These Bootleg Movie Posters are Way Better Than the Licensed Ones

As important as they may be, movie posters are generally pretty boring. Typically just some headshots of cast members or a cooky visual joke to make them memorable, the advertisements rarely convey much about a film itself.
Interestingly, starting back in the 70s, some not-quite-legal theaters in Africa (specifically, Ghana) preferred to avoid the licensing costs for these movies by showing bootleg versions and, as a result, had to hire local artists to help advertise what’s playing.
Twitter user ‘Retr0Joe’ described the artful practice in a tweet, followed by some of his favorite examples:
A thread of African Movie Posters…
Due to licensing and printing costs, some African theaters gave the task to artists to paint the posters for movies being shown…
Some artists had no reference to what movie they was drawing so some just guessed…
Here are my favourites.. pic.twitter.com/sRneFxtGNj
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
“Some artists had no reference to what movie they [were] drawing,” he wrote, “so some just guessed…”
The result is usually something colorful, grotesque, or completely absurd (and often all three).
Space Jam pic.twitter.com/E4T24bURE1
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
Jurassic Park pic.twitter.com/IKSdxGBy0y
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
The Spy Who “Loved” Me pic.twitter.com/Aou8IlHlQB
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
Mission Impossible pic.twitter.com/4vdV7b7Ulx
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
E.T pic.twitter.com/U0YKfUDk8M
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
Sister Act pic.twitter.com/Yqs3RXzx6g
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
Xmen pic.twitter.com/nKHabcYaff
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
Face Off pic.twitter.com/HCSh3OWf7t
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
T.M.N.T pic.twitter.com/6uSC3nMjRh
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark pic.twitter.com/3w5lNN8Pcc
â Gamiest Gamer đš (@Retr0Joe) January 10, 2020
While initially singular in purpose, the unforgettable works of art from underground movie clubs have begun to attract worldwide attention for their bizarre uniqueness (and hilarious inaccuracies).
âTheyâre not just film posters â theyâre 2m-high, one-off, original oil paintings,â says Karun Thakar, collector and curator behind African Gaze, an exhibition showcasing film posters from Ghana.
But if you want to own one of these massive, often surreal posters for yourself, you’ll have to beat other collectors to them.
Currently, an authentic Ghanaian movie poster can fetch several hundreds of dollars on eBay, but where else are you going to find a poster for 1999’s crime drama “Ghost Dogs” featuring Forest Whitaker fighting a literal group of weaponized ethereal dogs with a samurai sword?
