There will be many comparisons in the next day or three between Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki’s shockingly beautiful and elegiac epic about a giant lizard triggering nationwide trauma for a country in ruins, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the newest monster smash up between the Big G and the Ape from Skull Island. But right at the top, every reader should recognize this is a fruitless exercise; a contrast as meaningful as pondering the differences between a genuine Oscar winner and a Saturday morning cartoon.
For make no mistake, Godzilla x Kong is a cartoon. I’m told the film technically qualifies as live action, too, because Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens appear in front of some blue screens (and presumably to pick up hefty paychecks for their troubles). But I still don’t entirely believe it. Flesh and blood actors might float by to spout exposition,...
For make no mistake, Godzilla x Kong is a cartoon. I’m told the film technically qualifies as live action, too, because Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens appear in front of some blue screens (and presumably to pick up hefty paychecks for their troubles). But I still don’t entirely believe it. Flesh and blood actors might float by to spout exposition,...
- 3/28/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
“Ahahayy!! Viva Mexico, cabrones!” With that battle cry, Academy Award-winner Guillermo del Toro announced Mexico as the Country of Honor at this year’s Annecy, France’s preeminent animation film festival.
According to organizer Pixelatl, an association dedicated to the creation and promotion of Mexico’s multimedia content, more than 250 Mexican animators and producers will descend on Annecy with nine programs scheduled.
“The Book of Life” director Jorge R. Gutiérrez, whose Netflix series “Maya and the Three” won four Emmys and an Annie, created the poster and title cards of the festival and will also be hosting a Master Class and screening of “The Book of Life.”
Del Toro’s best animated feature Oscar for his “Pinocchio” this year could not be more fortuitous and timelier for the festival, Gutiérrez observes. Aside from a special screening of “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” the maestro will also be presiding over a master class.
According to organizer Pixelatl, an association dedicated to the creation and promotion of Mexico’s multimedia content, more than 250 Mexican animators and producers will descend on Annecy with nine programs scheduled.
“The Book of Life” director Jorge R. Gutiérrez, whose Netflix series “Maya and the Three” won four Emmys and an Annie, created the poster and title cards of the festival and will also be hosting a Master Class and screening of “The Book of Life.”
Del Toro’s best animated feature Oscar for his “Pinocchio” this year could not be more fortuitous and timelier for the festival, Gutiérrez observes. Aside from a special screening of “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” the maestro will also be presiding over a master class.
- 6/9/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
The idea of the “movie star” is usually reserved for the uber-famous; Margot Robbie, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The occasional director like Jordan Peele or Christopher Nolan, filmmakers so well established they have their own font. But in the genre world, it’s different. As much as you might see a crowd turn out in force for the game-changing work of a John Carpenter, or a Michelle Yeoh, you’re just as likely to see lines around the block for Dick Smith, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Greg Nicotero, Phil Tippett or Tom Savini – Hollywood’s most lauded special effects and make-up artists. The physical creators of some of the most iconic characters in cinema history: our movie monsters.
Which explains Forbidden Worlds Film Festival’s entire strand devoted to ‘Creature Creators’; a series of films shining a spotlight on these visual effects ‘stars’. Charting a course from Willis O’Brien’s...
Which explains Forbidden Worlds Film Festival’s entire strand devoted to ‘Creature Creators’; a series of films shining a spotlight on these visual effects ‘stars’. Charting a course from Willis O’Brien’s...
- 5/21/2023
- by Ben Robins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
For a community of die-hard, genre-loving film fans who grew up crouched over tiny glass TV screens, the holy grail has arrived. Some of the cult film world’s most influential (and most obscure) releases, projected large and loud, on an IMAX screen the size of a building.
Bristol’s new(ish) Forbidden Worlds Film Festival returns for a second year, from 18th-21st May, with a frankly ridiculous line-up of big-screen treats. Three strands that very much speak for themselves: Creature Creators (stop-motion pioneers and practical effects wizards), Video Shop Archives (old school cult classics), and Michelle Yeoh (nuff said). Kicking off with a Stan Winston double-feature on opening night, showcasing Winston’s iconic effects work in The Terminator, before a rare theatrical screening of his directorial debut Pumpkinhead, Forbidden Worlds is really going there with unusual, one-off events.
“We all have our favourites,” jokes Tessa Williams, one of...
Bristol’s new(ish) Forbidden Worlds Film Festival returns for a second year, from 18th-21st May, with a frankly ridiculous line-up of big-screen treats. Three strands that very much speak for themselves: Creature Creators (stop-motion pioneers and practical effects wizards), Video Shop Archives (old school cult classics), and Michelle Yeoh (nuff said). Kicking off with a Stan Winston double-feature on opening night, showcasing Winston’s iconic effects work in The Terminator, before a rare theatrical screening of his directorial debut Pumpkinhead, Forbidden Worlds is really going there with unusual, one-off events.
“We all have our favourites,” jokes Tessa Williams, one of...
- 5/4/2023
- by Ben Robins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
If someone asked you to name a Hollywood legend, there are certain people that just cannot be excluded. One of these is director Steven Spielberg. When you're responsible for films like "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Schindler's List," "West Side Story," and "Jurassic Park," it's pretty hard to argue against. The man is probably running out of space for all of his accolades.
Hollywood legend Spielberg may be, but he's taken inspiration from earlier legends of the silver screen. In fact, with "Jurassic Park," Spielberg paid homage to legendary animator/special effects creator/stop-motion animation innovator Ray Harryhausen.
Harryhausen, who died in 2013 at the age of 92, was responsible for the creature work in films like "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," "Jason and the Argonauts," "One Million Years B.C.," and "Clash of the Titans." Harryhausen inspired many filmmakers with his work,...
Hollywood legend Spielberg may be, but he's taken inspiration from earlier legends of the silver screen. In fact, with "Jurassic Park," Spielberg paid homage to legendary animator/special effects creator/stop-motion animation innovator Ray Harryhausen.
Harryhausen, who died in 2013 at the age of 92, was responsible for the creature work in films like "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," "Jason and the Argonauts," "One Million Years B.C.," and "Clash of the Titans." Harryhausen inspired many filmmakers with his work,...
- 3/31/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
A strong argument could be made for King Kong being the most influential movie ever made. Kong’s progeny includes Mighty Joe Young, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, Ray Harryhausen films, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, many of the character-driven stop motion creations of the past ninety years, and dozens of authorized and unauthorized spin-offs, sequels, remakes, and rip-offs. The film inspired dozens, if not hundreds of directors, special effects artists, sound effects creators, composers, and film creators of all kinds, who have in turn inspired the next generation of filmmakers, and they the next. It is the first special-effects driven blockbuster of the sound era; a genre-crossing spectacular that introduced the world to some of cinema’s most iconic imagery and sound, the screen’s first true Scream Queen, and one of the all-time great gods and monsters of film history.
King Kong...
King Kong...
- 3/24/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
If there's one thing we can take away from modern blockbusters it's that, with rare exceptions, special effects just don't feel "special" anymore.
That's not to say that there aren't beautiful and convincing visual effects being produced in the world of cinema. "Top Gun: Maverick" seamlessly blends real aerial footage with CG recreations, to the extent that it's nearly impossible to tell what was really in front of the camera. "Avatar: The Way of Water," whatever its other flaws may be, is a sumptuous spectacle for the eyes, at once vibrant and colorful and creative.
But what so very many modern visual effects films have in common is that they take imagery that should be astounding for granted, treating the most incredible and impossible things the human mind could devise, and acting like it's just something everyone deals with every day. And the new superhero film "Shazam! Fury of the Gods...
That's not to say that there aren't beautiful and convincing visual effects being produced in the world of cinema. "Top Gun: Maverick" seamlessly blends real aerial footage with CG recreations, to the extent that it's nearly impossible to tell what was really in front of the camera. "Avatar: The Way of Water," whatever its other flaws may be, is a sumptuous spectacle for the eyes, at once vibrant and colorful and creative.
But what so very many modern visual effects films have in common is that they take imagery that should be astounding for granted, treating the most incredible and impossible things the human mind could devise, and acting like it's just something everyone deals with every day. And the new superhero film "Shazam! Fury of the Gods...
- 3/17/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
The original intent of 65 was always to give audiences a false sense of familiarity. A lonely astronaut in the far reaches of space, awakened from cryo-sleep by his ship’s computer; a crew of passengers endangered when they’re forced to land on a strange world; and the distant foreboding sound of something out there in the dark. As writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods concede, it’s more or less the setup of Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi horror movie, Alien (1979). Only 65 has an added hook. Or perhaps it’s a claw.
“I get it, there’s aliens, we’ve seen this,” Woods says with a smile, recalling the effect they wanted the movie to have on audiences at the start. “But then those aliens and that planet turn out to be Earth during the age of dinosaurs.” Suddenly, you have a story of sci-fi desperation and survival that...
“I get it, there’s aliens, we’ve seen this,” Woods says with a smile, recalling the effect they wanted the movie to have on audiences at the start. “But then those aliens and that planet turn out to be Earth during the age of dinosaurs.” Suddenly, you have a story of sci-fi desperation and survival that...
- 3/9/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
I never understood why Jurassic Park was the only dinosaur-related franchise to outlive the dino hysteria of the 90s. Don’t get me wrong, Spielberg’s classic is clearly the best movie to come out of that trend, but that doesn’t change the fact that dinosaurs as a concept are in the public domain and should have been featured in countless other films.
Fortunately for fans of all things prehistoric, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’s upcoming 65 (March 10th) promises a return to the Jurassic-Park-less thrills of completely original dinosaur movies. And with that in mind, we’ve come up with this list highlighting six of the best non-jp dinosaur thrillers for all your prehistoric media needs!
As usual, this list is purely based on personal opinion, but since this is Bloody Disgusting, we’ll be limiting entries to monster movies and thrillers. That means no Super Mario Bros...
Fortunately for fans of all things prehistoric, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’s upcoming 65 (March 10th) promises a return to the Jurassic-Park-less thrills of completely original dinosaur movies. And with that in mind, we’ve come up with this list highlighting six of the best non-jp dinosaur thrillers for all your prehistoric media needs!
As usual, this list is purely based on personal opinion, but since this is Bloody Disgusting, we’ll be limiting entries to monster movies and thrillers. That means no Super Mario Bros...
- 2/17/2023
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
Click here to read the full article.
The joy in Guillermo del Toro’s face has been abundantly apparent this awards season each time he introduces his latest big-screen outing, a deeply personal animated version of Pinocchio told in the Mexican helmer’s typically sumptuous, meticulously crafted visual style.
When the Oscar-winning filmmaker was growing up, Carlo Collodi’s 1883 fable about a wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy was one of his favorites, and del Toro has now made the oft-told tale (Disney released its own ill-received live-action version, starring Tom Hanks, in September) distinctly his own: a darker, timely retelling for today’s audiences, set in fascist Italy during the 1930s.
Pinocchio is del Toro’s first foray into directing stop-motion animation, an art form that dates back to the early days of motion pictures and which was developed by filmmaking pioneers del Toro has long admired,...
The joy in Guillermo del Toro’s face has been abundantly apparent this awards season each time he introduces his latest big-screen outing, a deeply personal animated version of Pinocchio told in the Mexican helmer’s typically sumptuous, meticulously crafted visual style.
When the Oscar-winning filmmaker was growing up, Carlo Collodi’s 1883 fable about a wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy was one of his favorites, and del Toro has now made the oft-told tale (Disney released its own ill-received live-action version, starring Tom Hanks, in September) distinctly his own: a darker, timely retelling for today’s audiences, set in fascist Italy during the 1930s.
Pinocchio is del Toro’s first foray into directing stop-motion animation, an art form that dates back to the early days of motion pictures and which was developed by filmmaking pioneers del Toro has long admired,...
- 12/2/2022
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Animation fans are truly being treated in 2022. Pixar released one of their best ever films, "Turning Red," while DreamWorks dropped an underrated caper in the form of "The Bad Guys." Richard Linklater turned to rotoscope for "Apollo 10 ½" and "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" became an unexpected box office hit in North America. To top it off, we're getting not one but two stop-motion animated features: Guillermo del Toro's take on the classic story of "Pinocchio," and Henry Selick's return to the medium with the horror-comedy "Wendell and Wild."
Selick has long been one of the stalwarts of stop-motion in American animation thanks to iconic spooky season films like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline," while del Toro turned to the medium for his decade-long passion project and has received some of the best reviews of his starry career for his troubles. It's hard not to be...
Selick has long been one of the stalwarts of stop-motion in American animation thanks to iconic spooky season films like "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline," while del Toro turned to the medium for his decade-long passion project and has received some of the best reviews of his starry career for his troubles. It's hard not to be...
- 10/20/2022
- by Kayleigh Donaldson
- Slash Film
.
For Guillermo del Toro, it wasn’t a question of why stop-motion fit his new version of “Pinocchio,” but why it had never been attempted before. After all, Carlo Collodi’s enduring fable about a wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy cries out for the tactile, handmade technique.
“It’s the perfect way to tell the story,” del Toro told IndieWire, following a sneak peek of the first 38 minutes of his Netflix movie (premiering this weekend at the London Film Festival ahead of its closing-night special presentation at L.A.’s Animation Is Film Festival on October 29). “Everyone is a puppet. Being animated makes the existence of Pinocchio completely naturalistic the way you’re telling the tale. I’m surprised, happy, that it hasn’t been tackled like that before. It comes so naturally to the tale.”
But it’s taken more than 15 years to realize del Toro’s passion project,...
For Guillermo del Toro, it wasn’t a question of why stop-motion fit his new version of “Pinocchio,” but why it had never been attempted before. After all, Carlo Collodi’s enduring fable about a wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy cries out for the tactile, handmade technique.
“It’s the perfect way to tell the story,” del Toro told IndieWire, following a sneak peek of the first 38 minutes of his Netflix movie (premiering this weekend at the London Film Festival ahead of its closing-night special presentation at L.A.’s Animation Is Film Festival on October 29). “Everyone is a puppet. Being animated makes the existence of Pinocchio completely naturalistic the way you’re telling the tale. I’m surprised, happy, that it hasn’t been tackled like that before. It comes so naturally to the tale.”
But it’s taken more than 15 years to realize del Toro’s passion project,...
- 10/12/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Even non-gamers are aware of the massive cultural impact that 1996’s Tomb Raider had on media. Not only did Eidos Interactive’s iconic release revolutionize adventure narratives in gaming, updating the simple thrills of titles like Pitfall into a truly immersive interactive experience, but it also gifted us with one of pop culture’s most recognizable characters through Lara Croft, a badass gaming mascot who is still holding her own against gun-toting super-soldiers and Italian plumbers in the year of our lord 2022.
Though the series has come a long way since the 90s, breaking boundaries with over a dozen mainline sequels, reboots and even a handful of cinematic adaptations (none of which were masterpieces but are still entertaining for a myriad of different reasons), there’s one aspect of the original game that rarely gets the attention it deserves despite being a crucial part of Tomb Raider’s overwhelming success.
Though the series has come a long way since the 90s, breaking boundaries with over a dozen mainline sequels, reboots and even a handful of cinematic adaptations (none of which were masterpieces but are still entertaining for a myriad of different reasons), there’s one aspect of the original game that rarely gets the attention it deserves despite being a crucial part of Tomb Raider’s overwhelming success.
- 8/9/2022
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
When Steven Spielberg unleashed "Jurassic Park" upon the masses in the summer of 1993, audiences were rocked by the master filmmaker's revolutionary blend of CGI and practical effects. The prehistoric teeth chompers had largely been represented by the spot-motion wizardry of Willis O'Brien ("King Kong") and Ray Harryhausen, but here they were, looking as tangible as ever. They were majestic, violent, and unpredictable creatures out of time. But what really mattered was that we got to see dinosaurs eat people!
"Jurassic Park" is a series of highs and lows, but the one thing that remains consistently awesome...
The post Jurassic Park Needed Some Bark To Match The T. Rex's Toilet-Busting Bite appeared first on /Film.
"Jurassic Park" is a series of highs and lows, but the one thing that remains consistently awesome...
The post Jurassic Park Needed Some Bark To Match The T. Rex's Toilet-Busting Bite appeared first on /Film.
- 6/9/2022
- by Matthew Bilodeau
- Slash Film
Sean Wilson Sep 16, 2016
With Kubo & The Two Strings now playing, we salute some of our favourite stop motion animated movies...
With Laika's visually sumptuous and breathtaking stop motion masterpiece Kubo And The Two Strings dazzling audiences throughout the country, what better time to celebrate this singular and remarkable art form?
The effect is created when an on-screen character or object is carefully manipulated one frame at a time, leading to an illusion of movement during playback - and such fiendishly intricate work, which takes years of dedication, deserves to be honoured. Here are the greatest examples of stop motion movie mastery.
The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1898)
What defines the elusive appeal of stop motion? Surely a great deal of it is down to the blend of the recognisable and the uncanny: an simulation of recognisably human movement that still has a touch of the fantastical about it. These contradictions were put...
With Kubo & The Two Strings now playing, we salute some of our favourite stop motion animated movies...
With Laika's visually sumptuous and breathtaking stop motion masterpiece Kubo And The Two Strings dazzling audiences throughout the country, what better time to celebrate this singular and remarkable art form?
The effect is created when an on-screen character or object is carefully manipulated one frame at a time, leading to an illusion of movement during playback - and such fiendishly intricate work, which takes years of dedication, deserves to be honoured. Here are the greatest examples of stop motion movie mastery.
The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1898)
What defines the elusive appeal of stop motion? Surely a great deal of it is down to the blend of the recognisable and the uncanny: an simulation of recognisably human movement that still has a touch of the fantastical about it. These contradictions were put...
- 9/8/2016
- Den of Geek
or, Savant picks The Most Impressive Discs of 2015
This is the actual view from Savant Central, looking due North.
What a year! I was able to take one very nice trip back East too see Washington D.C. for the first time, or at least as much as two days' walking in the hot sun and then cool rain would allow. Back home in Los Angeles, we've had a year of extreme drought -- my lawn is looking patriotically ratty -- and we're expecting something called El Niño, that's supposed to be just shy of Old-Testament build-me-an-ark intensity. We withstood heat waves like those in Day the Earth Caught Fire, and now we'll get the storms part. This has been a wild year for DVD Savant, which is still a little unsettled. DVDtalk has been very patient and generous, and so have Stuart Galbraith & Joe Dante; so far everything...
This is the actual view from Savant Central, looking due North.
What a year! I was able to take one very nice trip back East too see Washington D.C. for the first time, or at least as much as two days' walking in the hot sun and then cool rain would allow. Back home in Los Angeles, we've had a year of extreme drought -- my lawn is looking patriotically ratty -- and we're expecting something called El Niño, that's supposed to be just shy of Old-Testament build-me-an-ark intensity. We withstood heat waves like those in Day the Earth Caught Fire, and now we'll get the storms part. This has been a wild year for DVD Savant, which is still a little unsettled. DVDtalk has been very patient and generous, and so have Stuart Galbraith & Joe Dante; so far everything...
- 12/15/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s Halloween, the time of year for watching horror films with the lights out. You may be trying to decide which films you should watch for your Halloween scare-fest. There are many good films, depending on your taste. As a Halloween gift to you, Cinelinx lists 25 of the best horror films to watch, for your Halloween enjoyment. All these films are of excellent quality and convey the requisite eeriness and suspenseful mood to keep you in the creepy Halloween mood.
First…here’s a couple of Honorable Mentions:
Silence of the Lambs (1991) Hugely successful suspense thriller film that isn’t technically a horror movie but it’s close. This classy chiller became one of the few movies ever to capture the 'Big Five' awards at the Oscars. (Best picture; Best director for Jonathan Demme; Best actor for Anthony Hopkins; Best Actress for Jodie Foster; and best screenplay by Ted Tally.
First…here’s a couple of Honorable Mentions:
Silence of the Lambs (1991) Hugely successful suspense thriller film that isn’t technically a horror movie but it’s close. This classy chiller became one of the few movies ever to capture the 'Big Five' awards at the Oscars. (Best picture; Best director for Jonathan Demme; Best actor for Anthony Hopkins; Best Actress for Jodie Foster; and best screenplay by Ted Tally.
- 10/31/2015
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
In honor of Halloween, I once again have a special essay-article up, and this time I can name the contributor. Randall William Cook rates special celebrity status around DVD Savant despite being a friend from way, way back. I hope he's writing a book about his career, because his Hollywood experiences range far afield, from UCLA film school, to acting and directing film and TV, to doing special make-ups, animation direction, front-rank stop motion direction, and second unit direction on big features. Heavily into digital work since the 1990s, Randy supervised character animation and sequence direction for the three Lord of the Rings movies, netting him an amazing three Oscars, three years straight. And he's still the same guy from college -- a new Harryhausen or Welles disc comes out, and he wants to know all about it. Oh, and Cook is a fine writer as well -- as I think this thoughtful piece shows.
- 10/23/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I'll trade you two RKOs for two Warners', an even swap! This quartet of movie-magic wonderments offer a full course on old-school film effects wizardry at its best. Willis O'Brien passes the baton to disciple Ray Harryhausen, who dazzles us with his own effects magic for the first '50s giant monster epic. And the best monster thriller of the decade is offered at its original widescreen aspect ratio. It's all special enough to merit a mid-week review. Special Effects Collection Blu-ray The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them! Warner Home Video 1933-1954 / B&W / 1:37 Academy - 1:85 widescreen / 335 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / 54.96 or 19.98 separately Starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack,, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong; Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh; Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
From 1914 to Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes in the present, Ryan charts the evolution of animated characters in live-action film...
Feature
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and this year's Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes chart the ascendance of a new, genetically-modified species of intelligent ape. Yet behind the scenes, these films also show us the technical evolution of digital effects, and how seamlessly live-action and computer-generated characters can be blended.
Where 20th Century Fox's earlier Planet Of The Apes films, beginning in 1968, used actors and prosthetic effects to bring their talking simians to life, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes used the latest developments in performance capture to create some extraordinarily realistic characters. With its story told largely from the perspective of a genetically-modified chimpanzee named Caesar, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' success hinged on the quality of its effects...
Feature
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and this year's Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes chart the ascendance of a new, genetically-modified species of intelligent ape. Yet behind the scenes, these films also show us the technical evolution of digital effects, and how seamlessly live-action and computer-generated characters can be blended.
Where 20th Century Fox's earlier Planet Of The Apes films, beginning in 1968, used actors and prosthetic effects to bring their talking simians to life, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes used the latest developments in performance capture to create some extraordinarily realistic characters. With its story told largely from the perspective of a genetically-modified chimpanzee named Caesar, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' success hinged on the quality of its effects...
- 6/17/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
In just one week the fourth annual Telluride Horror Show kicks off in picturesque Telluride, Co, with Ben Ketai’s anticipated trapped-in-a-mine thriller Beneath rounding out the weekend.
Other films in the line-up include All Hallow’s Eve, a Halloween-based anthology that features the return of the demonic Art the Clown, who was first seen in the terrific short film Terrifier; Jesse T. Cook’s subversive and incredibly divisiveSeptic Man; and the World Premiere of Chemical Peel, directed by Grand Junction, Colorado, native Hank Braxtan.
Joining the fest will also be Guest Director Phil Tippett, who will be on hand to present a special sneak preview of Phil Tippett’s Mad God: Part 1, a surrealistic stop-motion nightmare featuring hundreds of detailed puppets. He will also present a special screening of his short film Mutantland.
For more info visit the official Telluride Horror Show website, "like" Telluride Horror Show on...
Other films in the line-up include All Hallow’s Eve, a Halloween-based anthology that features the return of the demonic Art the Clown, who was first seen in the terrific short film Terrifier; Jesse T. Cook’s subversive and incredibly divisiveSeptic Man; and the World Premiere of Chemical Peel, directed by Grand Junction, Colorado, native Hank Braxtan.
Joining the fest will also be Guest Director Phil Tippett, who will be on hand to present a special sneak preview of Phil Tippett’s Mad God: Part 1, a surrealistic stop-motion nightmare featuring hundreds of detailed puppets. He will also present a special screening of his short film Mutantland.
For more info visit the official Telluride Horror Show website, "like" Telluride Horror Show on...
- 10/4/2013
- by Brad McHargue
- DreadCentral.com
From a press release:
Ray Harryhausen spent his career turning ancient myth and modern technology into a succession of wondrous creatures, including living skeletons in The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, harpies in Jason & The Argonauts and dinosaurs in One Million Years B.C. Born in Los Angeles in 1920, Harryhausen got his first taste of movie magic when he saw King Kong as a boy, and it was that film's animator, Willis O'Brien, who gave Ray his first feature work, on Mighty Joe Young in 1949.
Read more...
Ray Harryhausen spent his career turning ancient myth and modern technology into a succession of wondrous creatures, including living skeletons in The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, harpies in Jason & The Argonauts and dinosaurs in One Million Years B.C. Born in Los Angeles in 1920, Harryhausen got his first taste of movie magic when he saw King Kong as a boy, and it was that film's animator, Willis O'Brien, who gave Ray his first feature work, on Mighty Joe Young in 1949.
Read more...
- 5/31/2013
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Feature Ryan Lambie 9 May 2013 - 06:05
We pay tribute to the remarkable work of the late Ray Harryhausen. Here's why his stop motion work was so important to artists everywhere...
When you really think about it, there's something quite innocent and childlike about the process of filmmaking. Actors put on funny costumes and makeup. Writers dream up make-believe dramas and arguments and fights. Set-builders construct pretend shops and houses for the characters to walk around in.
Perhaps this is why so many filmmakers have always been inspired by the movies they saw as youngsters; those images etch themselves on their young minds, and although they'll come up with startling ideas of their own in their later careers, they'll always be informed by the things they saw as children.
Ray Harryhausen was about 13 years old when he saw the original King Kong in 1933. He loved it so much that he went...
We pay tribute to the remarkable work of the late Ray Harryhausen. Here's why his stop motion work was so important to artists everywhere...
When you really think about it, there's something quite innocent and childlike about the process of filmmaking. Actors put on funny costumes and makeup. Writers dream up make-believe dramas and arguments and fights. Set-builders construct pretend shops and houses for the characters to walk around in.
Perhaps this is why so many filmmakers have always been inspired by the movies they saw as youngsters; those images etch themselves on their young minds, and although they'll come up with startling ideas of their own in their later careers, they'll always be informed by the things they saw as children.
Ray Harryhausen was about 13 years old when he saw the original King Kong in 1933. He loved it so much that he went...
- 5/8/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Special effects master on fantasy films including Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans
In 1933, the 13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at the cinema and was hooked – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre "stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done." It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen, who has died aged 92, was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. He created the special effects for fantasy films such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958); Jason and the Argonauts (1963), with its famous army of skeletons; and Clash of the Titans (1981).
He was born in Los Angeles to Frederick and Martha Harryhausen,...
In 1933, the 13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at the cinema and was hooked – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre "stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done." It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen, who has died aged 92, was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. He created the special effects for fantasy films such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958); Jason and the Argonauts (1963), with its famous army of skeletons; and Clash of the Titans (1981).
He was born in Los Angeles to Frederick and Martha Harryhausen,...
- 5/7/2013
- by Sheila Whitaker
- The Guardian - Film News
Ray Harryhausen, you'll be sorely missed. The Hollywood visual effects pioneer, famed for his stop-motion animation techniques that brought to life fantastical creatures like a hibernating dinosaur in 1953's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and terrifying skeletal warriors in 1963's Jason and the Argonauts, died Tuesday in London. He was 92. Harryhausen's family announced his death on his Facebook page. The Tinseltown innovator influenced generations of filmmakers chief among them Peter Jackson, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and Nick Park thanks to his trailblazing model work. Inspired as a child by Willis O'Brien's creations in 1933's King Kong,...
- 5/7/2013
- E! Online
London — When Ray Harryhausen was 13, he was so overwhelmed by "King Kong" that he vowed he would create otherworldly creatures on film. He fulfilled his desire as an adult, thrilling audiences with skeletons in a sword fight, a gigantic octopus destroying the Golden Gate Bridge, and a six-armed dancing goddess.
On Tuesday, Harryhausen died at London's Hammersmith Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for about a week. He was 92.
Biographer and longtime friend Tony Dalton confirmed the special-effects titan's death, saying it was too soon to tell the exact cause. He described Harryhausen's passing as "very gentle and very quiet."
"Ray did so much and influenced so many people," Dalton said. He recalled his friend's "wonderfully funny, brilliant sense of humor" and love of Laurel and Hardy, adding that, "His creatures were extraordinary, and his imagination was boundless."
Though little known by the general public, Harryhausen made 17 movies that...
On Tuesday, Harryhausen died at London's Hammersmith Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for about a week. He was 92.
Biographer and longtime friend Tony Dalton confirmed the special-effects titan's death, saying it was too soon to tell the exact cause. He described Harryhausen's passing as "very gentle and very quiet."
"Ray did so much and influenced so many people," Dalton said. He recalled his friend's "wonderfully funny, brilliant sense of humor" and love of Laurel and Hardy, adding that, "His creatures were extraordinary, and his imagination was boundless."
Though little known by the general public, Harryhausen made 17 movies that...
- 5/7/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson and George Lucas are household names, but they might have never become the filmmaker's they are today without Ray Harryhausen. The special effects legend was responsible for groundbreaking, mind-blowing effects from films of decades past like Mighty Joe Young, Jason and the Argonauts and the original Clash of the Titans, and the aforementioned directors have all sited Harryhausen as one of their major influences in cinema. Sadly, Harryhausen's family issued a statement announcing the effects genius has died at age 92. Here's a video compilation of Ray Harryhausen's creations from the big screen: The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation issued a statement on their Facebook page (via BloodyDisgusting) with the sad news. Harryhausen's work was inspired by another classic effects mastermind: Willis O'Brien. His work in the original 1933 King Kong inspired Harryhausen's fascination and obsession with animated models. Funnily enough, he...
- 5/7/2013
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
It was announced today that stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen died at the age of 92.
If you're a fan of cinema and special effects, chances are you're already a fan of his work. His influence can be seen in the work of Tim Burton, Phil Tippett, Harry Selick, Rob Bottin, Dennis Muren, Sam Raimi, James Cameron, Sid and Marty Krofft, and countless others.
Harryhausen's influence extends beyond stop-motion and into the realms of traditional and computer animation. This is primarily because he was a storyteller first and an animator second. A movie with Harryhausen effects has its own special feeling. The design work, the fluidity of movement (though it is less fluid by far than modern stop motion), and the little humanizing touches all set him apart from his contemporaries.
One reason fans embrace Harryhausen's work so much is because he was one of us. He didn't go into special...
If you're a fan of cinema and special effects, chances are you're already a fan of his work. His influence can be seen in the work of Tim Burton, Phil Tippett, Harry Selick, Rob Bottin, Dennis Muren, Sam Raimi, James Cameron, Sid and Marty Krofft, and countless others.
Harryhausen's influence extends beyond stop-motion and into the realms of traditional and computer animation. This is primarily because he was a storyteller first and an animator second. A movie with Harryhausen effects has its own special feeling. The design work, the fluidity of movement (though it is less fluid by far than modern stop motion), and the little humanizing touches all set him apart from his contemporaries.
One reason fans embrace Harryhausen's work so much is because he was one of us. He didn't go into special...
- 5/7/2013
- by Thurston McQ
- Corona's Coming Attractions
Ray Harryhausen, a hugely influential animator and visual effects trailblazer, has passed away at the age of 93, his family announced today. With his pioneering use of stop motion animation, Harryhausen contributed memorable creatures to "Mighty Joe Young," "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and, perhaps, most famously, for "Jason and the Argonauts," where Harryhausen created a platoon of animated skeletons for the titular demigod to battle. Almost every modern filmmaker, whether or not they work in the fantasy or horror genres, seems either indebted or in awe of Harryhausen's fantastical works – among them, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, John Landis, Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Stephen Sommers and James Cameron. Harryhausen was first inspired by the world of stop motion animation when he saw "King Kong," which featured truly jaw-dropping work from Willis O'Brien. O'Brien would take Harryhausen under his wing on another giant ape movie, "Mighty Joe Young.
- 5/7/2013
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
Stop-motion and special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen died today in London. He was 93.
Harryhausen was first entranced by stop-motion after watching Willis O'Brien's creations in 1933's King Kong. He dabbled in home movies before going on to create model animation for sci-fi films over the next 46 years. Harryhausen was particularly known for creating monsters, dinosaurs, apes, and other creatures that actually interacted with the actors of the films. His first feature was Mighty Joe Young in 1946, and he went on to do the special effects for films like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, It Came From Beneath the Sea, One Billion Years B.C., and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. One of his most famous scenes was in Jason and the Argonauts, in which Harryhausen created seven living skeletons that fight with human actors.
Jason and the Argonauts skeleton fight
Over the years, Harryhausen has received a number of awards,...
Harryhausen was first entranced by stop-motion after watching Willis O'Brien's creations in 1933's King Kong. He dabbled in home movies before going on to create model animation for sci-fi films over the next 46 years. Harryhausen was particularly known for creating monsters, dinosaurs, apes, and other creatures that actually interacted with the actors of the films. His first feature was Mighty Joe Young in 1946, and he went on to do the special effects for films like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, It Came From Beneath the Sea, One Billion Years B.C., and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. One of his most famous scenes was in Jason and the Argonauts, in which Harryhausen created seven living skeletons that fight with human actors.
Jason and the Argonauts skeleton fight
Over the years, Harryhausen has received a number of awards,...
- 5/7/2013
- by Alyse Wax
- FEARnet
Ray Harryhausen - Master of the Majicks
Volume 1: Beginnings and Endings
by Mike Hankin
Foreword by Tom Hanks
Preface by Sir Christopher Frayling
www.archive-editions.com
Finally Completed and off to the Printer!
Vol. 1 is planned to ship in early Summer, 2013.
Written and produced over the past 10 years with Ray Harryhausen's cooperation and support, the complete 3-volume definitive 295,000-word career/biography features interviews with Ray and his colleagues and is profusely illustrated with several hundred rare photographs, artwork, and illustrations (many of which have never been previously published).
We published Volume 2 ("The American Films") first, then Volume 3 ("The British Films"), and are now wrapping up the set with Volume 1 (“Beginnings and Endings”).
Chapters in Volume 1 extensively cover:
Ray's Early 16mm Experiments, The Influence of Willis O'Brien and King Kong, George Pal's Puppetoons®, Ray's Film Work During World War II, The Fairy Tale Short Subjects, Ray's Retirement Years (including tributes,...
Volume 1: Beginnings and Endings
by Mike Hankin
Foreword by Tom Hanks
Preface by Sir Christopher Frayling
www.archive-editions.com
Finally Completed and off to the Printer!
Vol. 1 is planned to ship in early Summer, 2013.
Written and produced over the past 10 years with Ray Harryhausen's cooperation and support, the complete 3-volume definitive 295,000-word career/biography features interviews with Ray and his colleagues and is profusely illustrated with several hundred rare photographs, artwork, and illustrations (many of which have never been previously published).
We published Volume 2 ("The American Films") first, then Volume 3 ("The British Films"), and are now wrapping up the set with Volume 1 (“Beginnings and Endings”).
Chapters in Volume 1 extensively cover:
Ray's Early 16mm Experiments, The Influence of Willis O'Brien and King Kong, George Pal's Puppetoons®, Ray's Film Work During World War II, The Fairy Tale Short Subjects, Ray's Retirement Years (including tributes,...
- 3/27/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Review Ryan Lambie 21 Mar 2013 - 06:05
The life and work of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen is honoured in the documentary, Special Effects Titan. Here's Ryan's review...
Like so many young artists and would-be filmmakers of his generation, Ray Harryhausen was inspired by 1933's King Kong, and in particular the remarkable stop motion effects work of animator Willis O'Brien. But unlike so many of his peers, Harryhausen not only had an opportunity to meet his hero, but even worked for him as an apprentice; a few years after World War II, he helped O'Brien bring another screen gorilla to life in 1949's Mighty Joe Young.
These were the formative years in Harryhausen's long career, in which he himself would grow in stature, to become inarguably the most influential and respected special effects artist of the 20th century. The highlights of his life and work, from his earliest experiments in stop motion to his final feature,...
The life and work of stop motion genius Ray Harryhausen is honoured in the documentary, Special Effects Titan. Here's Ryan's review...
Like so many young artists and would-be filmmakers of his generation, Ray Harryhausen was inspired by 1933's King Kong, and in particular the remarkable stop motion effects work of animator Willis O'Brien. But unlike so many of his peers, Harryhausen not only had an opportunity to meet his hero, but even worked for him as an apprentice; a few years after World War II, he helped O'Brien bring another screen gorilla to life in 1949's Mighty Joe Young.
These were the formative years in Harryhausen's long career, in which he himself would grow in stature, to become inarguably the most influential and respected special effects artist of the 20th century. The highlights of his life and work, from his earliest experiments in stop motion to his final feature,...
- 3/19/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Pierre Etaix is much on my mind, you could say, since I've just written about 9,000 words on him (to be trimmed down considerably, I assure you) for the forthcoming Criterion Collection box set of his cinematic works. Though his last film for the cinema (as director: he has continued to act in films such as Micmacs and Le Havre), Etaix had a brief burst of activity directing for TV in the 1980s, which included one feature, L'âge de Monsieur est avancé, a filmed play which bursts its bounds and includes the audience and stagehand in the drama. It looks delightful, but as my French is at the level of your average two-year-old (and not even a French two-year-old), I can't really write about it.
But See Rank Le cauchemar de Méliès (The Nightmare of Méliès), produced the next year for a TV compendium tribute to Georges Méliès (also featuring contributions...
But See Rank Le cauchemar de Méliès (The Nightmare of Méliès), produced the next year for a TV compendium tribute to Georges Méliès (also featuring contributions...
- 2/4/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
News Ryan Lambie Jan 2, 2013
Pictures and information snippets from Pixar's future movies have been gradually emerging. Here they are in one handy post...
Pixar's currently concentrating its marketing energies on Monsters University, due out this summer, but tantalising details are also beginning to emerge from the production of its other projects, including the studio's 2014 movie, The Good Dinosaur.
Directed by Bob Peterson (co-director of the magnificent Up), it's a what-if story that imagines what might have happened if dinosaurs had avoided destruction by meteor in Earth's prehistory.
"They are kind of cartoony but they are dinosaurs," explained Pixar's John Lasseter last June. "They are not walking around with clothes on or anything like that, they still are kind of dinosaurs. We focused on mostly the plant-eaters, not the carnivores… Their society becomes more of an agrarian society, meaning farmers. They become farmers."
Although that's pretty much all we've known about the film up until now,...
Pictures and information snippets from Pixar's future movies have been gradually emerging. Here they are in one handy post...
Pixar's currently concentrating its marketing energies on Monsters University, due out this summer, but tantalising details are also beginning to emerge from the production of its other projects, including the studio's 2014 movie, The Good Dinosaur.
Directed by Bob Peterson (co-director of the magnificent Up), it's a what-if story that imagines what might have happened if dinosaurs had avoided destruction by meteor in Earth's prehistory.
"They are kind of cartoony but they are dinosaurs," explained Pixar's John Lasseter last June. "They are not walking around with clothes on or anything like that, they still are kind of dinosaurs. We focused on mostly the plant-eaters, not the carnivores… Their society becomes more of an agrarian society, meaning farmers. They become farmers."
Although that's pretty much all we've known about the film up until now,...
- 1/2/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
The 92-year-old Harryhausen, the legendary American film-maker of movies about legends, became hooked on stop-motion animation when he saw King Kong at the age of 13. After a sort of apprenticeship to its special effects designer, Willis O'Brien, he became the greatest figure in the business, working first in Hollywood on pictures like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and then in Britain since the late 1950s on such films as Jason and the Argonauts, which features the classic swordfight between the Greek adventurers and seven skeletons.
A modest, amusing, articulate man, Harryhausen is the animator as auteur, a craftsman and artist of genius, whose work is superbly illustrated in this riveting film by a French movie historian and rightly celebrated by a roster of distinguished admirers, among them Steven Spielberg, Terry Gilliam, Nick Park, Peter Jackson and Tim Burton. A continual delight.
Ray HarryhausenDocumentaryPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
A modest, amusing, articulate man, Harryhausen is the animator as auteur, a craftsman and artist of genius, whose work is superbly illustrated in this riveting film by a French movie historian and rightly celebrated by a roster of distinguished admirers, among them Steven Spielberg, Terry Gilliam, Nick Park, Peter Jackson and Tim Burton. A continual delight.
Ray HarryhausenDocumentaryPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
- 11/11/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Special effects king Ray Harryhausen revolutionised cinema with skeletal armies and man-eating dinosaurs
Ownership of films is usually the preserve of directors and actors. You will hear of the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, or the new Tom Cruise vehicle. But such films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963)and Clash of the Titans (1981) are Ray Harryhausen films, regardless of who directed and acted in them. One Million Years BC, a film for which, unusually in his career, he was brought in as a hired hand, (1966) isn't even regarded as a Hammer or Raquel Welch movie. No other technician or artist working in film can make such a claim.
"Everyone has their own right way of doing things," explains Harryhausen, now aged 92. "I'd probably call myself a film-maker rather than just a special effects man. I'd often come up with the story, advise on the script,...
Ownership of films is usually the preserve of directors and actors. You will hear of the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie, or the new Tom Cruise vehicle. But such films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, (1958), Jason and the Argonauts (1963)and Clash of the Titans (1981) are Ray Harryhausen films, regardless of who directed and acted in them. One Million Years BC, a film for which, unusually in his career, he was brought in as a hired hand, (1966) isn't even regarded as a Hammer or Raquel Welch movie. No other technician or artist working in film can make such a claim.
"Everyone has their own right way of doing things," explains Harryhausen, now aged 92. "I'd probably call myself a film-maker rather than just a special effects man. I'd often come up with the story, advise on the script,...
- 11/2/2012
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
Godzilla is being reinvented for a new generation. The reboot is due in the summer of 2014. This is a look at the long history of the Godzilla franchise, providing new viewers with everything they need to know about the King of Monsters.
Godzilla always returns. You can't keep a good monster down. A new Godzilla film is being produced by Legendary Pictures and is scheduled for release in 2014, which will be the 60th anniversary of Gojira, the first screen appearance of the perennially popular atomic mutation. (The image below is the only piece of the new teaser trailer which has been leaked to the internet, but it's not very clear.) For those who are unfamiliar with the six decade history of the most popular monster of the Japanese film industry, here's everything you need to know about the king of the monsters.
Godzilla--originally called "Gojira"--was inspired by (some...
Godzilla always returns. You can't keep a good monster down. A new Godzilla film is being produced by Legendary Pictures and is scheduled for release in 2014, which will be the 60th anniversary of Gojira, the first screen appearance of the perennially popular atomic mutation. (The image below is the only piece of the new teaser trailer which has been leaked to the internet, but it's not very clear.) For those who are unfamiliar with the six decade history of the most popular monster of the Japanese film industry, here's everything you need to know about the king of the monsters.
Godzilla--originally called "Gojira"--was inspired by (some...
- 8/13/2012
- by feeds@themoviepool.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
Before Japan's Toho Film Studios pit their most famous movie monster Godzilla against giant gorilla King Kong in 1962, the planned storyline centered around horror's lumbering fiend, Frankenstein. Famed animator Willis O'Brien wrote the script treatment — originally imagined as a sequel to the 1933 classic King Kong, O'Brien's most famous contribution — that envisioned the beast battling the bolted behemoth in San Francisco. Producer John Beck snatched it up (without O'Brien's permission) to create a George Worthing Yates screenplay retitled King Kong vs. Prometheus. Beck sold it to Toho who replaced Frankenstein with their house creature, Godzilla. Toho had Frank fever for some time before the story fell into their...
Read More...
Read More...
- 12/30/2011
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
by Michael Pickle, MoreHorror.com
For all our MoreHorror readers recovering from the tryptophan induced stupor we call Thanksgiving, boy do we have a treat for you. What better way to celebrate the recent release of the Evil Dead II: 25th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray than to talk to the man behind the special effects and some of the most amazing visuals in horror movie history: the legendary Greg Nicotero.
If you've seen little productions like Day of the Dead, In the Mouth of Madness, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Scream, The Cell, Masters of Horror, The Mist and most recently The Walking Dead than you are very familiar with his enormous body of work. I was fortunate enough to chat with the man who literally changed the face of horror before he had to run off to celebrate turkey day.
It was impossible to get to all the...
For all our MoreHorror readers recovering from the tryptophan induced stupor we call Thanksgiving, boy do we have a treat for you. What better way to celebrate the recent release of the Evil Dead II: 25th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray than to talk to the man behind the special effects and some of the most amazing visuals in horror movie history: the legendary Greg Nicotero.
If you've seen little productions like Day of the Dead, In the Mouth of Madness, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, Scream, The Cell, Masters of Horror, The Mist and most recently The Walking Dead than you are very familiar with his enormous body of work. I was fortunate enough to chat with the man who literally changed the face of horror before he had to run off to celebrate turkey day.
It was impossible to get to all the...
- 11/26/2011
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Each year New York residents can look forward to two essential series programmed at the Film Forum, noirs and pre-Coders (that is, films made before the strict enforcing of the Motion Picture Production Code). These near-annual retrospective traditions are refreshed and re-varied and re-repeated for neophytes and cinephiles alike, giving all the chance to see and see again great film on film. Many titles in this year's Essential Pre-Code series, running an epic July 15 - August 11, are old favorites and some ache to be new discoveries; all in all there are far too many racy, slipshod, patter-filled celluloid splendors to be covered by one critic alone. Faced with such a bounty, I've enlisted the kind help of some friends and colleagues, asking them to sent in short pieces on their favorites in an incomplete but also in-progress survey and guide to one of the summer's most sought-after series. In this entry: what's playing Friday,...
- 8/4/2011
- MUBI
Creator of film special effects who turned an 18-inch model ape into King Kong
In the history of cinema, many children have followed their mothers or fathers into the film business, but few offspring pursued the path of a parent more slavishly than Harry Redmond Jr, who has died aged 101. Like a master craftsman, Harry Redmond Sr passed on the skills of his trade to his son, the trade being the creation of special effects for films. Most notably, they worked together on King Kong (1933), in which a giant gorilla captures an actor, Ann Darrow, played by the "scream queen" Fay Wray.
The Redmonds were important members of the King Kong technical team under the supervision of Willis O'Brien, the pioneer of model animation. Part of their job was to integrate the stop-motion models and animatronics into live-action sequences by means of back projection and travelling mattes. Although the model...
In the history of cinema, many children have followed their mothers or fathers into the film business, but few offspring pursued the path of a parent more slavishly than Harry Redmond Jr, who has died aged 101. Like a master craftsman, Harry Redmond Sr passed on the skills of his trade to his son, the trade being the creation of special effects for films. Most notably, they worked together on King Kong (1933), in which a giant gorilla captures an actor, Ann Darrow, played by the "scream queen" Fay Wray.
The Redmonds were important members of the King Kong technical team under the supervision of Willis O'Brien, the pioneer of model animation. Part of their job was to integrate the stop-motion models and animatronics into live-action sequences by means of back projection and travelling mattes. Although the model...
- 6/28/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
When Trembles sent over this week's Mpp entry, War Eagles, we were a bit stymied as to what it was all about, but a little research revealed it to be one of the most famous unproduced motion pictures of all time. In fact, there's a recent book by David Conover and Philip J. Riley that looks to be required reading for anyone interested in learning more about the film's history.
Per Amazon's description of the Conover/Riley book: Planned as a full Technicolor production at MGM in the late 1930s, War Eagles would have eclipsed Merian C. Cooper and long-time SFX partner Willis O'Brien's King Kong as the greatest fantasy epic of the period had it not fallen victim to pre-war studio politics and the rise of Hitler's Third Reich on the eve of World War II. Detailed models and sets were built and Technicolor test footage featuring stop-motion...
Per Amazon's description of the Conover/Riley book: Planned as a full Technicolor production at MGM in the late 1930s, War Eagles would have eclipsed Merian C. Cooper and long-time SFX partner Willis O'Brien's King Kong as the greatest fantasy epic of the period had it not fallen victim to pre-war studio politics and the rise of Hitler's Third Reich on the eve of World War II. Detailed models and sets were built and Technicolor test footage featuring stop-motion...
- 5/6/2011
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
#Gift! It is the middle of November so it must be time to start talking about Christmas. CinemaSpy has an upcoming feature on 10 Blu-ray and DVD titles that you must have under your tree (or that you should buy in what's left of 2010 if you don't celebrate Christmas). In the meantime, we'll also be highlighting a few other releases that are recommended as gifts for yourself, a loved one or someone you wish was loving you. Look for the stocking icon and the #Gift tag at the start of our reviews from now until Christmas to spot them (we're including the '#' because we're now living in Twitterlight Zone). Reviews of not-so-recommended titles won't have that so you can read those later (be sure you read them, though, because we'll find you if you don't).
For our first such suggestion, here's the Blu-ray debut of the original (i.e.
For our first such suggestion, here's the Blu-ray debut of the original (i.e.
- 11/19/2010
- CinemaSpy
Get your chaps and spurs on. The Western genre is riding back into Tinseltown, but perhaps not as you know it.
The Wild West has been popular on the silver screen since 1903's silent film The Great Train Robbery, with John Wayne, Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood making their name in the genre.
More fantastical tales in an Old West setting have included 1977's The Shadow of Chikara (you can read all about that here), Wild Wild West (1999) and Westworld (1973).
Westworld starred James Brolin (who is, of course, married to Barbra Streisand) whose son Josh Brolin stepped into the genre for this year's Jonah Hex, based on the DC Comics title about a disfigured gunslinger.
It was a critical and commercial dud but, undeterred, Hollywood is hoping for better luck adapting Western-themed comic books with Cowboys & Aliens - released next July and starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford as cowboys...
The Wild West has been popular on the silver screen since 1903's silent film The Great Train Robbery, with John Wayne, Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood making their name in the genre.
More fantastical tales in an Old West setting have included 1977's The Shadow of Chikara (you can read all about that here), Wild Wild West (1999) and Westworld (1973).
Westworld starred James Brolin (who is, of course, married to Barbra Streisand) whose son Josh Brolin stepped into the genre for this year's Jonah Hex, based on the DC Comics title about a disfigured gunslinger.
It was a critical and commercial dud but, undeterred, Hollywood is hoping for better luck adapting Western-themed comic books with Cowboys & Aliens - released next July and starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford as cowboys...
- 11/7/2010
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
King Kong remains one of the most imaginative, exciting and innovative movies of all time. The story alone is a pulse-pounding gem but then you add in Willis O'Brien's groundbreaking special effects you have an instant classic. The 1933 film is being released today on Blu-ray and is now available as a digital download.
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution is releasing of the classic film King Kong for Download at iTunes.. Take the beast on the run! Fans can now enjoy King Kong on their iPhone, iPad and more…
Warner Digital has given us a digital download to give away to one lucky ComicMix reader. All you have to do is tell us what makes you go ape. The best answer provided in the comments section byt 11:59 p.m. Thursday evening will win this special treat.
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution is releasing of the classic film King Kong for Download at iTunes.. Take the beast on the run! Fans can now enjoy King Kong on their iPhone, iPad and more…
Warner Digital has given us a digital download to give away to one lucky ComicMix reader. All you have to do is tell us what makes you go ape. The best answer provided in the comments section byt 11:59 p.m. Thursday evening will win this special treat.
- 10/5/2010
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Filed under: Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
Our new Blu-ray column begins today! Detailed reviews of selected releases will continue to be published separately; our goal here is to provide a quick overview for seasoned Blu-ray owners as well as the not yet converted.
For Blu-ray Vets:
'King Kong' (1933)
The grandfather of giant ape movies arrives on Blu-ray.
New Features: None. However, almost everything from the two-disk DVD release in 2005 has been included and up-converted to high-def. Only the Merian C. Cooper trailer collection is missing.
Transfer: Early reviews differ in their interpretation of the quality. Moviefone's Harley W. Lond says: "The qualitative jump is not nearly as impressive as several recent, more modern films' transformations into high-def," while DVD Savant's Glenn Erickson observes: "For me the improvement is immediate and obvious. The increased detail brings back memories of theatrical showings in 35mm, where we'd sit there watching with our mouths hanging open.
Our new Blu-ray column begins today! Detailed reviews of selected releases will continue to be published separately; our goal here is to provide a quick overview for seasoned Blu-ray owners as well as the not yet converted.
For Blu-ray Vets:
'King Kong' (1933)
The grandfather of giant ape movies arrives on Blu-ray.
New Features: None. However, almost everything from the two-disk DVD release in 2005 has been included and up-converted to high-def. Only the Merian C. Cooper trailer collection is missing.
Transfer: Early reviews differ in their interpretation of the quality. Moviefone's Harley W. Lond says: "The qualitative jump is not nearly as impressive as several recent, more modern films' transformations into high-def," while DVD Savant's Glenn Erickson observes: "For me the improvement is immediate and obvious. The increased detail brings back memories of theatrical showings in 35mm, where we'd sit there watching with our mouths hanging open.
- 9/28/2010
- by Peter Martin
- Moviefone
Filed under: Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
Our new Blu-ray column begins today! Detailed reviews of selected releases will continue to be published separately; our goal here is to provide a quick overview for seasoned Blu-ray owners as well as the not yet converted.
For Blu-ray Vets:
'King Kong' (1933)
The grandfather of giant ape movies arrives on Blu-ray.
New Features: None. However, almost everything from the two-disk DVD release in 2005 has been included and up-converted to high-def. Only the Merian C. Cooper trailer collection is missing.
Transfer: Early reviews differ in their interpretation of the quality. Moviefone's Harley W. Lond says: "The qualitative jump is not nearly as impressive as several recent, more modern films' transformations into high-def," while DVD Savant's Glenn Erickson observes: "For me the improvement is immediate and obvious. The increased detail brings back memories of theatrical showings in 35mm, where we'd sit there watching with our mouths hanging open.
Our new Blu-ray column begins today! Detailed reviews of selected releases will continue to be published separately; our goal here is to provide a quick overview for seasoned Blu-ray owners as well as the not yet converted.
For Blu-ray Vets:
'King Kong' (1933)
The grandfather of giant ape movies arrives on Blu-ray.
New Features: None. However, almost everything from the two-disk DVD release in 2005 has been included and up-converted to high-def. Only the Merian C. Cooper trailer collection is missing.
Transfer: Early reviews differ in their interpretation of the quality. Moviefone's Harley W. Lond says: "The qualitative jump is not nearly as impressive as several recent, more modern films' transformations into high-def," while DVD Savant's Glenn Erickson observes: "For me the improvement is immediate and obvious. The increased detail brings back memories of theatrical showings in 35mm, where we'd sit there watching with our mouths hanging open.
- 9/28/2010
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Updated through 6/30.
"Children of the Hydra ... Happy 90th Birthday Ray Harryhausen, god of stop motion animation," tweeted Simon Pegg earlier today. The occasion marks the opening of the exhibition Ray Harryhausen: Myths and Legends at the London Film Museum and an announcement from the National Media Museum that it'll likely be acquiring Harryhausen's archive of drawings, storyboards and models: "Examples in the collection include the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts [1963] and the Medusa and the Kraken from Clash of the Titans [1981]. It also features rare work by the pioneer special effects designer Willis O'Brien (1886-1962), the creator of King Kong, with whom Harryhausen worked early in his career and who was a major influence."...
"Children of the Hydra ... Happy 90th Birthday Ray Harryhausen, god of stop motion animation," tweeted Simon Pegg earlier today. The occasion marks the opening of the exhibition Ray Harryhausen: Myths and Legends at the London Film Museum and an announcement from the National Media Museum that it'll likely be acquiring Harryhausen's archive of drawings, storyboards and models: "Examples in the collection include the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts [1963] and the Medusa and the Kraken from Clash of the Titans [1981]. It also features rare work by the pioneer special effects designer Willis O'Brien (1886-1962), the creator of King Kong, with whom Harryhausen worked early in his career and who was a major influence."...
- 6/30/2010
- MUBI
Movie veteran Ray Harryhausen is offering his life's work to the National Media Museum.
The special effects wizard was behind dozens of stop-motion creatures which featured in films such as the original Clash Of The Titans and Jason And The Argonauts.
The museum, in Bradford, will be able to display the collection if it can raise the funds to preserve it.
The collection contains concept designs for Harryhausen's films - such as drawings, paintings and storyboards - together with his animation models and the original moulds used to make them.
Examples include the skeletons from Jason And The Argonauts and the Medusa and the Kraken from Clash Of The Titans.
The collection also includes rare work by the pioneer special effects designer Willis O'Brien, the creator of King Kong, with whom Harryhausen worked early in his career and who was a major influence.
Harryhausen said: "Now I have reached 90 it is important,...
The special effects wizard was behind dozens of stop-motion creatures which featured in films such as the original Clash Of The Titans and Jason And The Argonauts.
The museum, in Bradford, will be able to display the collection if it can raise the funds to preserve it.
The collection contains concept designs for Harryhausen's films - such as drawings, paintings and storyboards - together with his animation models and the original moulds used to make them.
Examples include the skeletons from Jason And The Argonauts and the Medusa and the Kraken from Clash Of The Titans.
The collection also includes rare work by the pioneer special effects designer Willis O'Brien, the creator of King Kong, with whom Harryhausen worked early in his career and who was a major influence.
Harryhausen said: "Now I have reached 90 it is important,...
- 6/29/2010
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
His animated creations frightened generations of cinemagoers. Now movie legend Ray Harryhausen's menagerie of monsters have been gathered together for fans to relive his pioneering moments.
Special effects guru Harryhausen was behind dozens of stop-motion creatures which featured in films such as the original 1981 version of Clash Of The Titans and Jason And The Argonauts.
You may recall that I did an exclusive interview with Ray in April as the new remake of Clash of the Titans hit the big screen (it's a very revealing interview packed with fascinating information, so be sure to check it out here).
Many of his best known "dynamation" figures go on display at London Film Museum from tomorrow, June 29, to mark the filmmaker's 90th birthday on the same day.
Harryhausen is seen as the father of special effects, convincing audiences skeletons could walk or figures from Greek myths were flesh and blood.
Other...
Special effects guru Harryhausen was behind dozens of stop-motion creatures which featured in films such as the original 1981 version of Clash Of The Titans and Jason And The Argonauts.
You may recall that I did an exclusive interview with Ray in April as the new remake of Clash of the Titans hit the big screen (it's a very revealing interview packed with fascinating information, so be sure to check it out here).
Many of his best known "dynamation" figures go on display at London Film Museum from tomorrow, June 29, to mark the filmmaker's 90th birthday on the same day.
Harryhausen is seen as the father of special effects, convincing audiences skeletons could walk or figures from Greek myths were flesh and blood.
Other...
- 6/28/2010
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
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