Ken Adam, creator of magical film sets, on his 100th birthday
Ken Adam designed some of the most famous film sets ever made, including seven for the "James Bond" films. The German-British set designer and two-time Oscar winner was born 100 years ago today.
The War Room
German-British set designer Ken Adam created some of the most famous film sets ever made. Pictured here is his "War Room" from Stanley Kubrick's 1963 film "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," a dark nuclear satire.
Award-winning work
British director Nicholas Hytner celebrated his big screen debut in the 1994 film "The Madness of King George." Adam designed the royal bedroom, the sketch of which is pictured here, and won his second Academy Award for his work. Adam took home his first Oscar in 1975 for recreating 18th century England in the Stanley Kubrick film "Barry Lyndon."
If drawings could speak
Here is one of Adam's sketches for the spy film "Company Business," written and directed by Nicholas Meyer. He uses clean and elegant lines for the drawing, and the red-lipped mouth is later realized in the film exactly as it is seen on paper.
Cinematic geometry
Ken Adam was most famous for his work on the James Bond films. Pictured is a scene from "Moonraker" (1979), the 11th 007 picture. The set designer was born in 1921 in Berlin as Klaus Hugo Adam. In 1934 he immigrated with his parents to Great Britain, where he later became the first German-born fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force.
Off to save the world
In "Moonraker," James Bond, alias Roger Moore, investigates the theft of a space shuttle and once again saves the world from total destruction. Adam was also responsible for the shuttle's launch complex, pictured here.
Digging into the past
What did German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler really know about the crimes of the Nazis? "Taking Sides," a film by Hungarian director Istvan Szabo, poses uncomfortable questions. This photo of the set designer was taken during production in 2001.
Like a painting
This sketch from the 1967 Bond film "You Only Live Twice" looks like it's right out of a painting from expressionist artist Lyonel Feininger. Adam helped turn seven Bond films into cinematic icons with his unmistakable use of dynamic lines and daring perspectives. He was inspired by German expressionism.
Career highlights
Adam's film career spanned 53 years, from "This Was a Woman" in 1948 to "Taking Sides" in 2001. During that time, he received two Oscars, for "Barry Lyndon" in 1975 and "The Madness of King George" in 1995.
At work
Cigarette in hand, pen at the ready: The master himself was pictured in this 2013 installation by artist Boris Hars-Tschachotin, entitled "Lines in Flow."
Classics in the making
Here, Adam is seen in 1968 with his sketches for the British musical comedy "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." In 2012, the set designer donated more than 6,000 sketches, photos, films and awards - including his two Oscars - to the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin. Adam died aged 95 in 2016.