Posters of Prominence: “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”
When George Lucas finally announced to the world that new Star Wars films were coming, no one could have predicted what the prequels would ultimately become. Imaginations were ignited. Thoughts of what the Clone Wars would be. How Luke and Leia came to be separated. The initial meeting and early adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO.
But none of these overshadowed the question burning in every Star Wars fan’s mind: How would Anakin become Darth Vader?
An Anticipation For The Ages
While The Phantom Menace as a film failed to meet the unbelievably high expectations set upon it, its early advertising campaign to garner support and ferverous interest in a new chapter of the saga was unparalleled. The early teaser trailer showed glimpses of a foggy forest, bringing the moon of Endor to mind. A sleek ship amidst the deserts of Tatooine. Even Vader’s trademark breaths played subtly amidst the line of text proclaiming, “Every saga has a beginning…” The rest shows a barrage of what we now look back on as mostly missed opportunities and reminders of performances and plot mechanics that just didn’t work out as well as the world had hoped.
While the trailer brings to mind all of these inadequacies about the film, the teaser poster art campaign associated with Episode I was met with critical praise, and even now, deservedly so. “The Shadow of Vader” was designed by advertising firm New Wave Creative, in association with Ellen Lee and Jim Ward of Lucasfilm. Preceding the trailer by ten days, on November 10th, 1998, this poster brought a minimalistic depiction of what is now the obvious, complete story of Star Wars.
Duel of the Fates
Despite the ire many have for Jake Lloyd’s acting ability in Episode I, his look here as a young, innocent boy unaware of his tragic destiny completely captures the entirety of Lucas’s vision in a single image. No other poster among anything created for the Star Wars films does its job conveying the rise and fall of Anakin as well as this one. It instantly reminds you of the youthful naivety of Luke Skywalker from the original film. Through its inspired use of subtle manipulation of shadow, the ominous figure of Darth Vader is immediately recognizable. As the saying goes – it tells a thousand words by its simple, but powerful composition. Note too, that at the time this poster was revealed, the full title of The Phantom Menace had yet to make its appearance.
Below is an alternate, wide-format version of the same poster.
Where Are They Now?
Ellen Lee, who was Advertising Art Director for the film, now works as a designer at Pixar. Jim Ward, who was Director of Marketing for Lucasfilm, later became President of Lucasarts (the gaming division of the Lucas media empire), then left the industry to try politics running as an Arizona congressional candidate, and now acts as President and CEO of the Phoenix Symphony. New Wave Creative went on to design iconic posters for films such as Borat, About Schmidt, and Shaun of the Dead.
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.
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?
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…)
(Er… “IN” the background. Stupid typos…)
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.
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.
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…
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.