Best Bond "Making Of" featurette that shows Bond is not real... (1 Viewer)

[Dan Lindley]

Hello,

I would like to know which Bond "special feature/making of" has the best footage which shows stunt people standing in for stars, which shows all the planning for stunts, which shows that people who are shot, etc, are just done by special effects, etc. etc.

The point is to help show kids the difference between film unreality and real reality. Since I own the Bonds, I would like to show my kids how movies just make things up, and how not to believe everything they see (hard to do, in some ways with Barney, Sesame St, etc, esp when radio/TV is not exactly filled with that all the time. I want to both accept and confront the hard stuff).

In any case, which Bonds have "making ofs" that show not just puff pieces, but really help explain special effects?

Perhaps any mention of any DVD's special effects expo that explains similar things would be much appreciated.

Bottom line: which DVDs have extras that might help kids understand that the violence in films is just made up?

Thanks, Dan

 

[Paul D G]

Really, there are so many to chose from so maybe I'm not fully understanding... Perhaps you want to stay focused on something your kids would be allowed to see so maybe many don't fall into your criteria.

I would think any movie with featurettes on stunt work and special effects would do it. For instance, The Matix pops immediately to mind showing the actors training for their scenes, and jumping around with harnesses in front of green screens, etc.

Stay away from the Jackie Chan flicks.

-paul

 

[David Lambert]

Yeah, I was kinda wondering along the lines that Paul mentioned. Any reason it has to be James Bond? There are a few featurettes on those discs that MIGHT be along the lines of what you're looking for, but I've always thought that those were designed to NOT blow the illusion or give away too much.

The supplements I've heard for the June release of Die Another Day might be exactly what you want; they dig more into the behind-the-scenes aspects than any others I've ever seen before.

As for the existing ones, IIRC the one for Live And Let Die had some things like you describe. Perhaps The World Is Not Enough did as well.

But I second Paul's choice of The Matrix. It has a LOT of stuff that shows how "fake" it all is.

There's a 50-minute disc I have called "The Art of Illusion: 100 Years of Hollwood Special Effects". I picked it up a year ago at FYE for $10 after seeing it there all the time. It's an enjoyable romp through how films' FX are made, including how fake different things are like explosions (like the big one at the start of Demolition Man; you won't come away from that thinking a building really fell!), gunshots, fistfights, aliens, etc. The shot from The Abyss of the "water tendril" (with the face on it) graces the cover of the box. Alas, the disc was made by no-longer-in-business Simitar, so it is OOP. But if you happen to run across it in your local FYE, snag it. It's perfect for what you want. A great little feature, made in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institute (or so it claims).

 

[Greg S]

Thanks for the info that David. There are several used ones on Amazon.com. I managed to find a sealed copy for $15 from someone so I got that. I love watching these types of things.

Greg

 

[Dan Lindley]

Hi, I'll take a look at the Matrix, and take a look for the disc David mentioned.

Why Bond? B/c my kids aren't really old enough for heavy duty action flicks, but I do show clips (chases, etc) from Bond sometimes. So I was focused on showing how even those clips are made up. It doesn't have to be a making of from a Bond film, but that is why I thought along those lines. And I watched the TWINE making of, and it was more puffy than technical, so I headed over to HTF...

And here we are. Thanks to everyone!

Dan

 

[Malcolm Cleugh]

The best making of feature on a Bond DVD I have seen is unfortuantely a UK R2 exclusive. This is the Bond Down River feature on The World is Not Enough. It is a 25 min piece on how they filmed the pre credit sequence of the boat chase down the River Thames. It has loads on how they did all the preparations they did and the stunts including the bits Pierce Brosnan actually did himself.
Another drawback is it has very poor picture quality with visible compression problem as it is squeezed onto only one DVD9 along with the features from the R1 disk plus another puff piece called the Bond Cocktail which was a made for TV promo piece with loads of clips from all the old Bond films.

 

[Reagan]

Dan,

Unfortunately, I don't thing any of the Bond documentaries have what you are looking for. They really aren't heavy into the effects and many of the Bond stunts are "for real" (for example the free falls at the beginning of Moonraker).

Here are two that may help you:

Diamonds are Forever - the scene where Bond scales the side of the hotel. There is a nice bit about the model of the city of Las Vegas in the background - i.e., he was really only five feet off the ground. This may be in the Peter Lamont doc on Octopussy - I can't remember.

Live and Let Die - the five takes of the alligator jump. But because this was for real (except that the alligators were anchored into place), maybe not the best bet.

Sorry couldn't be more helpful,
Reagan

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

There's a great featurette on The Man Who Would Be King showing Sean Connery performing his own stunt, and how the stunt was set up. You may have this film in your collection already.

 

[David Lambert]

Fluffy Pumpkin - official kitty of the HTF?

Fine by me!


Greg S: Glad to help you, after the help you've been to me lately. Yes, this feature was better than I thought it would be. Had me riveted! Gosh, I love movie magic.

Here's the cover, courtesy of Amazon:

 

[Jim-M]

I think one on the For Your Eyes Only disc about the cliff rapelling scene might be the kind of thing you are looking for. It talks to the guy who actually did the climbing and how they used shots from far away to hide the fact it wasn't Roger Moore. If it's not on that disc, it would be on one of the ones that has a stunt featurette. I think there are at least 2 stunt featurettes in the series.

 

[Charles de Lauzirika]

Dan, if you'll allow me to plug two upcoming discs I produced...

If you can wait until June 3rd, the "Die Another Day" Special Edition should be just what the doctor ordered.

And on the same day, there's the "Black Hawk Down" Deluxe Edition -- which is not appropriate for younger children on the whole, but you might want to check out the "Essence of Combat" documentary and select portions of that for your kids to see how fake the on-screen violence is, especially the segment titled "Digital Warriors."

Hope that helps!

 

[Mark Kalzer]

I remember on that documentary on the Tomorrow Never Dies DVD (Don't remember the name of the documentary, but it was 45 minutes long I believe) had a whole segment about the motorcycle jump. It clearly shows that the set was not part of the actual city it took place in, and that James Bond was being played by a completely different person with a dummy for Wai Lin.

 

[Jason Adams]

I dont mean to be mean, but most of you guys selections are quite off. The documentary that specifically shows what Dan is looking for is "Double-O-Stuntmen", and is on The Man With The Golden Gun DVD. Yes, it is one of the 7 that are available at the moment.

 

[Dan Lindley]

David, you e-twisted my arm (esp w/the cover graphic) and I just ordered the disk...

I'll be looking at most of the other suggestions too, except the R2 disk which sounds great.

Charlie, DAD will be mine; I have BHD 1.0, but I'll look into justifying the SE...

Thanks to you all,

Dan

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Hey, Dave L., Fluffy Pumpkin is taking over:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...76#post1403176