Educational Media Reviews Online

This film documents the life and work of Drew Struzan, an artist who has obtained “pop star” status through the images he has painted on movie posters. Producers, directors, and actors all agree that Struzan’s posters are “legendary”: the image is “not just an ad, it’s the first notes of the piece, the beginning of the story,” and the “artistic interpretation of what the story is in one image really makes you want to run out and see the movie.”

Drew’s upbringing did not lend any support to anything artistic. Yet, he pursued a degree in art, often living below the poverty line in order to achieve the goal of being an artist. The film recounts the professional progression of a struggling artist to “legendary” artist. His work for Lucas Films on the first Star War series launched Struzan’s career to creating painted posters for films. The bottom line of Struzan’s work is to create posters that “not only communicate the meaning of the film, but to meet the expectation and excitement of the movie goer toward the film.” This film would be beneficial for art students, painters, and graphic design students as a study of an artist, his style, and professional progression.