Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Release Date:

13 September 2006 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

A look at the life and work of the renown architect.

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Architect | Building | Architecture | Museum

Cast

Charles Arnoldi	...	Himself (as Chuck Arnoldi)
Barry Diller	...	Himself
Michael Eisner	...	Himself
Rolf Fehlbaum	...	Himself
Hal Foster	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mildred Friedman	...	Herself
Frank O. Gehry	...	Himself
Bob Geldof	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself
Charles Jencks	...	Himself
Philip Johnson	...	Himself
Thomas Krens	...	Himself
Peter Lewis	...	Himself
Herbert Muschamp	...	Himself
Michael Ovitz	...	Himself
Sydney Pollack	...	Himself
Norman Rosenthal	...	Himself
Edward Ruscha	...	Himself
Esa-Pekka Salonen	...	Himself
Julian Schnabel	...	Himself
Milton Wexler	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Australia:M | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Anaheim ICE - 300 W. Lincoln Avenue, Anaheim, California, USA

Company:

American Masters

Trivia:

The last film (documentary) directed by Sydney Pollack.

Movie Connections:

References Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV)

A Nutshell Review: Sketches of Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry is the world renowned architect who designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. This documentary, directed by his friend Sydney Pollack, takes a quick look into the man himself, as well as to showcase some of the designs of the past 20 years or so, including the Guggenheim, which is given plenty of airtime.

Nearer to home, the Kerzner-CapitaLand's Sentosa Integrated Resort bid boasts of having its architecture designed by Gehry. Response has been mixed that it resembles one of his earlier pieces, but hey, it's Frank Gehry, and having one of his designs here, if it gets awarded, will be one heck of an attraction in itself.

Gehry mentioned during the interview that Pollack was given the nod to do the documentary was because of his lack of knowledge in the field. Perhaps it's because coming from the outside, he would be able to provide a fresh perspective into how architecture is viewed, from a layman. There's nothing much to shout about in this film, except to drool at the various eclectic designs and buildings Gehry built, and to go behind the scenes to try and pick his brain about the processes and idiosyncrasies he lives by.

And watching the master at work is amazing. From his squiggly sketches, they evolve into grand monuments, often undergoing countless of changes on the fly. There are plenty of hacks on models, and the amount of material spent making these models is simply staggering. It's no wonder he has a dedicated team of professionals working under him, and together they create art. I'm also impressed by Gehry's vast knowledge on materials, as they are equally important in bringing to life the designs from paper to the actual building.

Watch this documentary if you want to have a glimpse of how Frank Gehry goes about his work combining art with architectural design, and of the little nuggets of information he shares about his work and design philosophy, as well as a rare glimpse into this life from interviews and dialogues with colleagues and friends.

Now I'm rooting for the Kerzner-CapitaLand bid, just to have a Gehry designed building on our shores :-)