Whitlock Retraces History

I miss the disaster genre as it made such an impact upon me during the 70’s – as I’m sure it did for thousands of visual effects fans and no doubt some VFX practitioners as well. In that decade I’d live for these things and loved ’em all – at least until they turned utterly dire with mind numbingly shoddy FX showcases as METEOR (1979). I read in an interview that future ILM’er Dennis Muren was keen to get on board the photographic effects teams of EARTHQUAKE and some others in the mid seventies but couldn’t get his foot in the door, though in his words, these big effects shows were largely “in house” affairs with “tried and true” veterans controlling the visuals, so it was always more or less, a closed shop. Well, Dennis finally got his “go” with another little effects film a year later, and would unquestionably be all the better for it.

Well, I rather liked THE HINDENBURG. Having taken another look at this 1975 epic yesterday I still think it holds up well as an intelligently written, very well edited and directed espionage thriller with a heck of a good pace with not too many wasted moments, and even without the Whitlock effects would still make a great movie. The film benefits enormously from Nelson Giddings’ excellent screenplay which offers a genuinely fascinating take on what may or may not have occurred on that fateful day May 6th 1937. The Robert Wise helmed show as much a detective thriller as a disaster picture, with the always outstanding George C.Scott perfectly cast opposite the under rated William Atherton and the wonderful Charles Durning, with each of these three key characters being unusually well drawn beyond the normal disaster cliched characters we generally get…

…Read the Full Article @ Matte Shot

This blog is intended as a tribute to the ingenuity of the traditional matte painter where movie magic was created entirely by hand. 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

NZPete

I have gone further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more articles from this great site, so  I hope you enjoy this wonderful journey we’re on together.

PJ Max