1980s to Now

A rare example of a sequel that transcends the original, Lucasfilm's The Empire Strikes Back was the highest grossing film of 1980 and has come to be regarded as the best film in the original Star Wars trilogy. The epic space saga continued as the Imperial forces pursue the Rebel Alliance, while Master Yoda trains Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi Knight, despite Darth Vader's determination to turn him to the dark side. One of the greatest plot twists in cinematic history unfolds at the film's climax, when Vader reveals to Luke that he is his father.

This extremely rare ‘Style A’ US 40 x 60 poster is better known as the “Gone With The Wind” style poster, as artist Roger Kastel based his design on Tom Jung’s iconic poster for the 1967 re-release of Gone With The Wind, to portray the romantic relationship between Han Solo and Princess Leia that would be explored in the film. Considered to be one of the most attractive and evocative of the original Star Wars posters, the same stunning design was used on the first US One Sheet and US 30x40 posters that were issued to theatres in May 1980. However, the ‘Gone With The Wind’ style posters were soon recalled and replaced by the much more common ‘Style B’ posters after actor Billy Dee Williams reportedly complained to 20th Century Fox that he wasn’t featured on the poster, despite his substantial role as Lando Calrissian and contractual billing in the film. The ‘Style B’ and every subsequent poster for the movie featured Lando somewhere in the design.

As a recalled design, the ‘Gone With The Wind’ style posters are already a sought after rarity for collectors in any size, yet this oversized US 40x60 is particularly rare. US 30x40 and 40x60 posters were produced on heavy stock paper for outside use at drive-in theaters. In addition to having substantially lower print runs than US One Sheets, very few survived in good condition as they were often exposed to the elements and the thick cardstock creased easily. It is likely that only a few hundred of these posters were printed at the time of the original release. This copy has survived in very good condition with only minor imperfections.

Condition

Excellent (A-)

Unfolded cardstock, not backed. Light edge wear and creasing to white margins. Tiny chip to upper right corner and ¼in. tear to lower right corner. A handful of minor creases through image and some minor surface scuffs and scratches. Image and colours otherwise excellent.