Opening: DREW: THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER (Plus A Gallery Of 7 Lesser-Known Examples)

Opening in New York today at Cinema Village, Erik P. Sharkey's documentary Drew: The Man Behind the Poster considers the life and work of legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan, who is responsible for iconic images for Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner, Back to the Future and many more.

Telling the tale through exclusive interviews with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Thomas Jane, Sam Witwer, Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, and many other artists, critics and filmmakers, this film spans the journey of Drew's early life and career in album cover art through his success as one of the most recognizable and influential movie poster artists of all time, to his most recent 'post retirement' life and works of fine art.

Beyond that official synopsis, take a look at the trailer and a few sample images drawn from the official Drew Struzan Gallery, where you can easily spend of hours, as I did earlier today when I should have been writing, perusing wonderfully-detailed movie posters that, magically, make you want to see the movie RIGHT THIS MINUTE, even though some of the movies are demonstrably really, really bad. The gallery also has samples of Struzan's studio work, where his imagination runs wild, and you can buy original art, if your budget allows.

Rather than the more famous posters, I wanted to draw attention to some of his lesser-known work. But let's start with my all-time favorite. Enjoy!

Return to Macon County (1975; d. Richard Compton)

A sequel, a small town, and young Nick Nolte, Don Johnson, and Robin Mattson.

A Small Town in Texas (1976; d. Jack Starrett)

Timothy Bottoms, Susan George, and Bo Hopkins sweat it out in another small town.

Squirm (1976; d. Jeff Lieberman)

Earthworms are squiggly. And they are hungry for human flesh.

Harry and Walter Go to New York (1977; d. Mark Rydell)

James Caan and Elliott Gould star in a 19th century bank heist picture.

The Incubus (1982; d. John Hough)

John Cassavetes. Murder. The occult.

The Outing (1987; d. Tom Daley)

A genie, a lamp, a night at a museum.

Meatballs III: Summer Job (1987; d. George Menduluk)

Patrick Dempsey goes to summer camp. "This will be his year to score!"