It's been a couple of years and a couple of Comic-Cons since the first clips from an unfinished documentary on the iconic poster artist Drew Struzan first surfaced. The film is now complete, and with that announcement comes a new trailer heralding the finished Drew: The Man Behind The Poster.
If you ever hung a movie poster on your wall, there's a reasonable chance that it was by Drew Struzan, who George Lucas calls "the only collectible artist since World War II" (eat that, Charles Saatchi).
Struzan has painted over 150 movie posters,* including the Back To The Future trilogy, John Carpenter's The Thing, First Blood, The Muppets, ET, The Goonies, Harry Potter, Blade Runner, and of course, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Plus, there are the game boxes (Indiana Jones And The Fate of Atlantis) and the book covers (Shadows Of The Empire, the Indiana Jones spin-offs)... Struzan must be able to draw Harrison Ford from memory with his eyes closed by now, although the trailer reveals that he's been known to pose as Indy himself. Y'know, just for reference, honest.
The documentary has been put together by Erik Sharkey, Greg Boas and Charles Ricciardi. They've rounded up an impressive roster of talking-heads too, with Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Frank Darabont, Steve Guttenberg, Thomas Jane and Leonard Maltin all queueing up to pay tribute to Struzan, who's also present. Del Toro and Jane both have amusing things to say about Struzan's Masters Of The Universe art.
The artist officially retired in 2008 after turning in his artwork for Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, but has predictably not stopped working at all, taking some gigs for Mondo, for example. There doesn't appear to be a distributor or release date for the film yet, but hopefully that'll be rectified before too long. In the meantime, let us know your favourite Struzan images in the comments below.
*He did album covers too, notably for Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath.
What a legend. So many iconic and beautiful works of art he created that are embedded in the minds of many millions of people. His art was as important as thr score if most of these films. I for one will definitely watch this. More
It's my favourite movie and my favourite image. It evokes great memories and still remains iconic after all these years. Drew Struzan is a legend - especially when he made some pretty poor films look much better by a masterfully composed poster. Can't wait to see this doc. More
Posted by Kop's Loss at 10:41 on 19 July 2012 | Report This Post
Great!
I love Drew Struzan's work…i would pay to see this documentary. About time this genius was honoured and introduced to the mass audiences! More
I still slightly prefer the John Alvin original, but Drew Struzan's final cut poster comes very close to improving on one of the best movie posters ever and does capture the spirit of the film better than Alvin's original. And of course The Thing... Best. Horror. Movie. Poster. Ever. More
Posted by bertussmith at 14:47 on 18 July 2012 | Report This Post
Blade Runner and
I still slightly prefer the John Alvin original, but Drew Struzan's final cut poster comes very close to improving on one of the best movie posters ever and does capture the spirit of the film better than Alvin's original. More
Posted by bertussmith at 14:46 on 18 July 2012 | Report This Post
Back To The Future...
has to be his most iconic poster? Its almost up there with the likes of Jaws (possibly THE most recognisable movie poster...hey, theres an idea for an arcticle Empire!) Love Temple Of Doom though; his Ford is spot on and love Mola Rams sharp teeth! What an artist...where the hell are they now??! More
