Oddball
Films and guest curator Landon Bates bring you Saul Bass and the Creative Impulse,
an intimate look at the work and processes of several seminal American artists,
among them Saul Bass, the Titan of Title Sequences. While not unacknowledged, one might contend
that Saul Bass, a master of credits, hasn’t been duly credited himself. So, we’ll begin the evening with an unusual,
vaguely educational sort of short film, Why Man Creates (1968), directed by
Bass. This film, which won the Academy
Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 1969, is a manically digressive,
madcap essay that alternates between animation and live action (as did Bass’s
title sequences), inquiring into that broad and most fascinating of topics, the
creative impulse. And, since this
program is partially a tribute to Bass, Why Man Creates will serve the
foundational function to it that Bass’s title sequences did for their films,
announcing the theme. Appropriately, our
first case study is Bass himself, in Bass on Titles (1977), wherein he
discusses his indelible contributions to such films as Man with a Golden Arm, It’s a
Mad Mad Mad World, Seconds, West Side
Story, Grand Prix, and Walk on the Wild Side. This titillating talk is interspersed
with the complete corresponding title sequences, a rare privilege to see
grouped together and in isolation from the films. The next creative workshop we’ll peak into
will be that of Woody Allen, in Woody Allen: An American Comedy (1977). If you missed Woody in town shooting on
location for his next film, or simply didn’t get your fill, you needn’t
despair. See him up close in this film
in which he discusses his creative process in delectable detail. His comic influences, entry into film,
writing style, and interest in jazz are all at play here, as are clips of such
early classics as Bananas, Sleepers,
Annie Hall, and Love and Death. We’ll conclude our creative examination with USA
Artists: Jasper Johns (1966), a meditative meeting with the gentle
Johns, whose searing eyes and subdued demeanor slightly hypnotize as the
painter muses on specific works, art in general, and remote existence in his sleepy
South Carolina home. In sum, slough off your holiday hangover and come get
inspired at Oddball in preparation for a new year!
Date: Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 8:00pm
Venue: Oddball Films, 275
Capp Street San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 Limited
Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com
or (415) 558-8117
“I wanna make beautiful things, even if nobody
cares.”
- Saul Bass
Featuring:
Why Man Creates (Color, 1969)
This
inquiry into and celebration of the creative impulse was directed by Bass and
won the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary Film in 1969. Part informational essay, part creative
explosion, it examines human creativity in its many varieties: from practical
scientific applications to creativity for the sake of expression. A series of explorations,
episodes and comments on creativity, this film is one of the most highly
regarded short films ever produced. Humor, satire, and irony are combined with
serious questions about the creative process and how it comes into play for
different individuals. A fascinating cornucopia of trenchant ideas and
important truths, it’s transgressive and insightful, way-out and weird.
Bass on Titles (Color,
1977)
The work of Academy Award winner Saul Bass covers the full range of the
design spectrum, from feature film titles, corporate logos and product design
to making his own films about perception and creativity. In this
film Bass talks about the evolution of the thematic title sequences that
open and close many of the great productions of cinema. The design
of these symbols involves the search for an elusive visual statement which
instantaneously communicates the film’s intent while generating public
interest. Title sequences included are “Man With the Golden Arm”, “West Side
Story”, “Nine Hours to Rama”, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, “A Walk on the
Wild Side” and more.
About Saul Bass:
Saul Bass collaborated with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Otto Preminger, and John Frankenheimer, creating an astonishing body of iconic title sequences. Among the most celebrated are those for Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, Seconds, Man with a Golden Arm, Anatomy of a Murder, Bunny Lake is Missing, Casino, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence, Spartacus (though even this list constitutes less than a fourth of the total number of his titles). Bass’s sequences realized the potential of the medium, transforming title sequences from obligatory lists of personnel into portholes that suck the viewer into the atmosphere of the film, announcing its style, mood, and often its themes, too. These sequences didn’t merely supplement the films they served, they enhanced them, are essential components of them.
Woody Allen: An American
Comedy (B+W, 1977)
A filmmaker who requires no
introduction, Woody Allen has directed nearly 50 films, popping them out at an
astonishing rate, with stubborn consistency, and somehow continuing to remain
relevant. Since Woody’s next film
celebrates our city, we’ll return the favor by screening this absorbing interview
and overview of his early career. Woody
walks us through his days as a fledgling comedic writer, whose frustrations
working on What’s New Pussycat
spurred him on to producing his own films.
The writer/actor/director discusses his writing process, comic
influences, interest in jazz and athletics, his self-proclaimed
“anti-intellectual” ethos, and his work on beloved films such as Take
the Money and Run, Sleepers, Annie Hall, and Love and Death.
USA Artists: Jasper Johns (B+W 1977)
This fascinating film is as lyrical as it is informational. Johns generously discusses his philosophical
approach to painting, collage, and lithography, and is impressively
unpretentious in so doing. He discusses the
liberating discovery of using extremely familiar references (e.g. the American
flag) as foundations for pieces, and his
ambivalence when a piece is completed.
The film feels like spending an afternoon with a friend. A perfect supplement to the current MOMA
exhibition.
Curator’s Biography:
Landon
Bates is a UC Berkeley graduate, has worked on several documentary film
projects, is the drummer for the duo Disappearing People, and is a cinephile
whose devotion to movies knows no bounds.