Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis (2022)
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 101 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: Anton Corbijn
IMDb score:
7,7 (2.152)
Releasedate: 2 September 2022
Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis plot
What do a glowing cow, a flying pig and a man in a suit engulfed in flames have in common? They're all motifs in some of music history's most iconographic album covers, and they're all created by artist duo Hipgnosis. Anton Corbijn tells the story of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey 'Po' Powell in his signature black and white style. Two bright minds who had never played a note of music, but whose surreal and humorous visions made them rock royalty in the 1960s and for decades to come. Corbijn receives anecdotal help from a wide variety of world stars - including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Noel Gallagher and other rock stars.
Reviews & comments
mjk87 (moderator films)
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- 14602 messages
- 4555 votes
Squaring the circle, or the square cover around the round LP.
A few months ago I was with my dad in the Groninger Museum where there was an exhibition about Hipgnosis, that was the moment I was introduced to this studio. And then I saw this documentary, so I went here with my father. Partly little new besides that exhibition, but largely also with plenty of new things. Especially about certain processes and how an idea is arrived at. It does not go very deep and partly it is simply about something like talent (there is little informative to say about that) to come up with good ideas. Nevertheless, certainly insightful.
However, the documentary as a medium of film is less interesting. Occasionally you see the visual character of photographer Corbijn, but the documentary consists of a lot of talking heads. Filmed in beautiful black and white and people often say interesting things, but as a whole it's a bit monotonous. 100 minutes is too much. And just like ichi above, I didn't understand the presence of Noel Gallagher from Oasis. He added little and mainly came with some simple philosophy. 3.0*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Daniel Raedts
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- 27 messages
- 23 votes
"Vinyl is a poor man's art collection?"
Anton Corbijn provides an anthology of the rise and end of design studio Hipgnosis (1968-1983) in his typical style. The studio of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey 'Po' Powell, which became legendary with the album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Wings, 10cc and many others. A number of covers are explained in more detail, but it is also nice to see that not everything was equally successful or iconic and that they are hidden away in quick compilations.
For someone familiar with work, this documentary offers few surprises or unknown stories; Wiki is full of anecdotes and there are many impressive books, including 'Taken By Storm'. And for those who are not very familiar with the various albums highlighted; the original and accompanying music is not missing. It remains particularly fascinating to see how the medium of 'art design' was elevated to an art, giving many albums (rightly) a mythical status. An art form that still exists, but how many iconic covers from, say, the past ten years still appeal to the mass imagination?
With 'Squaring the Circle', Corbijn delivers a fine documentary about the profession with which he himself created a furore in the 1980s and in terms of contrast the differences seem to be enormous. However, an eye for detail, how striking everything is and a certain mysticism show that Corbijn is also indebted to Hipgnosis. In addition, it is a pleasure to listen to the engaging Powell. Obligatory pop culture history at its best!
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