Reply With QuoteGo take a look at the June issue of GQ. Nothing on Mad Max, but they've got a good article on a current non-CG stunt coordinator in Hollywood and the movies he's worked/working on (Spiderman 2, Adaptation, Bourne Ultimatum, etc.).
neurobashing
After seeing the new Die Hard trailer again, I had the urge to watch an old-school action film, so I checked out the original Mad Max for the first time in....well, far too long.
Holy crap I forgot how awesome it is. The opening chase sets the stage for both the stunts and how badass Max is.
It's low-budget and arguably hasn't aged that well (Mel Gibson was 21 when it was made - he's come a long way), but the stunts really pop off the screen. The editing is incredible as well, and did a lot to advance the quick-cut technique that MTV made staple (unfortunately).
The vehicular mayhem that takes place on-camera is pretty amazing - they fit a freakin Navy rocket on the back of a car at one point, creating a sequence that could never be repeated. One bike stuntman travelled 80 feet through the air during a stunt, and another actually got hit with the front tire of a bike while on the ground (looks far worse in slow-mo than it actually was, apparently).
The film also included some taboo material in terms of threats & violence towards children - the kind of stuff you'd never see nowadays.
The latex mask/eyes-popping stuff is hilarious.
One of the documentaries described Mad Max as a huge influence on action filmmaking, and it's not hard to see why. A critic described it as a western but with cars instead of horses. The crew cut a lot of corners and pulled off a lot of tricks to get the film to work, but watching it, you'd never realize it.
Anyways, just wanted to post this, in case anyone was in the same boat as me, having forgotten about the joys of pre-CG stuntwork - I suppose you could call it analog action?
My memory told me that The Road Warrior was far superior, but after watching this, the gap isn't as big as I'd thought. It's got a nice remastered special edition DVD (including the original Aussie audio track for the first time in the US - the original release was dubbed) that can be had pretty cheap, too. It's almost thirty years old, but it's still a good time.
Satoshi Kon: 1963-2010
Electronic cigarette.
Go take a look at the June issue of GQ. Nothing on Mad Max, but they've got a good article on a current non-CG stunt coordinator in Hollywood and the movies he's worked/working on (Spiderman 2, Adaptation, Bourne Ultimatum, etc.).
Can you dig it?
It's amazing how CG has ruined action movies. All the shit that happens in the Live Free Or Die Hard trailer has zero, and I mean ZERO effect on me. Like the part where the one car is flipping through the air towards Bruce Willis and his young boy lover and they are saved at the last second only because they duck between two other cars which manage to deflect the flying one? Who cares? It's a cartoon.
I'd settle for less over-the-top stunts in movies if I knew they were being done by real stunt people, on-location, with real cars/trains/whatever, and not by some kid named Elmo on his PC.
Like, remember in Octopussy where Bond's fighting a guy on the outside of an actual airborne plane? Or the famous corkscrew car jump in The Man With The Golden Gun? I mean, that shit still blows my mind to this day. I'll take that over all the CG in the world any day.
Don't get me wrong, CG action scenes certainly have their place- they work in comic book movies like Spider-Man and the like just fine. I mean, that's one of the cases where doing everything live-action would look retarded. But for more "realistic" crap like Die Hard? Stupid.
Dolemite, the Bad-Ass King of all Pimps and Hustlers
Gymkata: I mean look at da lil playah woblin his way into our hearts in the sig awwwwwww
I could be wrong, but I believe that stunt was in Live and Let Die.Originally Posted by Dolemite
Pitfall Harry
I do miss real stunt work but recently we did get the end of Death Proof in Grindhouse which was simple and awesome stunt work and the cameras just watching it.
You should have acted
No that stunt was in Golden Gun
Can you dig it?
Yup, it was Golden Gun. I know my Bond movies.
Dolemite, the Bad-Ass King of all Pimps and Hustlers
Gymkata: I mean look at da lil playah woblin his way into our hearts in the sig awwwwwww
You should have acted
"he cums right before the killlllll...."
Can you dig it?
That theme song is horrible, but I totally love it. It's just sooo funky!
Dolemite, the Bad-Ass King of all Pimps and Hustlers
Gymkata: I mean look at da lil playah woblin his way into our hearts in the sig awwwwwww
The Darkest Soul
I am guilty for never actually seeing the original MM.Only saw part 2 and Beyond Thunderdome. Part 2 was great while Thunderdome sucked huge amounts of cock.
So, this definately goes to my list to get and check out.
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