STAR WARS Bootlegs/Restrikes/Fakes
Tons of fakes exist for the Style A, B, and C one sheets. The Style A insert has also been faked (see above).
Style A Style B Teaser Style C
There DEFINITELY ARE bootlegs/restrikes/fakes/whatever you want to call them. They are always on ebay for sale from a few unscrupulous dealers (the same ones who sell the fake “minty white” inserts, the fake “Miramax stamped” Pulp Fiction advances, as well as others). These dealers WRONGLY advertise them as ORIGINAL movie posters (in fact, they HAVE TO say they are original because ebay policy forbids selling counterfeit items!!). THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT REAL, AUTHENTIC, OR ORIGINAL! They were printed without authorization using the same plates and printed on the same printing press sometime in the mid to late 1980’s. I AM 100% CERTAIN OF THIS. They are not “original movie posters”. They are of outstanding quality though and they still fool many dealers today. They are exactly the same size and the print quality is almost exactly the same. All of this has been well documented before. In short, in the late 1980’s Lucasfilm sued and had a bunch of them destroyed. Some of them (a lot of them!) escaped.
They contain most of the same markings, BUT…there are obvious differences if you compare them side by side. The most notable differences are:
Style A 1sh- bootleg/restrike/fake has a hair on Luke’s belt.
Style B 1sh- bootleg/restrike/fake has NO GAU logo on the bottom
Style C 1sh- bootleg/restrike/fake has a hair Leia’s back.
The only people on planet earth who believe these posters are authentic originals are the criminals who have been selling them every week on ebay for the past 5 plus years. Most of these dealers for some reason come from Rochester. There is also one in Oklahoma and few in other parts of the U.S. and the rest of the world. They have an endless supply. Since word has spread among knowledgeable dealers and collectors, it has become difficult for them to sell these rolled mint fakes….so what do they do now? They make them appear more authentic by saying they are “theater used”. They lightly fold them or put pin holes in the corners. They also have now started linen backing them. They sell these fakes along with thousands of other genuine original real posters from other movies. Their feedback is usually near perfect because those who have been duped HAVE NO IDEA!! They have ripped off thousands of people over the years, these fake posters are everywhere!!
These crooks have even set up an elaborate website with a phony “Professor Powers”. Anyone who questions these dealers on the authenticity of their items is told to visit the website where this fictional professor basically says there are no such thing as fakes/bootlegs. The site is a total joke and a complete scam.
Dealers have known about these fakes for quite some time. Some choose to ignore the facts because they paid a lot for them and are still trying to unload them.
The Official Tomart’s Price Guide to Worldwide Star Wars Collectibles makes reference to these fakes…….BACK IN 1997! This book was authorized by Lucasfilm. It’s author, Steve Sansweet, is an employee of Lucasfilm.
Page 135: “Unfortunately, most of the Star Wars style A, B-advance and C one-sheets being sold widely today are bootlegs (the quality is a little less than perfect, with images a bit more hazy than they should be), as are many Revenge of the Jedi posters and the infamous U.S. Triple Bill poster. The artwork on fake style A posters is slightly smaller than the original, and the “©1977 Twentieth Century-Fox” line directly under the artwork on the left side is flush with the border on the bootleg, rather than being indented about one-eighth inch like the real one. The color is also slightly different. Bootleg style B posters have some smearing around a few of the letters, and the oval union label to the left of center in the bottom border is missing. On style C bootlegs, the faces of the characters have a yellowish cast, rather than the original orange-brown flesh tone.”
THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN THE NEW STAR WARS POSTER BOOK PUBLISHED IN 2005 BY LUCASFILM.
On page 289 of this book, it goes into detail describing these unauthorized restrikes.
In early 2005, a genuine rolled mint Style C sold for over $1000.00 on ebay.
In 2004, a genuine rolled Style A sold for $650.00 on ebay. In 2005 we sold one on ebay for over $1500.00!!
In 2004, a genuine rolled Style B sold for $575.00 on ebay.
There are also fakes for “The Empire Strikes Back” and the recalled one sheet for “Revenge of the Jedi”. For details on these please see our Star Wars page.