago
The talent to do these is awesome. Wish I could do half as well. The style is like the old school posters I've seen in reruns of Dragnet and the like. But the disjointedness of individual images on each poster...whewboy...odd yet funny.
Maja Lange 4 years ago
So much real talent, so much creativity, so much effort... so little sense of what humans look like. :)
Angelina 4 years ago
Looks like you have a greater sense of what humans look like, Maja :)
Load More Replies... Donnie Mc00 4 years ago
Its like everyone..and i mean everyone has a gun. and severed heads are very popular! these are certainly a niche art form. i love them!
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago (edited)
Not "EVERYONE had guns. MOST, yes, NOT "every."
Load More Replies... Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
I get the feeling that the artist is giving the audience what they want, rather than what they’re actually going to get. They are undoubtedly brilliant though!
YoyoSthlm 4 years ago
Does anyone know if you can get ahold of them from somewhere? I really want the GoT one!
YoyoSthlm 4 years ago
I'm replying to my own post here. I found this site that has some of them. But he's from Ghana?! https://www.redbubble.com/shop/?iaCode=u-print-poster&query=“Ghanaian%20film%20poster”&ref=search_box
Load More Replies... Goth mouse (they/them) 4 years ago
I wanna watch the movies on these posters instead of the real ones!!! 😂
Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago
The talent to do these is awesome. Wish I could do half as well. The style is like the old school posters I've seen in reruns of Dragnet and the like. But the disjointedness of individual images on each poster...whewboy...odd yet funny.
Maja Lange 4 years ago
So much real talent, so much creativity, so much effort... so little sense of what humans look like. :)
Angelina 4 years ago
Looks like you have a greater sense of what humans look like, Maja :)
Load More Replies... Donnie Mc00 4 years ago
Its like everyone..and i mean everyone has a gun. and severed heads are very popular! these are certainly a niche art form. i love them!
𝔓𝔲𝔯𝔭𝔩𝔢 ℜ𝔞𝔢𝔑 4 years ago (edited)
Not "EVERYONE had guns. MOST, yes, NOT "every."
Load More Replies... Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
I get the feeling that the artist is giving the audience what they want, rather than what they’re actually going to get. They are undoubtedly brilliant though!
YoyoSthlm 4 years ago
Does anyone know if you can get ahold of them from somewhere? I really want the GoT one!
YoyoSthlm 4 years ago
I'm replying to my own post here. I found this site that has some of them. But he's from Ghana?! https://www.redbubble.com/shop/?iaCode=u-print-poster&query=“Ghanaian%20film%20poster”&ref=search_box
Load More Replies... Goth mouse (they/them) 4 years ago
I wanna watch the movies on these posters instead of the real ones!!! 😂
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