The Epics… part four, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTACY (1965) was the story of Michelangelo and the Pope of the day, with a certain bit of interior decor being applied to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. As such, a particular Renaissance flavour was required by the studio, 20th Century Fox.
Head of the special photographic effects department at the time was Lenwood Ballard Abbott, better known as L.B Abbott. I’ve written on Abbott previously in my JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH blog. Abbott was a visual effects cameraman and had at his disposal the remnants of a once great special effects unit – in fact one of the biggest and best in Hollywood, previously known as The Sersen Department, after it’s founder, the legendary Fred Sersen. The sixties had seen the systematic closure of departments in all studios as the squeeze was applied due to diminishing returns. I’m not sure exactly when Fox downsized exactly as it was still churning out big effects films throughout the decade, such as FANTASTIC VOYAGE, the OUR MAN FLINT films, DOCTOR DOOLITTLE and CLEOPATRA…
…Read the Full Article @ Matte Shot
A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX
Please Note: Now, I am going further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more articles from this great site.
This blog is intended primarily as a tribute to the inventiveness and ingenuity of the craft of the matte painter during Hollywoods’ Golden Era. Some of the shots will amaze in their grandeur and epic quality while others will surprise in their ‘invisibility’ to even the sophisticated viewer. I hope this collection will serve as an appreciation of the artform and both casual visitors and those with a specialist interest may benefit, enjoy and be amazed at skills largely unknown today.