Lauren Weinstein on Nostr: One of the most quintessential sequences of any film at any time is the laser torture ...
One of the most quintessential sequences of any film at any time is the laser torture scene in "Goldfinger" (1964) -- which is also the quintessential spy/Bond film.
It of course brought us the uber-classic dialogue "Do you expect me to talk?" // "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE."
Sidenote: The actor who played Goldfinger, Gert Fröbe, had an accent that was deemed too strong, and his entire dialogue was looped in later by a different actor.
But I digress.
At the time, a laser of such power was not practical, and the laser effect was added in post optically. But what of the flame effect as the laser slowly pushed inexorably up actor Sean Connery's crotch?
That was real. He really was tied down to that table, and the flame was genuine and according to Sean, the sequence was plenty scary to shoot.
A slot had already been cut in the table, then filled with solder of a matching color. The flame was provided by a crew member with a blowtorch under the table. Yeah, serious stuff.
Connery wasn't the only actor in a tight spot like that before the age of CGI.
In Roger Corman's classic "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1961) with Vincent Price and John Kerr, the swinging blade sequence was very real.
Kerr was tied down with originally a rubber blade swinging above him. The sequence was shot overcranked so that when played at normal speed the blade seemed heavier and slower.
But the rubber blade wasn't convincing and kept jamming. So Corman came up with the obvious solution -- use a real heavy steel blade!
This necessitated protecting Kerr's torso with a steel band during the sequence. But even with that, Kerr reported later that it was terrifying to shoot, and that all the sweat you see on his forehead was very real indeed.
It of course brought us the uber-classic dialogue "Do you expect me to talk?" // "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE."
Sidenote: The actor who played Goldfinger, Gert Fröbe, had an accent that was deemed too strong, and his entire dialogue was looped in later by a different actor.
But I digress.
At the time, a laser of such power was not practical, and the laser effect was added in post optically. But what of the flame effect as the laser slowly pushed inexorably up actor Sean Connery's crotch?
That was real. He really was tied down to that table, and the flame was genuine and according to Sean, the sequence was plenty scary to shoot.
A slot had already been cut in the table, then filled with solder of a matching color. The flame was provided by a crew member with a blowtorch under the table. Yeah, serious stuff.
Connery wasn't the only actor in a tight spot like that before the age of CGI.
In Roger Corman's classic "The Pit and the Pendulum" (1961) with Vincent Price and John Kerr, the swinging blade sequence was very real.
Kerr was tied down with originally a rubber blade swinging above him. The sequence was shot overcranked so that when played at normal speed the blade seemed heavier and slower.
But the rubber blade wasn't convincing and kept jamming. So Corman came up with the obvious solution -- use a real heavy steel blade!
This necessitated protecting Kerr's torso with a steel band during the sequence. But even with that, Kerr reported later that it was terrifying to shoot, and that all the sweat you see on his forehead was very real indeed.