Richard Amsel

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Posted by Adam from spider-we052.proxy.aol.com on October 24, 1999 at 00:49:48:

In Reply to: I believe it's SHE posted by Ulla on October 23, 1999 at 16:23:20:

Richard Amsel was one of the prominent poster artists of the late 60s all the way through the 1980s, designing work for such films as:

The Big Sleep
Buffalo Bill
The Dark Crystal
Flash Gordon
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
McCabe & Ms. Miller
Murder on the Orient Express
The Sting
The Shootist
Frequent TV-guide covers, and a Bette Midler album cover...

...and, of course, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Though I'm a big fan of Drew Struzan, I really think that Amsel's art really captured the 1930's serial poster style unlike any other contemporary poster artist. His method (a combination of acrylic, colored pencil and ink, and sometimes watercolor) has a certain texture to it whereas Struzan's is very slick. Amsel was the perfect choice for many western posters, as the block-colored pencil suggests an almost wood carving effect. If you look closely at the RAIDERS poster, he really layers the paint and colored wax pencil again and again -- I understand that this was a very lengthy process, whereas Struzan has been able to whip out a poster in a week or two. While again I love Struzan's work, I think little can compare with Amsel's poster design for the RAIDERS re-release.

You're right in that I don't think there are any albums specific to Amsel's art. While his work has been frequently published in many illustration/poster books, I don't think there's one specific source with a combination of his work. (I think Amsel died or retired in the late 1980s, as you suggested.)




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