Saul Bass
Encyclopedia
Saul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer
and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture
title sequence
s.
During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock
, Otto Preminger
, Billy Wilder
, Stanley Kubrick
and Martin Scorsese
. Amongst his most famous title sequence
s are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm
, the text racing up and down that eventually becomes a high-angle shot of the United Nations building in Alfred Hitchcock
's North by Northwest
, and the disjointed text that races together and apart in Psycho
.
Bass designed the AT&T "bell" logo in 1969, as well as AT&T's "globe" logo in 1983 after the breakup of the Bell System
. He also designed Continental Airlines
' 1968 "jetstream" logo and United Airlines
' 1974 "tulip" logo which became some of the most recognized airline industry logos of the era.
in the Bronx
and studied at the Art Students League
in Manhattan until attending classes with György Kepes
at Brooklyn College
. He began his time in Hollywood doing print work for film ads, until he collaborated with filmmaker Otto Preminger to design the film poster for his 1954 film Carmen Jones
. Preminger was so impressed with Bass's work that he asked him to produce the title sequence as well. This was when Bass first saw the opportunity to create something more than a title sequence, but to create something which would ultimately enhance the experience of the audience and contribute to the mood and the theme of the movie within the opening moments. Bass was one of the first to realize the creative potential of the opening and closing credits of a movie.
's The Man with the Golden Arm
(1955). The subject of the film was a jazz musician's struggle to overcome his heroin addiction, a taboo subject in the mid-'50s. Bass decided to create a controversial title sequence
to match the film's controversial subject. He chose the arm as the central image, as the arm is a strong image relating to drug addiction. The titles featured an animated, black paper cut-out arm of a heroin addict. As he expected, it caused quite a sensation.
For Alfred Hitchcock, Bass provided effective, memorable title sequences, inventing a new type of kinetic typography, for North by Northwest
, Vertigo
, working with John Whitney
, and Psycho
. It was this kind of innovative, revolutionary work that made Bass a revered graphic designer
. His later work with Martin Scorsese
saw him move away from the optical techniques that he had pioneered and move into computerized titles, from which he produced the title sequence for Casino
.
He designed title sequences for 40 years, for films as diverse as Spartacus
(1960), The Victors
(1963), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
(1963). Toward the end of his career, he was rediscovered by James L. Brooks
and Martin Scorsese
who had grown up admiring his film and design work. For Scorsese, Bass created title sequences for Goodfellas
(1990), Cape Fear
(1991), The Age of Innocence
(1993), and Casino
(1995), his last title sequence. His title sequences featured new and innovative methods of production and startling graphic design
.
(1968), Dixie (1969) and United Airlines
(1974). Later, he would produce logos for a number of Japanese companies as well. He also designed the Student Academy Award for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
.
Selected logos by Saul Bass and respective dates (note that links shown point to articles on the entities themselves, and not necessarily to the logos):
An analysis of a range of Bass’s corporate logos in 2011 found them to have an unusual longevity. The most common cause of the demise of a Bass corporate logo (in the selection analyzed) was the demise of the company, rather than a corporate logo redesign. The average lifespan of a Bass logo is more than 34 years, and counting.
, Alfred Hitchcock
, Billy Wilder
, and Stanley Kubrick
among others. His work spanned five decades and inspired numerous other designers. His last commissioned film poster was created for Steven Spielberg
's Schindler's List
, but was never distributed.
He received an unintentionally backhanded tribute in 1995, when Spike Lee
's film Clockers was promoted by a poster that was strikingly similar to Bass's 1959 work for Preminger's film Anatomy of a Murder
. Designer Art Sims claimed that it was made as an homage, but Bass regarded it as theft. The cover art for the White Stripes' single The Hardest Button to Button
is clearly inspired by the Bass poster for The Man with the Golden Arm. The original Thai poster for Pen-ek Ratanaruang
's Last Life in the Universe
is also influenced by Bass' work.
(1960), Bass as “visual consultant” designed key elements of the gladiator school and storyboarded the final battle between slaves and Romans. John Frankenheimer asked Bass to storyboard, direct, and edit all but one of the racing sequences in Grand Prix (1966). For West Side Story
(1961) he filmed the prologue, storyboarded the opening dance sequence, and created the ending title sequence.
It is Bass’s credited role as “pictorial consultant” for Alfred Hitchcock on Psycho
(1960), however, that has caused some controversy. Bass claimed that he participated in directing the highlight scene of Psycho, the tightly edited shower-murder sequence, though many on set at the time (including star Janet Leigh
) disputed his contention of "direction". However, it can be argued that said dispute was simply semantic in nature with Bass's use of the term "directing" reflecting his own perspective on the "directorial" value of his influential graphic contribution to the scene, while the position of Leigh and the others on set was based on the scene being literally directed by Hitchcock as the film director
ultimately in charge of all artistic decisions.
Bill Krohn's recent work of scholarship on Hitchcock's production of Psycho (Hitchcock At Work, Phaidon Press), validates that Bass in his capacity as a graphic artist did indeed have a significant influence on the visual design of that famous scene. Hitchcock had asked Bass to produce storyboards for the shower-murder scene and a later murder scene (which was truncated). For this, Bass received a credit as Pictorial Consultant as well as Title Designer.
Krohn noted that Bass's 48 drawings introduced key aspects of the final shower-murder scene, namely the fact that the attacker would be seen as a silhouette, the shower curtain torn down, a high angle shot of the murder scene with the curtain rod used as a barrier and also the famous shot of the transition from the drainage hole of the bathtub to Marion Crane's dead eye which as Krohn notes is reminiscent of Bass's iris titles for Vertigo
. Krohn also concludes that Bass did not literally direct the shower-murder scene, proving Hitchcock's presence on the set throughout the shooting of that scene conclusively. Also, as Janet Leigh points out in Stephen Rebello's book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho
, Hitchcock met with Bass and gave him detailed instructions concerning the scene, from which Bass then developed storyboard pictorial ideas — therefore the authorship of the fundamental sequence is clearly Hitchcock's. The shower scene was shot with two cameras at least part of the time and Hitchcock working from the paradigms set up by Bass's storyboards would trim the shot footage into a proper montage that he believed would produce the right emotions on the audience. Hitchcock showed a rough cut of the scene during production to his editor George Tomasini
and even brought a Moviola
on the set to gauge the exact sequence of scenes which ultimately was shaped according to his decision and approval. Additionally, in an interview with François Truffaut regarding "Psycho", Hitchcock confirms that Bass also storyboarded the scene where Arbogast proceeds up the staircase to his doom, a scene that Hitch also let Bass film while the director was at home with a temperature. However, Hitchcock states that once he saw the sequence he did not use it because it "wasn't right".
In 1964, Bass directed a short film titled The Searching Eye shown during the 1964 New York World's Fair
, coproduced with Sy Wexler
. He also directed a short documentary film called Why Man Creates
which won an Academy Award Oscar in 1968. An abbreviated version of that film was broadcast on the first episode of the television newsmagazine 60 Minutes
, on September 24 of that year. In 2002, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Saul Bass co-directed with his wife Elaine Bass several other short films, two of which were nominated for Academy Award Oscars; Notes on the Popular Arts
in 1977, and The Solar Film
in 1979, the latter for which Robert Redford
was the executive producer.
In 1974, he made his only feature length film as a director
, the visually splendid though little-known science fiction
film Phase IV
, a "Quiet, haunting, beautiful, [...] and largely overlooked, science-fiction masterwork".
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s.
During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
, Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
and Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
. Amongst his most famous title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
, the text racing up and down that eventually becomes a high-angle shot of the United Nations building in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
, and the disjointed text that races together and apart in Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
.
Bass designed the AT&T "bell" logo in 1969, as well as AT&T's "globe" logo in 1983 after the breakup of the Bell System
Bell System divestiture
The Bell System divestiture, or the breakup of AT&T, was initiated by the filing in 1974 by the U.S. Department of Justice of an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T. The case, United States v...
. He also designed Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
' 1968 "jetstream" logo and United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
' 1974 "tulip" logo which became some of the most recognized airline industry logos of the era.
Early career
Saul Bass was born on May 8, 1920, in New York City. He graduated from James Monroe High SchoolJames Monroe High School (New York)
For schools with a similar name, see James Monroe High School.James Monroe High School was a comprehensive high school located at 1300 Boynton Avenue and E 172nd Street in the Soundview section of the Bronx....
in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
and studied at the Art Students League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
in Manhattan until attending classes with György Kepes
György Kepes
György Kepes was a Hungarian-born painter, designer, educator and art theorist. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1937, he taught design at the New Bauhaus in Chicago...
at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
. He began his time in Hollywood doing print work for film ads, until he collaborated with filmmaker Otto Preminger to design the film poster for his 1954 film Carmen Jones
Carmen Jones (film)
Carmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Harry Kleiner is based on the libretto for the 1943 stage production of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was inspired by an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen by...
. Preminger was so impressed with Bass's work that he asked him to produce the title sequence as well. This was when Bass first saw the opportunity to create something more than a title sequence, but to create something which would ultimately enhance the experience of the audience and contribute to the mood and the theme of the movie within the opening moments. Bass was one of the first to realize the creative potential of the opening and closing credits of a movie.
Film title sequences
Bass became widely known in the industry after creating the title sequence for Otto PremingerOtto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
's The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
(1955). The subject of the film was a jazz musician's struggle to overcome his heroin addiction, a taboo subject in the mid-'50s. Bass decided to create a controversial title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
to match the film's controversial subject. He chose the arm as the central image, as the arm is a strong image relating to drug addiction. The titles featured an animated, black paper cut-out arm of a heroin addict. As he expected, it caused quite a sensation.
For Alfred Hitchcock, Bass provided effective, memorable title sequences, inventing a new type of kinetic typography, for North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
, Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
, working with John Whitney
John Whitney (animator)
John Whitney, Sr. was an American animator, composer and inventor, widely considered to be one of the fathers of computer animation.-Life:...
, and Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
. It was this kind of innovative, revolutionary work that made Bass a revered graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
. His later work with Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
saw him move away from the optical techniques that he had pioneered and move into computerized titles, from which he produced the title sequence for Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
.
He designed title sequences for 40 years, for films as diverse as Spartacus
Spartacus (film)
Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast...
(1960), The Victors
The Victors (film)
-Overview:The film follows a group of U.S. soldiers through Europe during World War II, from Britain in 1942, through the fierce fighting in Italy and France, to the uneasy peace of Berlin. It is adapted from a collection of short stories called The Human Kind by British author Alexander Baron,...
(1963), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963). Toward the end of his career, he was rediscovered by James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
and Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
who had grown up admiring his film and design work. For Scorsese, Bass created title sequences for Goodfellas
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(1990), Cape Fear
Cape Fear (1991 film)
Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original film...
(1991), The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence (film)
The Age of Innocence is a 1993 American film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel of the same name. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder....
(1993), and Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
(1995), his last title sequence. His title sequences featured new and innovative methods of production and startling graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
.
Selected film title sequences and respective dates
- Carmen JonesCarmen Jones (film)Carmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Harry Kleiner is based on the libretto for the 1943 stage production of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was inspired by an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen by...
(1954) - The Big KnifeThe Big KnifeThe Big Knife is a film noir directed and produced by Robert Aldrich from a screenplay by James Poe based on the play by Clifford Odets. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane.-Plot:Charlie Castle, a very...
(1955) - The Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
(1955) - The RacersThe RacersThe Racers is a 1955 film directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Kirk Douglas and Bella Darvi. -Cast:*Kirk Douglas as Gino Borgesa*Bella Darvi as Nicole*Gilbert Roland as Dell'Orro*Cesar Romero as Carlos Chavez*Lee J. Cobb as Maglio...
(1955) - The Seven Year ItchThe Seven Year ItchThe Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
(1955) - The ShrikeThe Shrike (film)The Shrike is a 1955 film based on the Joseph Kramm's play, The Shrike. José Ferrer directed and starred in Ketti Frings' screenplay adaptation.-Characters and story:...
(1955) - Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
- Storm CenterStorm CenterStorm Center is an American drama film directed by Daniel Taradash. The screenplay by Taradash and Elick Moll focuses on what were at the time two very controversial subjects, Communism and book banning, and took a strong stance against censorship....
(1956) - AttackAttack (1956 film)Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American war film. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and starred Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck...
(1956) - Edge of the CityEdge of the CityEdge of the City is a 1957 drama film directed by Martin Ritt, starring John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier. It was Ritt's debut film as a director...
(1957) - The Pride and the PassionThe Pride and the PassionThe Pride and the Passion is a historical film drama starring Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren made by Stanley Kramer Productions. Set in the Napoleonic era, it is the story of a British officer who has orders to retrieve a huge cannon from Spain and take it to the British forces by ship...
(1957) - The Young StrangerThe Young StrangerThe Young Stranger is a drama film which is also the first film directed by John Frankenheimer.- Plot :Teenage Hal Ditmar, the son of a wealthy movie producer, gets into an argument in a theater, which ends with Hal hitting the theater manager. Neither the police nor Hal's father believe his claim...
(1957) - Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
- Cowboy (1958)
- VertigoVertigo (film)Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
(1958) - Anatomy of a MurderAnatomy of a MurderAnatomy of a Murder is a 1959 American courtroom crime drama film. It was directed by Otto Preminger and adapted by Wendell Mayes from the best-selling novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name Robert Traver...
(1958) - The Big CountryThe Big CountryMeanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
(1958) - North by NorthwestNorth by NorthwestNorth by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
(1959) - PsychoPsycho (1960 film)Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
(1960) - Spartacus (1960)
- The Facts of LifeThe Facts of Life (film)The Facts of Life is a 1960 romantic comedy starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as middle-aged people who have an affair despite being married to other people. Written, directed, and produced by the longtime Hope associates Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film was more serious than many other...
(1960) - Exodus (1960)
- Ocean's ElevenOcean's Eleven (1960 film)Ocean's 11 is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joey Bishop....
(1960)
- West Side StoryWest Side Story (film)West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961) - Something WildSomething Wild (1961 film)Something Wild was a 1961 independent film, starring Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker and directed by Jack Garfein, who was Baker's husband at the time....
(1961) - Advise and ConsentAdvise and Consent (film)Advise & Consent is a 1962 American motion picture based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Allen Drury, published in 1959. The movie was adapted for the screen by Wendell Mayes and was directed by Otto Preminger...
(1962) - Walk on the Wild SideWalk on the Wild Side (film)Walk on the Wild Side is a 1962 film directed by Edward Dmytryk, adapted from the 1956 novel A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. The film had a star-studded cast, including Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda , Anne Baxter, and Barbara Stanwyck, and was scripted by John Fante. Nonetheless,...
(1962) - The VictorsThe Victors (film)-Overview:The film follows a group of U.S. soldiers through Europe during World War II, from Britain in 1942, through the fierce fighting in Italy and France, to the uneasy peace of Berlin. It is adapted from a collection of short stories called The Human Kind by British author Alexander Baron,...
(1963) - Nine Hours to RamaNine Hours to RamaNine Hours to Rama is 1963 CinemaScope British film, directed by Mark Robson, and based on a 1962 book by Stanley Wolpert of the same name. The film was written by Nelson Gidding and was filmed in England and parts of India...
(1963) - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
(1963) - The CardinalThe CardinalThe Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963) - In Harm's WayIn Harm's WayIn Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
(1965) - Bunny Lake Is MissingBunny Lake Is MissingBunny Lake Is Missing is a 1965 British psychological thriller film directed and produced by Otto Preminger, who filmed it in black and white widescreen format in London. It was based on the novel of the same name by Merriam Modell. The score is by Paul Glass and the opening theme is often heard as...
(1965) - Grand Prix (1966)
- Not with My Wife, You Don't!Not with My Wife, You Don't!Not with My Wife, You Don't! is a 1966 comedy film starred by Tony Curtis, Virna Lisi and George C. Scott. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical/Comedy....
(1966) - SecondsSeconds (film)Seconds is a 1966 American film starring Rock Hudson. Characterized sometimes as a science fiction thriller, but with elements of horror, neo-noir, psychedelia, and drama, it was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Lewis John Carlino. The script was based on a novel by David Ely...
(1966) - That's Entertainment, Part IIThat's Entertainment, Part IIThat's Entertainment, Part II is a 1976 motion picture by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and a sequel to the 1974 documentary That's Entertainment!. Like the previous film, That's Entertainment, Part II was a retrospective of famous films released by MGM from the 1930s to the 1950s...
(1976) - Broadcast NewsBroadcast News (film)Broadcast News is a 1987 romantic comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by James L. Brooks. The film concerns a virtuoso television news producer , who has daily emotional breakdowns, a brilliant yet prickly reporter and his charismatic but far less seasoned rival...
(1987) - BigBigBig is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
(1988) - The War of the RosesThe War of the Roses (film)The War of the Roses is a 1989 American comedy film based upon the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. It is a black comedy about a wealthy couple with a seemingly perfect marriage. When their marriage begins to fall apart, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and...
(1989) - GoodfellasGoodfellasGoodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese...
(1990) - Cape FearCape Fear (1991 film)Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original film...
(1991) - Doc HollywoodDoc HollywoodDoc Hollywood is a 1991 American romantic comedy film based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida.-Plot:Dr....
(1991) - Mr. Saturday NightMr. Saturday NightMr. Saturday Night is a 1992 film that marks the directorial debut of its star, Billy Crystal.It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a fictional stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with the writing duo Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz...
(1992) - The Age of InnocenceThe Age of Innocence (film)The Age of Innocence is a 1993 American film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel of the same name. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder....
(1993) - CasinoCasino (film)Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
(1995)
Logos and other designs
Bass was responsible for some of the best-remembered, most iconic logos in North America, including both the Bell Telephone logo (1969) and successor AT&T globe (1983). Other well-known designs were Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
(1968), Dixie (1969) and United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
(1974). Later, he would produce logos for a number of Japanese companies as well. He also designed the Student Academy Award for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
.
Selected logos by Saul Bass and respective dates (note that links shown point to articles on the entities themselves, and not necessarily to the logos):
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An analysis of a range of Bass’s corporate logos in 2011 found them to have an unusual longevity. The most common cause of the demise of a Bass corporate logo (in the selection analyzed) was the demise of the company, rather than a corporate logo redesign. The average lifespan of a Bass logo is more than 34 years, and counting.
Movie posters
All of Bass's posters had a distinctive style. He created some of his best known posters for films directed by Otto PremingerOtto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
, Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
, and Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
among others. His work spanned five decades and inspired numerous other designers. His last commissioned film poster was created for Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
, but was never distributed.
1950s
- Carmen JonesCarmen Jones (film)Carmen Jones is a 1954 American musical film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Harry Kleiner is based on the libretto for the 1943 stage production of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was inspired by an adaptation of the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella Carmen by...
(1954) - The Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
(1955) - Edge of the CityEdge of the CityEdge of the City is a 1957 drama film directed by Martin Ritt, starring John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier. It was Ritt's debut film as a director...
(1956) - Storm CenterStorm CenterStorm Center is an American drama film directed by Daniel Taradash. The screenplay by Taradash and Elick Moll focuses on what were at the time two very controversial subjects, Communism and book banning, and took a strong stance against censorship....
(1956) - Love in the AfternoonLove in the Afternoon (1957 film)Love in the Afternoon is a 1957 American romantic comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the Claude Anet novel Ariane, jeune fille russe , which previously was filmed as Scampolo in 1928 and Scampolo, ein Kind der Strasse in...
(1957) - Saint Joan (1957)
- Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
- The Big CountryThe Big CountryMeanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
(1958) (style b poster) - VertigoVertigo (film)Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
(1958) - Anatomy of a MurderAnatomy of a MurderAnatomy of a Murder is a 1959 American courtroom crime drama film. It was directed by Otto Preminger and adapted by Wendell Mayes from the best-selling novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name Robert Traver...
(1959)
1960s
- ExodusExodus (film)Exodus is a 1960 epic war film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger, the film was based on the 1958 novel Exodus, by Leon Uris. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo, which represented the breaking of the Hollywood...
(1960) - The Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
(1960) (design not used) - One, Two, ThreeOne, Two, ThreeOne, Two, Three is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and written by him and I.A.L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettö, három by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed partly from" Ninotchka, a 1939 film co-written by Wilder...
(1961) - West Side StoryWest Side Story (film)West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961) - Advise & Consent (1962)
- The CardinalThe CardinalThe Cardinal is a 1963 film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson....
(1963) - In Harm's WayIn Harm's WayIn Harm's Way is a 1965 American epic war film produced and directed by Otto Preminger and starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Brandon De Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, and Henry Fonda.It was the last black-and-white...
(1964) - Bunny Lake is MissingBunny Lake Is MissingBunny Lake Is Missing is a 1965 British psychological thriller film directed and produced by Otto Preminger, who filmed it in black and white widescreen format in London. It was based on the novel of the same name by Merriam Modell. The score is by Paul Glass and the opening theme is often heard as...
(1965) - The Firemen's BallThe Firemen's Ball-External links:*...
(1967) - The Two of Us (1967)
- Why Man CreatesWhy Man CreatesWhy Man Creates is a 1968 animated short documentary film which discusses the nature of creativity. It was written by Saul Bass and Mayo Simon, and directed by Saul and Elaine Bass.The movie won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject...
(1968) - Very Happy Alexander (1969)
1970s
- Such Good FriendsSuch Good FriendsSuch Good Friends is a 1971 American comedy-drama film directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Esther Dale is based on the novel of the same title by Lois Gould.-Plot:...
(1971) - RosebudRosebud (film)Rosebud is a 1975 motion picture directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Peter O'Toole, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Lawford. Originally the film was set to star Robert Mitchum, but he left after disagreements with Preminger...
(1975) - Bass on Titles (1978)
- Brothers (1977)
- Notes on the Popular Arts (1977)
- The Human FactorThe Human Factor (1979 film)The Human Factor is a 1979 British thriller film starring Richard Attenborough, Nicol Williamson, Derek Jacobi and John Gielgud. It is based on the novel of the same name by Graham Greene, with the screenplay written by Tom Stoppard...
(1979)
1980s and 1990s
- The ShiningThe Shining (film)The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
(1980) - The Solar Film (1980)
- Return from the River Kwai (1989)
- Schindler's ListSchindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
(1993) (undistributed poster)
He received an unintentionally backhanded tribute in 1995, when Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's film Clockers was promoted by a poster that was strikingly similar to Bass's 1959 work for Preminger's film Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder is a 1959 American courtroom crime drama film. It was directed by Otto Preminger and adapted by Wendell Mayes from the best-selling novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name Robert Traver...
. Designer Art Sims claimed that it was made as an homage, but Bass regarded it as theft. The cover art for the White Stripes' single The Hardest Button to Button
The Hardest Button to Button
"The Hardest Button to Button" is a 7" single by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It is the third single from their album Elephant...
is clearly inspired by the Bass poster for The Man with the Golden Arm. The original Thai poster for Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang is a Thai film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his arthouse work, Last Life in the Universe, and is considered to be one of Thai cinema's leading "new wave" auteurs, alongside Wisit Sasanatieng and Apichatpong Weerasethakul...
's Last Life in the Universe
Last Life in the Universe
Last Life in the Universe is a 2003 Thai film directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. The film is notable for being trilingual; the two main characters flit from Thai to Japanese to English as their vocabulary requires...
is also influenced by Bass' work.
Filmmaker
During the 1960s, Bass was asked by directors and producers not only to produce title sequences for their films, but also to visualize and storyboard key scenes and sequences within their films. Bass has the unusual credit of “visual consultant” or “pictorial consultant” on five films. For SpartacusSpartacus (film)
Spartacus is a 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast...
(1960), Bass as “visual consultant” designed key elements of the gladiator school and storyboarded the final battle between slaves and Romans. John Frankenheimer asked Bass to storyboard, direct, and edit all but one of the racing sequences in Grand Prix (1966). For West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961) he filmed the prologue, storyboarded the opening dance sequence, and created the ending title sequence.
It is Bass’s credited role as “pictorial consultant” for Alfred Hitchcock on Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
(1960), however, that has caused some controversy. Bass claimed that he participated in directing the highlight scene of Psycho, the tightly edited shower-murder sequence, though many on set at the time (including star Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
) disputed his contention of "direction". However, it can be argued that said dispute was simply semantic in nature with Bass's use of the term "directing" reflecting his own perspective on the "directorial" value of his influential graphic contribution to the scene, while the position of Leigh and the others on set was based on the scene being literally directed by Hitchcock as the film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
ultimately in charge of all artistic decisions.
Bill Krohn's recent work of scholarship on Hitchcock's production of Psycho (Hitchcock At Work, Phaidon Press), validates that Bass in his capacity as a graphic artist did indeed have a significant influence on the visual design of that famous scene. Hitchcock had asked Bass to produce storyboards for the shower-murder scene and a later murder scene (which was truncated). For this, Bass received a credit as Pictorial Consultant as well as Title Designer.
Krohn noted that Bass's 48 drawings introduced key aspects of the final shower-murder scene, namely the fact that the attacker would be seen as a silhouette, the shower curtain torn down, a high angle shot of the murder scene with the curtain rod used as a barrier and also the famous shot of the transition from the drainage hole of the bathtub to Marion Crane's dead eye which as Krohn notes is reminiscent of Bass's iris titles for Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
. Krohn also concludes that Bass did not literally direct the shower-murder scene, proving Hitchcock's presence on the set throughout the shooting of that scene conclusively. Also, as Janet Leigh points out in Stephen Rebello's book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is the title of a non-fiction book by Stephen Rebello.First published in May 1990 by Dembner Books and distributed by W. W. Norton and Company, the book details every aspect of the creation of director Alfred Hitchcock's famous thriller Psycho released to...
, Hitchcock met with Bass and gave him detailed instructions concerning the scene, from which Bass then developed storyboard pictorial ideas — therefore the authorship of the fundamental sequence is clearly Hitchcock's. The shower scene was shot with two cameras at least part of the time and Hitchcock working from the paradigms set up by Bass's storyboards would trim the shot footage into a proper montage that he believed would produce the right emotions on the audience. Hitchcock showed a rough cut of the scene during production to his editor George Tomasini
George Tomasini
George Tomasini was an American film editor, born in Springfield, Massachusetts who had a notable collaboration with director Alfred Hitchcock, editing nine of his movies in the decade 1954-1964...
and even brought a Moviola
Moviola
A Moviola is a device that allows a film editor to view film while editing. It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924.-History:...
on the set to gauge the exact sequence of scenes which ultimately was shaped according to his decision and approval. Additionally, in an interview with François Truffaut regarding "Psycho", Hitchcock confirms that Bass also storyboarded the scene where Arbogast proceeds up the staircase to his doom, a scene that Hitch also let Bass film while the director was at home with a temperature. However, Hitchcock states that once he saw the sequence he did not use it because it "wasn't right".
In 1964, Bass directed a short film titled The Searching Eye shown during the 1964 New York World's Fair
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964/1965 New York World's Fair was the third major world's fair to be held in New York City. Hailing itself as a "universal and international" exposition, the fair's theme was "Peace Through Understanding," dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe";...
, coproduced with Sy Wexler
Sy Wexler
Sy Wexler was an American filmmaker best known for the hundreds of educational short films he made, mostly during the 1960s and 70s...
. He also directed a short documentary film called Why Man Creates
Why Man Creates
Why Man Creates is a 1968 animated short documentary film which discusses the nature of creativity. It was written by Saul Bass and Mayo Simon, and directed by Saul and Elaine Bass.The movie won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject...
which won an Academy Award Oscar in 1968. An abbreviated version of that film was broadcast on the first episode of the television newsmagazine 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, on September 24 of that year. In 2002, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Saul Bass co-directed with his wife Elaine Bass several other short films, two of which were nominated for Academy Award Oscars; Notes on the Popular Arts
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
in 1977, and The Solar Film
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
in 1979, the latter for which Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
was the executive producer.
In 1974, he made his only feature length film as a director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, the visually splendid though little-known science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
film Phase IV
Phase IV
Phase IV is an American science fiction film, made in 1974. It is the only feature-length film directed by the noted title designer Saul Bass. It starred Michael Murphy, Nigel Davenport and Lynne Frederick....
, a "Quiet, haunting, beautiful, [...] and largely overlooked, science-fiction masterwork".
Quotes
- "My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."
- "Design is thinking made visual."
- "There is nothing glamorous in what I do. I'm a working man. Perhaps I'm luckier than most in that I receive considerable satisfaction from doing useful work which I, and sometimes others, think is good."
Further reading
- Kirkham, Pat and Jennifer Bass (2011). Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design. London: Laurence King. ISBN 978-1-85669-752-1.
- Tomislav Terek (2001). Saul Bass on Titles: Film Titles Revealed. Defunkt Century. ISBN 1-903792-00-2.