Text On Film: Collector's Magazines, Storybooks And The 'Making Of'.

Back in the days before the internet spoiled everything for everyone with its wealth of information and zany cat videos, people would purchase books and magazines to meet their info gathering needs. Although they took up valuable living space and were a potential fire hazard, books were an excellent source of movie knowledge - especially for the young film aficionado.

Generally, there were four classes of film related print media available, each aimed at a certain demographic - the 'making of', the collector's magazine, the storybook, and the novelization (or movie tie-in). These were the DVD special features of my youth, expanding the film going experience beyond the theatrical release of a movie. 

I have photographed some of my pre-90s favourites and uploaded them to the PRINT MEDIA collection, which can be accessed via the tab at the top of the screen. Below are a few examples of those items awaiting your perusal.

Giger's Alien is a 1989 reprint of a 'making of' book, first published in 1979. It contains many of Swiss artist H.R. Giger's concept artworks for the film Alien, as well photos from the production. Giger himself supplies the text, documenting his transition from fine art to the commercial film industry. Of particular interest is the following section, which details the scene in which Ripley finds Dallas' cocoon - a scene that never made it into the final cut of the film. Prior to James Cameron's Aliens, we had never seen what happened to the biomechanoid's victims. According to early versions of the Alien script, the human host would actually become the egg that would later eject a facehugger, rather than the eggs being laid by a queen alien (as in Aliens).

Glossy collector's magazines have been promoting films for many years. The following example was printed in Japan and released in conjunction with the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice.

Released in 1964, this next James Bond magazine contains stories, photos and information on all of the Connery Bond films up to, and including, Goldfinger. 

To see more images from this magazine and others, click on the link or hit the PRINT MEDIA tab at the top of the page.