Friday 19 February 2010

The Incredible Suit's Movie Heroes #1: Drew Struzan


Welcome to the first in a comically occasional series of posts about The Incredible Suit’s Movie Heroes. I’m hiring out that big room from the end of Star Wars and calling forward several legends to receive a blog-shaped medal from me as a thank you for being really quite ace. I have yet to decide whether or not to dress as Princess Leia.

The Incredible Suit’s Movie Heroes aren’t going to be the usual suspects. Much as I think Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Buster Keaton, Stanley Kubrick, Christopher Nolan, Harrison Ford, James Stewart, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, John Williams and so on are truly outstanding individuals in their respective fields, there have been mountains of keyboards worn out writing about them. I’m concentrating on less obvious people who’ve had a significant impact on my film-watching over the years; people whose talents are unique and whose work has been carefully and delicately fashioned so as to fit perfectly into that peculiar-shaped hole marked ‘things what I love’.

So without further ado, because god knows there’s been enough ado so far already, here’s my first Movie Hero: Drew Struzan, illustrator of some of the finest movie posters ever to seductively stroke your eyeballs while gripping your heart and shouting “This film is going to be bloody marvellous, just look at the poster!”, even though sometimes that was a lie (I’m looking at you, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).

Mr Struzan’s work speaks for itself, so I’m going to shut the chuff up and let you pop a bib on and drool over some classic examples in peace. In theory, clicking on each picture should embigulate it so you can appreciate it in all its airbrushed glory, but I don't know if it works like that, I'm a novice with this new interweb thing.













But this is my absolute favourite of Drew Struzan's work, from Revenge Of The Jedi, before it had its balls lightsabred off and renamed Return Of The Jedi.


Further reading:
drewstruzan.com
Internet Movie Poster Awards: Drew Struzan
The Movie Posters Of Drew Struzan

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5 comments :

  1. Does it seem to you that there are quite a lot of examples of people hanging off of things? Police Academy 4, Adventures in Babysitting, The Goonies....just a thought.

    Great profile, though. He seems the genius of the combined portrait. I'm inclined to love him simply for Star Wars....

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  2. FSA, I hadn't noticed that, well spotted. I think I was too busy wondering if the Dreamscape poster was an early Temple Of Doom concept with Quaid's face pasted over Ford's.

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  3. This is perfect because I like the adventure and here I could find the most exciting series and movies in the last years I'm so glad with this.

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  4. Really interesting post. Thank you for sharing with us.

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