tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72483137145023113072024-02-18T22:29:13.158-05:00depthsploitationReflections & Ruminations on 3-D genre filmsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-61673664149643361312013-09-12T16:09:00.000-04:002013-10-10T01:25:30.091-04:00An interview with Julie Adams<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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This is a repeat of my interview with the lovely Julia Adams that originally appeared onRue Morgue Magazine's website. It's a little bit different, so please browse through it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Bronson's prop head used in House of Wax </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The World 3-D Film Expo is in full swing, screening classic
3-D films from the fifties and onward. If you haven’t made it out yet, there
are still plenty of horror titles to be seen, all in eye-popping 3-D. Classics
like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It Came From Outer Space</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Revenge of the Creature</i>, the lesser know
Vincent Price film, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Mad Magician</i>
(only his second in the horror genre) and some camp favorites like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gorilla at Large</i> and the outrageously
strange <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Robot Monster</i>. It’s all
happening in Hollywood at Grauman’s Egyptian Theater and you can find out more
about it at their website, <a href="http://3-dfilmexpo.com/">3-dfilmexpo.com</a>.</div>
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Special guest Q&A sessions at this 10 day event have
really helped to highlight the rarity of these screenings, even if sometimes
they don’t always go as planned. Although the announced stars of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jaws 3-D</i> couldn’t make the show, the
ruckus audience that turned out that night didn’t seem to mind their
replacement guests; director Joe Alves, producer Rupert Hitzig and location
manager Carl Mazzocone. But a true personal thrill was the presence of Julie
Adams at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Creature from the Black
Lagoon</i> screening. I got a chance to talk with Ms. Adams and her son Mitch
Dalton, about the film, 3-D and her autobiography, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black Lagoon</i> that she
co-authored with Mitch.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZZ7MeLHXjHYUWTP_YjW1aZBLV8FCNVAxhvv8toXuhXbUVQDu0g8L6wRug2GuJswaIFmC2Gf4ouL6VSLPUl4kV80bbjcpEsSJjs0X6XD7ZnnOjbdAVExNOD-kfKA89_5mm7fxUry03Ahj/s1600/creaturecolor.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZZ7MeLHXjHYUWTP_YjW1aZBLV8FCNVAxhvv8toXuhXbUVQDu0g8L6wRug2GuJswaIFmC2Gf4ouL6VSLPUl4kV80bbjcpEsSJjs0X6XD7ZnnOjbdAVExNOD-kfKA89_5mm7fxUry03Ahj/s320/creaturecolor.jpg" width="306" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7k3wD9PKsFwKT_sFmWJC6hHTmN4Z7rR3e0SyN6Lcr2jDYHfeK2q6EyLs6-MSX0R2qgkEgxumeT83odFuZQv0k7vFsSraX5u5IX7XGeaOvvfsF54kn5T3Tv2LRzZBPMmFNMpte6Z76umCk/s1600/Julie+and+Creature+in+Cave.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You’ve had a lengthy career that has spanned seven decades, but you’re
still widely recognized for your role as Kay Lawrence in </i>The Creature From
The Black Lagoon<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. How does if feel to
have “Scream Queen” status?</i></b></div>
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<b>Julia Adams:</b> It feels very good. Twenty some years ago when I got [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CFTBL</i>], I had to scream, and I
discovered that I had a pretty good scream. So I’ve done some screaming along
the way. We make movies to entertain people and many people are entertained by
scary movies. It is so amazing that this movie is still popular all these years
later. It pleases me to have been a part of something people have enjoyed so
much.<b> </b><br />
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<b>CFTBL<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> wasn’t the first 3-D film you were in. You
played a Mexican guerilla in </i>Wings of the Hawk<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, another film that will be screening at the Expo. Do you recall the
first time you saw yourself in 3-D?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA:</b> Oh yes, of course I can remember. I didn’t like it much. I
though, ‘Oh gee, it all looks so weird’. It seemed to me to be that way. But it
was all very successful, so who’s going to argue with a picture being
successful.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Did you enjoy working with the film’s director, Jack Arnold?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>Jack Arnold was a very good director. He was helpful with
the actors and he knew what he was doing all the time. So there were very little
delays about this, that and the other. I know he was very good technically but
he was fine with the actors too. We had rehearsal before the shooting of the
movie and that was wonderful because we all got very accustomed to each other. I
enjoyed working with him very much.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How about working with your leading man, Richard Carlson?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>Richard Carlson was an absolutely charming gentleman and
also a very good screen actor. I enjoyed working with him very much. A really
nice man, he had a good sense of humor and it was all very pleasant.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And what about the star of the film, The Gill-man. What was it like to
be carried off by that rubber suit?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>It’s hard to describe what it was like. It was a unique
experience; lets put it that way. Ben (Chapman) was a wonderful “strong” man,
he was also extremely considerate, so I felt very safe being carried by Ben.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">But I understand there was an incident, while being carried by Ben</i></b>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTu0jJSdDYvdlFXZ5TSLofbqLde0vlotDRiCGHgC2RTUSLy9QCVjghQTu4PBdwru0CSREVdVnd8Civ5kJITy4UQQdWzurtMy-8iC9hDeV6ul4uGmyVqkgCkDFO5pTFDbW8WhpdK7-Z5Jj/s1600/%252353+B+CFTBL+-+injury+in+cave+copy.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTu0jJSdDYvdlFXZ5TSLofbqLde0vlotDRiCGHgC2RTUSLy9QCVjghQTu4PBdwru0CSREVdVnd8Civ5kJITy4UQQdWzurtMy-8iC9hDeV6ul4uGmyVqkgCkDFO5pTFDbW8WhpdK7-Z5Jj/s400/%252353+B+CFTBL+-+injury+in+cave+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>JA: </b>The incident in the cave?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>[laughs] Well, yes. This was on the set of the interior of the cave. The
cave was quite realistically done so that there were sharp points out of the
wall of the cave as caves often have. So Ben was carrying me and of course he
has the goggles on, so he really couldn’t see very well. So he’s carrying me,
and I’m in his arms, and all of a sudden one of these points sticking out of
the wall hit my head. Ben felt terrible about it and the studio made a whole
big fuss about it. They called the doctor. They had a nurse and doctor on the
lot, so they were called down and so the nurse was patching up the scrape on my
head with bandages, they made a thing about it and publicity came down and took
some shots. So it became a big number even though it was quite simple and non-life
threatening, shall we say.</div>
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<b>Mitch Danton:</b> The tank wasn’t heated that day, so that added to the drama.
So when Ben and Julie went to get in the water it was freezing cold, so that
added to her shivering and Ben not being able to see very well through his
goggles when the fogged up when the cold water hit the warm set.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m sure there were a few technical difficulties. Working with the 3-D
camera, did that affect your performance at all?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>Not really. I was playing my part, as I had in mind, and
there was really not a lot [of difficulties], because they staged it well for
the camera and I knew exactly where my marks were. You can’t ad-lib your
movements when you’re shooting 3-D. We rehearsed it very well first. Then I
played the scene within those marks that we had set. Technically it was not
that difficult.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do you consider your role as Kay to be a strong female character?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>Yes definitely. She was a scientist, and there were certain
dangers in what she did, like when she was in the jungle. So I felt she was a
very strong woman, who loved her work and wanted to do a good job in it. That’s
my vision of her. She was very dedicated to her work.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your biography, </i>The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections from the Black
Lagoon<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> was co-authored with your son.
What was the experience of re-living your career with your son like?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>I sat down and wrote a great many things in long hand and
then my son Mitch and I, we worked on it together. Mitch did a great job, he’s
a film editor and he also turned out to be a very good book editor. It was a
pleasure working with my son, telling these stories and going back over them.
He would ask me questions, or [question] where I made a mistake.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And Mitch, what did you learn about your mother while writing the book?</i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">MD:</b> What I
really learned was just how dedicated she was to her craft and how she managed
to navigate the ups and downs of an acting career. She kinda’ made a big splash
with Creature and some of the other films at Universal and then contract ended
in the late 50’s and television exploded and in the late fifties and sixties
she did just about every [type of show]. When television slowed down for her
she did theatre. I think the main thing people take away from the book is that
she is so much more than just Creature from the Black Lagoon. I think that was
one of our secret goals, to get people to watch some of her other movies. The
festival is doing Wings of the Hawk, it doesn’t run a lot and I don’t think
it’s run in Los Angeles in 3-D in years.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifti9Ja63yAOf35HbINHPAGOl2-y_NY90HOzaRMTZK0zXaJh6mk2IpIABft1lgmj_o5jW5JEaHqZ2A_Yn0CECuRF-gz0djzoM4y1y-zhdaKuYqXm1Szd0h58ezh8uIsJqE4oRh74RYLBtX/s1600/Wings+of+the+Hawk+still.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifti9Ja63yAOf35HbINHPAGOl2-y_NY90HOzaRMTZK0zXaJh6mk2IpIABft1lgmj_o5jW5JEaHqZ2A_Yn0CECuRF-gz0djzoM4y1y-zhdaKuYqXm1Szd0h58ezh8uIsJqE4oRh74RYLBtX/s320/Wings+of+the+Hawk+still.jpg" width="257" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Speaking of </i>Wings of the Hawk<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.
Are you looking forward to attending the screening on Friday?</i></b></div>
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<b>JA: </b>Yes I am. I loved working on it too. It’s nice to be in an
audience for a movie I enjoyed working on and have people enjoy it. They like
to ask questions afterwards and I enjoy answering them and talking with them
because what do we make these movies for? We make them for people to enjoy and
so it’s a great pleasure to be present when they enjoy it.</div>
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If you’d like to grab a copy of Julie Adams book, she’ll be
signing copies at the World 3-D Film Expo on Friday starting at 2:30 PM during
the screening of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wings of the Hawk</i>, or
you can order it on-line from her website: <a href="http://www.julieadams.biz/">http://www.julieadams.biz</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-71677791300326557082013-09-12T13:32:00.000-04:002013-09-12T16:16:42.526-04:00World 3-D Expo III Update<br />
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It’s been a busy six days at the World 3-D Film Expo so far,
leaving very little time to write. If you’re in Los Angeles you have to get
down to Gauman’s Egyptian Theater before Sunday night. There are still a lot of
incredible films to screen. And the guests have been great.<br />
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Producer, Walter Mirisch showed up to provide some insight
into his low-budget venture <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Maze</i>.
Director Joe Alves, producer Rupert Hitzig and location manager Carl Mazzocone
substituted for the announced stars of <i>Jaws 3-D</i> (the crowd didn’t seem to mind
a bit). Piper Laurie (Carrie) graced the theatre to talk about <i>Dangerous
Mission</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only did <span class="usercontent"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Charlotte
Austin-Antelline show up to provide insight into the making of <i>Gorilla at Large</i>
(it’s exterior carnival sequences were shot in a mere 3 days) but genre
collector and ape-actor extraordinaire, Bob Burns joined her, providing insight
into George Barrows’ performance (he’s the man in the gorilla suit and you’ll
get to see him again in <i>Robot Monster</i>).</span></span> Kathleen Hughes was on
hand to talk about Jack Arnold’s suspense drama <i>The Glass Web</i> (a real treat and
a newly discovered favorite of mine). She’s coming back for the <i>It Came From
Outer Space</i> screening on Friday and will be joined by Barbara Rush. And my
personal favorite was Julie Adams’ Q&A after <i>The Creature From The Black
Lagoon</i>. I liked it so much I talked to her later in the week. You can read that
interview over at the Rue Morgue website <a href="http://www.rue-morgue.com/2013/09/three-dimensions-of-terror-creature-from-the-black-lagoons-julie-adams/">HERE</a>.
She’s also coming back on Friday for the screening of <i>Wings of the Hawk</i> at
3:30. Get down there and she’ll sign her book, <i>Lucky Southern Star: Reflections
From The Black Lagoon</i>. You can also find it on her website; <a href="http://www.julieadams.biz/">www.julieadams.biz</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN7oHGkEZx6c5N3IJdHt1awxH-6b0GeeG_lR1itPYYxwv19GfiXsRvPHxpyt7vMdv-WFstjy2I6LIV5itP78AgXz95n8ai5XCbSPVMCO7Kq3u_xsZFF_DqJJenlcFENtYiyI3LiAfcAhu/s1600/%2333+wings+of+the+hawk0620+copy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN7oHGkEZx6c5N3IJdHt1awxH-6b0GeeG_lR1itPYYxwv19GfiXsRvPHxpyt7vMdv-WFstjy2I6LIV5itP78AgXz95n8ai5XCbSPVMCO7Kq3u_xsZFF_DqJJenlcFENtYiyI3LiAfcAhu/s320/%2333+wings+of+the+hawk0620+copy.jpeg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie Adams in<i> Wings of the Hawk</i></td></tr>
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Some of the stand-out presentations for my deranged mind
have been finally seeing <i>The Maze</i> in three dimensions a fun little B pic that
starts off slow, but really picks up after intermission in the last half. The
animation collection was really incredible. It’s a rare delight to see Donald
Duck, Woody Woodpecker, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Bug Bunny in 3-D, shorts
I’ve seen before, but with the added dimensions they become all the more
interesting and fun. But the real draw of the animation show was being able to
see Norman McLaren’s animated films, produced for the Festival of Britian, in
3-D for the first time. These are films that I’ve sought out before. They were
more impressive then I had expected them to be.</div>
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<i>The Stewardesses</i> took on a new life at this screening as
well. It’s hard to believe that the film took in $25 million when it was
release and had people lined up the block. The story is virtually no-existent
and while the 3-D effect is very good the cinematography is poor, yet by the
time the film degenerates into horror film (saved for the last moments of the
film) there is something captivating about the entire exercise. I’ll need to
spend some more time with it.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-52689117965400607282013-08-28T23:26:00.001-04:002013-09-12T16:16:42.521-04:00A Lion In My Lap... A Lover in My Arms...<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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Back in 2003, when the first World 3-D Film Expo was announced,
promising to screen over 30 classic 3-D films in their original dual projection
format, I was chomping at the bit to go. But I was in the middle of production
on a television series, low on funds and the trek from Toronto to L.A. was just
more than I could take on. It happened again in 2006, and again I found myself
in similar circumstances. The event was referred to as “a Woodstock for movie
geeks” by Leonard Maltin and although I’ve missed the initial offerings, World
3-D Film Expo III, is set to begin September 6<sup>th</sup> in Hollywood at the
Grauman’s Egyptian Theater. I’ve booked my flight so I guess I’ll have to
settle for the “Lollapalooza for movie geeks”.</div>
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While the offerings seem scaled down from previous years and
I’ve had the opportunity to screen a number of the films in the last ten years,
this year’s World 3-D Film Expo promises to be very exciting for film buffs and 3-D
fanatics alike. They have a few firsts. The John Wayne classic, <b>Hondo</b> opens the
festival, making its first 3-D presentation since an anaglyph television in the
early eighties. And an early Russian 3-D film from the forties, <b>Robinzon Kruzo
(Robinson Crusoe)</b> will play in America for the first time.<br />
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I’m extremely excited to see the Richard Carlson vehicle<b> The
Maze</b> in 3-D, a film I’ve come to think of as a thematically connecting bridge
between the science and the horror to his other 3-D films, <b>It Came From Outer
Space</b> and <b>The Creature From The Black Lagoon</b>. Carlson also teamed up with Ivan
Tors to produce another sci-fi 3-D rarity, <b>GOG</b>.<br />
It's not playing this years festival. </div>
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Other personal highlights promised by the festival is a
chance to seen the film that kicked off the 3-D revolution of the 50’s, Arch
Obler’s <b>Bwana Devil</b>, the first adaptation of a Mickey Spillane novel, <b>I, the
Jury</b> and a theatrical screening of the 70’s soft-core film <b>The Stewardesses</b>.
That film is closely tied to the <i>depthsploitation</i> asthetic here on this blog
and also featured the work of Chris Condon and Dan Symmes, two 3-D pioneers
that were my window into the stereoscopic world and have both sadly passed on.</div>
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More information of the 3-D World Film Expo III can be had at
their website, <a href="http://3-dfilmexpo.com/">3-dfilmexpo.com</a>, and would it hurt to like them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/world3dexpo?hc_location=stream">facebook.</a></div>
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I’ll be in L.A. for most of the Expo and posting highlights
all week. If you’re in L.A. you owe it to yourself to get down to this even,
and if you’re an nut for 3-D you might consider getting yourself down there for
this event, lest you spend the next ten years, like I have, with a little
regret.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-52965496245818597542013-03-20T18:58:00.001-04:002013-03-20T18:58:45.843-04:00Hiatus, SmiatusI never expected, or planned to take a hiatus from the blog, at least not as long as it's been.<br />
<br />
A few things have gotten in the way of my musings here. A rather large move that involved the sale and purchase of my family's home and a month long trip to Hong Kong. It's been a crazy year. But I did manage to pick -up a few 3-D Blu-ray titles in my travels that will get their day in court. Soon.<br />
<br />
So to help me ease out of my internet absence I'd like to point you to the Canuxploitation website. Webmaster Paul Corupe has been kind enough to give me a guess spot on the site's blog to talk about Canada's most interesting contributions to 3-D cinema. At least prior to this millennium.
You can read more here: <a href="http://blog.canuxploitation.com/2013/03/canfilm-five-3-d-film-expert-jason-pichonsky/">canuxploitation 3-D</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-23014457229397427312012-03-27T13:47:00.000-04:002012-03-27T13:47:54.951-04:00The Empire Strikes Back circa 1950<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There’s really little relevance to 3-D in this post, other that the trailer presents this re-imagining of The Empire Strikes Back as a 50’s 3-D film. Many of the clips used go back into the 40’s and even 30’s. In many ways this is less of a parody of the second film in the Star Wars series (oh yah, it’s now considered the 5th film in the franchise), and more of a look at what surely influenced Lucas when he dreamed up the original Star Wars concept. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Either way it’s a fun little bit of nonsense.</div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KmTpOQrqoO0" width="420"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-20056627181960333642012-01-16T08:53:00.000-05:002012-01-16T08:53:42.938-05:00A Frightful Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WOffBp_vrBy5RKbxkLWZ964_4S_YHW2J7ulniWzM3k8yRo78pwChG7wgSwDevEqrOuO4WQ0cpe9CMIeUwbmkC0yIg7_LlUSWEGKtfbpISU6fAfBb-M5IOGa7owTE78heW2dcDX8lzCUz/s1600/FN-124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8WOffBp_vrBy5RKbxkLWZ964_4S_YHW2J7ulniWzM3k8yRo78pwChG7wgSwDevEqrOuO4WQ0cpe9CMIeUwbmkC0yIg7_LlUSWEGKtfbpISU6fAfBb-M5IOGa7owTE78heW2dcDX8lzCUz/s400/FN-124.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I guess I starting to slowly lose my 3-D religion. At least a bit. I had high hopes for Fright Night 3D when I watched it on Blu-ray 3D for my online Rue Morgue review.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://rue-morgue.com/blog/archives/2012/01/13/three-dimensions-of-terror-fright-night-3-d/">Three Dimensions Of Terror - January 13, 2012</a><br />
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The 3-D in the film, although it was shot in native 3-D, was less than satisfying. And even more disheartening is I'm starting to find that the mega-budget blockbusters 3-D conversions are starting to look better that the films that are shot in 3-D.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of 3-D films out there that are a lot of fun in 3-D and 2-D, they just don't seem to be making too many of them in this century.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-26074223659828017792011-12-06T11:50:00.001-05:002011-12-16T01:58:45.341-05:00MONTH OF THE MASK SPILLS INTO DECEMBER<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTUCgnXhw4HejPOZ7KiezTA2ZAEKRrZi5dvjqz-mn3mnLQ5CdMKb59PGg-ml5BVRJhpmaDm9nbD8wGQjRvVLbzllHgYtYOcAPcHF9XYRezq2k2NE6df0wfrEQicvyiOykhDfxxPrVXQy9/s1600/RM118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTUCgnXhw4HejPOZ7KiezTA2ZAEKRrZi5dvjqz-mn3mnLQ5CdMKb59PGg-ml5BVRJhpmaDm9nbD8wGQjRvVLbzllHgYtYOcAPcHF9XYRezq2k2NE6df0wfrEQicvyiOykhDfxxPrVXQy9/s320/RM118.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well sort of.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This month's issue of Rue Morgue Magazine way over on pg 47 has a feature on <i>The Mask</i>, written by yours truly. It includes a few choice quotes from the film's late director, Julian Roffman's son.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have to admit I dig the cover. It is an awesome fusion of the poster art for Mario Bava's anthology film <i>Black Sabbath</i>, replacing Boris Karloff's image with Tony Iommi's, lead singer for the original metal band Black Sabbath. Where do you think they got their name from?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's on the stands now and available at Yudu.com and the Apple App Store, if you want to check it out.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-33050324585466475962011-11-20T22:59:00.000-05:002011-11-20T22:59:30.123-05:00WIM & PINA: a review<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I've noted before PINA, Wim Wenders' newest film, played at The Toronto International Film Festival this September and I couldn't be there. I did have the fortune of seeing a few scenes projected in 3-D and hearing Wenders discuss the film and the 3-D process at the Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D Conference in June.I couldn't be there but that doesn't mean I couldn't get a review. Many thanks to Trevor Ball a long time TIFF attendee and my guest blogger:</div><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3HeqZXDSOUQKrWuTEGGK8i3jig9ZPWOkujh0fN-4amiSC2T7IYTstzJbPP9G0Ji4Q-xDYabD8QaFHsDQYetRp63m0MbyyDIM9bJ93f41qpQKYg2-D7RGOEqP6WZE2vmqJfZWJcyb9NZt/s1600/pina_wenders_water.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3HeqZXDSOUQKrWuTEGGK8i3jig9ZPWOkujh0fN-4amiSC2T7IYTstzJbPP9G0Ji4Q-xDYabD8QaFHsDQYetRp63m0MbyyDIM9bJ93f41qpQKYg2-D7RGOEqP6WZE2vmqJfZWJcyb9NZt/s320/pina_wenders_water.jpg" width="320" /></a>Wim Wenders encountered the choreography of Pina Bausch in mid-1980s, and immediately knew he wanted to work with her. She took some time to warm to the idea, but before long the two were discussing a collaboration. Wenders's problem, though, was that he couldn't figure out how to make a film of her Tanztheater Wuppertal company's dancing; he said there seemed to be an "invisible wall" keeping a satisfactory film from being made. The two would cross paths repeatedly over the decades, with her asking him how it was coming, and him answering that he hadn't figured out how yet, until the exchange became so routine that they just exchanged gestures to convey the status quo.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That finally changed in 2007, when Wenders saw U2 3D, the 3D presentation of the band's Vertigo tour. He called up Bausch and told her he had finally figured out how to make the movie. Unfortunately, due in part to the lengthy lead time required to coordinate schedules and mount the four specific programmes they wanted to film, it would still be years before they would be ready to shoot, and in the interim, Bausch died of cancer before shooting could begin. Wenders expected that this meant the project was off, but thankfully the dancers in the company encouraged him to still make it.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLyxRfSBJFwxdOpE6YPXLW945x989ScshY4VHFfKM3iASGa0eM7b4TmGXf5xIt4ZMMct7ohIQhKzQpQdTPAakU9THCJOr-cJV66YOE3vQedguC_kfTXu_05TqnO8Lz16LzdhNqm14WoFp5/s1600/PINA_Wenders_3d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLyxRfSBJFwxdOpE6YPXLW945x989ScshY4VHFfKM3iASGa0eM7b4TmGXf5xIt4ZMMct7ohIQhKzQpQdTPAakU9THCJOr-cJV66YOE3vQedguC_kfTXu_05TqnO8Lz16LzdhNqm14WoFp5/s400/PINA_Wenders_3d.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The film is therefore structured around individual dancers and their reminiscences of Bausch, with no narration or dialogue aside from the dancers themselves. Wenders presents portraits of individual dancers coupled with signature or favourite solos or duets of theirs, set in the environs of the city of Wuppertal (including its unusual suspended train line) which provide some striking and whimsical juxtapositions. Cut together with the four live dance presentations and old footage of Bausch herself, the overall effect is a tribute to Bausch, but also an intimate experience of the dance itself, and an insight into the company and how it functioned.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpomRDPkO__BJLowxzi-Vsq8cTbN2-_6OU4pcbso9AA2hmP4H1k1HqilhDTEzPBQYr5f7wtQWP7vZqky5G-rsCZQi1VVIZtYhus227bW3jWOuX5t7NaPcz2Nwdd89UIYFCNYQN-Qpn35D/s1600/pina-wenders-promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpomRDPkO__BJLowxzi-Vsq8cTbN2-_6OU4pcbso9AA2hmP4H1k1HqilhDTEzPBQYr5f7wtQWP7vZqky5G-rsCZQi1VVIZtYhus227bW3jWOuX5t7NaPcz2Nwdd89UIYFCNYQN-Qpn35D/s320/pina-wenders-promo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wenders does get playful with the film at times, such as inlaying footage of part of one live dance inside a scale model two dancers are looking at, while recalling how Bausch conceived of the choreography for the piece. For the most part though, he tries to be faithful to the dance, out of reverence for Bausch, who he was always conscious of not wanting to disappoint. The 3D seems only to be used to give a more true-to-life and intimate experience of the dance, with very few gimmicky shots (the scale model shot being the only such exception I can recall). The effect of the 3D is subtle but successful in conveying a more authentic theatre-like experience.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ultimately the (albeit understandably) melancholic tone undermines and distracts from the impressive and imaginative choreography that should be the focus, and in particular I found the old footage of Bausch somewhat jarring, while adding very little value. However, overall the film serves as a fantastic introduction to modern dance and an entertaining and inspiring experience in its own right. I would recommend it for anyone with the slightest interest in dance or performance art, or really even for anyone who can keep an open mind to such artforms.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Incidentally, Tanztheater Wuppertal will be performing at the <a href="http://www2.nac-cna.ca/en/dance/event/612">NAC</a> in Ottawa in late November, in case you would like to see them in person. Wenders also announced at the screening that Pina has been selected as the German entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, and it has recently been short-listed for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. I'll go on record as predicting it won't win either award, but it does deserve that degree of consideration.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oEXcbWRh6Fo" width="420"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-22847396510341320692011-10-30T10:08:00.000-04:002011-10-30T10:08:32.362-04:00Dimensions of The MaskThis is where previous posts on this blog and the world of <i>The Mask</i> conjoin in an analytical look into the use 3-D in cinema. I am of the belief that stereoscopic cinema (3-D) is like a circus coming to town. It’s a novelty. If the circus is always in town the excitement it generates goes away. So I’m always looking to find films that utilize 3-D, not just as an ad-on but as something integral to their being.<br />
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Today Hollywood treats 3-D (as they have in the previous 3-D eras of the 50‘s and 80‘s) as a value added effect. In an attempt to combat illegal downloading and VOD (in the 50’s it was television and by the 80’s home video and cable were the threat), Hollywood is hoping that digital 3-D will bring people back to the theatre and their old model of doing business will continue as it did before. But things change, as they did in the previous eras.<br />
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It’s the art-house masters that are turning to 3-D as an artistic extension of their work. It’s not an accident that these once great film makers have almost abandoned narrative film for documentary. Directors like Warner Herzog and Wim Wenders have used 3-D to simulate the real world in place of the reel world. In <i>The Cave of Forgotten Dreams</i> Hetzog used the stereoscopic technique to add volume to the curvature of the rocks on which the oldest know human artwork exists. Wenders, in turn in <i>Pina</i>, uses 3-D to simulate the experience of Pina Bausch’s unique dance choreography in a way that no other form of visual documentation can. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_fEv6Nc47GBAJe0PwkB_qzp9SjU3B325SpWNEDlVJwrEm_T-Z2xb6JknlZWhwi1o8aAriUF0ThR7Yrx3EYeFrkIhaWCLz6phpunB7XqrLztnzcWlwIsvD_USFMjWK1o1AKnuej0bJhGR/s1600/mask061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_fEv6Nc47GBAJe0PwkB_qzp9SjU3B325SpWNEDlVJwrEm_T-Z2xb6JknlZWhwi1o8aAriUF0ThR7Yrx3EYeFrkIhaWCLz6phpunB7XqrLztnzcWlwIsvD_USFMjWK1o1AKnuej0bJhGR/s320/mask061.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
But these cinema artists are turning to 3-D to simulate reality while director Julian Roffman does something quite different in <i>The Mask</i>. Sure, his movie uses 3-D as a gimmick to get audiences out to the theatre, but within the context of the film the 3-D serves a different purpose. The effect is not used to represent reality but to represent the subconscious, the protagonist’s, Dr.Barnes, darkest nightmares. Roffman understood that 3-D is an illusion, that while it cannot truly represent reality, it can pull the viewer into something immersive that both represents reality but is very much removed from the real world. Much like dreams and hallucinations, the fodder of the 3-D sequences used in <i>The Mask</i>.<br />
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I’m just scratching the surface here. But these thoughts do lead me to the hope that this 3-D era continues so that artists and filmmakers can begin to explore the artistic potential of stereo cinema and that it can evolve. The previous eras have been to short for real exploration of 3-D’s potential to be realized beyond the “circus effect”.<br />
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<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">NOTES: I’d like to credit Dan Symmes for the circus analogy. He was the first I’d heard to use it and it rings true to me.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-14153199473384263612011-10-27T23:35:00.001-04:002011-11-01T21:43:02.121-04:00EYES OF HELL- POST MORTUMI arrived at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday to quite the spectacle. Floodlights, news vans, red carpet and people lined up around the block. Could <i>The Mask</i> really be gathering this attention. It's certainly a significant Canadian film and this print hasn't screened for twenty years, but I wasn't expecting this.<br />
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Well it turns out all this hubbabaloo was for a Bollywood Toronto premiere of <i>RA.ONE</i>, just in time for Diwali no less.<br />
<br />
<i>The Mask </i>screening was a much more intimate affair, screening in a small theatre on the fourth floor to over a hundred people. It was great to see Julian Roffman's son Peter and his family in the audience, as well as the die hard Can-horror fans.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDK_odJZZwcPx3TvKuj0mZywu27P75OWvlVl2NwJyxnfKo0iOet8SYgHAP0owIxZdk6PCS7whhQjiM-Tqapov5__7sg2mLePufiayWzdFqasIc7fjm0lPN292u8iRHVw-qkKBe8f2CXMwk/s1600/Maskoct262011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDK_odJZZwcPx3TvKuj0mZywu27P75OWvlVl2NwJyxnfKo0iOet8SYgHAP0owIxZdk6PCS7whhQjiM-Tqapov5__7sg2mLePufiayWzdFqasIc7fjm0lPN292u8iRHVw-qkKBe8f2CXMwk/s320/Maskoct262011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few of the faithful.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As for my personal reaction to the screening, it was a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it was great to see this classic on a theatre screen, with an audience. The quality of the cinematography and the detail missing from the home video versions out there was certainly apparent, but there were no revelations. No missing Jim Moran footage introduced the film and the anaglyph 3-D sequences were identical to the video counterparts (a number of us had "mystic magic viewers" and they didn't work nearly as well as the 3-D glasses handed out upon entrance).<br />
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The print did display the re-release title, <i>The Eyes of Hell</i>, so perhaps when a print of the original 1961 version of <i>The Mask</i> surfaces to the public, the Jim Moran opening will be there.<br />
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Still it was a monumental moment for the film, marking its 50th Anniversary and I have to admit it pleased me to no end.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU1rXCH0NhwPbFg0d-3E5GKAt8oaseE3Ef77uFpiRXEhKdgixzxtet5kBxpSJNTW4L9xapN5ZvKPBqO8B9jCU8jrviX25QiVyEJDvujhyphenhyphen6nxl8ggGZI1x7LLbDgBxYmP899XYwZCTn5f3/s1600/zzEOHSC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioU1rXCH0NhwPbFg0d-3E5GKAt8oaseE3Ef77uFpiRXEhKdgixzxtet5kBxpSJNTW4L9xapN5ZvKPBqO8B9jCU8jrviX25QiVyEJDvujhyphenhyphen6nxl8ggGZI1x7LLbDgBxYmP899XYwZCTn5f3/s320/zzEOHSC.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How cool is this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-52983894303229988262011-10-25T11:22:00.001-04:002011-10-27T22:33:39.764-04:00Psychology & The Mask<i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We have another guest blogger on the site today. James Burrell is a Toronto-based writer who has written about Canadian genre cinema for such publications and online sites as Rue Morgue and Canuxploitation! He is currently working on a book detailing the history of Canadian horror films. Thanks for contributing James.</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQSQ2hY4tIwEV83W1UvkZFXPean652tmlaVBTGQ2G6DFvc2j3o18oH2Gq_kd8_C1u9ScLcP6fsAHxVgk_Wa_3ip34nTlD6HK04pfxkMVYUhKfjIEVcqy9ThpZiktkSX8aHFjkDA1nvMxQ/s1600/maskcolor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQSQ2hY4tIwEV83W1UvkZFXPean652tmlaVBTGQ2G6DFvc2j3o18oH2Gq_kd8_C1u9ScLcP6fsAHxVgk_Wa_3ip34nTlD6HK04pfxkMVYUhKfjIEVcqy9ThpZiktkSX8aHFjkDA1nvMxQ/s1600/maskcolor.jpg" /></a></div>When <i>The Mask</i> was released in October of 1961, few moviegoers could have anticipated the nightmarish and surreal netherworld they'd be plunged into by obeying a command within the film to “Put the mask on now! Put the mask on now!” With the use of red and green anaglyph placard “magic mystic mask”, audiences were treated to several 3-D sequences that combined Dalí-esque imagery like bizarre figures and landscapes with funhouse-styled gag effects of floating eyeballs, giant snakes and fireballs hurtling off the screen at them in the third-dimension. Both weird and inventive, <i>The Mask</i> was quite unlike anything audiences had seen up to that point.<br />
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Naturally marketed as a gimmicky exploitation horror flick, <i>The Mask</i> wasn't expected to deliver anything to cinema-goers beyond the promised phantasmagorical visuals and 3-D effects. However, along with the bizarre imagery, the film managed to go a bit further than other B-movies of the era by providing some interesting social commentary. Exploring such issues as addiction and mental illness, the film was both an allegorical look at the dangers of drug use as well as a thinly-veiled criticism of the psychiatric industry.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgkA6pscsmPv4Dj8ImVPlXlHOrQtfSBwf7thgN2JhJ7AdMaXeoDjrlWQ83kEZcRefXuoUqk9bJn1DMv0qeWuS1LRXKQ7JCspbSAcU83b7Dg_1qO6XThFxWq0fdjOx92HOXyRq3ZrQeqLj/s1600/Maskcolor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgkA6pscsmPv4Dj8ImVPlXlHOrQtfSBwf7thgN2JhJ7AdMaXeoDjrlWQ83kEZcRefXuoUqk9bJn1DMv0qeWuS1LRXKQ7JCspbSAcU83b7Dg_1qO6XThFxWq0fdjOx92HOXyRq3ZrQeqLj/s320/Maskcolor2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Like Robert Louis Stevenson's <i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i>, <i>The Mask</i> also deals with the duality of human nature, and the terrible consequences that can result when man's repressed side is unleashed. The trigger is of course, the titular object, an ancient Aztec ceremonial mask that alters the behaviour of anyone who wears it. A none-too-subtle allegory for drug use, specifically that of LSD, the hallucinogenic reaction that psychiatrist Dr. Allan Barnes (Paul Stevens) has each time he puts on the mask could be considered akin to a “bad trip.” Transported into a surrealistic environment populated with shrouded figures with flayed skin, a skull-faced being who shoots fireballs from its hands and a mysterious young woman who bears a resemblance to his fiancee Pam Albright (Claudette Nevins) and is slated to become a human sacrifice, Barnes' visions are deeply paranoid and anxiety-ridden.<br />
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Eventually, he is transformed from a respected, buttoned-down professional into a sweaty, wide-eyed psychotic whose violent impulses include trying to kill his secretary, Miss Goodrich (Anne Collings).<br />
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Offering up a pretty blatant anti-drug message, the film's producer/director, a veteran National Film Board (NFB) documentary filmmaker, Julian Roffman may have been inspired by the real-life use of LSD and other psychotropic drugs on patients by the medical establishment of the day. From the late 1940s to the early 1960s, LSD was sometimes prescribed to patients by their psychiatrists; as part of a psychotherapeutic regimen, it was believed the drug assisted individuals in unblocking repressed memories, which could then be confronted and presumably treated.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0chwvULugXjwSlm8c5dVwjRZUpRgMTGQh_Y8KCCDJU-G8cKwWMXvclMDWJ5JTQ1JjRKyFjJQUvi0FfFBMjD3_pPvlbTTYTtlA_nihO_4pNhV27QhAnEPrCF9i_nEHnzz5Og-KSp8Jw92/s1600/DonaldEwenCameron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0chwvULugXjwSlm8c5dVwjRZUpRgMTGQh_Y8KCCDJU-G8cKwWMXvclMDWJ5JTQ1JjRKyFjJQUvi0FfFBMjD3_pPvlbTTYTtlA_nihO_4pNhV27QhAnEPrCF9i_nEHnzz5Og-KSp8Jw92/s320/DonaldEwenCameron.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Ewen Cameron</td></tr>
</tbody></table>More nefarious in nature though were a series of mind-control experiments beginning in the late-1950s that were funded by the CIA but undertaken at Montreal's Allan Memorial Institute. Dubbed “Project MKULTRA”, the studies were conducted on dozens of unwitting subjects by Dr. Ewen Cameron. The Scottish born-American psychiatrist believed that by administering numerous drugs like LSD and electroshock therapy, individuals could be reprogrammed and any existing mental illness could be cured through the erasure of their memories. As Cameron's experiments were not well-publicised at the time, it's difficult to say whether Roffman would have had much, if any knowledge of them at all while masking The Mask, but it is nevertheless interesting to note how drugs like LSD were employed by medical professionals for purportedly atruistic intentions. <br />
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In addition to being Canada's first full-length horror production, <i>The Mask</i> was the country's first (and still only one of two) 3-D films and the first Canadian effort to be released by a major American studio (in this case, Warner Bros.). A box-office success, the film would continue to find success when it was re-released in 1971 under the new title <i>Eyes of Hell</i> and would even find itself (courtesy of a then-new company called <i>New Line Cinema</i>) distributed to college campuses across the U.S., where audiences were no doubt more than cognizant of the film's many drugs references. <br />
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James BurrellUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-48103041859317189122011-10-21T20:34:00.002-04:002011-10-25T11:23:49.405-04:00Electroacoustic Dreams<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">We've got a guest blogger here at depthsploitation. Paul Corupe operates the website </span><a href="http://canuxploitation.com/" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">canuxploitation </a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">and is a fellow fan of the film. He has written a number of articles about The Mask and is something of an expert on the film. I'm very honored to welcome him as a contributor to this blog.</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<br />
In the history of Canadian film--especially Canadian genre film--Julian Roffman's surreal spook show THE MASK holds a vitally important and esteemed place. Aimed squarely at the American market, THE MASK was the first of its kind in many ways--it became the first Canadian film to be distributed by a major Hollywood studio, the first 3-D film made here and, arguably, Canada's first feature horror film. But what doesn't get mentioned often is the film's entirely unique score, a sometimes chilling mix of straight orchestration and "musique concrète" by prolific composer Louis Applebaum and American-born electronic music pioneer Myron Schaeffer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwYvjGSbFlXIgBGG1E5p8mNmnCQ1HDmoxKhDbNIvQTutucASV-_KdtVkU-8Esb3GJoId_74VKXA-RTQdBD3rvptqsfcbnqS6oaU7ATEZ3q8rK4mdM7OVGTOQaUDtzKqr3lQhosMUY5d5A/s1600/Louis_Applebaum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrwYvjGSbFlXIgBGG1E5p8mNmnCQ1HDmoxKhDbNIvQTutucASV-_KdtVkU-8Esb3GJoId_74VKXA-RTQdBD3rvptqsfcbnqS6oaU7ATEZ3q8rK4mdM7OVGTOQaUDtzKqr3lQhosMUY5d5A/s320/Louis_Applebaum.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Louis Applebaum in 1945</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The staff composer at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Applebaum may not be as recognizable today as he once was, but he remains one of the true legends of Canadian music. Applebaum produced some 250 scores for the NFB between 1942 and 1960 before he left to compose pieces for the Stratford Festival and, later, work on arts advocacy boards. An extremely versatile composer, Applebaum was comfortable with a range of styles, from full symphonic works to choral pieces and even modern classical and jazz, and even garnered an Academy Award nomination for his music for THE STORY OF G.I. JOE (1945). Collaborating with Schaeffer, a serious avant-garde musician who had recently become the director of the University of Toronto's newly established Electronic Music Studio, the pair created one of the eeriest scores of any Canadian horror film--a swirling, sometimes violent collage of electronically manipulated sounds that draws the terror out of THE MASK's insistently hallucinogenic imagery.<br />
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<br />
Applebaum almost certainly met Roffman at the NFB, where the young director cut his filmmaking teeth shooting military training documentaries. Roffman subsequently left the NFB in the late 1950s to pursue independent feature production, with the hope that he could make a film that would be picked up by a major U.S. studio--a goal that many felt would help kick start the national film industry. For his debut feature, 1959's THE BLOODY BROOD, Roffman decided to bring in Applebaum to write the wild, bongo-laced jazz score that plays as degenerate beatniks get their kicks as they kill an innocent delivery boy. But when Hollywood didn't come calling, Roffman started an even more commercial feature to be shot using the 3-D process--THE MASK. Applebaum, who had just left the NFB himself, was on board again and likely convinced Roffman and producer Nat Taylor to give Schaeffer a chance. At the time, Schaeffer had just helped develop the Hamograph, a new electronic music "instrument" that, along with some additional equipment, pulled sounds from up to 12 tape loop inputs and then allowed the composer to shift tone and pitch and add echo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisG6dnmd7FAgO5srT-OLfyJoM3KJ4h0jRX-Bcp3REloZlxvGZew8wUbGRsxJFziafkcwPyiTmVH4GCxHmnaM8RQAW4PrxeKhkwaUdgYyP8BCUjwMC1-cnJ2GoonIQl-ap50t062dHdxCaX/s1600/hammograph.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisG6dnmd7FAgO5srT-OLfyJoM3KJ4h0jRX-Bcp3REloZlxvGZew8wUbGRsxJFziafkcwPyiTmVH4GCxHmnaM8RQAW4PrxeKhkwaUdgYyP8BCUjwMC1-cnJ2GoonIQl-ap50t062dHdxCaX/s320/hammograph.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hamograph</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As with Roffman's direction, Applebaum and Schaeffer take significantly different approaches to depicting the "real" world and the mask's inner world of the psyche. In the scenes set in psychiatrist Dr. Barnes' office, Applebaum's small but capable orchestra provides the incidental music, often employing a minimalist approach as solo woodwinds brass and thundering drums taking turns pulling out of the pack to weave creepy solo themes that sometimes build to intense brass stings. Electronic touches are often added in these moments too, especially when the mask is mentioned or is actually present in the scene. There's an otherworldly flavour that keeps resurfacing--for example, a tape delay effect is often added to the drums, creating a distinct rumbling that certainly underscores the artifact's bizarre powers and hints at the musical cues to come.<br />
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When Dr. Barnes dons on the mask and the film switches to its 3-D renderings of his subconscious, the accompanying soundtrack turns sharply into musique concrète--a post-World War II music movement in which electronically manipulated sounds are pieced together and generally presented as an abstract, sonic montage. Advertised as "Electro Magic Sound" in the film's publicity materials, we can assume these sequences are at least partially Schaeffer's performance at his Hamograph--it's impossible to tell exactly where Applebaum's work ends and Schaeffer's begins, as Schaeffer apparently suffered a heart attack and had to leave the film, leaving Applebaum to quickly fill in with his rudimentary understanding of the Hamograph. Once the fog parts and Barnes fully enters the mask's dream world, a bed of stormy, echoing percussion erupts on top of which layers of mechanical roars, grating screeches, human screams and electronic whirs are added, creating a dissonant and even unnerving collection of artfully overlapped sounds. It's the perfectly compliment to the 3-D visuals of the mask's nightmare world, as Barnes witnesses a strange ritual sacrifice, floating coffins and surreal serpent attacks. Even though it may not sound like any nightmare you've ever had, it still provokes the same panic-fueled emotions that can accompany bad dreams, making it far more effective than a traditional score might have been.<br />
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The decision to use the Hamograph for these scenes was a daring one--this multi-layered attack of electronic noise was virtually unheard of in commercial films at the time, even in sometimes boundary-pushing genre works. Compared to the soundtracks of other 1960s horror efforts, such the moody orchestral leanings of Les Baxter's work on THE PIT AND THE PENDELUM and Bernard Herrmann's homicidal strings in PSYCHO, THE MASK's atmospheric audio patterns are much closer to serious avant-garde electronic music of the period or even Louis and Bebe Barron's pulsating score for the sci-fi classic FORBIDDEN PLANET, which had premiered just five years earlier. And while the Barrons' "electronic tonalities" were shiver-inducing in some of the film's scarier scenes involving similar "monsters from the Id," they don't approach the brute force of spiraling madness that Applebaum and Schaeffer capture here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5RWtwhcTyLwXKH2i6vwLBj9ZMH7mAs1-j17EvvXAb2Z0VJfPJTByUBVfq0zsjnVnnPfWfvrVnuY1Gm9TIMbcZGX7y60zfM-y9kL_ZlxPOdKeDphmQqgziwiq6bOtxL_FMZf7hfxG3UnB/s1600/schaeffer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5RWtwhcTyLwXKH2i6vwLBj9ZMH7mAs1-j17EvvXAb2Z0VJfPJTByUBVfq0zsjnVnnPfWfvrVnuY1Gm9TIMbcZGX7y60zfM-y9kL_ZlxPOdKeDphmQqgziwiq6bOtxL_FMZf7hfxG3UnB/s320/schaeffer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myron Schaeffer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Burdened with heart troubles in the last years of his life, Schaeffer passed away in 1965 without achieving much notability beyond academic circles, although Folkways Records did release some of his recordings and it's said that the Moog synthesizer was inspired by the Hamograph. Instead it was Applebaum who carried the mantle for electronic music throughout the rest of his career, later conducting fellow Canadian composer Eldon Rathburn's abstract pieces for the NFB's Labyrinthe pavilion at Expo 1967. Applebaum was awarded the Order of Canada in 1976 and was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 1995, just five years before his death. And while their work for THE MASK remains a minor footnote on Applebaum and Schaeffer's impressive resumes, 50 years later their music for this psychological horror classic remains one of the most effective of any Canadian horror film, using what was then considered cutting edge technology to create a true symphony of our deepest psychological fears.<br />
<br />
Paul Corupe <br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">If you'd like to acquaint yourself with the score, why not track back to this <a href="http://www.depthsploitation.com/2011/10/view-mask.html">post</a>. </span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-74513399452553362722011-10-18T13:57:00.000-04:002011-10-18T13:57:09.064-04:00THE MASK OF THE SMOKING MIRROR<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZb9bbkDtBd54I-8QQ2UCvMh7XKgeb6rxCdOfNdVDDOP48UYB7Z6IOhRKgYoEwNOgzTI9TXy8GighgN7EITJs771rOqOdIEX5HlWbStwaNMCSSix-Ee0oc1UuSmOQZLnKbtr2KyvPjKvLu/s1600/MaskProp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZb9bbkDtBd54I-8QQ2UCvMh7XKgeb6rxCdOfNdVDDOP48UYB7Z6IOhRKgYoEwNOgzTI9TXy8GighgN7EITJs771rOqOdIEX5HlWbStwaNMCSSix-Ee0oc1UuSmOQZLnKbtr2KyvPjKvLu/s320/MaskProp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Mask prop.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The first time a fan of The Mask discovers the prop mask used in the film they are in for a shock. While the film is in Black and White, the mask can only be described as made in Technicolor. Brilliant green and blue mosaics cover the skull shaped design and I’ve been told that its teeth are real human teeth.<br />
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The design of the mask used in the film was based on an actual South American mask. Julian Roffman explained the inspiration behind the design;<br />
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“In South America and in Africa, the witch doctors rub peyote inside the mask and the heat from their face releases the drug. They go into a tantrum, they have their own visions. So we knew the mask could do this. I researched masks and I found a South American Indian Mask that the tribes had used.”</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right;">Hamilton, Filmfax #25 p.87</div><br />
Perhaps the mask Roffman had used was this one (pictured below) from the British Museum, a mosaic tiled mask from Mexico. “The skull of the Smoking Mirror” is a mosaic mask created to represent the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca, whose name translates into English as “the Smoking Mirror”.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAwTWzA_VsLgyqLTWUd4LXVSvKX-mRBG25HuzTLLCSN-PycaryH3Onz_XFfRgp-9glnx8HGLm4DpT8CmEaY7o7fi8OZomYQoOkgq3kM0Q-Gfd3NTYfw-EjTqPcvm-Q52sn46ts1C8YDB1/s1600/Tezcatlipoca_mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAwTWzA_VsLgyqLTWUd4LXVSvKX-mRBG25HuzTLLCSN-PycaryH3Onz_XFfRgp-9glnx8HGLm4DpT8CmEaY7o7fi8OZomYQoOkgq3kM0Q-Gfd3NTYfw-EjTqPcvm-Q52sn46ts1C8YDB1/s400/Tezcatlipoca_mask.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The mask uses a human skull as its base, with the back cut away and lined with leather so it can be worn. The leather also creates a hinge for the jawbone.<br />
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The alternating bands of the mosaic are made of blue turquoise and black while the eyes are made of orbs of iron pyrite, encircled by a ring of white conch shell.<br />
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This mask dates back to the 15th-16th century AD.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-31522518346290100772011-10-17T08:44:00.002-04:002011-10-17T08:44:00.760-04:00THE CUT SCENESThere seems to be a number of scenes cut from both the shooting script and the storyboards of <i>The Mask</i>. However most of these scenes were likely never shot.<br />
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In the script (which contains the 2-D sequences) the cut scenes are crossed off, indicating that the decision to cut them was made in either production or on the shooting day.<br />
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The exorcised shots in the storyboard (the blueprint used to shot the 3-D sequences) contained giant rats and a horse. If these sequences were shot it highly unlikely that Julian Roffman would not have used them. Again it can down to a question of cost cutting and staying on budget.<br />
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The following opens the second 3-D nightmare. Panels 7 and 8 do not appear in the film. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ7Iq1eNpRH7IbB9_sJEY0ognZ6u9GgKbkP2R4u62A6bKmHNxEgCEu0i_mfaXzyoQO_Eu9oQnUR5QQMheLlorydBu1DZNwx4nL3XjBorEuQpuzbtWxzfDVC655Q5vWIYR8FlVhYRWO326/s1600/MaskSBCut003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ7Iq1eNpRH7IbB9_sJEY0ognZ6u9GgKbkP2R4u62A6bKmHNxEgCEu0i_mfaXzyoQO_Eu9oQnUR5QQMheLlorydBu1DZNwx4nL3XjBorEuQpuzbtWxzfDVC655Q5vWIYR8FlVhYRWO326/s400/MaskSBCut003.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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This section, featuring a horse and rider, seems to come at the end of the last 3-D sequence.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgitirCxdVNg2b5iSF-ea5rJGN_GDRv9nlGwZeMkE1zu4-XPAD8xA5F0nfYmE_b8cXTeUbNtta3_3FgsBFnH0Fs7E3JpPA1QyWdwhr1LZwIJX9Pfxqn44WwE62QcUP1UCZPzG63bbTKwz88/s1600/MaskSBCut001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgitirCxdVNg2b5iSF-ea5rJGN_GDRv9nlGwZeMkE1zu4-XPAD8xA5F0nfYmE_b8cXTeUbNtta3_3FgsBFnH0Fs7E3JpPA1QyWdwhr1LZwIJX9Pfxqn44WwE62QcUP1UCZPzG63bbTKwz88/s400/MaskSBCut001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JzQrA_ZOiOlLWm5wISg-3Ju6CKR_LBJolBZu25E15HWUxDe67AzXKA_6um7EY6BvXYRfOI9WXk5w6XxDjDaQ0jCDjl3TMjt0w74keOaLhxGcbTnVCu1bpkl37Okhs2V1SAii57YBJvSt/s1600/MaskSBCut002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JzQrA_ZOiOlLWm5wISg-3Ju6CKR_LBJolBZu25E15HWUxDe67AzXKA_6um7EY6BvXYRfOI9WXk5w6XxDjDaQ0jCDjl3TMjt0w74keOaLhxGcbTnVCu1bpkl37Okhs2V1SAii57YBJvSt/s400/MaskSBCut002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJ7Iq1eNpRH7IbB9_sJEY0ognZ6u9GgKbkP2R4u62A6bKmHNxEgCEu0i_mfaXzyoQO_Eu9oQnUR5QQMheLlorydBu1DZNwx4nL3XjBorEuQpuzbtWxzfDVC655Q5vWIYR8FlVhYRWO326/s1600/MaskSBCut003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-10994463551540929082011-10-14T11:00:00.043-04:002011-10-14T11:00:04.479-04:00ROFFMAN REACTS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKRDK-7iS_wuKdGlbEVW-DlvhWMgQF63ciRYWxVjIeqY3-FYs9Qm-VBL-EEAzzf_JRR1JCwNsHy74JXBB3d-kM0yNAQ0m5-QQOlcNltn_ex8V2T5zrCGBE0hAOnXlhKFRIzDDldrGpZtD/s1600/maskSB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKRDK-7iS_wuKdGlbEVW-DlvhWMgQF63ciRYWxVjIeqY3-FYs9Qm-VBL-EEAzzf_JRR1JCwNsHy74JXBB3d-kM0yNAQ0m5-QQOlcNltn_ex8V2T5zrCGBE0hAOnXlhKFRIzDDldrGpZtD/s200/maskSB.jpg" width="189" /></a></div>The cameras were set to roll on <i>The Mask</i> by March of 1961. Julian Roffman, having rejected Len Lye’s storyboards, now was forced to take full ownership of the mask's dream world. Lye’s storyboards are dated January 1961, meaning Roffman had less than three months to storyboard and prepare these 3-D dream sequences.<br />
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Turning to a psychiatrist recommended to him by the National Institute of Health in Canada for help, Roffman was able to devise the dream sequence scenarios.<br />
He then enlisted associate art director Hugo Wuetrich to draft the storyboards, under his watchful eye of course.<br />
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Key personal --Herman Townsley (effects artist), James Gordon(post visual effects)and Herb Albert (cameraman)-- also contributed to the design of the 3-D sequences at this point.<br />
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What follows are a few of these storyboards comparing them to frames from the film.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0MMn1Bgggo9e1KKsUq04iWTWUjpnuDH-IyBkmKPDGgk_XZRnM6nGiRoKLE4ZM_56VkdOOll84w0gDYOibPoHiG2A0_Cm9oIKFafhASKohjl3wGbDT0zzv_PfOL3UoJD7KwZA4YEE64-3/s1600/MaskSB001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt0MMn1Bgggo9e1KKsUq04iWTWUjpnuDH-IyBkmKPDGgk_XZRnM6nGiRoKLE4ZM_56VkdOOll84w0gDYOibPoHiG2A0_Cm9oIKFafhASKohjl3wGbDT0zzv_PfOL3UoJD7KwZA4YEE64-3/s400/MaskSB001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Kwy0iY1GzQLBglqPALaSeK2L7SZXoSGUP8ZCYYH-T3jXByVjbIU52QCWg_PiXdpT3lAN8NVsq5DtwxwxjghhYuxR7SNVwaAMgPRatA0PBbGVh34GvzUDKhdpYhMXaWxTTN-TK3JVu4Lj/s1600/MaskSB001b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Kwy0iY1GzQLBglqPALaSeK2L7SZXoSGUP8ZCYYH-T3jXByVjbIU52QCWg_PiXdpT3lAN8NVsq5DtwxwxjghhYuxR7SNVwaAMgPRatA0PBbGVh34GvzUDKhdpYhMXaWxTTN-TK3JVu4Lj/s400/MaskSB001b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUlQLkzJF_rnqetdb1ugHkiHJJctslpDJR-Q_TfvehfjYYAm5wUr_xSRTA31F1or0TQ0ierOM0E0UjNeXBw6PtiiR1TjZzbCujCftnuUv0Xb2s5vQJ10cXBW1KLPl5AYrOFCuRPei5cy-/s1600/MaskSB002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNUlQLkzJF_rnqetdb1ugHkiHJJctslpDJR-Q_TfvehfjYYAm5wUr_xSRTA31F1or0TQ0ierOM0E0UjNeXBw6PtiiR1TjZzbCujCftnuUv0Xb2s5vQJ10cXBW1KLPl5AYrOFCuRPei5cy-/s400/MaskSB002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgzculFjEaM8vIftJpVXPOwQlqP13nzZt295efv1m3DAxDj-e16Yt-2T28kwDFaYGikEXg4pqcN8KusbfTLtalKZe0fAiT36ZSrIFElvyY0V2mrgnnBFaHJERkAJrJPAeya0JdL_AgFXW/s1600/MaskSB002b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtgzculFjEaM8vIftJpVXPOwQlqP13nzZt295efv1m3DAxDj-e16Yt-2T28kwDFaYGikEXg4pqcN8KusbfTLtalKZe0fAiT36ZSrIFElvyY0V2mrgnnBFaHJERkAJrJPAeya0JdL_AgFXW/s400/MaskSB002b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzhp2apYGqSWxEUHSQEZRO2mnZ3zqnbN_p_t59z-idsS5K07u7dn2maT4pjdi7wlYXPveAsL0aUwpJJxN45od94Y84DGW-P4aiD-KgYqAnfbYWioO0hN-izqVrNy7lTwLgJgGyKzU7Faw/s1600/MaskSB003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzhp2apYGqSWxEUHSQEZRO2mnZ3zqnbN_p_t59z-idsS5K07u7dn2maT4pjdi7wlYXPveAsL0aUwpJJxN45od94Y84DGW-P4aiD-KgYqAnfbYWioO0hN-izqVrNy7lTwLgJgGyKzU7Faw/s400/MaskSB003.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22kyBugJVbbu7k7UMyx2ndVeJq_kqy9QbqWCloajWYwCJHlG_x6PLeEu7M4pEGNCnAiUz1eFGDsNCxKtv_F8m90IqdvFWGdKpwi7hZFAejoOJUq6sSlzQuZkOgMhtITElTowp6cXrIQa4/s1600/MaskSB003b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22kyBugJVbbu7k7UMyx2ndVeJq_kqy9QbqWCloajWYwCJHlG_x6PLeEu7M4pEGNCnAiUz1eFGDsNCxKtv_F8m90IqdvFWGdKpwi7hZFAejoOJUq6sSlzQuZkOgMhtITElTowp6cXrIQa4/s400/MaskSB003b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-31769019467499690932011-10-13T11:05:00.011-04:002011-10-13T21:55:34.383-04:00BARNES LOSES HIS HEADThis is the final panel from the Len Lye "Buzzsaw" storyboard sequence. The circular saw gets away from Dr. Barnes, flies through the air and severs his head. Lye drew it with the saw blade over the text description on the panel indicating how much consideration he made for the 3-D image when drawing these storyboards.<br />
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This is a 3-D interpretation so get out the anaglyph glasses and put the red lens over your right eye.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxheGve12hK3CMEK4IHm-wGA5KybHl5PNyYixyEp_EKQ-eFkbdwmlKMf4OrvR6e_pTvHaAZpw5Y3V5GumoejoDz4VmVqLME-UaJx7FRJd-atNxf2VImnp_rOTp3tTs7M41CyPRj9ck1F5f/s1600/Mask_LL_006_3d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxheGve12hK3CMEK4IHm-wGA5KybHl5PNyYixyEp_EKQ-eFkbdwmlKMf4OrvR6e_pTvHaAZpw5Y3V5GumoejoDz4VmVqLME-UaJx7FRJd-atNxf2VImnp_rOTp3tTs7M41CyPRj9ck1F5f/s640/Mask_LL_006_3d.jpg" width="499" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-70510131010103154252011-10-12T11:23:00.002-04:002011-10-13T19:41:36.204-04:00LEN LYE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PDexYGOs9LytVjtSy7c3OjiRLz6Jyr1HRu3F-WZJ3OPk-oXuiyvFbcX3epkaBBC17wOctKfDM7J67P7mglzAbC2_bSYX_7AI_CXdFvV2ZbrGw6zZpAw6Q_aTM9ruWVw7I3tNR4DrbNhb/s1600/Mask_LL_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_PDexYGOs9LytVjtSy7c3OjiRLz6Jyr1HRu3F-WZJ3OPk-oXuiyvFbcX3epkaBBC17wOctKfDM7J67P7mglzAbC2_bSYX_7AI_CXdFvV2ZbrGw6zZpAw6Q_aTM9ruWVw7I3tNR4DrbNhb/s320/Mask_LL_005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>After Slavko Vorkapich’s designs for the 3-D sequences in <i>The Mask</i> proved to be to expensive, its director, Roffman, found himself without a plan. He turned to his friend, avant-guarde filmmaker and artist Len Lye, to create the storyboards.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7tE-ZcyJzhm5GmoLRdy0BWxlx5UTcazaZkaHqcu-UcqBmDwy9w_q5rAk2wAUBM-HrtlYVk8Va4EayN7CETIATM6iDaG1kNUnlTIDOTqTXKuCkZoeuCM0adxbQjFLGdvf9Bxw0ZwjgO5M/s1600/LenLye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7tE-ZcyJzhm5GmoLRdy0BWxlx5UTcazaZkaHqcu-UcqBmDwy9w_q5rAk2wAUBM-HrtlYVk8Va4EayN7CETIATM6iDaG1kNUnlTIDOTqTXKuCkZoeuCM0adxbQjFLGdvf9Bxw0ZwjgO5M/s200/LenLye.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>Len Lye was an New Zealand born artist who began his film making career in animation. Very much a contemporary of the NFB’s Norman McLaren, Lye began experimenting with camera-less animation before McLaren in 1935, a technique in which the animator drew directly onto the 35mm film strip.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T33tS9FeS3U" width="420"></iframe><br />
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Later in life Lye began creating kinetic sculptures, works of art which featured movement.<br />
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The Lye storyboards are extravagant works of art, drafted in coloured pencil, in which the 3-D compositions are always present in the artwork.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY4wVLuD_6cmoM8he0HDLM923o1Sq6xbIqMCHNEAn3Pf-v4UHSpoQZKJfUm_qaA6VgBjpN3f9KJMZRXu7Zd4KoUuLx4VkCibCxwsb_tOqvNTL2C2h-bs0PFZnnMvgv7D-rqyjpUJQuSMI/s1600/Mask_LL_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLY4wVLuD_6cmoM8he0HDLM923o1Sq6xbIqMCHNEAn3Pf-v4UHSpoQZKJfUm_qaA6VgBjpN3f9KJMZRXu7Zd4KoUuLx4VkCibCxwsb_tOqvNTL2C2h-bs0PFZnnMvgv7D-rqyjpUJQuSMI/s320/Mask_LL_001.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0INT1jAnFUCswU_OHeOXHsA-J4v5JnSfqEShSLBiYsuh7-NO6o8o3QoRG1P8BeB4K0E1faf66xrOsm2XNJR8UArxsk9q6zyB6Rst2OnmosfgN3lRZOrnf9O0BFZrDGOabOVL0PB89BL5X/s1600/Mask_LL_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0INT1jAnFUCswU_OHeOXHsA-J4v5JnSfqEShSLBiYsuh7-NO6o8o3QoRG1P8BeB4K0E1faf66xrOsm2XNJR8UArxsk9q6zyB6Rst2OnmosfgN3lRZOrnf9O0BFZrDGOabOVL0PB89BL5X/s320/Mask_LL_002.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-OAUbZgUAlni9xIr1FOsLMD9sPwBnB94IoDUve6DB18UALdh-pbwkWQzpX5Z1UIkXcJ5qwVosB2pq_STDX-2Z1NSLHRJQIUVvy2dGkIxGgm7ICszinjoyMhiiUjatxluT7anDszF6vmo/s1600/Mask_LL_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs-OAUbZgUAlni9xIr1FOsLMD9sPwBnB94IoDUve6DB18UALdh-pbwkWQzpX5Z1UIkXcJ5qwVosB2pq_STDX-2Z1NSLHRJQIUVvy2dGkIxGgm7ICszinjoyMhiiUjatxluT7anDszF6vmo/s320/Mask_LL_003.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42ZeYpAzwgcY06BSYs1aSnOSblkpPwmbuB7vuIXvGMw9iDUbtQX1IS9WCW7Hd-eHTIvBMbLR34Ppy9AXpddqnugL8HpXsN-TPVzXy4l5wDXhQxkRT11jguWvwwTorrt7TQdAXEPyELE5F/s1600/Mask_LL_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42ZeYpAzwgcY06BSYs1aSnOSblkpPwmbuB7vuIXvGMw9iDUbtQX1IS9WCW7Hd-eHTIvBMbLR34Ppy9AXpddqnugL8HpXsN-TPVzXy4l5wDXhQxkRT11jguWvwwTorrt7TQdAXEPyELE5F/s320/Mask_LL_004.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
Again Roffman discarded the designs, because the cost was deemed to be too high. But there may have been another reason as well as indicated by Lye's work on a sequence entitled “The Buzzsaw”. Here Lye indicates that the sequence is designed in the manner of Tod Slaughter, a British horror star of the 30's and 40's. He played no less than Sweeney Todd in <i>The Demon Barber of Fleet Street </i>(1936). Slaughter played his character larger than life, only once removed from the mustache twisting vaudevillian villains. Perhaps Roffman rejected these sequences fearing their camp nature would set the wrong tone for the 3-D sequences, preferring something less theatrical and more psychological.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-7961068894538134772011-10-11T10:00:00.003-04:002011-10-11T10:00:10.801-04:00SLAVKO VORKAPICH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjj555QemUt_bQpTBeXEW-fSxnshYF5r_TLoTgAk4LY8PfiBmmBWsS1MIyFc1hWL51RoxgnxGo1IT09DhyphenhyphenmdVsgcQjUG7ADKzm8PNzbFFlXFNJPK-5BnLS689LkweBR_K6bh_V5AAvzN16/s1600/vorkapich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjj555QemUt_bQpTBeXEW-fSxnshYF5r_TLoTgAk4LY8PfiBmmBWsS1MIyFc1hWL51RoxgnxGo1IT09DhyphenhyphenmdVsgcQjUG7ADKzm8PNzbFFlXFNJPK-5BnLS689LkweBR_K6bh_V5AAvzN16/s200/vorkapich.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>To conceive the nightmare 3-D sequences in <i>The Mask</i>, director Julian Roffman turned to the Serbian born artist Slavko Vorkapich. A master of montage and double exposure Vorkapich, now semi-retired, was put in charge of designing and story-boarding these 3-D sequences for <i>The Mask</i>. After experimenting in the 20's with film as a pure visual medium in shorts like <i>The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra </i>('28), Vorkapich began creating elaborate montage sequences in the 30's and 40's for many Hollywood films like <i>Mr.Smith Goes To Washington</i> ('39) and <i>Meet John Doe</i> ('41), often having complete control over the sequences.<br />
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For <i>The Mask</i> the Vorkapich 3-D sequences featured hordes of frogs, mice and iguanas, in addition to tanks of black ink! Roffman was worried. It was going to cost a fortune and the budget couldn't stand it. The sequences were dropped, however the contract with Vorkapich was set in stone. Vorkapich had to receive credit for the hallucinogenic imagery in the 3-D sequences of the film. And he did. Roffman, confused, questioned Vorkapich. Why did he want to retain credit for work that wasn't his and could potentially come out poorly. Vorkapich replied "You are a driven man. I trust you."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxNI3aiHJBaz_RH_6FHc3M4RygZAxLQA72hU46lgMRU6Rz69XluI_AN2sjFkvGtpBIGeoIlhxlt0k40P1GyqsB_3OSEY4Mo0X4sYZhnBEYGFVEoPG2DFfGNTqRp9eytLHj3YXvalEyG6l/s1600/Maskonesheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxNI3aiHJBaz_RH_6FHc3M4RygZAxLQA72hU46lgMRU6Rz69XluI_AN2sjFkvGtpBIGeoIlhxlt0k40P1GyqsB_3OSEY4Mo0X4sYZhnBEYGFVEoPG2DFfGNTqRp9eytLHj3YXvalEyG6l/s400/Maskonesheet.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
At least some of Slavko Vorkapich's mark was left on the film, and that's the imagery in this poster of the film. The ghost like image of the woman featured is no where to be found in <i>The Mask</i>, but it is prevalent in this clip of Vorkapich's work from a film called <i>The Furies</i>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Furies</i> (1934)</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BHLMrbrAIiU" width="420"></iframe><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Life and Death of a 9413: a Hollywood Extra</i> (1937)</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gkSxZJwOe_c" width="420"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-60237252940953136012011-10-10T10:10:00.000-04:002011-10-10T10:25:59.689-04:00A THANKSGIVING DAY TURKEY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGY9vBcZyQFYx8xdjQbfMEVsit9etgSSE644TV7zwzqeimbFuv7vYWEUSUaIBkBXRp6IF9xpp-b9sWb0ofmheKNxMXu6qqLBVX55gL00BaUZCjhyphenhyphen8n01fmOBFBSw_bXhErRmSGRODsETE/s1600/MysticMagic007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGY9vBcZyQFYx8xdjQbfMEVsit9etgSSE644TV7zwzqeimbFuv7vYWEUSUaIBkBXRp6IF9xpp-b9sWb0ofmheKNxMXu6qqLBVX55gL00BaUZCjhyphenhyphen8n01fmOBFBSw_bXhErRmSGRODsETE/s200/MysticMagic007.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">“As a magician I too wear a mask. A mask of illusion or the ability to make illusions seem to be reality. But then what is reality, or super reality. What surprises await you in the 3rd Dimension…” </div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">Harry Blackwell Jr.</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;"><i>Mystic Magic</i> (1982)</div><br />
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Twelve years after the release of <i>The Mask</i>, Julian Roffman revisited both the film and the 3-D process. This time the production was called <i>Mystic Magic</i> and featured the magician Harry Blackwell Jr. and his wife Gay. <i>Mystic Magic</i> is little more the original film converted to a 3D Video Process (simply a red/blue anaglyphic conversion to videotape) that added a set of four interstitial segments; each devoting as much time instructing viewers on the set up their colour televisions for an optimal 3-D viewing as it did to the comic quips and magic of Blackwell. The mysterious hooded figures from <i>The Mask</i>’s dream sequences are present, as is much of the dry ice fog, but unfortunately these newly shot sequences lack the dream logic of the films original sequences and are pretty standard television “variety show” fare for the early eighties. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgQo2WGi6o6kXvxYVWcG1EoalmamMJsohBwMKnki9SQ3-cdXo4kkxsrvdfxRL9ezBEZGfw1Lfw6GR-9oZiqZuXoCwgYsspPuwbV_-D5kLjLNDLiO6_dOOYvY_t80FvtR75sagIMGQrQH/s1600/MysticMagic008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPgQo2WGi6o6kXvxYVWcG1EoalmamMJsohBwMKnki9SQ3-cdXo4kkxsrvdfxRL9ezBEZGfw1Lfw6GR-9oZiqZuXoCwgYsspPuwbV_-D5kLjLNDLiO6_dOOYvY_t80FvtR75sagIMGQrQH/s320/MysticMagic008.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 3-D setup test for audiences at home.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwXWwx4l3uwfdJc2_whgfCdRXFVpFQxTLrPiuM9IaYUAodKpOdsFdW2wqGEV5czmlSOjWG9dMhqlGnFniPHgmwcJZ2FiJiFZsn4P1xbwcBatz_U5IRitL-RiWA_Zok56aduHYKIjwTQz0/s1600/MysticMagic010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwXWwx4l3uwfdJc2_whgfCdRXFVpFQxTLrPiuM9IaYUAodKpOdsFdW2wqGEV5czmlSOjWG9dMhqlGnFniPHgmwcJZ2FiJiFZsn4P1xbwcBatz_U5IRitL-RiWA_Zok56aduHYKIjwTQz0/s320/MysticMagic010.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3-D Magic?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i>Mystic Magic</i>, an embarrassing example of Julian Roffman’s directorial abilities, was likely made more for the money than the love. With the directing assignment, Roffman also sold the rights for The Mask to a Los Angeles company 3D Video Corporation operated by Dan Symmes. 3D Video Corporation had developed a method of displaying 3D on television via a full colour anaglyph conversion. Most of the fondly remembered TV broadcasts of 3D in the 80’s had been done by 3D Video Corporation. Earlier 50’s 3-D films like <i>Gorilla at Large</i> and <i>Hondo</i> --seen in the fifties in full colour dual projection—received the anaglyph television treatment in the early eighties. The system worked, but just barely. To many variables came between the master tape and what the viewers saw at home, and the results were often poor. These television versions have contributed to the erroneous belief that retro 3-D films were screened with red and blue glasses and that the current standard of 3-D is an entirely new system of showing 3-D. (In fact, the only thing new is digital film-making the theory and practice for making 3-D images haven’t changed they‘ve just been adapted to this new technology.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78bABqirYYz8T0H9bpWHnTaKmTTQR88TjeLYWsuTbRvVGfdN52UK5WDmeGZQKIPWtYPn7932zpP8uIscB-4449yLFi9Oc4w_wU0BmOJY1ZstS5FTSnRYfR75HpK0KktY8EcbY7Ehhy4XN/s1600/MysticMagic015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78bABqirYYz8T0H9bpWHnTaKmTTQR88TjeLYWsuTbRvVGfdN52UK5WDmeGZQKIPWtYPn7932zpP8uIscB-4449yLFi9Oc4w_wU0BmOJY1ZstS5FTSnRYfR75HpK0KktY8EcbY7Ehhy4XN/s320/MysticMagic015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It is also highly likely that this conversion of <i>The Mask</i>, stripped of the <i>Mystic Magic</i> segments, is the source of all the video versions that have been available to this day.<br />
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But seeing is believing… so I present a sample.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8x2SV1iHNPk" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">3D Video Corporation quickly went bankrupt as the eighties wave of 3-D came to a close but the damage had been done. When film’s like <i>Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare</i> (1995) where released they chose to incorporate anaglyph 3-D. Now just to defend Dan Symmes (a very passionate 3-D professional and historian); while his company 3D Video Corporation’s television anaglyphs have hurt 3-D’s perception in the public’s mind, he has also done much to defend its reputation, including helping to create <a href="http://www.3dfilmpf.org/">The 3-D Film Preservation Fund</a> and presenting two 3-D World Expos (in 2005 and 2007) which screened just about every film made in the 50’s in glorious dual projection.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-88414643911408050232011-10-07T22:49:00.025-04:002011-10-08T18:04:54.789-04:00THE MAN BEHIND THE MASKOne of the most amazing things about researching for <i>depthsploitation</i> is discovering the filmmakers who are driven to make these 3-D exploitation films. Some of them become obsessed with the process and are forever changed by stereoscopic cinema (<i>Comin' at Ya!</i>'s producer and star Tony Anthony who has just premiered a re-imagined version of the film). While others merely utilize the 3-D effects to exploit the gimmick. However, <i>The Mask</i>'s director Julian Roffman falls somewhere in between these two extremes. His inaugural 3-D effort <i>The Mask</i> was in part forced upon him by his producing partner Nat Taylor, but it’s unlikely that he was dissatisfied with the final result. Years later while working for Ivan Tors in Miami (directing uncredited television episodes of <i>Flipper</i>) Roffman had written a script entitled, <i>Davey and the Man from Zar</i>, with plans to shoot it in 3-D. Tors had himself had produced the 1954 3-D film <i>GOG</i>. He'd later get a chance to return to the third dimension when 3D Video Corporation packaged the film with a newly shot wrap 3-D interstitial footage featuring the magic of Harry Blackstone Jr. in 1983 for television and home video. Though far from a return to form for Roffman he again took the director reins of this 3-D material.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcl7WoErREGSfq73aYbbwu0WIJOTMeErgCcZnCEuWzILwsEeLOAx1yQ4NqKug4ln1IOiaUg_m1-lTiPamypgZNKYCaPDnoUEqsg1JLwULl_t7Jy_HHRprvQcvO0H2rnCBFOqI8DSZ8H31N/s1600/J_Roffman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcl7WoErREGSfq73aYbbwu0WIJOTMeErgCcZnCEuWzILwsEeLOAx1yQ4NqKug4ln1IOiaUg_m1-lTiPamypgZNKYCaPDnoUEqsg1JLwULl_t7Jy_HHRprvQcvO0H2rnCBFOqI8DSZ8H31N/s320/J_Roffman.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>Julian Roffman is a Canadian film-maker that has never truly been given his due. In my many years both in the industry and as an armchair Canadian cinema historian Roffman never infiltrated my radar, that is until I got bitten by the 3-D bug. I won't be giving him his due here, there just isn't the space, but I would like to highlight some of the history of the man who is now best known by this quirky little 3-D / horror hybrid of a movie.<br />
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Although he was born and raised, for the better part of his youth, in Montreal, it was in New York that Julian Roffman first began his film career. Joining the Film and Photo League, Roffman began producing and directing while film was still a burgeoning art form. His first effort would be a theatrical documentary <i>Getting Your Money's Worth</i>, which exposed the over pricing of eggs and would become a series of films. That film series landed him a gig directing for <i>The March of Time</i>. By 1941 he was asked by John Grierson to return to Canada to join a new organization, <i>The National Film Board of Canada</i>. Once back in Canada, he joined the war effort directing a number of Canadian propaganda films. <br />
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Throughout the 50's Roffman directed for U.S. television. One of the programs was <i>Inner Sanctum</i> (a TV version of a highly popular radio series). But by 1958 Julian Roffman had his sights set on feature film and it was that year that TV's Columbo Peter Falk would get his start in the Roffman produced and directed juvenile delinquent film <i>The Bloody Brood</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17PhP6S10osRI97CoCl-4DM5y_0VzckiZfC1d6j3xXQw8bUUnGlyI-IJxZmFXjXARGWDi0unzk4G-v-JjDbSw6gi0xOnlFoyY2SEzbA27eh2V4wW5PyRFgE1BUVHXfllnHOawQv_i76mL/s1600/RoffmanDirectsBB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17PhP6S10osRI97CoCl-4DM5y_0VzckiZfC1d6j3xXQw8bUUnGlyI-IJxZmFXjXARGWDi0unzk4G-v-JjDbSw6gi0xOnlFoyY2SEzbA27eh2V4wW5PyRFgE1BUVHXfllnHOawQv_i76mL/s400/RoffmanDirectsBB.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roffman (centre) directs <i>The Bloody Brood</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I'll let Julian Roffman fill in you in on some achievements with the following letter;<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwswmvnJWZ31RBUXO4JsDZSxsuJiOO1MKxH5Q5Xv-S72UGeW_3hlQmsSfEjjGeTe6PIHIwWI5vqrQE-SG5RiUVoQ7HXTSF2BjPx4pfLEIc8QQTFhhdf0i1ANT2vdmQ_OV5FMeYXhyphenhyphenWg6Gq/s1600/RoffmanFirsts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwswmvnJWZ31RBUXO4JsDZSxsuJiOO1MKxH5Q5Xv-S72UGeW_3hlQmsSfEjjGeTe6PIHIwWI5vqrQE-SG5RiUVoQ7HXTSF2BjPx4pfLEIc8QQTFhhdf0i1ANT2vdmQ_OV5FMeYXhyphenhyphenWg6Gq/s640/RoffmanFirsts.jpg" width="596" /></a></div><i>The Mask</i> would be Roffman’s last feature as a director, but he would go on to produce a number of films and although he strived for art-house acceptance, many of these films continued to be in the exploitation genre.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-63866885408041224792011-10-06T09:30:00.005-04:002011-10-08T17:22:06.377-04:00VIEW THE MASKIf you can't wait to see the film here are the dream sequences, courtesy of Youtube.<br />
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Out of the context of the 2D narrative of the film these sequences will make little sense. Granted, due to their dream logic structure they make little narrative sense within the whole of the film. They are however very enticing.<br />
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You'll want to get out a pair of red and blue anaglyph glasses and put the red lens on your left eye.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xGTApr_SAts" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1W9BqenEfcQ" width="420">&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;A&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</iframe><br />
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And that's all I can find on Youtube, so you'll have to seek out a copy of the film for yourself if you want to see the last segment.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-68155188528645883782011-10-05T08:00:00.033-04:002011-10-07T21:39:07.973-04:00THE TWO WORLDS OF THE MASK<style type="text/css">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOo1-EBUS7Dnu4GoO4Fr2kQUfbQgZa33DEle9k0PYaOpxokIi3Y2XO7tMEE2HjHXyQLLY6DdkC1HIQ3adI_slL_4QM60LooSld_ILOoEy33phDy9y3wasSzXqknoROnCKikyb-7exAvjvw/s1600/Mask001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOo1-EBUS7Dnu4GoO4Fr2kQUfbQgZa33DEle9k0PYaOpxokIi3Y2XO7tMEE2HjHXyQLLY6DdkC1HIQ3adI_slL_4QM60LooSld_ILOoEy33phDy9y3wasSzXqknoROnCKikyb-7exAvjvw/s400/Mask001.jpg" width="327" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">As films discussed on this blog go, THE MASK is a perfect “depthsploitation film”; that is a blend of 3-D and exploitation. Not only did the film's producer Nat Taylor and its director Julian Roffman include 3-D elements in order to exploit them in the film's marketing, they incorporated both the 3-D and the limitations of distributing 3D in the early sixties perfectly into the story-line and the theatrical experience.<br />
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The previous decade had seen the rise and quick demise of a “golden age” of 3-D and by the 1960's the idea of making a 3-D film seemed like pure lunacy. Theatre owners had already begun to remove their dual projector systems and take down their silver screens. There was nowhere to distribute a 3-D film, and besides the public was done with them. Yet THE MASK opened to wide release through Warner Brothers in November of 1961 as a perfect 3-D gimmick film in an era that had turned its back on 3-D distribution. <br />
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THE MASK exploits its dimensional elements, by careful design and audience participation. It limits the use of 3-D, saving it for only 3 short sequences. The 3-D glasses are an integral part of the storyline, requiring the full participation of the audience. Dubbed the “mystic mask” audience members are required to don the viewers at the same time as the film's protagonist, Dr. Allan Barnes (Paul Stevens) puts on the ancient tribal mask further connecting them to him. Even the use of anaglyphic 3-D projection system adds to the experience of the film. Although the need to use a red and green anaglyph was by necessity since the 3-D of the 50's although superior was limited by 1961 --anaglyph projection requires no special equipment simply the 3-D glasses. The hallucinogenic imagery of the surreal 3-D sequences is only heightened by watching them through coloured lenses and we in the audience truly experience this nightmare through Dr. Barnes' eyes.<br />
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As a film, THE MASK is as schizophrenic as its protagonist, Dr. Allen Barnes. The feel and look of the B&W narrative scenes conflict with the dream structure and surreal imagery of the 3-D sequences, yet this only enhances the otherworldliness of Dr. Barnes' nightmare. While these two elements are about as different from each other as they can be, making it understandable that one could believe the film to be the work of two distinctly different directors, there is, in fact, only one driving creative force at work and that is director Julian Roffman. <br />
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However the idea to combine 3-D with a traditional horror narrative was not Roffman's. It can be credited to a pair of New York advertising men, Frank Taubes and Sandy Haber. They had brought the idea to Nat Taylor (a Canadian distributor turned producer) who had previous teamed with Roffman on THE BLOODY BROOD. And although Taubes and Harber received screen credit as writers on the film, their contribution to the film ended with that idea. The main narrative, Dr. Barne's experimentation with the mask, was written by Joe and Vicky Morhain, but the 3-D hallucinations were carefully imagined and crafted by Roffman. <br />
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The juxtaposition of the two worlds explored in THE MASK, one of the real and the other “beyond the subconscious” elevates the film from a minor shocker to something very special. It is the film's duality --of both its lead character and its visual aesthetic-- that gives it the power to transfix its audience fifty years after its initial run.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-38630929030008493372011-10-04T09:26:00.011-04:002011-10-04T14:57:19.283-04:00SELLING REFRIDGERATORS TO THE INUITToday, a rare glimpse of the theatrical trailer for the original release of THE MASK.<br />
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I'm calling this one rare because the last time I went looking on youtube I couldn't find it. I had seen it months ago courtesy of an online stock footage company and was trying to get their permission to post it for this month. Turns out I can just turn to youtube.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Eqw6d74XayM" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The most interesting thing about this trailer is the inclusion of Hollywood publicity man and hoax perpetrator, Jim Moran. He made his living publicizing events and films in the most outrageous fashions, including spending 10 days searching for a needle in a haystack, parading a bull through a New York City China Shop and, for General Electric, trying to sell a fridge to an Alaskan Eskimo. All the while he was front and centre as the man perpetrating these stunts.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSMwue2VQllWXibPRYE1x7wiQ3fsThvbrXiRDQZqzJFZYoC0q8eUP9-tiBUnr8vQOtnu5KbCtVRkNgcnlHH-Drz6XrbvIPWGcpn11TipuUNY9FWVXnHVBvD-SpaN13avBoW1mBX9aDtry/s1600/moran_hay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSMwue2VQllWXibPRYE1x7wiQ3fsThvbrXiRDQZqzJFZYoC0q8eUP9-tiBUnr8vQOtnu5KbCtVRkNgcnlHH-Drz6XrbvIPWGcpn11TipuUNY9FWVXnHVBvD-SpaN13avBoW1mBX9aDtry/s1600/moran_hay.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moran searches for a needle in a haystack.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the THE MASK, Moran, "a connoisseur of all things weird", professes to be a famed a mask collector now in possession of the ancient tribal mask seen in the film. I'd often read about his appearance in both the trailer and the prologue to the film, but until I saw the trailer I'd questioned whether this material was actually filmed. The trailer proves it. I've seen the script for his prologue to the film and can only assume it was shot on the same day as his trailer appearance. I'm hoping the Lightbox screening on the 26th will offer proof of his guest appearance in the film.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-72795757483190874142011-10-03T09:00:00.004-04:002011-10-11T23:14:44.671-04:00SEE THE MASKFor those who haven't seen the film, but want to, there are a few sources of the film.<br />
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Currently the film is available through the label Cheezy Flicks on DVD. Here's a trailer cut for the film by Cheezy Flicks.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nYXnuCJ-TJw" width="420">&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;I&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</iframe><br />
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There's some question as to the legitimacy of this release since Cheezy Flicks usually releases public domain films. The image quality is only slightly higher than previous VHS releases, and these all seem to share the same television print source video.<br />
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The first home video release came in 1989 from Rhino Video on VHS and Laserdisc and was later re-released with an Elvira opening (presented in 3-D). As I've mentioned above these releases all seem to share the same video master that was shown on television throughout the eighties.<br />
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If you want to see an actual theatrical print version of the film, you're in luck. On October the 26th, just a day shy of 50 years since its first public screening, the TIFF Bell Lightbox will be pulling out a rare and battered print from the its Film Reference Library Archives in Toronto and 8:30.<br />
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It will be presented as part of UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (and not in celebration of the film's birthday). This is a very rare screening intended to highlight on the film's cultural importance and its need for a restoration.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffbelllightbox/2011/4700000129">UNESCO World Day for Audiovisual Heritage</a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6c6aBdcyzCYGs8wPfOIUS-EDP6qZ7gCSjezh5YK4uQjd6b0qS-yOClpkLu9a4zfSbZp0Rlhi_kPDmpwaDG-Pj-cTSj6TY_ZSkjdYBc4jdpaf_JQOnq7ZYiooCz7Gv9V93G3s_o_k5WzEv/s1600/Mask002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6c6aBdcyzCYGs8wPfOIUS-EDP6qZ7gCSjezh5YK4uQjd6b0qS-yOClpkLu9a4zfSbZp0Rlhi_kPDmpwaDG-Pj-cTSj6TY_ZSkjdYBc4jdpaf_JQOnq7ZYiooCz7Gv9V93G3s_o_k5WzEv/s400/Mask002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7248313714502311307.post-36540514770613581512011-10-02T12:28:00.002-04:002011-10-02T13:00:30.382-04:00THE EYES OF HELL<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For those of you out there, uninitiated with <i>The Mask</i>, where better to start than with a trailer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This trailer was created for the re-release version of <i>The Mask</i>, under the title <i>The Eyes of Hell. </i>It was released by Warners first in 1967 then again in the 1971. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-oFzwWTr9UY" width="420"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0