Movie Magic (1994– )

Documentary series dealing with every aspect of special effects in movies, from low-budget make-up to multi-million-dollar computer-generated graphics. The clear presentation includes ... See full summary »

Creators:

Gary R. Benz, Stephen Rocha, Lise Romanoff

Stars:

James Cameron, Richard Edlund, Rick Baker

Cast

Series cast summary:
James Cameron	...	Himself (9 episodes, 1994-1997)
Richard Edlund	...	Himself (4 episodes, 1994-1996)

Storyline

Documentary series dealing with every aspect of special effects in movies, from low-budget make-up to multi-million-dollar computer-generated graphics. The clear presentation includes descriptions of the creation and technical problems of the effects, and interviews with effects technicians, directors, stars and other crew. Each episode deals with one topic, effect or technician (eg theme park rides, CGI, Stan Winston), concentrating on one or more current or recent films.

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Plot Keywords:

film history | film making

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Le cinéma des effets spéciaux

Company Credits

Production Co:

GRB Entertainment, Glacier Point, Sequoia Entertainment Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (68 episodes)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Excerpts from the episode entitled "Action Effects - Ultimate Action" are featured on the 2-Disc Criterion Collection DVD for The Rock.

User Reviews

Not very good, except the episode on stop-motion

Unfortunately, this series has very little new stuff to offer to real movie fans. The series consists of four parts, all dealing with different aspects of the special effects business. The premise sounds interesting enough, but the execution is very poorly done. The individual episodes are built up entirely of promotional footage, with the producers and directors constantly emphasizing how fabulous and groundbreaking their movies are. The only highlight of the series is the episode that tells the history of stop-motion animation and the making of the effects on Jurassic Park. That particular episode is quite fascinating, with comments by Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Rick Baker who manage to keep it continually interesting, even though they are constantly interrupted by commercials, that take some of the pace out of it. Watch the show for that episode alone (I think it was the second), the rest of the series is only of moderate interest.