The Star Wars films are amazing works of art and so are the movie posters associated with the films. In a new series of ongoing blog posts I'll be reviewing some of my favorite Star Wars movie posters from each of the films. I hope to review some rare and recalled versions as well. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back I'd like to start off by reviewing some of my favorite The Empire Strikes Back
Posters.
1. This poster below is probably my favorite The Empire Strikes Back movie poster. I love the simplicity of the poster. Compared to the other artistic posters resembling oil paintings or watercolor illustrations with a lot of busy artwork, this one has an elegant simplicity that just seems to work. A simple imposing close up of Darth Vader's helmet and mask over a starry space background looks great in my humble opinion. All that black just drives home the fact that the Empire is nothing nice! I've always loved the posters that have the "The Star Wars Saga Continues" line on them.
Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
Poster
27.2 in. x 40.4 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
2. The poster below is a close second in my list of favorite The Empire Strikes Back movie posters. I love the artwork of Vader at the top and the blazing oranges and red are very cool and more colorful than the typical Empire Strikes Back poster. Darth's left hand seems to reach out at you in 3D and it's size and dark shadow are very imposing.
I also love how the Empire Strikes Back logo over the metallic bars divides the poster into an upper and lower half which also seems to separate The evil Vader from the rest of the poster.
Of course who wouldn't love a poster with an image of the Millennium Falcon blazing through banked on its side with a TIE Advanced x1 TIE Fighter in hot pursuit? Truly an awesome poster...which is probably why it's sold out at most movie poster sites.
Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
Poster
26.8 in. x 39.8 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
3. The following poster is pretty cool. Of course it features the "The Star Wars Saga Continues" line I love. I like the unusual looking Darth Vader at the top...with his cape covering most of his chest plate it's not the typical view we see of Vader. Although the overall look of the poster is a little busy, I like how the "The Empire Strikes Back" logo stands alone on the uncluttered portion of the background. I'm not a fan of the overall washed out look to the poster, but I'm still a fan of this poster's general design.
Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
Poster
Buy at AllPosters.com
4. Here is another very nice Empire Strikes Back poster. I love the "The Saga Continues"done in bold red. Again we have the Vader helmet as a pronounced feature looming in the background (which seems to be a central theme to most of the Empire Strikes Back posters). The busy artwork in the middle of the poster is done perfectly. I love the colors and I'm a big fan of the way all of the artwork in the middle of the poster has a triangular shape...with the highest elements in the middle gradually decreasing in height as the art flows outward. It looks very cool and has a much more dramatic effect. I have always loved the way the dark black upper portion of this poster contrasts with the bright white snow and ice of Hoth in the bottom portion. A very nice look and a personal favorite of mine.
Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
Poster
26.8 in. x 39.8 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
5. Below is another favorite of mine. Again we have two common features of Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back posters: The semi-transparent Darth Vader helmet ghosted in the background and the "The Star Wars Saga Continues" tagline at the top.
One of my favorite parts of the this poster are the contrasting colors against the dominant black in the background. A very modern and artistic look to an old poster. The yellowish gold highlights look great against the black as well. Another subtle change to this poster is the way the artist and designers allowed the movie credits and list of actors to take a back seat to the artwork. Placing this info in the lower left corner with the Empire Strikes Back logo opposite in the lower right corner works very well.
Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
Poster
27 in. x 39.75 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
6. Finally I present the poster below. Although I like it it's not at the top of my favorite lists. Again we see those two common elements, the Darth Vader helmet in the background and the "The Saga Continues" line. The fact that Lord Vader's helmet is off center and to the left slightly has always looked a little strange to me. I'm not a huge fan of the central theme of Han leaning over leia to plant a kiss on her. Maybe it's becomes I'm a guy, but I've always preferred action and not romance to be the main focus of my Star Wars movie posters. The corniness of the Han and Leia image is offset a little by the cool image of Luke on his Tauntaun. Also kudos to the artist for working in Chewie, C3P0 and R2-D2 in a very cool way.
The pale look of the ice hot landscape at the bottom of the poster contrasts well with the dark upper part of the poster, but I have never liked the way the it seems to wash out the white Empire Strikes Back logo. Still a great poster, just not one of the best!
Star Wars- The Empire Strikes Back
Poster
26.25 in. x 40 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com
Framed Mounted
You can read more about the posters discussed and even purchase them over at:
AllPosters.com
You can also find many of these Star Wars posters and even ORIGINAL NON-REPRINT Star Wars Posters at
MoviePosters.com
So tell me readers, which of the
The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Posters is your favorite? Sound off and let me know what you think by leaving a comment in the comment section below. Until next time, thanks for reading!
-StarWarsFanDad
