Saul Bass

Saul Bass

Birth : 1920-05-08, New York City, New York, USA

Death : 1996-04-25

History

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos.

Profile

Saul Bass

Movies

Psycho
Title Designer
A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own. Although this version is in color, features a different cast, and is set in 1998, it is closer to a shot-for-shot remake than most remakes, Gus Van Sant often copying Hitchcock's camera movements and editing, and Joseph Stefano's script is mostly carried over. Bernard Herrmann's musical score is reused as well, though with a new arrangement by Danny Elfman and recorded in stereo.
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Title Designer
Martin Scorsese celebrates American movies from the silent classics to the Hollywood of the seventies.
The Age of Innocence
Title Designer
In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
Fear in the Dark
Self
A short documentary on the history of the horror film narrated by Christopher Lee.
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Self
This documentary, hosted by actor Burgess Meredith, explores the life and career of movie director Otto Preminger, whose body of work includes such memorable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Exodus, Laura, Forever Amber, Advise and Consent, In Harm's Way, The Moon Is Blue, The Man with the Golden Arm, and many other movies made from the '30s through the '70s. Interviews with actors Frank Sinatra, Vincent Price, James Stewart, Michael Caine, and others who worked with the flamboyant and sometimes control-obsessed director add information and insight to the story.
GoodFellas
Title Designer
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
Big
Title Designer
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
Quest
Producer
On a distant planet, descendants of a crashed spaceship are subjected to mysterious forces that cause them to age and die in just eight days. They must also live in caves to escape the bitter cold of night and the killing heat of day. One young boy is determined to find his way back to the ship that brought them there. But how will accomplish this in the short time left to him?
Quest
Director
On a distant planet, descendants of a crashed spaceship are subjected to mysterious forces that cause them to age and die in just eight days. They must also live in caves to escape the bitter cold of night and the killing heat of day. One young boy is determined to find his way back to the ship that brought them there. But how will accomplish this in the short time left to him?
The Solar Film
Director
Educational film about solar energy, told with striking imagery and animation.
The Human Factor
Title Designer
A low-ranking Secret Service agent is conned into supplying information to Eastern Bloc countries. Although he is not a suspect due to his unimportant position, when his office partner is hauled in as a suspect he realises he has got himself into very deep water.
Notes on the Popular Arts
Director
An exploration of American escapism through dream sequences.
Bass on Titles
Producer
Explores the visual art of Saul Bass and his contributions to film credits.
Bass on Titles
Self
Explores the visual art of Saul Bass and his contributions to film credits.
Bass on Titles
Writer
Explores the visual art of Saul Bass and his contributions to film credits.
Bass on Titles
Director
Explores the visual art of Saul Bass and his contributions to film credits.
Die Titelmacher
Self
Phase IV
Title Designer
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Phase IV
Director
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Aspen, 1970
Thanks
A compilation of conferences/debates between renowned designers, environmental activists, and students on the concept of design. Held in Aspen, Colorado, USA.
Design
Creative Consultant
This film was made by Bass' company as a presentation to AT&T executives. It would have extended to be shown to the public, but a number of his ideas in the film were not ultimately adopted, like his phone booth designs, and men's and women's uniforms. But a great many of the design were adopted—including, most memorably, the telephone vans and hardhat designs of the 1970s. Bass designed down to the details, showcasing in this film a myriad of ideas, like Yellow Pages book designs, cufflinks for executives, and flags. (AT&T Archives)
Why Man Creates
Producer
A 1968 animation/documentary that criticises the industrial system.
Why Man Creates
Writer
A 1968 animation/documentary that criticises the industrial system.
Why Man Creates
Director
A 1968 animation/documentary that criticises the industrial system.
The Searching Eye
Writer
The simple actions of a young boy on the beach provide visual metaphors for the normally unseen world. The camera adds a profound dimension to what the boy has seen, giving us a deeper understanding of visual awareness.
The Searching Eye
Director
The simple actions of a young boy on the beach provide visual metaphors for the normally unseen world. The camera adds a profound dimension to what the boy has seen, giving us a deeper understanding of visual awareness.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Title Designer
A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.
Nine Hours to Rama
Editor
José Ferrer and Horst Buchholz star in this fictionalised account of events leading up to the assassination of Indian spiritual leader and independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi.
Advise & Consent
Main Title Designer
Proposed by the President of the United States to fill the post of Secretary of State, Robert Leffingwell appears before a Senate committee, chaired by the idealistic Senator Brig Anderson, which must decide whether he is the right person for the job.
Walk on the Wild Side
Title Designer
At the Doll House, a 1930s New Orleans bordello, Hallie is the main attraction both for clients and for Jo, the madame. Her comfortable if tedious life is disrupted by the arrival in town of Dove Linkhorn, her true love of three years before who is now searching for her. When Linkhorn learns the truth of her profession he triggers a chain of events involving a number of people, including the young Kitty with whom he travelled from Texas and who is now the Doll House newest recruit.
Something Wild
Title Designer
A young rape victim tries desperately to pick up the pieces of her life, only to find herself at the mercy of a would-be rescuer.
One, Two, Three
Title Graphics
C.R. MacNamara will do anything to get a promotion within the Coca-Cola company, including looking after boss W.P. Hazeltine's rebellious teenage daughter, Scarlett. When Scarlett visits Berlin, where C.R. is stationed, she reveals that she is married to a communist named Otto Piffl -- and C.R. recognizes that Otto's anti-establishment stance will clash with his boss's own political views, possibly jeopardizing his promotion.
West Side Story
Other
In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to "own" the neighborhood streets. Tensions are high between the gangs but two romantics, one from each gang, fall in love leading to tragedy.
West Side Story
Title Designer
In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to "own" the neighborhood streets. Tensions are high between the gangs but two romantics, one from each gang, fall in love leading to tragedy.
The Facts of Life
Title Designer
Middle-class suburbanites Larry and Kitty grow bored with their lives and respective marriages. Although each always found the other's manner grating, they fall in love when thrown together--without their spouses--on vacation. On returning home they try to break things off, only to grow closer. A holiday together will finally settle whether they should end their marriages.
Spartacus
Visual Effects Design Consultant
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.
Ocean's Eleven
Title Designer
Danny Ocean and his gang attempt to rob the five biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night.
Psycho
Title Designer
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
North by Northwest
Title Designer
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Anatomy of a Murder
Title Designer
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
The Big Country
Title Graphics
Retired wealthy sea captain Jim McKay arrives in the vast expanse of the West to marry fiancée Pat Terrill. McKay is a man whose values and approach to life are a mystery to the ranchers and ranch foreman Steve Leech takes an immediate dislike to him. Pat is spoiled, selfish and controlled by her wealthy father, Major Henry Terrill. The Major is involved in a ruthless civil war, over watering rights for cattle, with a rough hewn clan led by Rufus Hannassey. The land in question is owned by Julie Maragon and both Terrill and Hannassey want it.
Vertigo
Title Designer
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
Saint Joan
Title Designer
Young Joan of Arc comes to the palace in France to make The Dauphin King of France and is appointed to head the French Army. After winning many battles she is not needed any longer and soon she is thought of as a witch.
The Young Stranger
Title Designer
The lack of communication between a wealthy film producer and his troubled teenage son after the boy is involved in an altercation at a movie theater leads to even more trouble.
Around the World in Eighty Days
Title Graphics
Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.
The Man with the Golden Arm
Title Designer
A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.
The Big Knife
Title Designer
Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While his estranged wife supports him in the decision, Castle's talent agent urges him to reconsider. When Castle continues to be uncooperative, Hoff resorts to blackmail in order to get his way.
The Shrike
Title Designer
Film version of Joseph Kramm's Pulitzer Prize play, about a Broadway playwright driven to a nervous breakdown by his shrewish wife.
The Seven Year Itch
Title Designer
With his family away for their annual summer holiday, a publishing executive decides to live a bachelor's life. The beautiful but ditzy blonde from the apartment above catches his eye and they soon start spending time together—maybe a little too much time!
Carmen Jones
Title Designer
The tale of the cigarette-maker Carmen and the Spanish cavalry soldier Don Jose is translated into a modern-day story of a parachute factory worker and a stalwart GI named Joe who is about to go to flying school. Conflict arises when a prize-ring champ captures the heart of Carmen after she has seduced Joe and caused him to go AWOL.