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Author Topic: REAL Technicolor - 10 Commandments rules, African Queen sucks Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-04-2010 09:54 PM                        The only bad thing I remember about "Commandments" on the big screen was, in the scenes where Moses is building the new city, the green screen edge effects are pretty noticeable. For example, when the master builder waves the signal flags in the air, watch the flag. It's pretty obvious on the DVD too on a large screen, actually.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2010 11:21 AM                     Mike, In those days they hadn't even thought of Green Screen... Disney had the Sodium Light process working in the early 60's though but I am not sure it was usable on color cinematography or not... remember most of those early 60's Disney films were black and white. In the days when 10 Commandments was filmes "traveling mattes" or "glass shots" were the norm for effects work. Hitchcock used many "glass shots in his films. Most notable are some of the views of the UN building in North By Northwest. Mark  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-05-2010 05:27 PM                        True, I didn't think about that movie pre-dating the green screen. Well, whatever they used, in those city building scenes it's pretty noticeable!  |  IP: Logged Joe Tommassello Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 547 From: Coatesville, PA, USA Registered: Jan 2008 posted 07-06-2010 11:02 AM                  quote: Claude S. Ayakawa I wonder how much better it will be on Blu-Ray Claude - Since next year is the 55th Anniversary of it's release - and Hollywood seems to seize upon such facts for their marketing purposes - I expect it won't be too long before we'll get to see just how good "The Ten Commandments" looks on blu-ray! So let it be written...  |  IP: Logged Christian Appelt Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 505 From: Frankfurt, Germany Registered: Dec 2001 posted 07-06-2010 02:17 PM                     TEN COMMANDMENTS used the original blue screen process. The problem was that blurred edges of objects in motion could not have any transparence. If you look at single frames, it usually looks like a photo cut out with scissors. Years later, they invented something called the colour difference travelling matte process that did allow for transparent rendering of water, smoke and semi-transparent textiles. All processes are explained in Raymond Fielding's THE TECHNICQUE OF SPECIAL EFFECTS (Focal Press). TC has a lot of terrible blue screen shots, they were not given enough time to do it over and over until it was as good as possible. When Heston pulls aside a curtain to reveal the city he is building for his father, the matte line is really annoying. Shiny rounded objects like Yul Brynner's helmet were a serious problem. They did reflect the blue backing so more of the foreground figure was cut away than necessary. You can see the effect when Brynner stops his chariot close to the parted sea. However, I never found these things distracting because TC has its own strange comic book look, with crazy colors and strange lighting. I never felt it was meant to look realistic. Actually, it's quite amazing what they did in a non-standard format (VistaVision) with countless matte and counter-matte films, fighting the problems of registration and matte bleeding because the acetate stock changed measurements during processing. Most rear projection is excellent in TC, look at the shot with the women watching Moses parting the sea. If you want to know more, check out CINEMAGIC #31 + #32, they had an excellent in-depth article about visual effects for TC with many photos I never saw anywhere else. Cinemagic #31/32  |  IP: Logged Richard P. May Expert Film Handler Posts: 243 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 07-07-2010 09:50 AM                     This discussion about TEN COMMANDMENTS is interesting, and to my knowledge, correct. TC was photographed in VistaVision, which is single strip Eastman Color. If you want to see some really messy matte work, look at an actual 3-strip Technicolor show, such as QUO VADIS.  |  IP: Logged Christian Appelt Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 505 From: Frankfurt, Germany Registered: Dec 2001 posted 07-09-2010 11:07 AM                     That's right, QUO VADIS has some really bad blue screen shots, especially in the "chariot race" sequence. BluRayReviews.ch has a screen shot in their reviews. QUO VADIS BR review In AFRICAN QUEEN, the scene where they have go through the rapids always puts me out of the picture for a minute or so. Really annoying fringing. Even back projection like in RIVER OF NO RETURN would have looked more convincing.  |  IP: Logged

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