Thread by @TheRealDoctorT

As a cinephile, one of the things I miss the most about pre-COVID life is going to the movies.

I miss the movies, and I miss the poster art.

There are so many great iconic posters by incredible artists.

One of my favorites is John Alvin.

Just look at the poster below... 1/

John Alvin died in 2008, but not before creating some of the most iconic movie posters ever.

“E.T.”
“The Goonies.”
“Gremlins.”
“The Little Mermaid.”
“Aladdin.”
“Beauty and the Beast.”
“The Lion King.”
“Batman Returns.”
The “Star Wars” anniversary posters.

Over 135 movies! 2/

The list of movies John Alvin created posters for is remarkable.

Let’s take a look at just a handful of these masterpieces.

Below are a few of his Disney posters. Disney credited John’s iconic imagery with helping fuel their successful renaissance in the 90’s. 3/

"There was a reason why The Lion King did the numbers that it did... There was a reason why 'Hunchback [of Notre Dame]' became a big success. It's because of the images that were produced, and a lot of those were John Alvin's paintings." - John Sabel, Walt Disney Ad Exec. 4/

Science fiction was one of John’s favorite genres, and “E.T.” was his favorite poster.

His daughter was actually the hand model he used to draw the child’s hand reaching out to E.T.

Below are again just a few of the images that are so well-known to so many. 5/

John’s style became known as “Alvinesque.” Together with artists like Drew Struzan, Bob Peak, and Saul Bass, he is considered one of the great poster artists.

His work was put on display by the National Collection of Fine Arts at the Smithsonian.

He died in 2008, at age 59. 6/

The walls in my apartment are covered with art related to the movies; production stills, concept art, posters.

In a way, it gives me some small solace.

A reminder of another time.

If you want to find out more about John Alvin and his artwork, visit johnalvinart.com