They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but is seems to me that creating an inspired dedication is much more flattering than just copying it. That’s why artistic takes on classic movie posters are so cool, they combine true creativity and adoration to the original. We even sell some of these posters in the Neatoshop (like the one seen above), The Zombie Wars posters by Matt Busch. Here are some more excellent artist renditions of classic movies and television shows.
Star Wars: The Villains
In anticipation of the Star Wars 25th Anniversary, the same Matt Busch responsible for the brilliant Zombie Wars poster also created a poster that depicts only those fighting for the Dark Side.
Brouha on Mustafar
You’ve gotta admit, an epic battle between Anakin and his master, Obi Wan Kenobi would be completely worth a $49.95 Pay Per View fee. The guys over at Old Red Jalopy did a great job at capturing the spirit of a classic boxing poster while incorporating plenty of Star Wars touches.
Imperial Recruitment Propaganda
Like our earth armies, the Empire needs to constantly advertise in order to keep recruitment numbers high. Especially while the rebels are busy destroying whole Death Stars full of troops. These posters by Feng Zhu are sure to help get the enrollment numbers rising.
Minimalist Planet Travel Signs
These minimalist planet posters by Justin Van Genderen are beyond cool both for their travel-style designs and the art deco inspired images used for each planet.
Rebel Transport, Inc.
I adore Steve Thomas’ art and his delightful travel posters were one of the biggest inspirations for me to do this post. While this Rebel Transport poster is my favorite of his Star Wars works, there are plenty more on his site, so please view the rest at the link.
Lord Of the Rings
If you like the artwork from Steve’s Rebel Transport, Inc., but prefer Tolkien over Lucas, then be sure to check out his website anyway to enjoy travel posters for The Shire and other wonderful places from the Lord of the Rings universe.
Star Trek
If you know your Star Trek, then you already know the problem with tribbles. Even if you weren’t familiar with the threat though, this poster by Olly Moss would quickly fill you in on the matter.
Lost
Star Trek isn’t Olly Moss’ only inspiration for fun poster designs though. This Lost poster is brilliant in that only a fan of the show will recognize the many references included in the artwork.
Dexter Season By Season
These five Dexter posters are each inspired by a different season of the show. They were created by graphic designer Ty Mattson and soon became so popular that Showtime began selling them on their website.
Parks And Recreation
Mike Mitchell’s Casablanca-styled poster for Parks and Recreation is brilliant in that the goofy tv show and dramatic film have practically nothing in common, but the poster still looks perfect in its silliness –which does fit the humor of the show quite well.
X Men
Eric Tan is another great artist in the poster arena. This X Men poster is great, as are his designs for The Incredibles and Wall-E, which were both inspired by the artwork used on the old Disneyland ride posters.
Ghostbusters Ghost Trap Instructions
The 3G Show was an art exhibition exclusively featuring pieces revolving around Ghostbusters, Goonies and Gremlins. This ghost trap instructional poster was Tom Whalen’s contribution to the show.
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
The same gallery that hosted the 3G show also hosted a Crazy 4 Cult art show, which included this great Monty Python poster by Brandon Schaefer.
Wizard of Oz
Worth1000 user tocath created this hilarious recruitment propaganda poster for the Wicked Witch of the West. I always thought she forced the flying monkeys to join her army through the draft, but apparently her minions are all volunteers. Good to know.
The Godfather
Sure this poster by the Los Angeles Pop Art Gang might not look as artistic as many of the other posters on this list, but what sets this one apart is the fact that it was created with the entire script from the movie.
Time Bandits
This great Time Bandits poster was made by Justin Erickson to help promote a “Back to The 80’s” film screening series in his home town.
Hitchcock
What’s great about these reimagined Hitchcock posters by Laz Marquez is that they look modern, which emphasizes just how delightfully timeless his films are.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I absolutely love how dramatically intense this Ninja Turtles poster by Jeff Procter looks. Imagine how different the movie would be if it was at all like this poster.
Inglorious Basterds
Alex Pardee is one of my favorite artists, which is why I was so excited to see his epic rendition of Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. If you like this, visit his website and check out his other awesome works.
Steven King Movies
Artist Nick Tassone has created a variety of great minimalist posters all based on Steven King stories that were turned into movies. While they’re all pretty great, I have to admit this Misery one is my favorite.
Lego Versions of Oscar Nominated Films
Old Red Jalopy created all of these Legoized versions of last year’s Best Picture nominees, which were then featured on Next Movie.
Movie Mash Ups
When it comes to iconic movie posters, sometimes we get the images lodged in our head so deeply that it’s hard to imagine any other film using the same artwork. That’s why some of the movie mash up posters from this B3ta.com challenge are just so brilliant.
Minimalist
If you like minimalism, you’ll love the 54 minimalist posters featured on News Radio WJNO. I don’t know who created the artworks, so if you do, please share in the comments.
Pictograms
These pictogram posters by Viktor Hertz do an excellent job of depicting the subject of the movie in the most simplistic manner possible. I recommend viewing the link to check out the rest, particularly the Tron and Rosemary’s Baby designs. Now I’ll be honest, there are TONS of these on the net and they are all pretty good. I chose what I thought were the best of all the movie and show inspired posters I could find. If you have any favorites I left off the list, please share them in the comments!