Movie making magic then and now

In the classic “I coulda been a contender” scene in 1954’s ON THE WATERFRONT, Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger are talking in the back seat of a cab. The cab seems to be moving because of the traffic sounds and lights moving across the actors’ bodies and faces – but of course it’s not. The scene was shot in a studio, a detail none-too-subtly obscured by closed window blinds on the vehicle’s rear window. Watch the scene, not merely to see how hard it is to believe today that the cab is really moving, but to marvel at how easy it is not to care because of the power of the acting.

And here’s a short video on the state of today’s special effects.
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AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997) As good as romantic comedies get

AS GOOD AS IT GETS treats us to direction, writing and acting as good as it all gets. Starring Jack Nicholson as an obsessive-compulsive, misanthropic, homophomic bigot (and that’s being kind) who gets involved in the lives of a single mother (Helen Hunt) and gay neighbor (Greg Kinnear), each of whom winds up growing as a result of knowing and helping the others. At its heart, this an old-fashioned feel-good romantic comedy, though it takes a while to see the romance part. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and winner for Best Actor and Best Actress, it’s ranked number 140 on Empire’s “The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time” and even higher on my personal list of favorite films.

THE NAKED PREY (1966) Safari, not so good

If you’re squeamish about animal hunting – especially if the animal is a man – THE NAKED PREY may not be the prey-fect movie for you. But if you can make it through several pretty graphic scenes to the end, you’ll be rewarded by an entertaining lesson on how to survive in the wild and what “will to live” really means. A group on safari runs into a reclusive African tribe who seems friendly enough. But when aan arrogant member of the party refuses to gift the chieftain, the men are seized and killed, one by one, each in a different, creative and horrifying way. (Hint: you may never want to think about meat turning slowly on a rotisserie again.) One man (Cornell Wilde, who also directed), the safari guide who had tried to talk the others into giving the gifts, is spared from death but stripped of clothes and weapons, set free to run, and then pursued like an animal by a party of relentless tribal warriors. Trust me, it’s a jungle out there.