This is one of the classic seventies B movies I always remember fondly, in large part due to the really excellent model ship scenes set in a miniature arctic environment which has the right mix of fantasy and reality which admirably suits the story. Some model aircraft sequences also feature here with similar success. These marvelous sequences were supervised by Ian Wingrove.
The model ship was built by the English firm Master Models who are still a going concern;
http://www.mastermodels.co.uk/
The miniature action is generally very good with excellent pyrotechnics. Some close up shots of the aircraft suffer from a lack of depth of focus. The arctic environment miniature that surrounds the ship model is particularly well realised complete with floating ice, background mountains, a layered mist that hangs in the and good scale waves on the surface of the water.
There are however a few elements throughout the low budget movie which do not quite come up to snuff, such as the mostly stiff dinosaur puppets and some of the worst matte paintings I think I have ever seen in a movie.
Thursday, 15 December 2016
Saturday, 27 August 2016
So Proudly We Hail 1943
Some impressive miniature work by the great Gordon Jennings in this film made during and concerning nurses in the second World War. Of particular note is the night time sequence of the island evacuation using small boats while under fire, all in miniature both outright shots and as process rear projected backgrounds to the live action actors.
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