Neon and Napalm: JAWS: The Art of the Poster

Thursday 13 July 2017

JAWS: The Art of the Poster

Back in 2015 the movie JAWS hit its 40th Anniversary, released on June 20th 1975 (December 26th in the UK) the film did for beach holidays what Fatal Attraction did for having an affair. Jaws installed a fear of deep ocean water in me, I will not swim in deep open water from a boat unless I'm with lots of other people (the chances of being attacked are somewhat reduced if there's more meat swimming around). The film was responsible for the massive decline in the shark population in the late 70's and very early 80's when fear and the 'cool factor' of shark fishing, "hey look ma, I killed a predator" painted sharks in a bad light rather than the crucial role they play in the ecology of the ocean. The point is the only thing more dangerous than a man eater is a man hunting for the thrill of it.Man remains at the top of the food chain, 11,417 sharks are killed every hour according to a 2013 Huff Post article. Anyway, I digress -(sorry about that), when JAWS reached its 40th milestone back in 2015 the Alamo Drafthouse in Texas celebrated by showing the movie Jaws on Austins Lake Travis where viewers could sit on inflatables to watch the movie at night. It's been a yearly event and shows the movie through June and July.

Designer Roger Kastel was responsible for the original JAWS movie poster painted as an oil-on-board painting for the purposes of the films marketing for Universal. (He's also credited with The Empire Strikes Back movie poster.) The JAWS shark mouth and swimmer design was based on Paul Bacons original book cover for the Doubleday hardcover which was created in 1974 depicting a shark below a swimmer, the image was black and white. Kastels updated version for Universal brought more life and menace to the premise of the story and the terror of an impending shark attack.

The Kastel cover featuring the nude swimmer ended up getting the book banned in Boston, Massachusetts and St Petersburg Florida. Further complications including a lawsuit between DoubleDay and Bantam over the revised and updated cover and Paul Bacons original concept ended up with DoubleDay receiving compensation.

The original Kastel artwork, once framed and hanging in the Society of Illustrators in New York was shipped off to Hollywood for the movie promotion back in the late 70's, it was never returned, lost forever and has never been since since.

JAWS remains a iconic movie over 40 years on, an almost ageless classic - it defined the summer blockbuster and created a cultural phenomenon. 40 years down the line it inspired fans, designers and artists all over the world to express their love and respect for the movie with some truly awe inspiring poster designs. Here's a selection of some of the best.

Phantom City Creatives JAWS poster print limited to a run of 325 now fetches a tidy sum if you can get your hands on it via Ebay with prices in the region of $299
Check out the red variation below.