'Apocalypse Now' Poster Reproduction Coming From Mondo
The iconic Apocalypse Now poster by artist Bob Peak has been reproduced and will go on sale tomorrow courtesy of the folks at Mondo. The late Peak is often heralded as one of the best movie poster artists in the history of film, and it's easy to see why – his work is sharp, bold, and instantly memorable, and his Apocalypse Now poster is one of his very best.
Above you can see a version of the screenprinted Apocalypse Now poster reproduction from Mondo. To reproduce Bob Peak's immortal poster, Mondo received high-quality files from Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope. Mondo then turned to Jason Edmiston to handle color separations alongside Jon Smith. Shane Mahn reproduced the billing block, and Bob Peak's son Matthew Peak "helped as an extra set of eyes to ensure the final poster felt true to his father's original art."
"I've been a fan of Bob Peak's artwork for a long time," said Jason Edmiston. "When I was in grade school, I'd hang out in the library and study books about movie poster art. Bob's pieces were instantly recognizable, and stood head and shoulders above many of his contemporary's works. His work elevated the medium to high art in my opinion. He eschewed photo-realism, by accentuating features, and exaggerating forms to enhance scenes and characters, making them appear how they felt in our minds, rather than how they appeared in reality. His abstraction and artistic flourishes added drama and excitement not often achieved in painted one sheets."
Edmiston continued:
"My goal when helping separate this poster for screenprinting was to retain as much of the original artist's hand and richness of colors from the original piece as possible. I took great care to approach it like a watercolor painting, building depth with layers of transparent inks, while also paying attention to the textures, airbrushed glows, and subtle linework that Bob often employed, making this one of the most iconic movie posters of all time. Jon Smith, Mondo's resident separation guru, with a superior understanding of the printing process, then gave it a final pass, improving the depth with an extra layer of transparent grey. I have seen these posters in the flesh (printed by the great DL Screenprinting), and they might be the cleanest, most accurate representation of a digital file that I've had the pleasure to work on in my history with Mondo."
The poster will be available on April 29 at 11:00 A.M.Central on The Drop. Here's some more info:
APOCALYPSE NOW Poster by Bob Peak. Screenprint Production by Jason Edmiston, Jon Smith, and Shane Mahn. Printed by DL Screenprinting. 24" x 36". Edition of 425. Ships worldwide, in 3-5 days. $100.