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Saul Bass designs title sequences from beyond the grave! Beat that! A video tribute compilation

Who doesn’t know who Saul Bass is? He’s the guy that created some of th emost iconic logos - United Airlines, Continental Airlines, AT&T, Minolta, Esso and BP.

But a film lover won’t care about those. Bass was the guy that introduced Hollywood to design as we know it today. In the 1950s he pioneered conceptual cover design and created title sequences, visual identities and posters that stick with us to this day.

In 1954 he received his first commission from the director Otto Preminger to design the title sequence for his film Carmen Jones. This commission was followed in 1955 by others from Robert Aldrich and the Billy Wilder film The Seven Year Itch. That same year Saul Bass designed the title sequence for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm and it was an instant hit and sensations. Saul Bass became the leading title designer in Hollywood; the directors Bass worked for as a designer is just incredible: Alfred Hitchcock (Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho), Stanley Kubrick (Spartacus, The Shining), Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, Casino), and Steven Spielberg designing the title sequence for Schindler's List.

As a true testament to his legacy and style, a whole slew of imitations (or rather, homages) have emerged. Spielberg, probably regretting not having done more films with Bass, had the titles for Catch Me If You Can designed in the Bass manner. Even more impressive than that is the hundreds of fan made videos that are popping up online, most recent of which is the Lost and Tron titles, mentioned in the title of the post. But it doesn’t stop there. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Sweeny Todd and Passion of The Christ. Some are great, others are just eh… But all of them stand as a testament to the greatness of Saul Bass.

SAUL BASS TRIBUTES

Tron

Tron vs. Saul Bass from Hexagonall on Vimeo.

Lost

Lost vs. Saul Bass from Hexagonall on Vimeo.

Star Wars

Sweeny Todd

Passion Of The Christ

Titanic

Kill Bill

Indian Jones

SAUL BASS TITLE SEQUENCES

Man With The Golden Arm

Anatomy of a Murder

Vertigo

Psycho

North by Northwest

North By Northwest - Title Sequence, Musical Score - The top video clips of the week are here

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