The Back to the Future poster artist compares the film’s poster with its original art. Released in 1985, Back to the Future stars Michael J. Fox as the iconic Marty McFly, who is unexpectedly catapulted in the past through a vehicular time machine. The Robert Zemeckis film has become one of the most influential pieces of cinema of the 1980s. Back to the Future spawned two sequels, which were less highly regarded but remain iconic parts of the franchise.
Now, poster artist Drew Struzan reveals the evolution of his iconic Back to the Future poster. In a post on his Twitter account, Struzan showed a side-by-side image of the concept art (left) next to the resultant Back to the Future poster (right).
Struzan captioned the post with “From Painting to Poster,” living in the film’s nostalgia. The two images bear significant similarity, with the final poster looking basically like the original painting, but with the title, cast, and more stuck on to that.
Behind the Enduring Iconography of the Back to the Future Poster
Not only has Back to the Future itself stood the test of time, but so too has the poster. Replete with the orange gradient, slanted block letters reading “Back to the Future” and the image of a shocked Marty McFly, Back to the Future’s poster is nearly instantly recognizable. This is due in part to the poster’s excellent design, as it is as eye-popping as it is all-encompassing of several of the film’s main elements, including the image of McFly and the DeLorean car turned time machine.
The endurance of the Back to the Future poster is a testament to the skill of its prolific artist, Struzan. In addition to making the poster for Back to the Future, Struzan is a famed poster artist behind over 150 quintessential film posters. This work includes poster design for classic films such as The Thing, The Goonies, The Shawshank Redemption, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
How Old Back To The Future’s Cast Was Compared To Their Characters
Some of the Back to the Future cast were close to their characters’ ages, while others were older (or younger) than their characters in real life.
Reflecting on Back to the Future, it is fascinating to see the evolution from mere painting to fully fleshed out poster. Struzan is known for his painting-based posters, which he employed in many of his subsequent iconic posters. His side-by-side helps his artistry come to light, in celebration of both the great film and the multitude of great artists behind Back to the Future.
Back to the Future
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown. In 1955, he meets his parents when they were his age, and must step in to make sure they wind up together before he gets back to 1985.
