While surfing the ‘net a week ago, I ran across the Star Wars Episode III advertising banner that you’ll soon begin seeing in movie theaters. I’ve now found the design for the film’s teaser poster. It’s a little on the bizarre side, somewhat reminiscent of the truly weird Original Trilogy posters from Eastern Europe, but I like it:
This design is simultaneously unlike most of the poster art currently clogging the megaplex lobbies and evocative of some of the early, unused poster art done for the original Star Wars way back in ’77. Of course, you’d have to be a ravening fanboy like me to know that, but take my word for it. This reminds of things I’ve seen before. What this new design mostly is, however, is ominous… which is as it should be. Whatever flaws the prequels may have as movies, they’ve had some strong promotional materials associated with them, beginning with the brilliant “Don’t Look Back” poster for Phantom Menace (that’s the one that had the cute little boy throwing a Vader-shaped shadow).
The anticipation builds…
[Ed. note: As an afterthought, let me offer anyone who may be interested some explanations of different movie advertising materials.
A banner is a very large poster made of a tough vinyl material. These are typically hung from the ceiling in a theater’s lobby, or very high up on the walls, depending on the design of the actual building. (In case you haven’t noticed, most multiplexes these days have extremely high ceilings in their lobbies, sometimes rising two or even three stories tall.)
Posters, on the other hand, are exactly what you think they are, paper advertising that are displayed closer to eye-level, usually in locked glass cases. There have been many different sizes and shapes of movie posters over the years, but about the only kind you ever see anymore (at least in the United States) is the one-sheet, which measures 27 inches wide by 40 inches high. Most movies get only a single one-sheet design, but large-profile films that are expected to produce a lot of anticipation may have one or more teasers, which come out months in advance of the film itself and are designed purely to start people talking.
Teasers rarely have complete cast and crew credits and some don’t even have a title, just a striking graphic to ensure that people start wondering what that mysterious poster is for. They are followed, in the last few weeks before the film’s release, by a so-called “regular release” design that features the title, cast and crew credits, and usually — but not always — different artwork.
The two previously released Star Wars prequels have each been preceded by a single, photography-based teaser design, which was followed later by a “regular” design that consisted of a painted character collage. I imagine Ep 3 will follow the same pattern.
In case you’re wondering how I know all this stuff, I used to work at a movie theater, and I used to collect one-sheets. (The two often go hand-in-hand, as several of my old Cinemark buddies can attest.) Although I mostly lost the bug years ago, I still occasionally pick one up if I like the art.]
I REALLY like this poster. Very cool.
Want one for Christmas? I could probably arrange that… 🙂
Although I think Hayden is completely wrong for the part.. actually its most likely not him, just crappy dialogue… I actually like the poster you previewed a week or so ago if its even real. This one just seems artificial. The artwork, although familiar doesn’t seem like it’s got the punch of the original trilogy.. course I’ve gotten old and cynical….
The DV shape looks more like a Stormtrooper than Vader. And that menacing scar above Anakin’s eye… probably from Amidala swiping at him after one to many gooses with the mechanical hand.
I grabbed this image from starwars.com. That’s enough to convince me that it’s for real. I can’t confirm the one from last week — I found it on theforce.net — but I’m pretty sure it’s for real, too. Either that or a fantastic fan-job. And the scar on Anakin’s face is also genuine — I’ve seen stills of Hayden with it in SW Insider magazine. Presumably it’s a souvenir of the Clone Wars. (Personally, I’d have made it much more pronounced, to show some genuine consequences of the wars as well as the beginnings of the Vader we all know and hiss at.)
Personally, I’ve never had a problem with any of the actors in the prequel trilogy, not even the kid who played Anakin in TPM (I know a lot of folks thought he was stiff as a board, but name me one child actor in the same age group who isn’t.)
I think Hayden probably got the part because he bears some resemblance to Mark Hamill — not so much in AOTC, but he has long 70s-style hair in ROTS, and I can see it there. I would blame the dialogue and the directing more than Hayden himself, who has gotten good notices for other work.
As for the prequel poster art, no, it doesn’t have the iconic quality of the original trilogy posters, but I don’t think it’s trying to. The original trilogy posters were very consciously designed in a “classic Hollywood” style. This one isn’t. It’s trying to be familiar, but modern, just like the prequels themselves. Whether or not you like the look is completely subjective, but I don’t see anything wrong with it in principle. I like the poster, myself; nothing wrong with trying something different, and it’s a lot more interesting than the boring photoshopped headshots that pass for 90% of one-sheets today. The DV shape is stylized, of course, but I doubt anyone would mistake it for a stormtrooper.
I think you’ve just gotten really sour about the prequels and Uncle George. Don’t blame you there, but like I’ve said before, I don’t entirely hate the prequels, even with their deficiencies. They won’t be remembered like the originals, but they do have their moments…
Dakota Fanning is one child actor who isn’t stiff as a board…. 🙂
The occasional mutant 40 yr-old in a child’s body notwithstanding… 🙂