Categories: film
Tags: Film, Sci Fi, Effects, Ray Harryhausen
Date: 18 January 2012 08:46:31
I'm disappointed with 2012.
Not this year, but the film of the same name.
In fact I'm disappointed with a lot of modern films. The problem is CGI, or rather what the film-makers do with them.
Take 2012. When the effects start the story takes a back seat
Or take the latest remake of King Kong. The scenes with dinosaurs running around on the island, or Kong in the streets of Manhattan are fun. But you end up remembering the films for their effects and not the story.
Which is not a criticism I could make of the films of Ray Harryhausen.
Harryhausen was a stop motion film maker, responsible for the effects in films like Jason and the Argonauts and One Million Years B.C. as well as many Science Fiction B movies. It may look corny and quaint in these days of CGI and 3D IMAX films. But it was cutting edge stuff for its time, the models interreacted with the actors in a way that had not been done before. In fact if there had been no Harryhausen there would have been no Star Wars, and without Star Wars dragging Sci Fi out of the B movies and into the mainstream the current trend for films with effects may never have taken off.
But more importantly, in Harryhausen's films the effects played second fiddle to the story. The effects were there to enhance the film, to help to tell the story, not to detract from it.
Which is what is lacking in modern effect films. Yes they are blockbusters, they make millions at the box office. But I can't stop myself from wondering if they have gained an audience but lost their soul.