Roel1973 Documentary about Drew Struzan, the graphic artist who designed the legendary posters for the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, as well as many iconic eighties movie posters.The film tells Struzan's life story chronologically, starting off with his unhappy childhood, his first years as a professional artist (drawing mainly record sleeves), his success in Hollywood and, finally, his retirement. We go from A to B to C and so on, with many celebrities providing sound bites, from George Lucas and Spielberg to fans and film makers Frank Darabont and Guillermo del Toro (who payed Struzan out of his own pocket to make posters for the Hellboy-movie, even though Del Toro knew the studio wouldn't use them).This doesn't go very deep. We get to know the man behind the poster just a little.The stories he tells stay well within Struzan's own comfort zone. You never get the impression the film makers try to get more out of him. So, it's a little about the man, a little about his process as an artist and a lot about his legacy. But do we really need a documentary to tell us that every Star Wars fan has Struzan's images burned in his or her brain? It helps that Struzan is a very nice person, who's not afraid to talk about his loveless parents and all the times he got cheated business wise. But all in all, the feeling remains that the film makers were too easily content with what they had. As for the form, it's quite uninteresting, with lots of talking heads and prosaic shots in Struzan's studio and house.

kosmasp The work that goes into poster or rather went into the posters, is great. And the movie/documentary is giving us one of the best that ever drew anything (no pun intended). It does help that while not a man of big words, the man behind the posters, is a very likable one. And he is also very funny too.There are a lot of famous people who comment on the work and we get a lot of background information. We also get how the man came to the business, how he climbed the ladder. All this might sound trivial, but it is really nicely told with a joke thrown in there for good measure. You really feel like you got to know the guy, after watching this. A real nice homage and a good documentary

Larry Silverstein Despite being a movie buff, I must admit I had never heard of Drew Struzan before seeing this film. However once I saw his iconic and brilliant movie posters, I realized I had seen his work many times. This documentary, directed by Erik P.Sharkey, gives the viewer an incredible and mesmerizing look at Struzan's work over the past decades.The movie describes the very difficult early life of Struzan, how he met his wife Dylan, and eventually the birth of their son Christian. His amazing artistic talents were only slowly discovered, but once filmmakers began to see his work his success really skyrocketed. Struzan has an innate instinct on how to paint incredibly vivid posters that capture not only the themes of the movies, but rivet you with the facial characteristics of its' stars and characters.Struzan did the striking posters for the movie series of "Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", "Back to the Future", "E.T., and "The Muppet Movies", among many others. Unfortunately today, many of the movie studios are cutting advertising budgets by going with computer generated posters rather than have an artist like Struzan paint them, so his talents are becoming a "lost art". I think that's a real shame as the magical quality of these posters will suffer greatly.I've used many adjectives here to describe Struzan's artistic work, but I honestly was mesmerized by his talents and how they were presented here. I would give this documentary my highest rating, as I remained engrossed throughout.

Mr-Fusion It wouldn't be out of line to say that Drew Struzan is the John Williams of movie advertising. He's the guy behind most of the best movie posters of the '80s and '90s; the man who married iconic marketing imagery with all of the great comedy and escapist fantasy movies of an era. He was able to encapsulate the spirit of a movie in a still image - a visual that would always spring to life. Something the current photoshopping trend is woefully lacking."Drew: The Man Behind the Poster" is a glowing look at the man behind the magic. Covered here are his neglected childhood, tough starving- artist training and his refining years as an album cover artist. There's no shortage of industry pros here to discuss the man's impact. It's high praise indeed when Steven Spielberg says he hoped his movies lived up to what Struzan painted. This is a terrific movie, absorbing and totally worth it - if for nothing else than to see all of the not-so-famous pieces he's done (and there is a LOT). It plays as a testament to how effective the dying art of dedicated movie advertising was. He's perched up there with Dave Stevens as one of my favorite illustrators - instantly recognizable and an icon of popular art. Very good movie, and constantly brought a smile to my face.9.5/10Also, please, please, please, somebody make a documentary on Stevens.