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September 30, 2008
Saul Bass - PHASE IV
Screen-shots from 1974's Phase IV, directed by the great Saul Bass, more commonly known as the revolutionary creator of many classic title sequences for Hitchcock, Preminger, etc. as well contributing significantly to the field of corporate iconography, branding and "visual identities". Less well-known is this amazing film, one of the great science-fiction films from the otherwise fallow early 70s.
Art-directed by John Barry and photographed by Dick Bush, the movie is remarkably well-designed and arranged with repeating motifs, evocative and meaningful color choice, hypnotic scoring and intelligent camera movement, use of focus and editing. At times it almost looks and feels like an industrial or educational film (I was reminded a bit of some of the Ray and Charles Eames films).
What might've been simply a cheap, hoary sci-fi/ecological exploitation flick, is instead a thoughtful, unforgiving, at times hallucinogenic study of man and animal behavior. Hopefully the stills here convey something of the film's notions about order, disorder, patterns, textures, language, totems, horizons, intruders...
Bunuel, Dali --
is that you?
Nice work. Beautiful images could be straight out of a graphics arts instruction manual.
Posted by: Antonius Burke at October 11, 2008 09:24 PM
I'm getting ready to do a pod cast with www.bmoviecast.com about the film PHASE IV and while doing research I came across your site and I think your visual analysis of the scenes is GREAT!
Posted by: Nic Brown at November 16, 2008 06:38 AM
30 years ago I fell asleep on the couch and woke up half-way through a movie involving real ants collectively attacking a bunch of people in the desert.
I tried googling it but too many entries about ants.
On a chat forum I posted the question "What is the name of this movie with ants?" and someone kindly gave me the name Phase IV with a link to this website which I thought was nothing short of a miracle because this was not a "mainstream" type movie that gets played over and over. As a matter of fact, I had never seen it again since the first time.
This movie has bothered me for 30 years because it was very progressive in its time and my next mission is to see if I can get a copy of it to watch it in its entirety to see whether I still have the same opinion now.
It was quite realistic - not like one of those "attack of the killer tomatoes" type movies and with a bit of imagination you could almost believe it to be possible.
I also agree with other posters in that the photography was fantastic.
Thank you for putting this movie on your website - I may have lived a full life and died without knowing the name of this movie.
Posted by: Unwired at January 16, 2009 12:23 AM
I knew about the existence of this movie since i was a kid in the seventies and i never saw it until yesterday that i got the DVD. Boy it was good! There is some kind of movies made around the early 70's that were just intelligent (this one, Silent Running, The Andromeda Strain) A kind of a period that starts with 2001 and finished with Close Encounters. After that, everything went Star Wars.
Posted by: Miguel Jaramillo at February 22, 2009 02:06 AM
Yep a great film.
I have it on tape but would like the dvd.
I also have the book by Barry N Malzberg, (ISBN 0 330 23844 2). Which somewhat expands the story and closes with the final words, "And Phase V began". Very open ended a pity a sequel was not made continuing where to book leaves the story.
They just don't make films like this anymore.
Unlike Nic Brown I remember watching it. I would have been 14 and like Nic it stuck in my mind for many years. I finally managed to get a recording of it about 6-7 years ago from Sky Movies.
Posted by: neil N at October 1, 2009 12:53 PM
I was chatting to my potential mother-in-law last week about a film she watched over 30 years ago about ants. She couldn't remember the name and said she'd love to see it again. I finally came across this. It must be this one but she stated that it was a religious film and that one of the ants was a metaphor for Jesus? Is this correct. I'd love to know as I want to grab it for her for xmas without having to ask her about the film herself. Thanks for any help you can provide...
Posted by: Dave at November 4, 2009 05:07 PM
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Screen-shots from 1974's Phase IV, directed by the great Saul Bass, more commonly known as the revolutionary creator of many classic title sequences for Hitchcock, Preminger, etc. as well contributing significantly to the field of corporate iconography, branding and "visual identities". Less well-known is this amazing film, one of the great science-fiction films from the otherwise fallow early 70s.
Art-directed by John Barry and photographed by Dick Bush, the movie is remarkably well-designed and arranged with repeating motifs, evocative and meaningful color choice, hypnotic scoring and intelligent camera movement, use of focus and editing. At times it almost looks and feels like an industrial or educational film (I was reminded a bit of some of the Ray and Charles Eames films).
What might've been simply a cheap, hoary sci-fi/ecological exploitation flick, is instead a thoughtful, unforgiving, at times hallucinogenic study of man and animal behavior. Hopefully the stills here convey something of the film's notions about order, disorder, patterns, textures, language, totems, horizons, intruders...
Bunuel, Dali -- is that you?
