I've puzzled over this for decades. Has a description of the set up ever been published? Apparently he stood or sat with his neck and head enclosed in a tank which was quickly filled with real water, and they VERY quickly filmed. That seems quite extraordinary.
Thanks!
Yes, apparently his head was in a water filled tank that could be drained almost instantly with a powerful vacuum but before it was filled, the procedure played out sort of like this....an oxygen hose would be inserted in his mouth, tank was filled with water, cameras rolled, hose was removed from mouth, scene was filmed for about 15 seconds, tank was drained immediately.
I heard someone stood by with a baseball bat as well in case of an emergency. If something went wrong with the vacuum they could just smash the glass with the bat. I read about this in Tom Savini's book Grande Illusions.
Thank you! Thank you VERY much.
As I said, I've pondered that shot for decades, ever since the film debuted. I've always thought it very peculiar that I never saw others speculating about it.
You description sounds correct. Thank you again.
Wow, that's most intriguing! I, too, always wondered how this was done. What a great effect, nowadays it was just be done with boring CGI.
Horror_Metal
Nope. Check out the water trap in Saw V and how it was done. From the IMDB trivia page:
"Understandably Scott Patterson was a little apprehensive about sticking his head in a sealed box that would fill with water. The trap was tested beforehand and didn't go terribly well, which only added to his concern. Ultimately, the actor stepped up and did the scene himself without resorting to a stuntman. The trick to the stunt is that the walls of the box were slid open by stagehands, draining the trap as soon as Patterson signaled with his hands. Several takes were required however to capture the scene as Patterson found himself uncomfortable at various points during the shooting of this scene."
Respect for them not resorting to CGI, because otherwise you'd be correct.
Stuart -- not sure if you're aware of this, but a documentary on the making of Creepshow called Just Desserts is being released in July. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of behind the scenes stuff.
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=18981
I was not aware of that, no! I'm very glad to know it. Thank you so much for telling me. The film is so beautifully stylized and so full of inventive practical effects and opticals that there should be a great deal for this documentary to cover. I really look forward to it!
Thanks again!
👌
Thanks for sharing--that is pretty cool. :)
"Why couldn't the monkey arrange this from INSIDE the garbage can?"
YW! Here's the first review I've seen, from DVDBeaver.com -- has all the specs, screengrabs, etc...looks sweet
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_72/just_desserts_making_of_creepshow_blu-ray.htm
Thanks again, I'm definitely going to get this. :)
"Why couldn't the monkey arrange this from INSIDE the garbage can?"