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Book of Saul
The influence of illustrator-designer Saul Bass persists and persists. Last year ThinkFilm's Mark Urman ordered up a poster for Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead that referenced the look of Bass's classic one-sheets, and this year -- now -- we have a new poster that also hums with Bassian attitude, particularly in its use of a font similar to one Bass used in the '50s and '60s -- hand-drawn, block letters -- for the films of director Otto Preminger. Before revealing the new poster, here are three Bass samples:
Saul Bass one-sheets for Otto Preminger's The Man With the Golden Arm, In Harm's Way and Bunny Lake Is Missing.
And here's the new poster, revealed today on Cinematical, for Joel and Ethan Coen's Burn After Reading. The font is actually a mixture of Bass and Pablo Ferro's hand-drawn title design for the opening of Dr. Strangelove.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 17, 2008 at 5:33 PM
comment #1
corey3rd
says ...
ouch my eyes.
Posted by corey3rd
at June 17, 2008 6:13 PM
comment #2
gruver1
says ...
Wells to Corey What are you saying? That there are too many cast names in that white Bassian font in the Burn poster? It really works better if you put a little effort into writing actual sentences that have been composed with a little strategy and thought in mind.
Posted by gruver1
at June 17, 2008 6:34 PM
comment #3
bmcintire
says ...
I really like it. And the bloody color scheme reminds me of this one of Bass's for Preminger's SAINT JOAN:
http://cineleet.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/saint-joan.gif
Posted by bmcintire
at June 17, 2008 6:44 PM
comment #4
Balthazar
says ...
FAIL
Posted by Balthazar
at June 17, 2008 6:52 PM
comment #5
Mgmax
says ...
SAFE
Posted by Mgmax
at June 17, 2008 7:00 PM
comment #6
BurmaShave
says ...
I must say as Bass homages go it's weak. Indeed too much white text, and the characters below are too small. A nice effort, but ugly. This film is coming together really promisingly though.
Posted by BurmaShave
at June 17, 2008 7:07 PM
comment #7
alynch
says ...
I gotta agree. The size of the actors' names make that poster seem way out of proportion.
Posted by alynch
at June 17, 2008 7:12 PM
comment #8
NDH
says ...
Terrible poster! The cast names are far too big, and the figures at the bottom are far too small. I appreciate what they're going for, and the Bassian letters are a great fit for the material, but who came up with such an absurd layout? The title size is fine, but for God's sake, shrink those cast names!
Posted by NDH
at June 17, 2008 7:14 PM
comment #9
Geoff
says ...
You guys are insane. Bad taste all around.
Posted by Geoff
at June 17, 2008 7:52 PM
comment #10
K. Bowen
says ...
K. Bowen to Wells: Cyd Charisse, Rest in Peace.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hAuQ3IUH5W98eyryE_bGjmCDIbegD91C62U80
Posted by K. Bowen
at June 17, 2008 8:17 PM
comment #11
BurmaShave
says ...
Don't be a prick Geoff go look at the VERTIGO poster and then try to tell us we're full of shit.
Posted by BurmaShave
at June 17, 2008 8:18 PM
comment #12
corey3rd
says ...
JWW
sorry, I just typed my gut response.
It really hurts my eyes to look at that hideous irregular font. The red background, white letters doesn't help. It is a poke in the eyes. Am I supposed to look away when I see this poster? I understand that they are trying to be artsy, but it's extremely alienating. that poster suggests this is a movie that will have a shaky cam and jagged cuts. There's nothing seductive in its salesmanship.
Posted by corey3rd
at June 17, 2008 9:05 PM
comment #13
MickTravis
says ...
I doubt it'll be the final poster, but I think it's cool as hail.
Posted by MickTravis
at June 17, 2008 10:06 PM
comment #14
Daniel Tayag
says ...
Benjamin Button trailer now in HD:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton/
Posted by Daniel Tayag
at June 17, 2008 10:10 PM
comment #15
BurmaShave
says ...
The HD reveals seams I'd rather not see, but that trailer is still a work of art. I wonder if Fincher's majestic kind of CGI is becoming it's own kind of Cinematography?
Posted by BurmaShave
at June 17, 2008 10:52 PM
comment #16
BurmaShave
says ...
Appropos of nothing being discussed here, is Dennis Hooper's CATCHFIRE/BACKTRACK the most fascinating bad movie ever made, or am I just tired?
Posted by BurmaShave
at June 17, 2008 11:22 PM
comment #17
The Hoyk
says ...
Not nearly as visible as BEFORE THE DEVIL or BURN AFTER READING, but the indie comedy MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AND YOU has a poster that is a clear rip on Bass' IN HARM'S WAY poster:
http://multivisionnaire.com/mv_film_images/keyart_AMIAU_126.jpg
Posted by The Hoyk
at June 18, 2008 4:12 AM
comment #18
moviemaniac2002
says ...
I don't know if Bass had anything to do with the
end credits of "In Harm's Way", but it's an
incredible little piece of film-making (The film
is structured just like today's movies - title credit only at the beginning, all other credits at the
close.) A series of progressively more violent
surf, waves, stormy oceans...culminating in an
atomic blast...then returning to gentle lapping
waves. Those few minutes prove more effective
in encapsulating World War II then the entire
2 and a half hour running time of Preminger's film.
Posted by moviemaniac2002
at June 19, 2008 5:58 AM
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