tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post8467655951724933360..comments2024-03-27T23:06:28.849+13:00Comments on Matte Shot - a tribute to Golden Era special fx: THE LOST MATTES OF RUSSELL LAWSONNZPetehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-51185326742533365752022-02-03T04:49:44.242+13:002022-02-03T04:49:44.242+13:00Thank you so much for providing such a great conte...Thank you so much for providing such a great contentMd Jamal Mollahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652401588502515438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-15607466929597178452022-01-15T19:33:38.589+13:002022-01-15T19:33:38.589+13:00Hi Matthew
So glad you stumbled across the blog, ...Hi Matthew<br /><br />So glad you stumbled across the blog, and that you found something worthwhile from it.<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-3137648488690150222022-01-15T01:43:22.654+13:002022-01-15T01:43:22.654+13:00Hi Pete, thanks so much for putting these posts to...Hi Pete, thanks so much for putting these posts together. They are an extremely helpful resource and very interesting. I've just come in via searching for John Bryan's work on the David Lean films and found a great post by you. I could barely believe my luck when I checked to see your other posts and saw you are still active. Thanks again, this article is wonderful and I'll be checking out the others. Matthew Lyonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12609701989950372866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-47759274170392081462022-01-02T00:32:36.014+13:002022-01-02T00:32:36.014+13:00I've been all over the world (and glad I did i...I've been all over the world (and glad I did it when I did given the shitstorm this ball has found itself in of late!), and as far as the US goes have visited LA (several times) and numerous other cities, though always strictly 'urban' visits.<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-70254524583420361772022-01-01T08:59:06.975+13:002022-01-01T08:59:06.975+13:00Ah, Pete, with all your love for American films, i...Ah, Pete, with all your love for American films, it sounds like you've never set foot in L.A. & environs?? You won't likely want to emigrate any time soon, but for a movie lover, it's a neat place to visit. <br /><br />Now we're not talking the same kind of desert (no saguaro cacti, instead a smattering of joshua trees), but my buddy lives a drive away from the desert location that opens 1954's THEM! Scroll down a little ways to see his posting, "THEM location found": https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/monsterkidclassichorrorforum/them-1954-t24661-s880.html<br /><br />Happy New Year!vayapueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11882189263304599494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-66076795738381240202021-12-23T18:29:12.900+13:002021-12-23T18:29:12.900+13:00Having never set foot in an actual desert (or dess...Having never set foot in an actual desert (or dessert, for that matter!), I'd never have noticed. It's good to know eagle-eyed readers are out there among the sagebrush and scorpions.<br /><br />All the best<br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-80343944866326551582021-12-23T06:33:11.029+13:002021-12-23T06:33:11.029+13:00Thank you, Pete. Great, educational, & darned ...Thank you, Pete. Great, educational, & darned fun reading as always.<br /><br />Noticed an odd detail in that superb composite (town + desert BG) from the unidentified Western shown about midway scroll-down. To start, look at the pristine BG plate: the camera is closer than one realizes, & the saguaro cacti are in fact human sized (see the bushes scattered around them to get a sense of the actual scale). The composite, however, scales up the BG considerably so that the cacti appear to tower well above all the houses & structures in the foreground. This was surely a deliberate exaggeration -- ain't that Hollywood? -- to lend the landscape a "big" (epic) look; those pesky bushes are tactfully obscured or distant.<br /><br />Knowing this makes me dub the shot "Amazing Colossal Saguaro." Good old Russ & co. must've known that, in reality, there are saguaro cacti that are truly as enormous as they'd made them appear to be here. It makes me wonder what similar kinds of fudging may be evident in other composites from the golden age. vayapueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11882189263304599494noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-40915566223848800332021-12-21T13:33:13.174+13:002021-12-21T13:33:13.174+13:00What a Christmas treat to see this fine and large ...What a Christmas treat to see this fine and large new article! I'm so glad I stopped in! So many of the blogs I check in on regularly are asleep for the holidays right now, but here you are, working hard as usual! What a resource you are. I am gobsmacked as always, and will have to come back and absorb all of this again to digest it properly. Cheers.Drew Dobbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02899374644536935875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-63616750195437428012021-12-12T15:32:51.365+13:002021-12-12T15:32:51.365+13:00Hi Gerard
So glad you and a small-ish club of lik...Hi Gerard<br /><br />So glad you and a small-ish club of likeminded folks get something out of these blogs. I do try to cover the artform as best I can.<br /><br />**An apology is needed here: Although I do review and check the article(s) a few times prior to publishing, and figure all is 'okay', it constantly astounds me when having a later look-see a week later at how many damned typo's, spelling errors and grammar mishaps have slipped through! :(<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-8410844367604854242021-12-12T13:23:47.044+13:002021-12-12T13:23:47.044+13:00Once again Pete an amazing, thorough and thought p...Once again Pete an amazing, thorough and thought provoking offering. Your attention to this field is outstanding. A genuine contribution to the History of cinema which is too heavily populated by work focusing on directors and stars, as if they worked alone. Really, really valuable. Thank you.Gerardhttps://pixelplasia.weebly.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-31794539466078932372021-12-07T15:17:08.825+13:002021-12-07T15:17:08.825+13:00Marlon... I hate to spill the beans mate, but Whit...Marlon... I hate to spill the beans mate, but Whitlock DID paint your mountains, or so I read on some 'conspiracy rabbit hole' website(!!) :(<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-2720931687917262682021-12-07T15:15:07.935+13:002021-12-07T15:15:07.935+13:00Thanks Domingo...
I had almost expected you to id...Thanks Domingo...<br /><br />I had almost expected you to identify a dozen more as well!<br /><br />All the best my friend,<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-90218414964543302482021-12-07T12:03:59.652+13:002021-12-07T12:03:59.652+13:00What a wonderful surprise! Many thanks for these R... What a wonderful surprise! Many thanks for these Russell Lawson matte paintings. <br /> I have only been bale to identify one of the many unknowns. The matte with the man on the building's ledge is from Bedtime for Bonzo (1950) directed by Frederick de Cordova <br />You can see the film at Youtube. That matte shot at minute 2.51. The heroic man risking his life to save a chimpanzee is none other than Ronald Reagan. <br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXjrEgWTHA<br />Best regards.<br />Domingo Lizcanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02009075401302693692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-10154026490671802021-12-07T07:06:38.700+13:002021-12-07T07:06:38.700+13:00True, it's cold. However, the mountains all lo...True, it's cold. However, the mountains all look like they were painted by Whitlock. As long as the multi-plane cloud effects aren't moving too fast, it's not altogether horrible!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04208964156672110771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-38420694238742491702021-12-06T17:09:59.037+13:002021-12-06T17:09:59.037+13:00Marlon
I looked at the international weather in t...Marlon<br /><br />I looked at the international weather in the paper and said to myself, "My mate in Canada is in dire need of something to lift his flagging spirits", so a new blog was implemented.<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-36943509396845699572021-12-06T16:03:08.507+13:002021-12-06T16:03:08.507+13:00A NZ Pete update is always a delightful surprise o...A NZ Pete update is always a delightful surprise on a blustery Sunday like today. Great mattes as always. Cheers from Canada. <br /><br />M.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04208964156672110771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-90756279583329865082021-12-06T14:00:51.708+13:002021-12-06T14:00:51.708+13:00Hi Tom
A book would be great, I agree, but I simp...Hi Tom<br /><br />A book would be great, I agree, but I simply couldn't deal with the costs involved, stress, editorial oversight or interference... Just couldn't cope my friend.<br />I've had enough feedback from folks I know who have published 'real' books on the topic, and the journey wasn't as smooth as They'd have liked.<br /><br />On miniatures... well I agree. I do include them when I feel the need, and have done a couple of specialty miniatures only blog posts of considerable length in the past, as well as smaller one off pieces on old flicks that are strictly model affairs (and who wouldn't want to have an affair with a model, I ask you?) ;)<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-90019690299936547712021-12-06T13:55:40.697+13:002021-12-06T13:55:40.697+13:00Thanks for that tip. I'll take another look a...Thanks for that tip. I'll take another look at that film. It's been many years since I saw it.<br /><br />PeteNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-34869846266933076912021-12-06T12:05:15.136+13:002021-12-06T12:05:15.136+13:00I think you may find that the shot that ultimately...I think you may find that the shot that ultimately becomes the Glen Island Casino (you labeled it the 'Green Island Casino') is from "The Glenn Miller Story." This is a real location that used to be not all that far from where I live.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02438997460452129093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-87182341357777046912021-12-06T06:39:56.787+13:002021-12-06T06:39:56.787+13:00Oh and one more thing Pete, may I suggest somethin...Oh and one more thing Pete, may I suggest something? What if you adapted this blog into a book?...Just a thought...Tommy Lucahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04561524524115009066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-52416146284892272892021-12-06T06:37:48.044+13:002021-12-06T06:37:48.044+13:00👏 I can't Thank you enough for the work you d...👏 I can't Thank you enough for the work you do for Cinema posterity especially Matte Painting. But I can't help but wonder what it would be like if you added Miniatures to the blog since Mattes and Miniatures went hand in hand throughout Cinema History especially from the 1930s-1990s. Not criticizing your already wonderful work of journalism, but it sure would be an greatness to see the men and the models they built that helped to make movie magic just as great as Matte Artistry has. Oh, and, Merry Christmas!Tommy Lucahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04561524524115009066noreply@blogger.com