Squaring the Circle

A huge part of my childhood and most people from my generation, growing up in the 60's & 70's, was staring at album covers, reading every word of the liner notes just visually ingesting art, for art's sake. This documentary gives us a glorious, backstage, pass to the inner workings of some of the biggest bands of the era. Hearing Noel Gallagher detail about how his daughter didn't understand that album artwork was a thing was absolutely heartbreaking. We would literally just stare at the album cover while listening to the album much like we sat at the breakfast table and stared at the cereal box and read every word on the front and back and sides when we were eating cereal in the mornings. It just brought back so many great memories and the thrill of physically holding an album the smell of the album cover You felt going through the motions of opening the sleeve, putting the album on the turntable and then sitting back and waiting to hear something you've never heard. It really was a beautiful time to be a music and art lover. This gargantuan outlet for artists is now, as Noel said, just a tiny square, on iTunes.

Mixed bag, this film is. There are some redeeming moments of discovery, though. Lots of redundant imagery which is ironic, because this film reveals the kernels of Storm and Po, the creative duo who created lauded LP covers from the 70s and beyond. Anyone who is a graphic designer or photographer might be quite interested in certain portions of this film. Generally, I felt that most of the moments when Po is featured are like his ego is taking an extended bubble bath. But my review is not intended to discount his fine creative output, back in the days long before Photoshop. If you're enamored of a large host of Chirping Musician Heads, you might adore this film. Led Z members, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, and a few from 10cc all share opinions. To be expected, just a handful of women are featured. For the back story on certain LP covers, the producers linger far too long, and the tone seeps into the arena of hagiography. The running time could have done with a tighter edit. Ironically, the final moments are rushed and a bit maudlin. Like many docs, it's neatly wrapped up with a tidy bow: just a few, perfunctory sentences. Believe it or not, I somewhat recommend this film, apart from the above reservations.

Fascinating film about the 2 extraordinary guys who were responsible for the most iconic album cover of all time and countless others album covers from the late 60 onwards. Great interviews from the likes of Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters ,Jimmy page, Robert Plant ,Paul McCartney and many more. Some great stories behind the album covers (Animals is particularly funny) and the thought process behind them. After all these years I never understood the significance of the man on fire on Wish You Were Here Its shot in black and white and colour to dazzling effect and each time I watch it I notice something new. The film manages to convey the absolute chaos and spontaneity of there lives This harks back to a time when the album cover was nearly as important than the vinyl inside Hopefully there will be a soundtrack album as well. Anyone who laments the end of an era of truly inspiring music will love this.

This story was in the era of my tween, teen, & young adult years. I had never heard of Hypgnosis but it peaked my interest with all the Rock Celebrities and the amazing photography. With that said I feel really, really old seeing Jimmy Page with white hair and Robert Plant nearly bald. The band's tour highlights were awesome as well. I could have watched hours of this, if it had been longer. So nostalgic, so informative, so sad to see those days end because we no longer purchase and play LPs. When I was young I loved nothing better than getting an album with an amazing cover. It truly was an art form under appreciated at the time. The back stories to all of the album covers Hypgnosis created were funny, ridiculous, passionate, entertaining, and enjoyable . This documentary needed to be told. Thanks to the producers for bringing back those memories that will forever be frozen in time. I plan on watching at least two, maybe three more times.

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)" is a documentary about Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell, the creative geniuses behind the iconic album art design studio, Hipgnosis, responsible for some of the most recognizable album covers of all time. This is director Anton Corbijn's first documentary feature and for the most part, it was pretty entertaining and well-informed.

Prior to seeing this I had knew about Storm Thorgerson's work and his impact with album covers and I was a big fan of Pink Floyd growing up and this documentary was pretty interesting to learn about the personal stories behind the iconic album covers, the life of Thorgerson's work, and listening to many well-known musicals explain their sides of the story and the personal impacts.

The visual presentations was pretty good, the interviews from each participants all felt purposeful and informative, and the overall experience of this documentary was a joy to watch. Some complaints I have were that since the soundtrack relies mostly on songs from Pink Floyd, some of the songs were used inappropriately where the tone and soundtrack didn't mention the scenario. Including there were some segments that could have been edited out as they felt like filler.

But the overall experience was pretty fun. Fans of Pink Floyd or well known 60s, 70s, or 80s music fans will have a good time watching this film.

Rating: B.