Feb 11, 2015 11:08 AM

Gallery: The Magical Movie Poster Art of Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan
01
Star-Wars-Trilogy
__Star Wars Trilogy re-releases (1997)__ Struzan’s triptych for the 1997 trilogy re-releases has a kinetic quality that almost begs you to forgive George Lucas for his "added scenes" and "enhanced special effects." Seriously, Han shot first. (Expand the gallery to widescreen for larger images.)
Drew Struzan
02
IJTempleOfDoom
__Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)__ Of the four Indy posters Struzan ended up painting, he says this one is his favorite. Personally, even today when I think of Harrison Ford, this is the image that comes to mind.

Drew Struzan
03
FirstBlood
__First Blood (1982)__ This became the template for pretty much every '80s action movie poster. Echoes of Struzan’s Musclebound Hero Holding Oversized Gun can be seen in everything from *Predator* to *Cobra*.
Drew Struzan
04
ET
__E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)__ Struzan did a ton of work for Spielberg during the '80s, including this artist proof for E.T. Fellow one-sheet wonder John Alvin ended up doing [the original theatrical poster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial#mediaviewer/File:E_t_the_extra_terrestrial_ver3.jpg), however.

Drew Struzan
05
Back-to-the-Future
__Back to the Future Trilogy (1985 - 1990)__ *Back to the Future* was the highest grossing movie of 1985, and I’d guess this now-classic poster did its part in keeping theater seats full that summer. It was so good that Struzan was tapped to do artwork for the two sequels (and basically just clone the Marty McFly pose).
Drew Struzan
06
big-trouble-littlechina
__Big Trouble in Little China (1986)__ Struzan still thinks the composition is "a little busy," but frankly so is the plot of this John Carpenter cult classic. Also, who *wouldn’t* go see a movie starring a badass-looking Kurt Russell holding a machine gun with giant shit-eating grin?

Drew Struzan
07
drew 02
__Blade Runner, 25th Anniversary Edition (2007)__ The studio used John Alvin’s image for the original *Blade Runner* [theatrical release poster](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Blade_Runner_poster.jpg), but Ridley Scott chose Struzan’s artwork, orginally commissioned back in ’82, for the 25th Anniversary Edition.
Drew Struzan
08
MuppetMovie
__The Muppet Movie (1979)__ Struzan’s first trip to New York City was to work on the *The Muppet Movie* poster with Frank Oz. After it was done, Jim Henson decreed that only Struzan would be allowed to paint the Muppets while he was alive thanks to his ability to make them "look like real people."

Drew Struzan
09
The-Thing
__The Thing (1982)__ It’s amazing to think this poster was created in less than 24 hours. It’s even more amazing to realize Struzan didn’t have a script, stills, or even a list of actors when he was asked to do it. For Carpenter fans, this image today is inseparable from the film.
Drew Struzan
10
Hell-Boy
__Hellboy (2003)__ Even though Guillermo Del Toro fought fiercely for it, none of Struzan’s work for the *Hellboy* movies (or anything else del Toro directed) was chosen by the studio. Instead, moviegoers were subjected to [this boring piece of Photoshop](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Hellboy_poster.jpg).

Drew Struzan
11
goonies
__The Goonies (1985)__ Struzan went to lunch with a Goonies art director, who drew him a picture on a napkin. He took it home and this is the resulting poster.
Drew Struzan
12
Raiders
__Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, foreign)__ The U.S. got [Richard Amsel’s poster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark#mediaviewer/File:Raiders.jpg), and the rest of the world saw Struzan’s version.

Drew Struzan
13
StarWarsCircusPosterArt
__Star Wars (1977)__ This is supposedly George Lucas’s favorite piece of art from the Star Wars franchise. The style D "circus" poster was a collaboration between Struzan and airbrush Jedi Charles White III and was used for the theatrical re-release of *Star Wars* in 1978.
Drew Struzan
14
Revenge-of-the-Jedi
__Revenge of the Jedi (1983)__ Whether it was 20th Century Fox jumping the promotional gun, or the fact revenge is not a Jedi concept, the result was the same: Struzan’s original teaser poster had to be pulled last minute. Thank goodness they kept the artwork. As for those incorrect lightsaber colors, Struzan chose them because there were "pretty."

Drew Struzan
15
Pans-labyrinth
__Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)__ Once again, Guillermo del Toro commissioned Struzan to create artwork for his 2006 film, and once again the studio didn’t use it. Del Toro still has the original.

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