The 'Straw Dogs' Poster Gets a Slight Redesign
Going black-and-white and with a proper reflection
Director Rod Lurie has posted a revised poster for his upcoming remake of Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs that makes a little more sense based on the use of the reflection of Alexander Skarsgard's character considering the previous poster featured a reflection in the portion of the glasses that was actually broken and resting on James Marsden's cheek.
They've also gone 100% black-and-white this time, which is a bit closer to the original film's highly memorable poster. I've included the original 1971 poster featuring Dustin Hoffman here and below the new and the old version for comparison.
Straw Dogs stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth along with Skarsgard and is due to hit theaters on September 16, and centers on David and Amy Sumner (Marsden and Bosworth), a Hollywood screenwriter and his actress wife, who return to her small hometown in the deep South to prepare the family home for sale after her father's death. Once there, tensions build in their marriage and old conflicts re-emerge with the locals, including Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie (Skarsgard), leading to a violent confrontation. The film also stars Dominic Purcell, James Woods and Willa Holland.
I've also included the first trailer at the very bottom of the post. What do you think of the poster change?
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Their first version was an egregious butchering of an iconic poster design. With the update, they've improved it to a half-assed re-imagining. Way to go, guys!
Why can't they just leave Marsden alone in the poster? The new poster is sort of an improvement but still looking a bit weird.
Sadly enough, it looked better when Madea spoofed it for one of the posters of Tyler Perry's films.
Whoa there– lighten up, all you Peckenpals. If we countenance a remake of an iconic film, then we are also giving license to recreate, or reimagine, the poster art. So let's not flail on them just for going there.
Movie posters, like album covers, become saturated with the accumulated memories of the experience they represent. The more cherished or esteemed the film, the more indelible become the key poster images. The posters for the sequels to (and the remake of) Psycho all focused on the bleak old house on the hill. Any projected remake of Close Encounters is liable to employ an aspect of that dark road to the Devil's Tower.
For Straw Dogs, it is the protagonist's meek face, beaten down, bruised, but beginning to harden; on the cusp of accepting what is now necessary. That breaking point is rendered literal by his shattered glasses. I don't blame the filmmakers for sticking with perfection. I do, however, think that if you're gonna go there, you'd better do it RIGHT. Their first attempt was a total cock-up. I really feel they got a nice result in the end, though. Yes, Dustin Hoffman's face says so much more, but hey– it's Dustin freaking Hoffman!
Much better!
I don't think a poster redesign is going to help. I have a very hard time believing people are going to fork over money to see this movie.