Текст книги "Monsters in the Movies "

Автор книги: Джон Лэндис

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Belle (Josette Day) soothes the savage Beast (Jean Marais) in Jean Cocteau’s classic fairy tale adaptation La Belle et la Bête.

MYTHS, LEGENDS, & FAIRY TALES

The world’s myths, legends, and fairy tales have provided the movies with a plethora of monsters. Walt Disney introduced many of us to folk and fairy tales in his beautifully animated movies. In fact, the first ever feature-length, animated film is Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs[1937].

As captivating as Snow White is, it is the jealous and wicked Queen we all remember. The elegant and sensual Queen who turns herself into an Old Crone to give Snow White the poisoned apple was unforgettably voiced by an uncredited Lucille La Verne. Disney’s films were often genuinely scary, as in Sleeping Beauty[1959], when actress Eleanor Audley gave voice to the evil fairy Maleficent’s splendid line: “Now you must deal with me and all the powers of Hell!” as she magically transforms into a gigantic fire-breathing dragon to do battle with the dashing Prince.

The delightful Disney version of Carlo Collodi’s classic book The Adventures of Pinocchio[1881], released as Pinocchio[1940], was also not without its dark side. The sequence when Pinocchio and his friend Lampwick’s bad behavior causes them to “make asses of themselves” and they turn into donkeys, is as startling and sinister as any transformation scene in a werewolf movie.

The traditional French fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast” has been made into a number of movies. The best one is Jean Cocteau’s magical La Belle et la Bête[1946]. The Beast, played by Jean Marais, is so glorious, that at the “happy ending,” his metamorphosis into the handsome human prince is a bit of a let-down. The Disney Beauty and the Beast[1991] is a full-on operetta, with witty songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and outstanding voice work by Paige O’Hara as Beauty and Robby Benson as the Beast.

The Irish fairies known as leprechauns have starring roles in movies in which they are good, like the charming Darby O’Gill and the Little People[Robert Stevenson, 1959] and movies where they are evil, like the series of films that started with Leprechaun[Mark Jones, 1993]. Warwick Davis has played the malicious little magical bastard in six Leprechaun films so far, with no end in sight! Davis has also written an entertaining autobiography called Size Matters Not[Arum Press, 2010], in which he talks about his little person roles in countless fantasy films, including Willow, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and more.

Elves and dwarfs feature in all of The Lord of the Ringstrilogy of films [Peter Jackson, 2001, 2002, 2003]. Based on the books by J. R. R. Tolkien, the trilogy contains thousands of fantasy beings including giants, trolls, fairies, wizards, ambulatory talking trees, demons, goblins, and an army of Orcs. Through a powerful motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis, the emotionally tortured creature Gollumstands out from the rest of the extraordinary array of mythical characters on display.

The one-eyed giants called Cyclops show up occasionally in films based on both Greco-Roman and Arabian Nights mythology. My favorites are the incredible Cyclops that live on the Island of Colossa in Ray Harryhausen’s first feature film shot in color, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad[Nathan H. Juran, 1958]. I saw this movie at the age of eight and it changed my life in the same way that the original King Kong[Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933] changed Harryhausen’s (see my conversation with Ray on pages 148-9). I was enchanted, not only by the impressive Cyclops, but also by the fabulous dragon, and especially the skeleton brought to life by the wicked magician Sokurah (played in a wonderfully hammy turn by Torin Thatcher). Towards the beginning of the film, Sokurah turns the Princess’ handmaiden into a dancing Snake Woman, Ray’s favorite monster from this particular voyage of Sinbad’s.

Harryhausen took Sinbad on two more voyages, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad[Gordon Hessler, 1973] and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger[Sam Wanamaker, 1977], both movies adding even more mythological monsters to the Harryhausen menagerie, including ghouls, a one-eyed centaur, a griffin, and a multi-armed statue of Kali that comes to life to sword-fight Sinbad and his crew.

The poet Homer gave us the Cyclops in the Odyssey, and Ulysses[Mario Camerini, 1955] starring Kirk Douglas in the title role, is a good retelling of the hero’s epic voyage to his homeland of Ithaca following the fall of Troy. An Italian wrestler named Oscar Andriani plays the Cyclops, who is tricked by wily Ulysses into getting drunk so that once more we can watch a poor Cyclops have something sharp jammed into his only eye. Also based on Greek mythology is Jason and the Argonauts[Don Chaffey, 1963], which allowed Harryhausen to create more of his remarkable creatures to illustrate the story of Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece. On Jason’s adventure, we meet the colossal bronze statue Talos, brought to life by the hubris of Hercules, the flying Harpies sent to torment the blind Phineas for misusing his gift of prophecy, the many-headed Hydra who guards the Golden Fleece, and the “Children of the Hydra’s teeth”—screaming skeleton warriors. The Gods themselves watch Jason’s adventures from Mount Olympus and occasionally intercede on his behalf (as Hera does by sending the sea god Triton to hold back the Clashing Rocks, enabling Jason’s ship Argoto pass through unharmed).

Harryhausen’s final foray into Greek myth was the story of Perseus, told in Clash of the Titans[Desmond Davis, 1981]. Here, Pegasus the flying horse, giant scorpions, the snake-haired Medusa, and the Kraken compete for our attention. The movie was remade in 2010 [Louis Leterrier] with CG effects and mediocre 3D. But at least we got to hear once more those delicious words: “Release the Kraken!”

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Jason and the Argonauts  [Don Chaffey, 1963]

Talos, the gigantic Man of Bronze that comes to life when Hercules takes a javelin-sized pin from the treasure he guards. Ray Harryhausen’s animation is extraordinary as Talos somehow moves as a Man of Bronze would move. Here, Talos, like the ancient Colossus of Rhodes, waits to grab Jason’s ship, Argo.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Jason (Todd Armstrong) fighting the Hydra, the seven-headed dragon that guards the Golden Fleece. Another scene lit up by Harryhausen’s breathtaking stop-motion animation.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Legend  [Ridley Scott, 1985]

Princess Lily (Mia Sara) reaches out to a unicorn in Scott’s beautiful-looking fairy tale.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Cinderella  [Georges Méliès, 1899]

An early Méliès “trick film.”

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

A Midsummer Night’s Dream  [Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle, 1935]

Anita Louise as Titania, Queen of the Fairies and James Cagney as Bottom the Weaver, who has been given the head of a jackass by Puck (Mickey Rooney), in this lavish, Warner Brothers production of the play by William Shakespeare.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Peter Pan  [Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1953]

The fairy Tinker Bell in the Disney version of J. M. Barrie’s play, here with Captain Hook. Hook was splendidly voiced by Hans Conried.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Hook  [Steven Spielberg, 1991]

Julia Roberts as the fairy Tinker Bell in this misguided sequel to Peter Pan. However, Dustin Hoffman made a fine Captain Hook.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Peter Pan  [P. J. Hogan, 2003]

Ludivine Sagnier as Tinker Bell (here just called Tink) in this straightforward adaptation of Barrie’s story. With Jason Isaacs as an excellent Captain Hook.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

The Thief of Bagdad  [Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, 1940]

The magnificent Rex Ingram as the Djinn (genie), finally free of his bottle prison, grants Abu (Sabu) three wishes in Alexander Korda’s Technicolor production. With the great Conrad Veidt as Jaffar, the evil Grand Vizier.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

La Belle et la Bête  [Jean Cocteau, 1946]

Cocteau’s magical film combines Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s story with La Chatte Blancheby Catherine d’Aulnoy, published in 1697! Surreal and gorgeous, Cocteau’s movie is truly romantic in the best sense of the word. Josette Day is Belle and Jean Marais is the fabulous Beast.

“Where is Belle? Where is Belle?”

The Beast (Jean Marais), searching for Belle in his magic mirror, La Belle et la Bête

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Beauty and the Beast  [Gary Trousdale, 1991]

Disney’s delightful musical, with witty songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Robby Benson and Paige O’Hara gave the Beast and Beauty their voices. Based on Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s story, first published in 1757.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Darby O’Gill and the Little People  [Robert Stevenson, 1959]

Jimmy O’Dea as King Brian of the Leprechauns stands on a sleeping Sean Connery as Michael McBride in this delightful Disney movie based on the Darby O’Gillbooks by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. The great Albert Sharpe played Darby O’Gill. Using the Schufftan Process (forced perspective creating the illusion of size differential) the movie has amazing scenes of Darby among the “little people.”

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  [Alfonso Cuaron, 2004]

Harry Potter encounters a griffin, one of the many fantastic creatures that populate the Harry Potter movies.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

The Lord of the Rings  [Peter Jackson, 2001-2003]

Peter Jackson’s Tolkien trilogy is jam-packed with fantastic beasts of all sizes and shapes.

Gollum, a brilliant motion-capture performance from Andy Serkis as the pathetic creature consumed with desire for the Ring

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

The fearsome Cave Troll in the Mines of Moria

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

One of the Orcs, the evil soldiers of the wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee)

“We wants it! We needs it! Must have the precious!”

Gollum (Andy Serkis), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad  [Nathan H. Juran, 1958]

One of the awe-inspiring Cyclops that live on the Island of Colossa in the first of Harryhausen’s Sinbadtrilogy. When roasting one of Sinbad’s crew on a spit, he licks his lips in anticipation of his meal! One of the screen’s greatest fantasy creations.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad  [Gordon Hessler, 1973]

The second in Harryhausen’s Sinbad trilogy. Here, a living stone statue of Kali, the Hindu Goddess of death, sword fights Sinbad (John Phillip Law, in the white turban) and his crew.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Clash of the Titans  [Desmond Davis, 1981]

Ray Harryhausen’s Medusa, Ray Bradbury’s favorite Harryhausen creature. In a tense, torch-lit sequence, Perseus (Harry Hamlin) stalks Medusa, hoping to use her severed head to turn the Kraken to stone.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

Clash of the Titans  [Louis Leterrier, 2010]

The remake, based on Harryhausen’s design for his Medusa. This film suffered from being made 3D in an imperfect post-production process.

IN CONVERSATION

Ray Harryhausen

“The whole point of any fantasy film is to stretch the imagination.”

Ray Harryhausen, the author, and the skeleton from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad[1958], used again in Jason and the Argonauts[1963]; London, 2010.

Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales[ Book Contents]

JL: Ray, I know you don’t like the term “monster.”

RH: I don’t like the term “monster,” because that’s not what we do. All our creatures are misunderstood creatures, because they usually come from another world.

JL: So what does the word “monster” mean to you?

RH: I associate the word “monster” with some sort of insane creature that growls and is physically distorted. I don’t like to use the word. It has to do with things like Frankenstein and Dracula and horrible people who do horrible things.

JL: Well, some of your creatures do horrible things.

RH: They don’t do horrible things. They’re just out of their element!

JL: Hmm.

RH: (Laughs.)

JL: Doesn’t Medusa do horrible things?

RH: Well, that’s her nature! She’s a snake woman! (Laughs.)

JL: All right, let me think about it…

RH: She was cursed by Hera (queen of the Greek gods).

JL: What about the Cyclops?

RH: I don’t know about the Cyclops…

JL: The Cyclops in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad[Nathan H. Juran, 1958]. The Cyclops tries to eat people!

RH: (Laughs) But that’s his nature! He’s not a monster!

Ray animating the dragon from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad[1958] on a miniature set.

JL: Are there creatures in other people’s movies that you are particularly fond of?

RH: Not that I’m fondof…

JL: I know what you’re fond of: King Kong!

RH: Oh yes, but he was neither man, nor beast, as they said in the script. He was a throwback of some sort. Most gorillas have straight eyebrows, so I slanted Mighty Joe Young’s eyebrows so that he would look a little different than a normal gorilla.

JL: I had a problem with Peter Jackson’s King Kong[2005]. Peter just made him a big gorilla, not at all a mythical beast, just a very big gorilla. Do you like fantasy films in general?

RH: Oh, I love them. They stretch the imagination.

JL: What are some of your favorites… that you didn’t make?

RH: (Laughs) Well I thought Jurassic Park[Steven Spielberg, 1993] was fascinating.

JL: And you wouldn’t call them monsters, just dinosaurs.

RH: Dinosaurs are not monsters; they’re just a product of their time!

JL: It’s just that when they’re out of their time, they are forced to behave badly.

RH: They behave badly because they don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t normally live in this world.

JL: That’s a good answer. What about something like in One Million Years B.C.[Don Chaffey, 1966], where you have dinosaurs living with humans?

RH: Well, we don’t make these pictures for paleontologists. If you just have a bunch of dinosaurs running around barking at each other, there’s no drama. You have to include humans!

JL: What about the movie Creation? The Willis O’Brien project that was never realized. Wasn’t that just dinosaurs?

RH: Well, I think they had more than dinosaurs. They had people in it, too.

JL: What was the Irwin Allen movie you worked on?

RH: That was The Animal World[1956].

JL: That had drama in it, and no people.

RH: Well, it was a brief sequence. (The BBC-TV series) Walking With Dinosaursdoesn’t have any people in it. It’s more realistic, but they tried to make dinosaurs that would be acceptable for paleontologists, and we’re making movies just to entertain! You can’t entertain with a dinosaur just chewing on another dinosaur!

JL: Do you think you’re more interested in fantastic beings, or in beings that have a basis in reality?

RH: I think the whole point of any fantasy film is to stretch the imagination, because when one lives in a dream world like me, it’s always “what if this could happen?”

JL: Do you think that creatures can be manifestations of people’s fantasies or fears?

RH: Sometimes, but Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydewas more about the dual personalities that we all have.

JL: What about Dr. Moreau, with his genetic experiments? Would you call him a monster?

RH: Dr. Moreau was an early one in genetic experiments and now they are coming to pass. Lord knows what they will create—I don’t know!

JL: I know King Kong[Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933] is the movie that inspired you.

RH: Oh it did. It was an inspiration because it was so different than any other movie.

JL: Do you remember when you saw it?

RH: I was 13. A few marbles have lost their way… maybe they rolled under the davenport...

JL: No, seriously, I know you know. Tell me when you saw it.

RH: I saw it back in 1933, when it first came out. At Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. In Los Angeles, where I grew up.

JL: Was there a live show before the movie?

RH: There was a stage show. Sid Grauman was a great showman at that time. Sid had this great prolog with live actors, and then Kong came on.

JL: Kong himself came on?!

RH: No John. The movie! Although they did have a big bust in the lobby. The prolog got you in the mood to accept the fantasy, which was, at the time, very extreme.

JL: Really? There had been The Lost World[Harry O. Hoyt, 1925], the silent picture, and that had been a tremendous hit.

RH: There was, but most people didn’t remember it. And Max Steiner’s great music made King Kongmuch more impressive than The Lost World, which probably had only a piano accompaniment.

JL: How important is music to movies?

RH: I think music is very important to fantasy films, particularly movies that don’t rely on very profound dialog. Our fantasies are mostly action pictures, and music enhances them. It makes everything bigger than life, which is the function of good film music.

JL: When you were planning scenes, did you think of the music? When you worked with Bernard Herrmann, did you talk about the score beforehand?

RH: No, no, no, no. You have to leave it to somebody like Bernard Herrmann. Different people write different kinds of music. Herrmann specialized in rousing action music while a composer like Miklos Rozsa wrote romantic music.

JL: You’ve done movies based on books by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Who is your favorite fantasy author?

RH: I couldn’t choose a favorite. I like Wells; he was very profound. I liked his book, The Island of Dr. Moreau. Did you ever see the picture that Charles Laughton starred in?

JL: Yes, Island of Lost Souls[Erle C. Kenton, 1932] is great. That movie had wonderful make-up.

RH: Oh, very good make-up. I don’t know who did the score, but it wasn’t a complete score.

JL: I don’t remember the music. I just remember the monsters! Béla Lugosi was one of them, “The Sayer of the Law!” Do you have a particular favorite of your creatures?

RH: I can’t have, because the others get jealous (laughs). I like the complicated ones. They’re much more interesting to animate. Like the Hydra in Jason and the Argonauts[Don Chaffey, 1963], and Medusa in Clash of the Titans[Desmond Davis, 1981]. The sword fight with the Seven Skeletons in Jason and the Argonautsas well.

JL: How long did the Seven Skeletons sword fight take you to animate?

RH: It took about four and a half months to put it together. I was the only animator on it. I had to time all the swords, so that when an actor brought his sword down and stopped, a skeleton’s blade would be there to meet it.

JL: What are some of the fantasy films, other than King Kongand Island of Lost Souls, that had a big impact on you?

RH: Jurassic Park[Steven Spielberg, 1993] was very impressive. Phil Tippett and Dennis Muren did wonderful work on that. And I liked Close Encounters of the Third Kind, too [Steven Spielberg, 1977]. There’s a space monster I particularly love in Forbidden Planet[Fred M. Wilcox, 1956]. A great movie!

JL: I love the creature in that: “The Monster from the Id.”

RH: Yeah. It was a fascinating concept and very well done.

JL: You’ve already said it, but I would like you to tell me again. You never call your creatures monsters because…?

RH: Well monsters, I think, in most people’s minds, are these bad men who go around scaring everybody.

JL: Doing bad things.

RH: Doing insane things! (Laughs.)

JL: Whereas, a creature…

RH: A creature, like the one in 20 Million Miles to Earth[Nathan H. Juran, 1957] comes from a different planet, and he is not aggressive until somebody is aggressive to him—the farmer jabs him with a pitchfork! That, of course, upsets his ego. (Laughs.)

JL: What do you think of actors who are famous for their fantasy roles, like Boris Karloff, or Christopher Lee?

RH: Well, Boris Karloff was perfect for Frankenstein. And he’s still the most profound Frankenstein’s Monster, I think. He wasn’t just frightening.

JL: But in your films, there are moments where you want people to be frightened.

RH: Well, yes. But that’s the way you stage a film. As a director, you have to think about how you’re going to stage it so you get the most effective appearance, visually.

JL: You know, I was thinking about it, and in your films, even more than a sense of fear, you often impart with a sense of wonder.

RH: Well, we try to do that. I hope that the strangeness of the subject matter also helps create a feeling of wonder.