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King Kong (1933)
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Using a borrowed newsreel camera, O'Brien moved the clay pugilists a fraction at a time before exposing each frame of film. When the film was developed, O'

If, by some miracle, that footage was ever found, it would be worth a fortune! Mr. Green

Finding out that O'Brien made his first stop motion film with clay figures warmed the cockles of my heart (whatever cockles are . . . ) Confused

The animation below was my fifth attempt, but I did it after I'd studied O'Brien's and Harryhausen's work for years before my first (very crude) attempt. And yet I obviously kept it simple and short.


_________________ The Warrior and Monster


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The last one I attempted was more ambitious, but it's still pretty crude. Figuring out how far to move the figures for each frame was like doing calculus in my head!

24 frames per second means 24 movements just to get one measly second on film!

But you have to consider whether the figure is making fast movements or slow ones. A slow movement means you make teeny tiny adjustments in the figure that leave you cross-eyed and talking to yourself! Shocked

I think that's why my last animation film below gets a bit jerky by the end. I think it was about four in the morning by the time I finished.

But it sure gave me a keen appreciation for the miracles performed by Ray and Obie.
Cool

_____________________ Claymation Caveman

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_________________
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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 Mon Feb 19, 2024 9:40 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

_______________

Today I received my Blue-ray of King Kong, and I was delighted by the fact that it was a vast improvement over my old DVD. The grain in the DVD is a major distraction, but I was delighted by the clarity of the image in this improved version.

This amazing movie is ninety years old, and it's still the greatest adventure ever put on film. It was released in 1933, and the story starts in New York, just four years into the Great Depression (1929–1941). The early scenes show just how people in the greatest city in America were suffering, when Carl Denham rescues the lovely Ann Darrow from starvation.

It boldly addresses the terrible lives that people were living.

From this humble beginning, this awesome movie carries the audience from a bleak reality to an incredible adventure that presents sights like nothing they've ever imagined!

The audience is teased by a scene which shows the adventurers aboard the ship as they debate the possibility that a legendary creature exists on an uncharted island.








No remake could possibly recreate the power of that scene or the one that follows, when Carl Denham and Ann Darrow are on deck making costume tests while Denham describes the terror the girl might feel when she faces the unknown horror of a legend known only as . . . Kong! Shocked





Imagine the breathless anticipation the audience felt in 1933 when they had no idea what this skillful buildup was leading to. Confused

When the ship reaches its mysterious destination and we get our first look at the island, our anticipation is heightened by the sight of the huge wall which protects the natives from a mysterious, legendary creature!






When the natives abduct Ann from the ship and drag her through the open doors in that massive wall, the audience must have stared in amazement at the sight of the poor terrified girl being lashed to the stone columns.





The incredible shot of that massive wall with the natives lined up along the rim and the poor girl down below is almost as stunning as the incredible stop motion scenes yet to come!





Imagine how amazed the audience was in 1933 when Kong came crashing through the trees and paused to look down on the newest sacrifice which the natives had offered him.

_____ King Kong (1933) - The Bride of Kong Scene


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From this point in the movie the action doesn't stop until Kong made his Broadway debute in New York city.

But the action kicks into high gear again the moment Kong breaks the chains which bind him!

When I was a kid in the late 1950s and saw this movie for the first time on an Atlanta TV station, I was amazed by the fact that it was like TWO incredible movies — one which takes place on Skull Island, and the other which is set in New York.

If ever there was a perfect movie that still thrills us after almost 100 years — despite the modern development of CGI — this one is it.

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

I've seen that video several times, and the improvement is very subtle . . . so subtle in fact that in some scenes I don't see the improvement. It's supposedly "8X smoother", but that's hard to believe.

I guess it's not enough to make me shout, "Wow, I'll buy the Blu-ray version with that enhancement and give away my old one!"

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2024 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

______________________________________________

Enjoy this 10-minute documentary about the special effects for King Kong. It's extremely well done. Very Happy


King Kong: The Practical Effects Wonder - Documentary


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At the 9:00 mark watch for a deleted scene which shows Kong spotting a man in the lower left corner, which appears to be added in with the process that involved a small rear-projection screen.

It's extremely dark, but I brightened and sharped the screen shot I made.




_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Feb 28, 2024 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________

Here's another wonderful documentary about King Kong. Mr. Green

____ Long Live the King | King Kong | Full Documentary


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