A friend of mine who passed away a while back worked second unit on True Lies. He pulled focus on the shot of the Uzi tumbling down the stairs, and the close-up of Arnold when he delivers the line, "You're fired." Sadly, he did not get screen credit on this or Titanic, but he did for The Avengers and several other big films. His love of filmmaking was infectious. Tom Cherry, you are missed.
No the pacing is too slow. This video could have been treemed down to 12min and it would have been really great. But that sloow pacing just makes it boring and that's a shame, cause this the type of video that I could enjoy.
The way you portrayed the montage of all those films that used practical effects. It literally gave me goosebumps. Your love for films is visible in your editing. Thanks for this video. Keep on making these videos ❤❤❤🔥🔥🔥
Don’t usually comment but I just wanted to say that this video is absolutely perfect… I watched the entire 25 minutes without skipping anything; everything from the transitions to the sound design was incredible, it literally felt like watching a movie :)
there's so much love that I have for this guy to make me stare at my screen and keep watching the video for 25 mins straight with the curiosity that we all have for behind the scenes of the action filmmaking, the way he explained and the editing and the creativity in it. Nailed it. ;)
Cameron has always been in a league of his own. I remember an fx artist who worked on Titanic revealing one of the most important things he learned that Cameron does: never use the same trick twice. His action sequences are a blend of cutting edge to old school tricks such that your brain never gets a chance to catch on to how the illusion is being accomplished. Few filmmakers have his knowledge and dedication
James Cameron is simply a perfectionist! These are the little things that make movies like Titanic, Terminator, Abyss, Aliens, Avatar, etc. unique and eternal.
Can you tell that Jim got his start working in Corman's special effects and miniatures department, because it seems obvious after watching a lot of BTS footage on his films.
@@DJ-Daz The Abyss was the first time JC bit off more than he could chew and that nightmarish production really amplified his autocratic approach to direction at the time, especially when under so much pressure after countless technical problems, inflating budget, looming deadlines and some scary equipment failures (including Cameron himself who nearly drowned due to a faulty scuba mask). Even so, it's hard to argue with the results. Ed Harris and Mastrantonio gave some of their best, if not THE best performances of their careers and those scenes still play out in my mind whenever I think of those actors. Thankfully JC has mellowed a bit over the years, partly due to his experiences leading deep sea expeditions, but also after spending some time working with Ron Howard who he greatly admired for how he conducts himself as a director on set. He said he tries to "channel his inner Ron Howard" these days, and maybe that's true. When genuine goodhearted mensches like Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet and others keep returning to play in his sandbox, despite his demanding reputation in the past, it's likely a good sign. I never thought I'd ever see Kate Winslet in another JC film after the challenges of Titanic.
True Lies is one of my favourite movies of all time. And it aged extremely well. Thanks for this essay. An only slight... Point of sadness is that it would be really nice to see some footage of True Lies predecessors in the last part. They made some really breathtaking practical stunts even in silent era.
It was more about making a case for current day filmmaking and the fact that in camera action sequences are still very much a thing. But I couldn't agree with you more. I recently saw a clip from Buster Keaton where the front of a house falls on top of him only for him to remain completely unscathed because he was standing where the opening for window landed. Unreal.
Great video Paul. A buddy sent this to me today and I'd just like to say Stetson, Leslie, and everyone on the miniature effects team for this were, and likely still are, the absolute best the industry has ever seen. This was my first ever film credit, working at DD in my early 20s. I built the digital missile and animated most of this sequence but the miniatures were the real star as they were so indistinguishable from the full-size footage. I feel very fortunate to have started my career when miniatures were still very much a part of the business. At least through the "1.0" phase of Digital Domain the True Lies miniatures were always a feature pointed out on any tour at DD because they were just so amazingly crafted. And they still looked great even after all the abuse of filming, for years to come!
They’re the absolute dream team! And lucky you, what a way to snag your first film credit. You certainly had me convinced the missile was practical (even though that’s completely impractical when you think about it). I’d love to pick your brain on your experiences working at DD and beyond sometime if you’d be up for it?
This is hands down the best RU-vid video I have ever seen, hands down. The narrative, the editing, the information. Mad respect. This channel will blow up into millions of subscribers in no time. Massive respect
If Tony Zhou (Every Frame A Painting) can go from youtube essays to making Voir with David Fincher for Netflix, it's definitely not out of the question.
Man, what could I say more? Actually, you made a short movie and paid tribute to many real scenes that many of us thought were... CGI. Excellent montage, great voice over. Not to mention the choice of... fonts. You deserve an award for this clip! Keep up the exellent work.
He cherrypicked the best examples he could over a two decade period, including films like Fury Road that literally won Oscars for its use of practical effects. It's a little misleading in my opinion to show only the highlights when there's been a clear industrywide trend away from practical and towards CG.
@@Reid52the point he’s making is that the best films of the era post-90s that stick in our memories are the ones that still focus heavily on practical in-camera work. so yea. that’s why he cherry-picked. he wasn’t trying to say it’s all just as good now as it was back then. but also don’t forget there was plenty of total shit back then too. for every cameron there were at least 50 garbage directors.
When this came out, I was pretty familiar with the Seven Mile bridge, and I thought they had just blown up another chunk of the old bridge. Give Cameron props for his props.
as did I even though I have no familiarity with the bridge. Just because films have been given permission to explode old structures. That building implosion at the start of Lethal Weapon 3 is real. The structure was I think a city hall scheduled for controlled demolition and the film helped pay for it so that they could film it.
Magnificently produced! The passion and effort that went into the graphics, editing, narration, music, and every little detail all comes together to result in a fantastic video essay of the highest calibre. Your channel is the only one for which I'll willingly sit through each and every video and won't budge until the screen goes black. What did we do to deserve you, Paul!
Dude, the finishing montage of modern films made my skin tingle. This is such a fantastic video, and has made me absolutely need to re-watch True Lies... Love it!
I watched True Lies for the first time way back in 1995 with my parents (we rented it on VHS - remember when that was a thing?), and it blew my 7-year-old mind to smithereens. True Lies was the movie that made me want to become a filmmaker. I absolutely adore the film, and consequently, this video of yours, too.
To this day I remember sitting in the theater slack-jawed watching the harrier/bridge scene in True Lies: What a fantastic show; What fantastic skills. Really can't thank the skilled folks behind this work enough--you are inspirations! Keeping that tradition alive as much as is possible is very, very much appreciated too! Thanks for this Paul, loved it!
True Lies is a classic by all definition, but by todays standard of movie making makes it 10x better... Great breakdown by the way and what a great love letter to the 90s action scene👌👍
I know right ..🍷No words more to describe except what a homage and what a rush! Gotta love this guy what a talent every moment so meticulous and creatively magical.
What sorcery is this! How did a minimentary mash the feels button so hard? Can't watch this and not have a new found appreciation for the work that goes into cinema. *chef kiss* well done.
Ecstatic to see you're back! I've only watched the first few seconds and I'm instantly enthralled by your editing, as always. You're one of the most talented editors and storytellers I've come across on youtube, I can see the hours of work and passion that were put into every few seconds. You've been a huge inspiration. Keep up the exceptional vids!
Oh wow, your video so well made! The music, the editing, the titles, the framed shots with the rounded edges with the VHS stuff behind it, the whole style of it. Love it, thank you! Oh and it's very informative too. The opening is really well shot and lit too, reminds me of a Better Caul Saul opening sequence.
I know right ..🍷No words more to describe except what a homage and what a rush! Gotta love this guy what a talent every moment so meticulous and creatively magical.
Amazing video, Ty. I had the same “moment” when I turned on True Lies as a kid. It’s back when my parents still got HBO so it was unedited! My grandparents were watching me and asked “do your parents let you watch this kind of stuff?” I had my own True Lie cooked up for them and said yes, haha. I think I was 8.
Also shoutout to the underrated legend you missed here to mention like everyone does but he’s doing such practical effects and real stunts through out his life, Michael Bay 😉
Mad love and respect to all filmmakers making these in-camera action scenes! And thank you for reminding us that there is still hope for future action classics to come.
Wow! This was a great one for sure! The recap starting at 19:50 of practical effects in recent movies was pure epicness. Subbed instantly.
2 года назад
One of the most difficult things in miniature building involving water is to hide the proportion of the surface waves. And they sure pulled it out wonderfully in this scene
Telling the story of the story that has already been told using methods of editing, narration and sequencing itself is a art. Its like showing the how they built the machines that made the cars that made to the documentary, engineering the engineering.
Great video! Movies with in camera effects just hit different. Always loved the sequence from batman, where the batmobile is made into a miniature in that underpass scene or another one from Nolan in the movie Tenet, where the plane runs into the hangar. I am so glad the movie industry didn't completely abandoned the practical effects.
how does this video not have more views, this is so well made and so amazingly put together. you can see that so much time has been spent on the video, amazing work.
This needs to have more views, because it was a joy to watch! As a fan of True Lies (as any 80's/90's kid would be of big action flicks), it was a pleasure to go on a deep dive into practical effects and stunts with your style of story telling! Bravo!
Back after 7 months when I had said this video deserved a million views.. well it's got half a million! That's something!! Keep up the awesome work. Subscriber for life.
Perfectly produced and edited. Hats off. I too was thouroghly blown away by the stunts and spectacular shots of True Lies at the time - and still am. I showed the helicopter stunt to an editor friend about when it was in theatres and said "Look! Look! This stunt is REAL!" but he didn't quite believe me...
Fine job. That sequence in True Lies where Curtis is lifted out of the limo is one of my all time favorites. Perfect combination of camp, music, action hero, fun and in the end pure elation.
That's what makes the entire movie so great It's got an almost tongue in cheek seriousness in the action hero stuff (IE the mac 10 tumbling down the stairs) a sitcom style chemistry (and initial premise) that you can't convince me wasn't the inspiration for American Dad, plus the fact that the movie is seriously just James Cameron making action sequence after action sequence. I swear to god there's no way a 2000+ era producer would EVER accept the script with practical effects, hell it might get turned down because doing this in CG would still be too expensive.
that movie and the abyss has a special place in my heart. i am 34 now. i watched it with my dad the first time as i was roundabout 7 or 8 and we always watched both movies every year on that day until he died. that movie gives me a smile and joy no other movie does, still to this day. but with the instrumental you put in at 16:52 i cried for the first time. it simply fits perfectly! THANK YOU! great movie, great directing. a simply perfect action movie that still holds up. or as i think, one of those classic action flicks that get better with every year rip dad
Man!! I must say I watched a truly satisfying video on RU-vid after a long long time. Kudos to you guys for this well made video. I watched the video on RU-vid's TV app and liked subscribed to the channel from there itself.. came back to mobile just to pen down the appreciation that this video deserves. And also the appreciation the Magicians behind these great movies deserve. Thank God people like Christopher Nolan, Tom Cruise etc are still holding on to the actual essence of In-camera shots.. as you guys rightly said it does stay with the audience. VFX is fine when absolutely required or story demands but cinema should never loose the big screen magic
It amazes me how many individual fragments and how much dust and debris gets ejected from model explosions. This becomes so much more apparent in slow-mo.
I used to see that movie in DVD when I was a kid, I'm so glad to have found this video. Finally explaining how it was real and ingenious in an era now so distant from such action, it was impeccable story telling in this video! Keep at it Paul! Thank you for bringing back some 90s action movie charm to youtube
Amazing how i just subscribed and finished your earlier videos 1 hour ago to just find out you are back for more! Great job on the video. The miniature part of the video reminds me of thunderbirds. Really cool how you give an insight in shots that we take for granted.
Great video. Even after all these years, True Lies has still some of my favorite action scenes, not only because of awesome action filmed in great shots, but also because of terrific suspense, like rescue of Helen from the car on the bridge and Harry's daughter hanging from the Harrier.
Best video I've seen all year. By which I mean of any length, on any platform, period. I thought this might be a mildly interesting reminiscence on an old guilty-pleasure movie, but Paul, you have elevated reminiscence to reflection and art form. If this can be award eligible, we need to help make that happen
Dude omg this video in itself is a masterpiece, from storytelling to letting information speak on its own, to even including that this type of filmmaking isint dead yet, incredible video absolutely subbed
All those people who worked so hard with the best they got, risking it all even their lives just to give us the best entertainment... it's beautiful, it made me cry of happiness. Thank's for the great montage, your video is awesome
Mate that was bonkers. I can see how much editing went into this. And such great research; amazing job! 🚀 And those ending sequences gave me goosebumps!
So glad to have another video from you. I discovered your channel earlier this year, binged all your videos in like a day, and have been hoping you'd post again soon. Amazing video, your storytelling and editing is👌
Watched this so many times and keep coming back. One of my all time favourite YT videos. The montage at the end with Hannah Parrott’s brilliant piece to accompany it, is superb. 👏
Absolutely amazing video! Possibly one of the best out there! Small thing: You forgot the Song name for the Action sequente in chapter six. 19:49 "Tilt by Hannah Parrott" Other than that, flawless video! EDIT: Might I also add, I love your music choices! They are absolutly amazing and fitting for the selected scenes!
i am a avid movie watcher this explanation of practical effects is top notch ..all i can says practical effects still holds till to this day ..i like what James Cameron and Christopher Nolan films combining practical and VFX
It all starts with Cameron having a background in effects and knowing the value of people who are the best in their field. And on that foundation, he then hired people who all brought their A-game.
This slaps. Your ability to tell a story and edit a mad video is insane to me. Love this content, and don't mind if it takes another year for a video of such high quality!
love the video. I'm sure you already know about the kingsman church scene even though it's not single take just the way it's able to convince you it is really impressive. It's always amazing when modern film directors that use practical effects properly.
This is why 90s action/blockbuster movies are the best. Though some may not hold up today but the work that goes into the practical effects is unmatched with CGI - almost as if its art. We all know we're watching something computer generated however practical effects just seamlessly looks real and much more believable.
Thanks you for this video, man. It's always been one of my favourite scenes in any movie, and despite going to film school, I still had no real idea how they did everything. Awesome!
I know right ..🍷No words more to describe except what a homage and what a rush! Gotta love this guy what a talent every moment so meticulous and creatively magical.
First time seeing one of your videos, and I'm blown away by it. I wanted to specifically mention the track list. Thank you for including that! I was loving the music you chose for this video and wondering where you'd found it, and lo there is the list *with* time stamps! You're awesome.