2001: An Actor’s Odyssey

“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) is surely considered a great & complex chef-oeuvre by Stanley Kubrick.
And while most of us have no problem remembering the director’s name, as humungous as it is, I suppose we tend to unconsciously disregard the fact that the film had actors in it, Keir Dullea & Gary Lockwood to name a few. They played the two astronauts.
Here you’ll find some behind the scenes photos of these actors as they filmed “2001: A Space Odyssey”. You’ll notice that Kubrick is absent from most of these shots, let’s focus on their work for a change…I am not the author of these images. Copyright goes to Time.Life Magazine

Gary Lockwood on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

Keir Dullea on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

 Keir Dullea & Gary Lockwood on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

Keir Dullea on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

Actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood listen to Stanley Kubrick on set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

 Keir Dullea & Gary Lockwood on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

Gary Lockwood on the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey”

A rare portrait of Peter Sellers by photo-journalist Peter Keen

For some reason, actor Peter Sellers has not been the center of many a great portrait, nor did he adorn the cover of famous magazines. However, his associations were always interesting, especially his friendship with controversial author Jerzy Kosinski (scroll down) and apparently photo-journalist Peter Keen.

The latter was born in West Drayton, Middlesex, in 1928. He began his career as a professional freelance photo-journalist & traveled a lot.  In the USSR he was arrested three times by the KGB for alleged spying but moved on to win British Photographer of the Year Award in 1960. The relationship between him and Sellers is unclear, one can suppose they were friends.
He somehow managed to take this beautiful shot of the of actor in profile which really made my day when I first saw it. The spontaneous pose & warm colors are an amazing contrast to Sellers’ drug-addicted and tormented character. Just beautiful.

“Peter Sellers” by Peter Keen
C-type colour print, 1968
9 5/8 in. x 6 5/8 in. (245 mm x 168 mm)
Copyright goes to the National Portrait Gallery, London

Check out my Jerzy Kosinski post:  https://kinoimages.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/tribute-to-authors-screenwriters-who-is-jerzy-kosinski/ 

Krzysztof Kieslowski original film posters

One could say I’m very interested in design, especially film posters, which I consider, are at times, works of art in their own right.

I think Poland shines in this department. I have not examined the reasons why but I always find their visual work pretty impressive. Let’s take these 3 film posters for Krzysztof Kieslowski’s movies; they represent what was considered a good marketing strategy at the time, what the public thought was an interesting image to look at and the originality of the artist Andrzej Pagowski.
Pagowski is born in 1953 in Warsaw and started as a cartoonist and book designer while creating his advertising agency “Studio P”.

ALL RIGHTS GO TO ANDRZEJ PAGOWSKI. I AM NOT THE AUTHOR OF THESE IMAGES.

“A Short Film About Killing” (1988). Poster designed by Andrzej Pagowski in 1988. 97x68cm

“A Short Film About Love” (1988). Poster designed by Andrzej Pagowski in 1988. 97x68cm

“The Double Life of Veronique”(1991). Poster designed by Andrzej Pagowski in 1988. 97x68cm

My 3 favorite Lauren Bacall covers

Before Hollywood’s contemporary fascination with everything Retro, there were actual actors and actresses who embodied this very notion of style and actually worked hard at their craft, for e.g Lauren Bacall. She was not just another beautiful face who played the femme fatal in several film-noirs such as “The Big Sleep” (1946), “Dark Passage” (1947) etc. but also shined on Broadway.

Mrs. Bogart herself graced these following covers from Sweden, Montreal and UK respectively, proving once again, that magazines are just not what they used to be…

Lauren Bacall. “Filmjournalen”. Sweden. 1952
All rights go to Filmjournalien magazine.

Lauren Bacall. “Le Film” magazine. Canada, June 1954.
All rights go to Le Film magazine.

Lauren Bacall. “Harper’s Bazaar”. March 1943. UK
All rights go to Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

Andy Warhol plays Batman

If you thought I won’t be posting about Batman, you’re wrong! Only it’s my kind of batman, check it out:

“In 1964 Andy Warhol produced and directed in a film entitled “Batman Dracula”. Without the permission of DC Comics, Warhol’s version is an artistic tribute coincidentally relevant to today’s infatuation with Batman and vampires. These stills were taken during a 1967 Esquire Magazine photo shoot Warhol took with German singer Nico.” Here are the photos! Scroll down for the link to the first part of the film!

I am not the author of these photos. All rights go to Esquire magazine.

This post is a generous contribution of Elie Khoury! Thank you Elie !

 

Joseph Mankiewicz on the set of “Guys & Dolls”

A lovely, colorful and neon-filled photo of Joseph Mankiewicz, mainly known for his work on All About Eve (1950), The Barefoot Contessa (1954) & Cleopatra (1963).  He is here on the set of  his musical “Guys & Dolls” (1955), a lesser-known work of his. Although Sinatra wanted the lead role all to himself that eventually went to Marlon Brando, he also stars with Jean Simmons & Vivian Blaine. And yes, Brando actually sings in the film.

Here’s the photo of the director, Joseph Mankiewicz, sitting in a seat on a crane watching unseen activity during filming of “Guys and Dolls”. Check it out if you enjoy musicals, the Sinatra-Brando combination is a guaranteed winner ! 😀

All rights go to LIFE magazine, I am not the author of this image.

Faye Dunaway by Jerry Schatzberg

Born in 1927, in the Bronx (NY), Jerry Schatzberg is known for being the director of Puzzle of a Downfall Child, featuring Faye Dunaway (1970), Scarecrow (1973), The Panic in Needle Parc (1971). However, even before his leap into films, he was a photographer with works appearing in many magazines including ‘Vogue’ and ‘McCall’s’.

In the late 60s, he was engaged to Dunaway and that’s when he took these lovely photos of her with the red hat for Newsweek magazine back in 1968. The others were shot in 1970 and the last one was used by Cannes Film Festival in 2011 as a poster.

All rights go to Jerry Schatzberg. I am not the author of these images.

 

LIBERATION, 13/09/10

After my Isabelle Huppert post yesterday, a lot of talk went around on Facebook about her work with Claude Chabrol. “La Ceremonie” (1995) is my favorite collaboration between the two, so I decided to offer you a re-look at the day of Chabrol’s death, 12th September 2010.
The following day, French left-wing magazine LIBERATION announced & rightfully so: “La France perd son miroir”( France has lost its mirror), the director who insightful albeit tough comments about abortion rules, the idleness of the bourgeoisie, exploitation at work and the gratuity of violence. Here’s the cover from the fateful day and the link to the aforementioned article with the director’s filmography.

http://next.liberation.fr/cinema/01012289792-la-france-perd-son-miroir

Isabelle Huppert by…you’ve guessed it…Helmut Newton

Photographer Helmut Newton literally took photos of every single famous face throughout several decades, including that of french actress Isabelle Huppert back when she was younger. She stroke an interesting pose in the picture below and the image went on auction at “Philips de Pury & Company”. All rights go to the author.

Check out the lot detail and the price tag:

Isabelle Huppert at the Carlton, Cannes, 1976

Gelatin silver print. 23 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (60.6 x 50.5 cm). Signed, titled, dated and numbered 1/10 in pencil on the verso.

ESTIMATE $8,000 – 12,000

 

A great tribute to Hanna Schygulla

Here’s a tribute I found by a very interesting artist named Ralf Ueltzhoeffer. Born in 1966, in Mannheim, Germany, he usually uses typography to create portraits of famous faces, thus using the medium as an art in its own right. His artistic research is dedicated to the relationship of visual and written information in cyberspace in the creation of faces and visual blind spots.

Here’s his 2009 portrait of Hanna Schygulla, the famous German actress.

All rights go to Ralph Ueltzhoeffer.