Ernst Haas: On Set in Bloomington, MN

This book considers the film stills of Ernst Haas (1921-86), one of the most accomplished photographers of the 20th century, transgressing the borders between still photography and the moving image. Haas worked with a variety of eminent directors—from Vittorio de Sica to John Huston, Gene Kelly and Michael Cimino—and depicted cinema genres from suspense (
The Third Man, The Train
) to the Western (
The Oregon Trail, Little Big Man
), and from comedy (
Miracle in Milan, Love and Death
) to musicals (
West Side Story, Hello Dolly
). Haas inscribed a temporal, filmic dimension into his stills which, when viewed in a sequence, generate movement and narrative. So accomplished was his mastery of color, light and motion that Haas was frequently asked to photograph large group actions—from the battle scenes of
The Charge of the Light Brigade
and the dances of
West Side Story
to the ski slopes of
Downhill Racer
.
On Set
elucidates a novel perspective on the sets and the stars Haas photographed, and reveals a little-known but crucial dimension of his oeuvre.