Printed Originals presents
Tom Jung The art director’s layout · original posters, 1971–1985
Tom Jung is an art director first. He builds a poster on the layout pad: one strong line, a hero pose, a title block. Then he paints it, sets a photograph in it, or hands it to another painter. His Style A for Star Wars is the best-known result.
Layout 2 · The docket
Designer, painter, or both.
An art director’s credit can mean the idea, the painting or both. Jung has done all three. Filter his jobs by what he did.
- 1963 on MGM roadshow filmsArt direction Freelance art director on Doctor Zhivago, Grand Prix and The Shoes of the Fisherman. Concepts were drawn in pencil or charcoal, with the copy and credits in position.
- 1967 Gone with the Wind, re-releaseConcept; painted by Howard Terpning Jung chose Terpning to paint his concept. The embrace has been borrowed ever since, most famously for the Empire Strikes Back Style A.
- 1971 Le MansDesign and illustration Steve McQueen waving in a white race suit, the grandstands drawn in quick pen and colour. See ours
- 1973 PapillonDesign His first major break.
- 1974 The Man with the Golden GunChristmas advance The gold gun shown in its parts: pen, lighter, cigarette case, cufflink. See ours
- 1977 Star WarsStyle A, design and painting The theme was “Good over Evil”. Nick Cardy added the droids before press. Lay the tracing paper
- 1978 The Lord of the RingsPoster Won a Best Graphic award from a science-fiction society.
- 1980–82 The Empire Strikes BackStyle B and two re-releases Vader in profile, arm outstretched; then two new paintings for 1981 and 1982. Compare the styles
- 1984 Once Upon a Time in AmericaDesign, three styles One style sets Angelo Novi’s photograph; another is painted. Two Americas
- 1985 Return of the Jedi, re-releasePainting; designed by Murray Smith The Death Star bursts above the cast. Jung painted; Murray Smith designed. In the archive
- 1997 on Feature filmsStoryboards From Jungle 2 Jungle on, he drew storyboards for the production side.
Des designed the layout · Ptg painted or drew the picture
Layout 3 · The light box
Lay the tracing paper.
Choose a layout, then lay our tracing paper over it. The lines are ours: plain guides for the main line, the hero and the title block. Nothing in the picture is traced.
Star Wars · 1977 · Style A
- A cross of light
- A white line drops from the top edge and meets a level line of light. The flare sits where they cross.
- A pyramid
- Luke’s raised saber is the apex; Leia and the rock make the base.
- Title block
- The logo sits low and right, outside the pyramid.
The Empire Strikes Back · 1980 · Style B
- A diagonal
- From the saber, low left, through Vader to his raised hand.
- An arc
- The cast stand on one curved horizon, faces close up at each end.
- Title block
- Centred under the arc, in the clear sky.
Le Mans · 1971
- A diagonal
- McQueen’s raised arm points up to the right.
- A rising line
- The grandstand roof climbs to the right edge.
- Title block
- Top left, his name above the film.
Style A, for the record: Lucasfilm’s archive says the Luke and Leia pose was first drawn for the program book, and Fox asked Jung to bring it onto the poster. The droids were added by Nick Cardy before press, while Jung was unavailable.
Layout 4 · One film, four issues
Empire, issued four ways.
The first Empire poster, Style A, was Roger Kastel’s painting. It was replaced by Jung’s Style B, used nationwide. Then Jung painted the film again for its 1981 and 1982 returns. Switch the style; the spec card reads the foot of our own copy.
Spec card
- Format
- US one-sheet, 27 x 41 in
- Foot line
- “STYLE B” and the film title, lower margin
- Signature
- None we can see
The first release. Vader in profile, his arm thrown out, the cast on a curved horizon.
Available · from £1,040.00 · View this poster →
Spec card
- Format
- UK quad, 30 x 40 in, landscape
- Foot line
- A tiny printer line, too small to read in our photograph
- Signature
- None we can see
The same Style B painting, turned on its side for British cinemas: the cast along the bottom, the credits at left.
Sold · Printed Originals Archive · View the record →
Spec card
- Format
- US one-sheet, 27 x 41 in
- Foot line
- R810129 “EMPIRE STRIKES BACK”: an R81 re-release number
- Signature
- “Tom Jung”, printed lower left of the art
A new painting. Vader’s cape billows over Luke and Yoda; the art sits in a stepped frame over a big yellow title.
Available · from £710.00 · View this poster →
Spec card
- Format
- US one-sheet, 27 x 41 in
- Foot line
- “…EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-RERELEASE 82”
- Signature
- “Tom Jung”, printed beside Leia
The 1981 layout reworked: pink ground, an arched frame, and a larger Han with his blaster raised.
Sold · Printed Originals Archive · View the record →
Not Jung’s brush
The layout travels.
This Japanese Star Wars of 1978 keeps Jung’s Style A layout, but it was repainted by the Japanese artist Seito, with new likenesses and film-accurate droids. Jung’s layout, Seito’s painting. It is not counted in this World and is listed under its own record.
Layout 5 · Once Upon a Time in America, 1984
A painting or a photograph.
Jung is credited with three styles for Sergio Leone’s film. We hold two. One is painted. The other is built around a still by the on-set photographer Angelo Novi. Hover a row to compare.
Painted style
- Picture
- A painted shoot-out from a car, a street scene below
- Jung
- Credited as artist for the film’s styles
- Title
- Gold deco capitals at the centre, between the scenes
- Foot
- A 1984 Embassy line in the brown border
Photograph style
- Picture
- Angelo Novi’s still under the Manhattan Bridge, in sepia
- Jung
- Designer: the layout is his, the picture is Novi’s
- Title
- The same deco capitals, set low, under the photograph
- Foot
- “PRINTED IN U.S.A.” and NSS 840048
Layout 6 · Close reading · Empire, 1982 re-release
Five marks in the margin.
Layout 7 · Signatures
Find the name in the layout.
When Jung signs, he signs the painting, so his name is printed into the poster: a small script “Tom Jung”. 4 of ours carry it. 9 show no name: unsigned originals, printed for their release. We have found no hand-signed Jung poster.
Plate-signed
His signature is part of the painting, so every copy of that printing carries it. It does not mean hand-signed.
On this poster: “Tom Jung” in script, printed in the dark rock below Leia. Sold · Printed Originals Archive · View the record →
Show all 4 in the archive ↓
Unsigned original
Printed for the film’s release with no signature of his we can find. Still an original: made for the campaign he worked on.
On this poster: the foot of Le Mans: a 1971 copyright line, and no name. Available · from £1,270.00 · View this poster →
Show all 9 in the archive ↓Hand-signed
Signed by Jung in pen on that copy. We have not found one in our stock.
After Jung
Printed later, without him. None under his name here: the two 1990 Empire posters once listed with him are Larry Noble’s design, so we have taken them off this page.
Layout 8 · The Printed Originals Jung archive
Every Jung poster we have held.
6 available now · 7 sold. Grouped as the job log runs: the early films, the saga as first issued, the re-releases, and Leone. Sold posters show no price.
Layout 9 · Collecting
Read the foot of the poster.
Most of what dates a Jung poster is printed in the bottom margin: the style, the release, a number. Check it before anything else.
- 77/21 Style A, 1977. The first run reads 77/21-0
- R81 a 1981 re-release number
- 82 “Rerelease 82” in words
- FC/1990 the 1990 Fan Club Empire: Larry Noble, not Jung
How do I date a Style A Star Wars one-sheet?
Read the lower right margin. Style A was printed four times in 1977 and every run is first release. The first run carries 77/21-0; the later 1977 runs read 77/21. Both of ours read 77/21, with the style printed beside it.
Is the Tom Jung signature on these posters hand-signed?
No. On Style A and the 1981 and 1982 Empire re-releases, “Tom Jung” is part of the painting and printed with it. That is plate-signed. We have found no Jung poster signed in pen.
Is a re-release poster an original?
Yes, if it was printed for that re-release. For Empire in 1981 and 1982, and Return of the Jedi in 1985, Jung made new paintings, so these are first printings of new designs. The foot gives the year: R81, “Rerelease 82”.
Did Jung design or paint the poster?
It depends on the job. He designed and drew Le Mans. He designed and painted Style A. For Return of the Jedi in 1985 he painted and Murray Smith designed. For Once Upon a Time in America one style uses Angelo Novi’s photograph inside Jung’s design. The docket above sorts them.
Can I see more detail before I buy?
Yes. Ask us for detailed photographs of any poster: the signature, the foot line, the edges and the back.
Condition and framing
We grade condition in six steps and describe every mark (condition grading). Framing is optional, and all our framing is conservation framing (framing original posters).