ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies and Serials from 1950 to 1969
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I'm looking forward to watching 20 Million Miles to Earth at All Sci-Fi's Friday Live Chat tonight, and I found a nice article about Ray Harryhausen with a terrific gallery of photos showing Ray and his models.


Behind The Scenes With Ray Harryhausen And His Special Effects Models




by Vincze Mikl??s

Ray Harryhausen was the stop-motion special effects pioneer behind movies like Mighty Joe Young, Jason and the Argonauts, and Clash of the Titans. And while his creations were impressive on the screen, it's equally remarkable to see Harryhausen creating and manipulating them in his studio.






___ Clash of the Titans — interview about Pegasus


_________





____________________ Gwangi vs. Elephant


_________






_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:02 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
orzel-w
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 1877

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For some reason I feel really tired right now. Sad
_________________
...or not...

WayneO
-----------
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 6:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

It occurred to me that Barry Allen would make an excellent stop motion animator. Very Happy

This evening, just before All Sci-Fi's Friday Live Chat I read this IMDB trivia item for this 20 Million Miles to Earth.
________________________________

The February 1966 issue of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" devoted 12 pages to the Harryhausen film.
________________________________

I remember that article and the way it described the events on Venus that the astronauts endured during their mission to Venus. I couldn't find any scans of the pages from the article, but I did find a fairly good copy of the cover.


____________

This next IMDB trivia item is also interesting, because many years ago a friend of mine named Jimmy Harmon owned 16mm prints of several Harryhausen films (as part his extensive collection of sci-fi memorabilia), and he showed me the scenes he was certain Ray had made cameo appearances in.

He was right! Very Happy
________________________________

Ray Harryhausen cameo: a man feeding peanuts to the elephant that later battles the Ymir. He did so because the actor scheduled to play the part didn't show up. He later appears in a crowd fleeing the zoo.
________________________________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________

I question whether this IMDB trivia item is correct or not.

"The Ymir roars in the film are variations of elephant roars sped up and modulated in pitches at different rates."

The roar of the Ymir and the Cyclops are the same sound effect , and I've seen both 20 Million Miles to Earth and 7th Voyage of Sinbad at least a dozen times since they came out in the 1950s. I know the sounds that were used for the roars extremely well.

They certainly do not sound like elephant trumpeting "sped up", because the sound is often lower in pitch, not faster. And the roar of the two monsters is often much longer than the sound an elephant makes, which is usually quite short. Of course, if an elephant's trumpeting were slowed down considerable, that would account for both the pitch and the duration.

But I'm still not quite convinced that an elephant sound was used. Listen for yourself and see what you think.


__________________________ Ymir Roar


_________



And while I was looking for a video clip that included the Ymir's roar, I found this absolutely wonderful music video that presents clips from many of the Harryhausen films! You're gonna love this, folks! Very Happy

_____ Radio Free Europe - Creature Feature Music Video


_________



And THEN I found these two short, side-slitting interviews with the Ymir, who is presented as a child actor whose life didn't go well after he made it big in Hollywood. Funny stuff, folks! Laughing

_____ The Real Monsters of Hollywood - YMIR part 1


_________



_____ The Real Monsters of Hollywood - YMIR Part 2


_________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Feb 11, 2020 3:15 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

While watching the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon tonight, I noticed that during episode 12 — entitled Le voyage dans la lune — there are several scenes of a young scientist named Sahjid watching the final Apollo 17 Moon walk from the viewing area inside Mission Control.

And we also see an older version of him sharing his memories of the event, years later.






The gentleman who played the elder Sahjid was portrayed by an actor named Bart Baverman.

It took me a moment to realize that the actor I was looking at . . . was this young boy.






Pepe' . . . from 20 Million Miles to Earth.

Damn . . . how cool is that, eh? Cool

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:03 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Skullislander
Solar Explorer


Joined: 13 Jul 2016
Posts: 74

PostPosted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 2:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This movie is a good example of a miracle on a small budget.

For some reason it was the only black and white Harryhausen 50s movie that never seemed to get screened on UK TV for a long, long time.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Much as I enjoy this movie & am a huge RH fan, always wondered why he chose to do the rocket scenes as stop-motion?

Wouldn't it have made more sense to simply do the rocket as a conventional model? Similar to the rocket blasting off in "When Worlds Collide?"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Krel
Guest





PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Much as I enjoy this movie & am a huge RH fan,always wondered why he chose to do the rocket scenes as stop-motion?

Wouldn't it have made more sense to simply do the rocket as a conventional model? Similar to the rocket blasting off in "When Worlds Collide?"

Budget. They would have to have made a much larger model for the water effects, and hire an effects shop to film them in a water tank. That would have eaten up a large slice of the budget.

Like with "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers", with the stop motion destruction of the buildings. It was cheaper for him to do it.

David.
Back to top
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

If you're of the opinion that the rocket's water-landing would have looked better as a model (more like the landing in When Worlds Collide), I would have to disagree.

The animated decent and splash-down have always impressed me much more than any miniature-on-wires FX filmed in slow motion. I guess my love for animation causes me to see that distinct movement of the animated ship as something that adds to the beauty of the shot.

Plus the fact that by animating the rocket, Ray was able to give us this wonderful shot of the camera seemingly following along with the spacecraft for a few seconds.




_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Feb 11, 2020 3:19 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Skullislander
Solar Explorer


Joined: 13 Jul 2016
Posts: 74

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think Harryhausens' approach of using stop-motion models for advanced craft yeilds results that just look DIFFERENT to what other FX people were putting out in the 50s and I appreciate the difference.

For example I love how he 'burns in' real water agitation at the base of the model of the animated sinking rocket ship, nobody else was doing shots like this then.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I find that the stop-motion animation for the earth space ship takes me out of the movie.

We know exactly what a rocket looks like & how it moves based upon real life rockets. So the unusual movement of this space ship seems peculiar to me.

It worked for me with the alien space craft in Earth vs The Flying Saucers due to the saucers being otherworldly in nature & not conforming to how objects move on earth.

Just my .2 cents.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 7:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I respect your opinion, Pow, and our reactions to special effects are a matter of personal tastes. As for me, all FX prior to CGI that involved models on wires that dangled and swung back and forth look phony as hell.

Even when I was little kid I could spot a miniature on wires quicker than you could say, "Hey, that's fake!"

I even dislike the wobbly look of the C-57-D in the Forbidden Planet landing scene! It screams the fact that it's a miniature being lowered down like Howdy Dowdy towards the tabletop landscape below!

Good stop motion can do this much batter than puppet spaceships. Very Happy


_________________ Forbidden Planet (1956)


__________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Feb 11, 2020 3:21 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
scotpens
Starship Captain


Joined: 19 Sep 2014
Posts: 871
Location: The Left Coast

PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
I respect your opinion, Pow, and our reactions to special effects are a matter of personal tastes. As for me, all FX prior to CGI that involved models on wires that dangled and swung back and forth look phony as hell.

Howard and Theodore Lydecker perfected a rig that allowed miniature vehicles to "fly" smoothly and believably without wobbling. Take a look at the rocketships in the Republic serials or the Flying Sub miniature work in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea TV series.

As for the C-57D in Forbidden Planet, I love the way the saucer bobs up and down a bit as it slowly descends, as if the helmsman is carefully easing the big ship down to the ground. I'm sure it was done that way intentionally. It actually makes the landing look more realistic, something like the way a helicopter lands.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Skullislander
Solar Explorer


Joined: 13 Jul 2016
Posts: 74

PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The best thing about stop-motion is that until you take the time to find out about it yourself, the process is shrouded in mystery, especially to those who have no interest in special effects.

It is easy to examine stop-motion online today instantly of course, but not at one time.

Moreso in the days before the internet, it was a complete mystery how the '33 Kong was done, when I saw my first film clips of him when I was very young.

Later on, I asked a reasonably intelligent film fan how he thought the Kong '33 effects were don, and he admitted he thought it was all full-scale robotics being used! I showed him the Cinefex articles on O'Brien and Harryhausen and tried to explain the basics of how it was done, and it all seemed to just flummox him — "This is beyond art", he said.

Other more traditional old-school analogue effects were probably worked out by most folks [guys in suits, slow-motion model work, matte or glass paintings, etc] but for the vast majority, at one time stop-motion effects were just a mind-blowing mystery.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Your comment started me thinking about when I first learned about stop motion. I loved it all the way back to the days when I saw the trailers on TV for It Came from Beneath the Sea and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms — even though I didn't get to see them until a few years later.

But I saw Earth vs the Flying Saucers and 20 Million Miles to Earth at a drive-in when I was eight and nine years old, and somehow I knew how it was done. It was probably because I was friends with this guy, Jimmy Harmon. I met him in the 5th grade and we were friends for many years thereafter.

In the picture below, Jimmy is building clay monsters for one of our 8mm stop motion films. Very Happy



__

__

Jimmy was a smart guy, and he knew quite a lot about special effects at an early age. Because I learned how stop motion was done before I was ten years old, I managed to do a few 8mm animation films, both with Jimmy and on my own.

The one below was a solo effort. Click on the screen shots to watch it on YouTube. Cool




_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:04 am; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies and Serials from 1950 to 1969 All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6  Next
Page 2 of 6

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group