For the movie poster obsessive, the only collection of 1980s Ghanaian movie posters! Quite scarce.

For genre fans, of the 230 pages devoted to the posters, 200 are in the "action/adventure," "war and urban commando," "horror," "science fiction and fantasy," and "martial arts" sections.

Out of print.

From the publisher:

The first-ever publication on the Golden Age of Hand-Painted Movie Posters in Ghana, with world-class descriptions of the tradition, hundreds of images of high-quality posters, and the artists who made this tradition possible—field-collected and personally photographed by Ernie Wolfe III.

In the 1980s a group of entrepreneurs in Ghana created small-scale, mobile film-distribution empires, hitting the road with videocassettes, television monitors, portable gas-powered generators and rolled-up, hand-painted, artist-signed canvas posters. This new medium created the first opportunity for some of the best young painters in Ghana to express themselves on a public scale. In the frequent absence of an original image upon which to base the work they had been commissioned to produce, the artists inevitably created cinematic paintings that were largely interpretive and imagination-driven. In the book's four major essays, author Ernie Wolfe III recounts the rise and fall of the mobile cinema tradition, while noted African art scholar Roy Sieber follows two-dimensional art in Africa from rock paintings in the Sahara to contemporary manuals, wall paintings, and barber board paintings as well as the canvas movie posters themselves; Paul Hayes Tucker compares the phenomenon to 19th century European utility-based painting; and poet and art critic John Yau contributes the perspective of an American art historian. In addition, Hollywood film notables such as horror auteur Clive Barker, actor LeVar Burton, actress Anjelica Huston, and director Gus Van Sant contribute chapter introductions.

Contributions by:

Clive Barker, LeVar Burton, Deirdre Evans-Pritchard, Walter Hill, Angelica Huston, John Milius, Roy Sieber, Paul Hayes Tucker, Gus Van Sant, & John Yau

From Library Journal:

African art scholar and West L.A. gallery owner Wolfe has performed a singularly stunning achievement by both introducing and cataloging over 350 luridly colorful examples of the unique way of advertising Hollywood and Hong Kong films in Ghana. Produced on recycled canvas flour sacks that have been stitched together, the posters were created mostly between 1985 and 1996 by a small group of artists to promote the movies shown in theaters and video clubs. To help elucidate this garish West African refraction of American pop culture, Wolfe has assembled numerous essays from a critically diverse array of artists, scholars, and filmmakers. Ghanaians, it quickly becomes apparent, are not chick-flick fans. The posters are divided among six film genres, including sf and fantasy, action and adventure, war and urban commandos, horror, comedy and drama, and martial arts. Writer and director Walter Hill nails it dead-on in his introduction to the action and adventure section when he writes, "To be brutally honest, many of these posters are more interesting than the films." Along with many lush, full-page representations of the posters, Wolfe includes photographs of and statements from the artists. In both idea and execution, Dilettante Press is carving a wonderfully quirky niche for itself in mainstream popular culture publishing with this visual treasure. Despite its seemingly narrow academic bent, this book is unconditionally and enthusiastically recommended for all pop culture collections.