Drew Struzan, the artist behind some of the most iconic movie posters of all time, has passed away, age 78. No cause of death was given, although Struzan suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease for many years. The sad news comes to us via The Hollywood Reporter. Many considered him “King of the Movie Poster,” and it was a title well earned. In his career, which spanned decades, Struzan drew posters for several Star Wars films, Indiana Jones, the Back to the Future trilogy, and many more. When we close our eyes and imagine the characters from these films, we think of them as Struzan painted them.
Struzan began his prolific career in the 1970s. He drew album covers for various artists, including the cover for Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare. He then transitioned into making film posters, mostly for sci-fi B-movies. But it was his 1978 one-sheet for the first theatrical re-release of Star Wars that propelled him into fame. His “circus poster,” designed to evoke turn-of-the-century carnival art, became an instant classic. It was reportedly George Lucas’ favorite of the many Star Wars posters, and Lucasfilm hired him on for several projects. He painted the now-legendary teaser poster for Revenge of the Jedi, before its name change. He then created the movie posters for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade.
Struzan produced perhaps his most iconic work for Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis for Back to the Future, which he followed up with posters for its two sequels. Other notable films for which he created posters in the ’80s include Blade Runner, The Thing, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Big Trouble in Little China, Coming to America, First Blood, Risky Business, Masters of the Universe, and The Goonies. Struzan also lent his talents to creating several posters for Jim Henson’s Muppet films, starting with The Muppet Movie. Perhaps his most notable posters in the ’90s were his one-sheets for Hook, Hocus Pocus, and The Shawshank Redemption.
In the ’90s, Struzan became Lucasfilm’s primary artist for Star Wars, starting with the new posters for the 1997 Special Edition re-releases. He also drew the covers for several Star Wars novels during this time. He also illustrated each of the posters in the prequel trilogy. In the 2000s, Struzan illustrated the American poster for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Hellboy, and one last Indy with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He entered semi-retirement during this time, but did illustrate one special poster for The Force Awakens in 2015.
Struzan’s work was indelible. Along with artists like Bob Peak, Richard Amsel, and John Alvin, he created images without the use of any computer technology. Just his hands, imagination, and pure talent. Starting in the ’90s, illustrated movie poster art began to die out, replaced with Photoshop images. Today, this has become almost an entirely lost art. Marvel Studios almost exclusively used digital compositing to create their posters, as do most mainstream films today. And thus, none can touch the artistry of the work of someone like Drew Struzan. He is survived by his wife Dylan, his son Christian, and several grandchildren.
The post Drew Struzan, Iconic STAR WARS, BACK TO THE FUTURE Poster Artist, Dies at 78 appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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