Link: Drew: The Man Behind The Poster

Summary: A documentary looking at the work of illustrator Drew Struzan and the iconic film posters he created over the decades before his retirement.

Thoughts: It’s easy to take film poster art for granted, but almost every film lover has Drew Struzan’s work permanently etched somewhere in their memories; his style of highlighted “mountain of faces” portraiture alone conjures up the magic of the movies, perhaps along with a bit of nostalgia nowadays, as illustrative poster art has been on the decline.

While the documentary provides some fascinating insights into Struzan’s work, it was light on both biographical details of the man himself (understandable if he’d rather keep his personal life personal) and on how he actually works (which may not be of interest to general audiences anyway). Instead, we’re mostly presented with the talking heads of celebrities in the industry who’ve worked with or been influenced by Struzan’s work. The film provides a sort of overview of Struzan’s most iconic work through the decades, with a bit of backstory regarding how they came about. Fascinating material, but it personally left me hungry for more. Fun movie; definitely worth checking out.