William Honan’s article is mainly about the life of the late esteemed special effects artist John Stears. He was called the dean of special effects artists because he was the man responsible for the special effects of countless award winning movies since the late 60’s. He even won Oscars in 1965 and 1977. He was one of the first special effects artist to show Hollywood what special effects had to offer. Without his work, it is not sure if several movies would have even been blockbusters. Honan then goes on to talk about how special effects management changed because artists like Stears made Hollywood realize the importance of special effects. Productions went on to have specialized special effects teams for different aspects of movies. Also, for the first time there became a competitive spirit between different special effects artists and their directors. Hollywood was being shaped into the industry we know today.

Many movie goers do not realize the special effects of the great 70’s movies had a great impact on the film industry as we know it today. They take the magic that is happening before their eyes for granted. Truly if it weren’t for films like Superman the Hollywood production system could be greatly different from what it is now. Without such movies, special effects artist like John Stears wouldn’t have been recognized for what they could contribute to productions, and therefore special effects wouldn’t have evolved to be as fantastic and pivotal as they are today. Now, movie goers have the opportunity to go see the work of their favorite special effects artist rather than their favorite director. This is what has become of the modern Hollywood blockbuster; special effects are so essential that audience even know who is behind the exploding cars and digital environments. Movies like Superman have definitely helped the Hollywood blockbuster to move to this modern fashion.

Anthony Brandt wrote this article in response to recent heavy appearance of special effects in the films of the 70’s. He notes how in earlier decades, audiences were attracted and awed by physical effects but soon cinema verite started to dominate and reality was substituted for special effects. Just as easily the influx of visual effects in the films of the 70’s turned audiences back to science fiction films. Also, the production of these films coincided with the fall of the studio system, which brought forth a new industry that would come to be one of the most important to producers. Special effects artist were now in demand and responded by starting their own companies. On the other hand these artists felt that they could not continue to do special effects for space based movies like Star Wars because audiences would get tired of them. They called for more fantasy based productions with compelling plots. They thought that such a genre would be the future of Hollywood special effects productions, and they were right.

During the 70’s special effects artists finally became recognized as essential contributors to successful film productions. This being so, they also gained a voice. Since many movie goers went to theaters because of them, they had to tell producers what kind of movies and visual effects audiences would want to see. They thought that movies like Superman were good because of both having intriguing story lines and fantastic visual effects. Their assumptions were correct because movies like that have continued to be Hollywood blockbusters. Movies like Superman helped to proves that special effects were not limited to space movies. As long as a film has a strong narrative that contains fantasy elements, amazing visual effects can be applied to them turning them into Hollywood blockbusters. This type of production has become the base for the modern Hollywood blockbuster.

This article by Hardy is mainly a response to the title of the then upcoming Superman movie Superman Returns. His argument is that the Superman craze has never died since he was first conceived in 1938; therefore, he never left. He continues by pointing out that he has had such a strong influence on American culture because he means so much too so many people. To some he is a symbol of the American dream—he immigrates to Earth and starts out as a small town unknown and quickly moves to the city and becomes a national superstar. To others he stands for justice and everything that comes to mind when one thinks of a hero. Finally, to all, he is a savior; almost a god in a world that is losing faith. Hardy even touches on some events that helped to make superman a symbol of hope and strength, such as the Cold War, World War II and 9/11. Obviously, he agrees that the story of Superman is tremendous in that he has always been thought of as a symbol of things that we all strive for.

The movie Superman was also very successfully because of its powerful narrative. The world had known about Superman and his story for four decades before this movie came out and yet the plot was still compelling enough to attract a wide variety of audiences in different parts of the world. Superman once again proved to movie producers that the future Hollywood blockbusters had to be superb narrative with excellent plots. No other movie in the 70’s could have proven this observation better than Superman. Star Wars, Jaws, and even Close Encounters of the Third Kind, all Hollywood blockbuster, were compelling narratives; but, at the same time they were fresh and never before thought of. On the other hand, Superman had had his own industry for decades. Audiences knew of countless storylines, events, and plots; yet, in 1978 Superman was still able to draw in the masses. Had the narrative not been up to par with what people expected and sought for in Superman, the movie wouldn’t have been a blockbuster.

In light of the then upcoming new Superman film, Superman Returns, Andrew Ryan wrote this article to tell about a research project that was being conducted by noted scientists to determine the plausibility of Superman’s powers. He touches on how fans have always been intrigued by the awesome abilities of Superman and though most people know he is a fictitious character, these scientists wanted to know just how possible it would be for him to have his powers on Earth, were he a real being. He then goes on to elaborate of specific abilities and what conclusions the scientists came up about them. For example they found that for a being to be as fast as superman on Earth, it would have to have frictionless knee joints.

Once again Superman proves to be a model for future Hollywood blockbusters. 1978 was the first time movie goers and fans got to truly witness the awesome abilities of superman and ever since then he has truly been immortalized. This is what a typical Hollywood blockbuster must be able to do to receive notoriety. Not only does it have to captivate the audience, it also has to become intertwined in several aspects of society. Superman’s tagline was, “you’ll believe a man can fly,” and now noted scientists are actually actively investigating this claim based on Superman. Star Wars coined the phrase, “may the force be with you,” and now people sometimes repeat the same phase to wish someone luck. To be a true Hollywood blockbuster it is not enough for a film to make a large amount of revenue; it also has to affect society in some facet.

According to Rickitt in the 70’s, special effects had an important role to play in defining what would come to be known as the modern Hollywood blockbuster. The special effects crazed began with the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which had spectacular never-before-seen visual effects. Hollywood was not ready to adopt this style because the special effects technicians for this movie were unknown foreigners. Therefore, it was time for Hollywood to experiment. Unfortunately, the poor performance of the American film industry in the previous decade had caused some fundamental changes in Hollywood’s business practices. Hollywood was not as willing to make several random productions and also chose to market a few movies per year for long periods of time to numerous theatres. Consequently, it only wanted to produce blockbusters because only they would bring in profits based on this new system. Soon after a few productions, it was obvious that audiences were captivated by these new visual effects. Finally, after studios adopted narratives that appeal to several types of audiences, the time had come to give birth to the modern Hollywood Blockbuster.

The year was 1975 and Jaws was the first $100 million dollar box office hit in history. It is a movie that contains awesome visual effects and features a humongous shark that is essentially an actor. How was this possible before the days of CGI technology? This was part of what captivated the multitudes that adored this movie due to its groundbreaking ability to not only feature but also to control a mechanical shark in water. Finally, Hollywood had proof that visual effects were the keystone to the modern blockbuster. A few years later, in 1978, special effects were still captivating audiences and continuing to prove that the future of Hollywood rested with them. Superman again aided in strengthening this perception by earning worldwide revenues of over $300 million. It was also a template for many special effects that would be used in other blockbusters for years to come.

Rickitt, Richard. Special Effects: the History and Technique. 1st ed. New York: Billboard Books, 2007. 34-35.

Because of the kind of movie it was in its time, Superman (1978) helped substantiate what film goers now know as the traditional Hollywood blockbuster. Whether it is because of special effects, a great plot or its affect on society, Superman helped to set the definition for todays Hollywood blockbuster.

Henderson, Brian. “Notes on Set Design and Cinema.” Film Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 1 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 17-28

    Brian Henderson elaborately describes certain key techniques in classic and modern filmmaking by citing examples from famous films such as Citizen Kane, Bringing Up Baby, North by Northwest and Johnny Guitar.  Henderson begins his article by discussing distinctive creators among set designers and production directors in “the latest stage of auteurist dialectic.”  He moves from a comparison of Hollywood set designers to the architectural profession and discusses the value of production stills taken during the filming of movies.  Production stills, though giving a simple and concise summary of the visual set which can preserve our knowledge of the filmmaking, don’t preserve the full knowledge of the filming because no single vantage point can be used to reproduce or understand a set.  A photograph only presents a view from a single angle.  One would need multiple shots from different angles to accurately learn about the styles of different film sets.  Henderson argues that production stills are most valuable simply for publicity purposes – he cites examples of sets from Bringing Up Baby.  The author also describes visual and illusionary techniques in filming, such as the use of large foreground models and miniature background models to simulate depth.  Some filmmakers replace parts of the sets with miniatures that are built to scale or they use devices that create composite images such as rear projection, glass shots, travelling mattes, the Shufftan process, or an optical printer.  Some of these special effects are used to supplement the narrative of the film.  The Shufftan process which uses a semitransparent/semi-reflective mirror can be good at showing before and after images – a technique used in documentary filmmaking.  He also mentions techniques used by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane, and techniques by Alfred Hitchcock.

    Henderson elaborates in some detail the extent of the use of special effects in Welles’s Citizen Kane.  An interview with optical printer, Linwood Dunn, reveals that not very many people know about the extent of the post production work and modifications made to the film.  Many photographic effects used and only a handful of people actually worked on the post production special effects.   Dunn says that special techniques other than advanced hardware had to be used to get the deep-focus shots that Welles desired.  In scene of Susan Alexander’s suicide attempt, the girl and poison are featured in the foreground while the doctors and Kane contrasted as they enter in the far background.  To achieve this effect, in-camera editing techniques were used.  First the foreground was shot with a dark background, then film was rewound, the lens refocused, and the film stock was exposed again with the background lit and foreground dark.  Over 50% of footage involved special effects, but this was not well known for about 40 years after the film was released.  Shots of Xanadu (Kane’s palatial estate) were filmed as miniature models.  This common technique saved money on set design.