This Bill Brandt RDI…
1904-1983. He is one on my all time favourite photographers and a rare Royal Designer for Industry photographer. I think this is because he had the eye of a graphic designer, without actually being one. His epic works, The English at Home 1936 and Britain by Night 1938 were benchmarks in documentary reportage. But for me his nudes of the 40s, 50s and 60s are a demonstration his ability to find a new perspective on this classic subject…
East sussex coast 1958
London 1953
Baie des Anges, France 1958
East Sussex Coast 1959
He’s use of extreme wide-angle lenses and high contrast black and white makes for a dynamic graphic presentation…
Campden Hill, london 1949
This ‘deep focus’ style was pioneered in the cinema of the late 1930s…
the above is a still from the 1939 Russian film The Great Citizen directed by Freidrich Ermler which clearly had and influence on the young Orson Wells who, along with the great cinema photographer Gregg Toland, experiment with extreme wide angel photography to great dramatic effect in Wells’s 1941 film Citizen Kane...
Undoubtedly the presentation of CitizenKane affected many photographers, whether consciously or unconsciously. And this photographic influence continued in many black and white films well into the 70s. Here are some examples…
Ivan the Terrible 1944 directed by Sergei Esenstein
Onibaba 1964 directed by Kaneto Shindo
Repulsion 1965 directed by Roman Polanski
Seconds 1966 directed by John Frankenhimer
Alice in Wonderland 1966 directed by Jonathan Miller.
Delius: A Song of Summer 1968 directed by Ken Russell.
The Last Picture Show 1971 (above) and Paper Moon (below) 1973...
both directed by Peter Bodanovich. All of these are examples of just how rewarding black and white films can be as a visual spectacle, and how reciprocal the relationship has been with stills photography. And I can assure you that all of the films featured above are a must if you are vaguely interested in the art form. To see more of Brandt's work, up close and personal, you can't do better than visit the V&A Prints and Drawing Room where you can sit in a beautiful warm space, are kitted out with some very smart white gloves and an attentive librarian will bring you original prints of Brandt's work to peruse for as long as you want. It's wonderful and completely free.