If you cleaned out your closets would it be this interesting? On view in the Theater Gallery at the Museum of Modern Art through October 25, “Scorsese Collects” presents a range of movie posters from the personal collection of bushy-browed auteur Martin Scorsese. Best known as the man behind the camera on a string of Robert DeNiro-aided films — “Taxi Driver” (1976), “Raging Bull” (1980), “Goodfellas” (1990) — Scorsese has also, throughout his career, been a strong advocate for the preservation of movie materials, including those used for promotion. Beginning in August, the poster exhibition will be accompanied by “Scorsese Screens,” a series comprising 33 films, most in 35mm prints, that reflect the very varied influences on the director’s monumental career.A centerpiece of “Scorsese Collects” is a billboard-size example created for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “Tales of Hoffmann” (1951). The film is very close to Scorsese’s heart: He helped fund its recent restoration (along with that of many other works from the British duo), and his longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, was married to Powell from 1984 until his death, in 1990. Also not to be missed are René Péron’s dreamy Art Deco poster for George Archainbaud’s “The Lost Squadron” (1932) and Anselmo Ballester’s evocation of swirling pulp-novel passions in his poster for Elia Kazan’s “On the Waterfront” (1954).The examples crafted for Scorsese’s own films demonstrate his careful attention to design. A British one promoting “Mean Streets” (1973) was created by Peter Strausfeld, who, until his death in 1980, designed all the now-legendary posters for the Academy Cinema in London. Strausfeld’s linocuts and woodcuts produced unique images that resemble the work of some contemporary graphic-novel designers, especially Daniel Clowes.Click here to view a slideshow of selected items from “Scorsese Collects.” More information on the exhibition can be found here.
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