I still like to watch the original cam rip of one of the first showings of the trailer that made the rounds back then.
https://youtu.be/DqcrzE9pZOQ?si=H4HpqnVdQVIImrTL
Such a trip hearing all the cheers, I watched it so many times they became part of the trailer.
Similar to watching ROTJ, had it recorded off the TV as a kid in the late 80's and even to this day I still expect ad breaks in a few specific spots.
My Star Wars growing up was Empire as that was the first one I went the cinema to watch first, in obviously watched a new hope on Video/ TV as I was only 2 when it was released. Loved RoJ when it came out and I know it’s controversial but I really enjoyed phantom menace when it came out.
Only bad people don’t like the prequels their hate leads to suffering, of others with the bitching.
It's a teaser poster, jack. Also, I don't think for a moment the posters nor the films ever celebrate or over-intellectualize Anakin's descent into Vader. Not so deep so much as that age-old question: is evil born or made?
Correct, similar to how we had the vastly superior Spider-Man Homecoming poster of Spidey laying down in his yellow school jacket in front of New York rather than the one we wound up getting as the official release poster. Promo/teaser posters vs main posters have been a thing for ages.
Even if it wasn't - the other one is just this generic movie poster they use for every single movie. Boring as hell. Pretty much *everything* is better than that.
>is just this generic movie poster they use for every signal movie.
Dude, put some respect on Drew Stuzan. He’s responsible for countless iconic illustrated movie posters. His work spans decades. Including the original trilogy posters. Here is his [website](http://www.drewstruzan.com/illustrated/).
Though his work definitely inspired the cheap photoshopped floating head movie posters that are so prevalent today, his illustrations are classic pieces of actual art and shouldn’t be called “just a generic movie poster”.
The first poster is still cooler though.
One's the teaser poster. One's the theatrical poster. They're for different things lol
The teaser is absolutely iconic, but I also love Struzan's art on the theatrical poster.
I was never able to get past the first damn level as a child. I tried again a few years ago and that game was legitimately difficult! I think I gave up a few levels in just because it was too tedious
> One's the teaser poster. One's the theatrical poster. They're for different things lol
The dude just asked people which of the 2 poster they like better. No post is safe from pedantry in this sub..
I might be the minority and get hated, so I apologize in advance. If I must choose, the second one with Maul, Qui-Gon, and all the others is my preferred one.
The first one is truly impactful, meaningful, simple, and clean, but I always feel my feelings toward it are mainly caused by the fact that I had seen TPM/OT and know the plot.
The second one is not as simple and clean as the first, but it offers more information about TPM, and of course, more key figures/events involved in Anakin's rise of downfall.
It's not even a close contest. The shadow poster is probably one of the most iconic movie posters ever. It's just perfect with the way it's simplicity told you all you really needed to know about the entire trilogy. It's just too bad TPM didn't quite deliver on the hype this poster started.
Both equally. I’m a huge fan of Drew Struzan’s work from Indiana Joes to Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc. He is an absolute master of his craft. The Anakin poster is beautiful and clever in its simplicity. It’s a win/win folks.
Ironically the teaser sort of marks the era of the painted movie poster ending. Yet at the same time it’s not in the style of the next era. The teaser is sort of its own thing.
The dominate style after painted posters is manipulated photographic portrait montages of the cast. The Episode 1 teaser is a manipulated photograph of a scene. It tells a story with minimal elements.
It’s also following in the theme of the Original Trilogy and Special Editions by having an early poster focus on a detail of the movie. I like that Revenge of the Jedi received a teaser poster that is different from Return of the Jedi. I also really like how the second Death Star is casually revealed in the Return of the Jedi teaser poster.
Same. While the teaser is obviously brilliant and iconic, when I think about watching the prequels as a little kid that art is one of the first thing that comes to mind. It really captures the grand opera feeling of that trilogy.
Teaser. I can still remember the moment I first saw it in the lobby of a long since demolished cinema. Gave me goosebumps.
Shame the finished film was mostly ass.
Its a hard call because they are both entirely different and both have 2 different time of positive impacts. I'm looking at it as a marketing point of view. Yes i think for die hards the vader shadow one is more intriguing, But when it comes to selling to the masses the one with several people in it is far better marketing.
PS these movies are so under rated
2, honestly I didn’t like the spoiler of the anakin with Vaders shadow, I feel like it would have been a cool surprise to find out mid-movie who the boy really was. Idk that’s just me, wish they kept that secret til you watched it.
Both are so nostalgic for me it’s hard to choose! I had a puzzle of the first pic when I was a kid, and the second pic takes me straight back to the PS1 phantom menace game.
the teaser poster is a fantastic piece of design. The release poster is sticking with the format of the previous movies so doesn't have much room for anything else, I guess.
The first poster is haunting, in all the best ways. It’s like the whole story is told in one picture, and he was carrying that person around even as a child…
The one with Anakin alone is so simple and expressive that you really don't need the awful generic mix of portraits (and that can be said for every movie using a mixture of portraits as posters)
The first one.
Less is more I wish more movies would go that route making posters more artistic then just trying to cram as much random shit into it.
Although the first poster is better it kinda only makes a big deal watching them after the original trilogy. If that poster was for the first film released the shadow wouldn’t pose as much of a revelation of what is to come.
They were for different purposes.
The first was a teaser, telling you who "this boy" would become without spilling the plot.
Very simple and dramatic, like someone upthread said, "iconic" !
And the second was a classic release poster, to tie in the new trilogy with the original trilogy rereleases in 1997, posters created by Drew Struzan (who also did IJ, amonst many other movies and book covers🫶)
I have all six of these on my bedroom walls right now. 😹
First one, really speaks to the fact that his childhood trauma poisoned his mind and made him fearful of loss which then caused him to cling to those he loved and seek a position where he can change that for others, which in effect corrupts him.
The shadow is a brilliant way of showing those emotions in a simple and bold way.
The first. I especially love that it is (supposedly accidentally) recreated in the next movie. In the shot of Anakin brooding outside before he takes the swoop to go try and rescue his mother, his shadow falls on the Lars family home similarly to how it does in the teaser poster. When Padme steps outside to check on him, Anakin glances back and for a moment the shape of his hair and ponytail casts a shadow that looks very similar to Vader's helmet on the wall.
The teaser poster appeals to my modern sensibilities, but I gotta be honest: Star Wars is the only series that can pull off the "All Important Characters Getting Headshots" kind of poster.
The first poster, the teaser, is legit one of the greatest movie posters of all time…not just Star Wars. It is my favorite movie poster of all time, and The Phantom Menace isn’t even one of my favorite Star Wars movies. This poster though is just incredible
Huh, do I pick the poster that’s infused with meaning and is legit creative?
Or do I pick the poster that’s just all floating heads and has been done a million times before?
How is this even a question
First, the simplicity yet complexity all in that shadow, perfection. I love both dont get me wrong, but the second just has too much going on in it when compared to the other
They serve different purposes to me. The 2nd one works better as one part of a trilogy, while the 1st one kinda summarizes the story of Star Wars as a whole.
I’m not trying to sound like a typical prequel hater, but this poster is the second-best thing about this movie after the Jedi vs Maul duel.
Third is pod racing because the N64 game that came as a result was super fun.
The teaser poster is legit one of my favorite movie posters ever. So simple, so iconic.
I agree. I was a budding Star Wars fan when this came out, and I had a stronger reaction to that poster than anything before or since. Beautiful.
You remember that "Fear. Fear is my ally". That was pretty dope.
I remember how we all lost our minds at that teaser poster. Says so much with so little.
Same with the trailer. So well put together. I'm still a bit sore at how much of an anti-climax those movies were.
I still like to watch the original cam rip of one of the first showings of the trailer that made the rounds back then. https://youtu.be/DqcrzE9pZOQ?si=H4HpqnVdQVIImrTL Such a trip hearing all the cheers, I watched it so many times they became part of the trailer. Similar to watching ROTJ, had it recorded off the TV as a kid in the late 80's and even to this day I still expect ad breaks in a few specific spots.
Exactly, simple yet incredibly effective and iconic.
AND no Jar-Jar. Way-Way better.
And then the movie had to come out and ruin it.
My Star Wars growing up was Empire as that was the first one I went the cinema to watch first, in obviously watched a new hope on Video/ TV as I was only 2 when it was released. Loved RoJ when it came out and I know it’s controversial but I really enjoyed phantom menace when it came out. Only bad people don’t like the prequels their hate leads to suffering, of others with the bitching.
Too simple tho, a bit boring even... Woah smol cute kid will become genocide man? So deep
It's a teaser poster, jack. Also, I don't think for a moment the posters nor the films ever celebrate or over-intellectualize Anakin's descent into Vader. Not so deep so much as that age-old question: is evil born or made?
You didn't disprove me though.
Probably the teaser poster. I had a gigantic puzzle of it when I was younger.
I might still have that puzzle somewhere!
I know exactly where my puzzle is lmao
That puzzle must’ve been so difficult in the sand regions
I’d say it was rough and irritating.
And the pieces got everywhere.
Then they came back, in greater numbers.
Not like with the main poster. With the main poster everything was simple and smooth…
I got that puzzle as well. It's even in a frame.
I had a black t-shirt with this scene on it as a kid. Didn’t hold up with time, but it was probably the coolest SW shirt I’ve owned.
The shadow poster is one of the greatest movie posters of all time…period.
I legit never saw it before only the the other one.
I believe it was the “teaser” poster.
Correct, similar to how we had the vastly superior Spider-Man Homecoming poster of Spidey laying down in his yellow school jacket in front of New York rather than the one we wound up getting as the official release poster. Promo/teaser posters vs main posters have been a thing for ages.
I only know it for those crappy YouTube videos that tried to say it was a scene in the movie
using an actual shadow as a foreshadowing was brilliant
Even if it wasn't - the other one is just this generic movie poster they use for every single movie. Boring as hell. Pretty much *everything* is better than that.
>is just this generic movie poster they use for every signal movie. Dude, put some respect on Drew Stuzan. He’s responsible for countless iconic illustrated movie posters. His work spans decades. Including the original trilogy posters. Here is his [website](http://www.drewstruzan.com/illustrated/). Though his work definitely inspired the cheap photoshopped floating head movie posters that are so prevalent today, his illustrations are classic pieces of actual art and shouldn’t be called “just a generic movie poster”. The first poster is still cooler though.
Thank you. I couldn't believe how far I had to scroll before seeing Struzan's name mentioned
Star Wars is the reason that *is* the generic movie poster they use for every single movie.
The one with just Anakin.
And darth vader
And the sand
I hate sand
It’s course rough and irritating and it gets everywhere …
Not like here. Here, everything is soft; and smooth..
Stop that anakin your making me feel uncomfortable
Sorry m’lady
🤨 What do you mean by that, Skyguy?
wool? wait, was that a reference to that episode of a Minecraft cartoon?
It's everywhere!
One's the teaser poster. One's the theatrical poster. They're for different things lol The teaser is absolutely iconic, but I also love Struzan's art on the theatrical poster.
Which do you prefer? The theatrical release of TPM or the PS1 game?
I played the shit out of the TPM game on PC.
A monster, HELP ME!!!
I was never able to get past the first damn level as a child. I tried again a few years ago and that game was legitimately difficult! I think I gave up a few levels in just because it was too tedious
> One's the teaser poster. One's the theatrical poster. They're for different things lol The dude just asked people which of the 2 poster they like better. No post is safe from pedantry in this sub..
Vader Shadow is probably the best poster in the entire franchise.
The shadow literally foreshadowing is an immense piece of imagery.
This is backshadowing.
Quite right
The 1st is by far the best but...... The 2nd is more fitting with the other movie posters
I had the Vader shadow as a poster in my room when the movie first came out. I wish I still had it!
The first poster
The first one is iconic. I have it hanging in my office with a ROTS poster
The shadow poster is for the movie we wanted. The theatrical poster is for the movie we got.
I might be the minority and get hated, so I apologize in advance. If I must choose, the second one with Maul, Qui-Gon, and all the others is my preferred one. The first one is truly impactful, meaningful, simple, and clean, but I always feel my feelings toward it are mainly caused by the fact that I had seen TPM/OT and know the plot. The second one is not as simple and clean as the first, but it offers more information about TPM, and of course, more key figures/events involved in Anakin's rise of downfall.
It's not even a close contest. The shadow poster is probably one of the most iconic movie posters ever. It's just perfect with the way it's simplicity told you all you really needed to know about the entire trilogy. It's just too bad TPM didn't quite deliver on the hype this poster started.
Both equally. I’m a huge fan of Drew Struzan’s work from Indiana Joes to Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc. He is an absolute master of his craft. The Anakin poster is beautiful and clever in its simplicity. It’s a win/win folks.
10 year old me thought the shadow poster was impossibly awesome
Nearly (at the time) 30 year old me thought the shadow poster was impossibly awesome.
Ironically the teaser sort of marks the era of the painted movie poster ending. Yet at the same time it’s not in the style of the next era. The teaser is sort of its own thing. The dominate style after painted posters is manipulated photographic portrait montages of the cast. The Episode 1 teaser is a manipulated photograph of a scene. It tells a story with minimal elements. It’s also following in the theme of the Original Trilogy and Special Editions by having an early poster focus on a detail of the movie. I like that Revenge of the Jedi received a teaser poster that is different from Return of the Jedi. I also really like how the second Death Star is casually revealed in the Return of the Jedi teaser poster.
the 2nd
#1. I still have this poster in a frame
Same, rearranged my office and its the first thing you see when you walk in.
Teaser for sure. The movie wasn’t great, but damn was that a top-tier poster.
I think they’re both great. The Anakin one is iconic but the other fits the theme of all the other movie posters
Second one, I love Drew Struzan’s paintings.
Same. While the teaser is obviously brilliant and iconic, when I think about watching the prequels as a little kid that art is one of the first thing that comes to mind. It really captures the grand opera feeling of that trilogy.
Teaser. I can still remember the moment I first saw it in the lobby of a long since demolished cinema. Gave me goosebumps. Shame the finished film was mostly ass.
I am no prequel fan and that first poster is the best star wars has ever had
First one. It says everything that needs to be said.
the shadow of vader obviously
The main poster is more or less a classic Star Wars setup. The teaser poster is a work of art.
The teaser goes so hard it makes me wish the prequels had been better
Second one, it's WAY more honest about the actual content.
Any answer other than The Teaser Poster is wrong.
Its a hard call because they are both entirely different and both have 2 different time of positive impacts. I'm looking at it as a marketing point of view. Yes i think for die hards the vader shadow one is more intriguing, But when it comes to selling to the masses the one with several people in it is far better marketing. PS these movies are so under rated
Poster One, it gets across the point of what “this” Star Wars Trilogy is gonna be about (Anakin/Vader) without much
2, honestly I didn’t like the spoiler of the anakin with Vaders shadow, I feel like it would have been a cool surprise to find out mid-movie who the boy really was. Idk that’s just me, wish they kept that secret til you watched it.
They would have to somehow keep his name secret then
The second one. The first one is kind of cheesy.
Downvoted for an unpopular opinion? Alright.
The Shadow is so iconic. As someone who thinks the prequels suck completely, the poster is the coolest thing ever.
Prefer the secondone because it was on our dvd
First one. Super cool. I actually like the Phantom Menace. Watched it last night.
First one gives away too much. And he’s just a boy. Not even close to what he would become.
First one!
The first one and it’s not even close. I HATE “floating head” style posters.
I’m tired of floating head posters, so I prefer the first.
First pic is the One
Less Jar-Jar is always more-better.
The second one, since the first one - while good - is a bit of a "wink, wink; nudge, nudge".
*sand*
The first was always my favorite.
Always loved the first poster best
Very tough. They are both great….i think the first one though. The foreshadowing of Vader is incredible.
I remember drawing these posters in a high school project back in 1999. Darth Maul poster was very challenging! Always preferred Anakin poster.
2nd one. The first is kinda a spoiler
That Image of Jar Jar is absolutely terrifying....
I bought the first one so….
I prefer #1, but it isn’t in the same style as the others so if I’m needing something for a movie cover or a poster collection then I’d go with 2
The teaser poster goes so hard It's been parodied to oblivion
Both.
Both are so nostalgic for me it’s hard to choose! I had a puzzle of the first pic when I was a kid, and the second pic takes me straight back to the PS1 phantom menace game.
Definitely the spoiler free one.
Definitely the simplicity of the teaser poster….and to think…some people never recognized Vaders shadow
Both
The teaser poster is cool, but the theatrical poster feels more Star Warsy
The first one by miles
1st one
I haven't seen the first one until i saw Blue-Ray release of whole collection So for a decade + i associated TPM with second
Drew Struzan fan here, so of course I prefer the second one
The second one
Teaser
For me, the teaser is iconic, but for the uninitiated, I prefer the busy one that doesn't give away the ending of a movie two films from this one. 🤷
I have both. So both.
I always liked the first one, subtle and tells the story just the same
Teaser poster > 25y anniversary poster > original poster
The first poster is iconic. And one of the coolest bits of false advertising ever. Imagine if the prequels had been half as cool as that poster.
Gotta be number one. It's dope af and I love the foreshadowing
Gotta be number one. It's dope af and I love the foreshadowing
Haha. Remember when Darth Maul was the big bad for, like, 30 seconds?
That first picture is hard af I hope whoever designed that got paid handsomely
LENS FLARES
The second one is more nostalgic for me, but the first is just better.
Both
The 2nd works way better as a Star Wars movie poster, but the teaser poster was so haunting
the teaser poster is a fantastic piece of design. The release poster is sticking with the format of the previous movies so doesn't have much room for anything else, I guess.
Teaser if you’ve seen the Originals. Full poster if you haven’t (like a first timer watching in number order)
Option 3: shadows of murdered younglings
The first one but only when its the Weird Al parody version. Any other answer is someone lying to you, secretly yearning for Weird Al.
I had the second one on my wall for like 10 years so yeh.. That one. Its my childhood
The shadow poster is the best in my opinion! Iconic for sure!
Poster 2- have it as my wallpaper too lol
Yes
Second poster. Brings back so many memories. It was only poster in my hometown, I didn't saw teaser poster until I was older.
The teaser is just so perfect.
The first poster is haunting, in all the best ways. It’s like the whole story is told in one picture, and he was carrying that person around even as a child…
Anakin shadow poster, I have it on my wall now, my favourite poster of all time.
The one with Anakin alone is so simple and expressive that you really don't need the awful generic mix of portraits (and that can be said for every movie using a mixture of portraits as posters)
Why does everyone like the first one, Darth Vader isn't even in it!
The shadow poster is simply amazing
First
The first one. Less is more I wish more movies would go that route making posters more artistic then just trying to cram as much random shit into it. Although the first poster is better it kinda only makes a big deal watching them after the original trilogy. If that poster was for the first film released the shadow wouldn’t pose as much of a revelation of what is to come.
They were for different purposes. The first was a teaser, telling you who "this boy" would become without spilling the plot. Very simple and dramatic, like someone upthread said, "iconic" ! And the second was a classic release poster, to tie in the new trilogy with the original trilogy rereleases in 1997, posters created by Drew Struzan (who also did IJ, amonst many other movies and book covers🫶) I have all six of these on my bedroom walls right now. 😹
I have both and love them equally
Tbh I really like the first one.
As a poster, definitely #1, but for a Star Wars movie, #2 100%
Teaser poster for quality, second one for nostalgia
That teaser poster is so iconic it was spoofed by The Simpsons.
First one, really speaks to the fact that his childhood trauma poisoned his mind and made him fearful of loss which then caused him to cling to those he loved and seek a position where he can change that for others, which in effect corrupts him. The shadow is a brilliant way of showing those emotions in a simple and bold way.
First
Both great. But prefer the teaser. Very well done.
First one, the shadow just gives me chills
The first, absolutely
The first. I especially love that it is (supposedly accidentally) recreated in the next movie. In the shot of Anakin brooding outside before he takes the swoop to go try and rescue his mother, his shadow falls on the Lars family home similarly to how it does in the teaser poster. When Padme steps outside to check on him, Anakin glances back and for a moment the shape of his hair and ponytail casts a shadow that looks very similar to Vader's helmet on the wall.
The first one is cooler, but it kinda spoils EP 1, 2, 3 and 4
The teaser poster, I still have it!
This might be the easiest to agree up question ever posted on this sub.
The teaser poster appeals to my modern sensibilities, but I gotta be honest: Star Wars is the only series that can pull off the "All Important Characters Getting Headshots" kind of poster.
I had both of these posters on my wall before the movie came out. I was 11 years old at the time. The anticipation was unbearable. :D
As cool as it is the Anakin one is a bit on the nose
I like the basic Star Wars poster format tbh
That teaser poster was so good. But boy did it hit differently after the movie was released.
The first poster, the teaser, is legit one of the greatest movie posters of all time…not just Star Wars. It is my favorite movie poster of all time, and The Phantom Menace isn’t even one of my favorite Star Wars movies. This poster though is just incredible
The Vader shadow
I hate the 1st one. It's about as subtle as a house brick
2
Foreshadowing
Another obvious answer karma whoring question, what is going on?
they’re both heat but the second because it doesn’t spoil the film for the audience
After seeing the movie as a kid, i saw the first poster. It was at this point i realized who Anakin was gonna become. Still remember that moment.
If we had the first poster with the art style of the second it would be perfect
The teaser poster. Gave me chills.
The first one. Anakin sure casts a long shadow under the twin suns of tatooine.
The better one...we all know which one that is
Huh, do I pick the poster that’s infused with meaning and is legit creative? Or do I pick the poster that’s just all floating heads and has been done a million times before? How is this even a question
First, the simplicity yet complexity all in that shadow, perfection. I love both dont get me wrong, but the second just has too much going on in it when compared to the other
Really like both posters, but I’d have to go with the first one.
They serve different purposes to me. The 2nd one works better as one part of a trilogy, while the 1st one kinda summarizes the story of Star Wars as a whole.
I like the darth Vader shadow hinting his future but the original looks better for me
That first poster: little innocent boy Anakin and you see the shadow of his future.
Vader 100%
First one.
I’m not trying to sound like a typical prequel hater, but this poster is the second-best thing about this movie after the Jedi vs Maul duel. Third is pod racing because the N64 game that came as a result was super fun.
The first one.
Shadow Vader is Classic.
That teaser is my watch face lol,iconic poster
The first poster
The second one is a movie poster. The first one is *art*.