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Monsterpal |
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It's a spectacle.
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Tom Powers |
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Holy cow, that musical version was appalling. Yet funny.
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Dr Spyclops |
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Just ran across this rare test footage from JACK on YouTube.�
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Aupperle |
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couple of photos of old JACK puppets
"Exactly - you said 'often', frequently, only once."
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BijouBob8mm |
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Great photos and test clip. I think Danforth has said he preferred the original sea monster design to the one used in the final film.
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Whatsallthis |
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There's also a link on that JACK THE GIANT KILLER test footage to Pete Peterson's "Las Vegas Monster" demo reel- cool stuff there and the
monster's basic structure is not too different from that of Cormoran from JTGK.
"How can I handcuff a bloomin' shirt??!?"
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BijouBob8mm |
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Peterson's footage for the Las Vegas Monster and the Beetlemen project are among the bonus features on THE BLACK SCORPION DVD. It's too bad that the
DVD of JACK THE GIANT KILLER is so lacking in extras. That test clip, photos, a commentary from Danforth or others...so much more that could have been done
for the release.
Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm
06/18/09 8:27 AM.
Edited 1 times.
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HalLane |
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Great shots -- thanx, Jim!
So who's that talking over the Jack YouTube footage? |
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BijouBob8mm |
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Is it Jim Danforth?
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Bill Warren |
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Yes.
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Tom Powers |
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The original Sea Monster sure seems like a better design to me.
I wonder who decided to give a number of the monsters big cartoon-y eyes? |
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HalLane |
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Thankee, gents.
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BijouBob8mm |
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Jim Danforth and stop-motion fans will probably want to drop by this thread, as well: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/24294
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Jethro Keane |
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Something I always wondered about the stop motion work in JACK THE GIANT KILLER was who worked on what scene. I've seen shots of David Pal and Phil
Kellison animating the Cormoran model, I also saw a photo in an old Famous monsters of Jim Danforth holding the Cormoran model. The quality of
animation for that model wildly varies- the shot of him fighting off the soldiers within the castle walls is top-notch, but there's a closeup shot of the
small clown Cormoran figure emerging from its box as well as one of the giant Cormoran stepping over a battered brick wall that is really poor (looks like one
move for every 3 frames instead of one) So I wondered if anyone knew what animator worked on what scenes? I know Danforth did the Galligantua/Sea Monster
battle (again smooth, fine animation) but who animated the flying gargoyle?
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SparkieGojira |
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BijouBob8mm wrote: I like it better too! If I had ever known, I'd completely forgot that Marcel Delgado built the JACK puppets. Was he under a lot of time constraints? I love them and they have oodles of charm, but they always struck me as pretty darn goofy an anatomically unsound. It's not at all what I would expect from Delgado. It's been ages since I've seen it, but the DINOSAURUS! puppets aren't anywhere near as goofy, are they?
www.itcamefromplanetx.com
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opticalguy |
A Few Random Tid-bits | ||
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When I first saw the trailer for Jack the Giant Killer and a few
clips (it was a hard film to see back when) I asked Jim Danforth a very rude question (why were the puppets so good in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and so bad
in Jack the Giant Killer was the
gist of my question) about the puppets at a convention. This was also before I got to know Jim. In retrospect it's notable that Jim really took the high
road in his reply. He said it was a matter of taste and the producers preferred the look of the Jack the Giant Killer puppets to
the Harryhausen puppets. Also Jim didn't tell me to get stuffed … Jim can be very diplomatic. Later I learned that all the crew despised the
look of the puppets and Jim had submitted drawings and sculptures of vastly superior versions
but had been dismissed. Also in the clips that were posted here notice that in the Cormeran sequences there is an unbelievably varied number of set-ups
compared to Ray's much more efficient filming of the Cyclops sequences in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. I believe
the cost of Jack the Giant Killer was
literally twice that of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad due to such
extravagance.
Jack the Giant Killer would, with little alteration of the script, be a great candidate for a remake.
opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill)
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TomWeaver999 |
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Set aside the quality of the puppets and JACK is just about as good as 7TH, story-wise and acting-wise and a lot of other -wises, IMHO. I'd have to hear
'em back-to-back to be sure, but I might even prefer JACK's musical score to 7TH's, which I bet I'm about to find out is heresy!
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Aupperle |
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I've always liked the film very much and today even the puppets don't bother me. It all has a charm that I enjoy revisiting.
best wishes, Jim Aupperle
"Exactly - you said 'often', frequently, only once."
Last Edited By: Aupperle
06/24/09 8:43 AM.
Edited 10 times.
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SAM33 |
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I read the MODERN MONSTERS article as a kid, drooling over the few images, reading over and over again the details given about the production, but as was
mentioned above I never got to see this until I was an adult.
Sorry, but by then it was too late for me. Much as I like Danforth's work in other places (and I've met him briefly twice as well as having a best friend who worked with him; he is indeed a very good and talented fellow), I think the animation as well as the puppets in JACK is very sub-standard. Haryhausen's animation just has more personality to it than anyone else's, even Danforth's. Now I know some probably don't like the slight "cartooniness" that he puts into characters, but I think they need that bit of larger than life pathos and hammyness to put them across. Danforth's work in WHEN DINOSAURS is top notch, but for me somehow lacks a spark that GWANGI has. Harryhausen was a unique artist with a style all his own, and I love it. And the animation in many of JACK's scenes is just plain sloppy, awkward poses and poor follow through and sense of gravity. It was made by a committee and is a deliberate imitation, not a singular personal vision. So JACK can't begin to compare to 7th for me - and yes, I'd think preferring JACK's score to 7th's would be a very minority opinion. I can watch 7th VOYAGE almost endlessly, but find Jack hard to get through (I think the shipboard fight with the demons or whatever is the best scene). Still, I have the DVD - as an animation geek I love it all to some degree. SAM33
Last Edited By: SAM33
06/23/09 7:23 AM.
Edited 1 times.
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opticalguy |
Yes … But | ||
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Well Tom … I wouldn't go so far as to say your preference for the score of Jack the Giant
Killer to that of The Seventh Voyage of
Sinbad is heresy. It comes under the "tastes vary" rule. I
do agree that Jack the Giant Killer is a really fun flick. It also must've been buried since
I hadn't even heard of the darned film until I saw a couple of stills in Famous Monsters of Filmland.
One of my treasures was a VHS tape made from a 16mm print I borrowed from a collector and a roommate illegally did a telecine from it. That was back in 1981
when only the musical version was being shown on cable. Jim and Karen Danforth invited me to their place - I suspect
it was because I had a good copy of the original film - and there I saw the musical version for the first and only time.
The best line (from Roger Dicken) just after the number "we tried and we failed master" … "I am glad old Torin (Thatcher) died before seeing this." Worst musical number was (there were so many to choose from … the previously referred to number was a finalist) "you can do it Jack … you can do it!" (boom- boom) which was used during the fight with the Wyvern/winged dragon. There is a certain "ballsy-ness" to the creature scenes which really helps a lot. The sequence in which Comoran grows to his full size and carries the princess Elaine off is really nightmarish. The Wyvern fight is a great sequence. And Jack's fight with Comoran actually seems pretty plausible and surprisingly bloody for a film of its vintage. The only thing I won't forgive with regards to the film is that the film eluded me on its initial release. God I would've loved it a lot back then.
opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill)
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