Drew Struzan, the artist behind several of the iconic movie posters, passed away on October 13 at the age of 78. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and had been living with it for years. His family released a statement on his official Instagram page following his death:
It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday, October 13th. I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.
He designed more than 150 movie posters in his life, with his work including famous IPs like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Harry Potter, and Blade Runner. He began his career designing posters for B movies. He also designed album covers for many popular artists, including the Beach Boys, Earth, Wind & Fire, Liberace, and Black Sabbath.
His design technique impressed several filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Struzan went on to become a frequent collaborator with these directors. He first worked on a secondary poster for the theatrical re-release of Star Wars for Lucas. The filmmaker released a statement after Struzan’s death. He shared (via Lucasfilm):
Drew was an artist of the highest order. His illustrations fully captured the excitement, tone and spirit of each of my films his artwork represented. His creativity, through a single illustrated image, opened up a world full of life in vivid color…even at a glance. I was lucky to have worked with him time and time again.
Besides the Indiana Jones films, Struzan worked with Spielberg in his other works, like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Hook. Following his passing, the Bridge of Spies director shared (via THR):
Drew made event art. His posters made many of our movies into destinations … and the memory of those movies and the age we were when we saw them always comes flashing back just by glancing at his iconic photorealistic imagery. In his own invented style, nobody drew like Drew.
He has also designed posters for films like The Shawshank Redemption, The Goonies, and The Thing. Here are Struzan’s best works for Spielberg.
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
While Richard Amsel designed the primary theatrical poster for this film, Drew Struzan also designed one of the posters. Director Frank Darabont revealed in Struzan’s documentary, Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, that Struzan was behind the poster showing Harrison Ford and Karen Allen in the film.
Always found it moving that Drew Struzan used himself as a model for much of his Indiana Jones work. In the most literal sense, he was as much a star as the faces he painted. He didn't just sell movies, he taught me how to dream about them. pic.twitter.com/Cvi4puHlgT
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Foreign) poster by Drew Struzan pic.twitter.com/q1TsZwA8Gi
Darabont shared, “It’s one of the best poster images I’ve ever seen.” He also added that it was used in the overseas market to promote the film.
5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982)
Drew Struzan wasn’t the first choice for this sci-fi film as well. The original theatrical poster design belonged to John Alvin. However, Struzan was brought in to design the second poster. He subsequently did a lot of work on the movie over the years. George Lucas said about the poster, “The E.T. poster, I think it’s very iconic.”
Rest in peace to legendary poster artist Drew Struzan. He was responsible for countless classic movie posters and some of the most iconic images of E.T. pic.twitter.com/FsnmGj3znr
Struzan recalled that the film wanted a poster for “a trade ad to run in Daily Variety.” When he started the design, he had to work with a generic creature as the alien’s design wasn’t finalized yet. Spielberg shared about Struzan’s work:
He gave E.T. a beauty that really even surpasses the movie. In the sense that people didn’t have to go out to see the movie or have to put the DVD on in their player. But all they have to do is see a picture, and E.T. comes to life in one frame. Not 24 frames a second. Drew can bring E.T. to complete life simply at a glance.
Struzan shared that he and Spielberg understood each other a lot better, which was translated into the works of E.T.
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Drew Struzan had drawn Harrison Ford‘s portraits numerous times, so it almost became impossible to miss the mark. He became the official poster artist for the Indiana Jones movies in this movie.
It had Ford’s character with his iconic look, but this time he got the ‘eye’ from his father, played by legendary actor Sean Connery. The ancient columns in the poster were almost similar to the work of Richard Amsel on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
#30DaysActorChallenge
Day 10 of Sean Connery: Favorite Poster
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade pic.twitter.com/jMtI7Z6Fs9
The poster had four characters in its four corners. The centerpiece was an action scene where Indy points a gun at us while riding a horse, running away from an attacking army with a large plane.
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The poster of this fourth Indiana Jones film received complaints that Struzan drew Harrison Ford’s character a little younger than he actually was. The artist defended his work, sharing that he painted Ford as he looked. He shared, “I made him look like he looked. ‘Cause that’s honest. I also believe in truth in advertising.”
99) Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008): Me gustó, menos mal que no vi el póster antes xq *spoiler*. Ahora, aunque me entretuvo debo decir que no me gusta nada el argumento del origen de la calavera para mí es conspiranoico y no conecto. De resto, está bien. pic.twitter.com/9t9WAjKFb6
Steven Spielberg shared that the movie strived to “live up to Drew’s art.” He shared:
When Drew did the last one-sheet for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and I saw that early picture, I showed it to Janusz Kaminski, my cinematographer, and I said, ‘Now you’ve gotta make sure that Harrison looks as good as that picture.’
Like the others, the posters of this movie also have a lot of things going on. One of the posters showed all the major characters in the movie, including Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, and Karen Allen.
2. Hook (1991)
One of Drew Struzan’s most famous works was for this less successful film. The poster for Robin Williams’ Hook wasn’t released until a week before the film’s release. It captured the spirit of a children’s story, where a grown-up Peter Pan returns to Neverland.
I know the “true horror fan” response is to praise his poster for The Thing, but I will forever be obsessed with the art he created for Hook and how it perfectly captures the energy of the film pic.twitter.com/cawTAtk4At
The poster was designed as a map where Williams and Dustin Hoffman’s eponymous villain took the central focus. Struzan wrote about working on this poster in his book The Art of Drew Struzan. He shared (via Facebook):
This was another project for which I did thirty or more comps, and the ones that appear here are just a sampling. It was Sony’s first movie – big, expensive …they called me in to do the release poster. I had fun because I took each group of drawings directly to Steven.
He shared that Hoffman initially didn’t like his portrait. He told Struzan, “It’s not that. I don’t like my portrait – it’s beautiful. But I don’t think it’s my character.” Hoffman wanted Hook to look “less villainous.” Struzan then visited Hoffman’s home, where the actor explained what he wanted.
He painted out a third of the picture and redesigned it. He shared, “He loved it. They all loved it. I love it. …I still think it’s an exceptionally special painting.”
1. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
The poster of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had a lot of things going on in it. Drew Struzan’s poster added an element of everything included in the movie. If you look at the theatrical poster, there is action, danger, mystery, romance, and excitement all included in it.
Pretty confident that Temple of Doom has the best-looking poster in the series. So gorgeous pic.twitter.com/zQEodRilUg
Harrison Ford was a really happy guy when Drew Struzan came along and designed the posters of the Indiana Jones films, starting with Temple of Doom. He shared in the documentary, Drew: The Man Behind the Poster:
When Drew came along and started to do the work, it really made a big difference. It focused attention on that character, gave him a nobility and a heroic nature. And frankly, made me look good.
Struzan shared in the documentary that when he was called to do the poster for this film, he still wasn’t the primary poster artist. However, the makers loved his idea for the poster and asked him to do it. He shared:
So there were no changes, no other ideas. That was straight-up my idea. No interference of any kind from anybody. So I just painted it freely and with the confidence, because I had designed it, that I could make it nice. Sent it to ’em, and that’s what the Temple of Doom poster became.
It was the first time that he tried different techniques in poster designing. Many consider it the turning point in his career.
What do you think of Drew Struzan’s work on Steven Spielberg’s films? Let us know in the comments below!
