Posters of Prominence: “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”

Nathan Chase

Nathan Chase is a co-founder and the designer of Flickchart. He's also a multimedia designer & developer living in central Florida, an online culture and social networking enthusiast, a proud father, an avid PC gamer, an incessant movie watcher, known for an eclectic musical taste, and often writing and performing music - on the drums, guitar, piano, or computer. You can find Nathan on Flickchart as Zampa, and email him at nathan@flickchart.com.

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9 Responses

  1. Travis McClain says:

    I love this poster! It’s one of my top five Star Wars posters of all (which is saying something, given how many there have been over the years), and it’s easily my favorite of the prequel era (which may not be saying as much). The simplicity of the design, the cleanliness, even the color scheme with that vibrant blue sky contrasting against the pale sand…I still marvel at this one more than a decade later.

  2. Totally agreed that this poster got it right. While we’re talking Star Wars, it’s worth praising all the “montage” posters — I believe there was one for each movie, wasn’t there? I’m talking about the ones that were artists’ (very lifelike) renditions of the characters, lumped in a group of varying sizes and positions, with little snippets of plot from each film. Such a great way to encapsulate a movie … am I correct that these were pioneered by this particular saga?

  3. Nigel Druitt says:

    So much promise in this poster. So much…

    Derek: You’d be talking about Drew Struzan’s posters, wouldn’t you? And I was going to mention them here. Even for the prequel trilogy, every one of his Star Wars posters is amazing and iconic. (His poster for Episode I, with those Darth Maul eyes is the background, is a very close second to this poster for me…)

  4. Nigel Druitt says:

    (Er… “IN” the background. Stupid typos…)

  5. Travis McClain says:

    I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I’ve grown tired of Struzan’s work over the years. I can’t deny his technical prowess, but for the last 15-20 years his work has been largely formulaic. I just haven’t been surprised by anything from him. Even his recent Walking Dead poster seemed half-hearted.

    I won’t deny, of course, that he’s one of the leading poster artists out there for a reason. You know what you’re getting from a Struzan; nearly photo-realistic head shots of key characters, captured in iconic poses. He’s as much a part of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter as John Williams, Harrison Ford or Ian McKellan. I’ve spent my fair share of time futilely trying to replicate his work in my sketch book, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

  6. Meanwhile, I now feel foolish that I didn’t have the name Drew Struzan at my fingertips for this discussion. Clearly, I should know the man’s name by now.

  7. Nigel Druitt says:

    Travis: I’m going to admit, Struzan’s work for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was weak compared to his past efforts. Harrison Ford looked older on the poster than he did in the movie, and somehow, it didn’t have quite the same feel. (The one sheet for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade might just be my favorite movie poster of all time.)

    Meanwhile, I love the stuff he’s done lately for Frank Darabont. The Shawshank and Green Mile DVD covers are really cool. And I love that Darabont used him for The Mist. (In case anyone hasn’t seen it, the main character is a movie poster artist.) Great stuff for The Mist.

    However, I can see your point…

  8. Travis McClain says:

    Nigel, I actually liked the Crystal Skull teaser poster; it called to mind the Temple of Doom teaser that I always liked. The release poster just felt like a paint-by-numbers job. I didn’t mind that Ford appeared aged there; I just minded that it felt rote. The Darabont work has been decent, but again I just don’t feel wowed by it. It may, however, be an instance of me just taking the guy for granted. As someone who sketches, I at least admire his technique and skill. At least it’s not Photoshop.

  1. February 22, 2011

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