burnt sienna
Mar. 17th, 2007 11:01 amSo I got a question.
The 70's are widely regarded as the greatest decade for cinema. And for good reason. A generation of unprecedented talent were given unprecedented amounts of money and creative control, and if the 70's wasn't the greatest decade for movies, there's no denying that some of the greatest films and filmmakers all time emerged during that era. And yet, this knowledge only heightens an issue that's been nagging at me for some time:
Why did all the blood look like melted crayons?
Look at some of the greatest films from that era. THE GODFATHER. TAXI DRIVER. AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD. DAWN OF THE DEAD. When people get shot or stabbed or cut, they bleed out this opaque bright red/orange fluid that we have to remind ourselves is supposed to be blood. What the hell is the deal? Could people in the 70's not afford red food coloring and corn syrup? And ok, red food coloring is nasty stuff, sure, but come freakin' ON, people! You can't have a serious, powerful scene when someone is hemorrhaging Crayola!
Seriously, what is the deal? That simply can not have been the height of special FX blood technology, can it? Did they think it really looked realistic? Did they think it even looked good?
(as an aside, I think the reason I specifically have melted crayons in my head as a visual is due to a segment in either Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers that I saw when I was little, a video of a tour through a crayon factory. I found the vats of brightly colored molten goo entrancing and slightly disturbing. Weird what stays with you, eh?)
The 70's are widely regarded as the greatest decade for cinema. And for good reason. A generation of unprecedented talent were given unprecedented amounts of money and creative control, and if the 70's wasn't the greatest decade for movies, there's no denying that some of the greatest films and filmmakers all time emerged during that era. And yet, this knowledge only heightens an issue that's been nagging at me for some time:
Why did all the blood look like melted crayons?
Look at some of the greatest films from that era. THE GODFATHER. TAXI DRIVER. AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD. DAWN OF THE DEAD. When people get shot or stabbed or cut, they bleed out this opaque bright red/orange fluid that we have to remind ourselves is supposed to be blood. What the hell is the deal? Could people in the 70's not afford red food coloring and corn syrup? And ok, red food coloring is nasty stuff, sure, but come freakin' ON, people! You can't have a serious, powerful scene when someone is hemorrhaging Crayola!
Seriously, what is the deal? That simply can not have been the height of special FX blood technology, can it? Did they think it really looked realistic? Did they think it even looked good?
(as an aside, I think the reason I specifically have melted crayons in my head as a visual is due to a segment in either Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers that I saw when I was little, a video of a tour through a crayon factory. I found the vats of brightly colored molten goo entrancing and slightly disturbing. Weird what stays with you, eh?)