Review: "MASTERS OF MAKE-UP EFFECTS" is a Century of Practical Magic in One Magical Book

MASTERS OF MAKE-UP EFFECTS: A CENTURY OF PRACTICAL MAGIC

WELBECK PUBLISHING

AUTHORS: Howard Berger and Marshall Julius

DESIGN: Russell Knowles; Darren Jordan

EDITORS: Ross Hamilton and Roland Hall

ISBN: 978-0-80279-001-6; hardcover – 9” x 11” (September 20, 2022)

320pp, Color, $39.95 U.S., £30.00 U.K.

Forward by Guillermo Del Toro; Afterword by Seth MacFarlane

Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic is a film history and art book from authors Howard Berger and Marshall Julius.  Berger is a special make-up effects artist with over 800 feature film credits.  With Tami Lane, Berger won the “Best Make-up” Academy Award for their work on the 2005 film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Julius is a London-based film critic, blogger, broadcaster and author, whose previous books include Vintage Geek (September Publishing, 2019) and Action! The Action Movie A-Z (Batsford Film Books, 1996).

Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic is an illustrated oral history of the art form of make-up effects, celebrating the make-up artists and acclaimed make-up effects masters from the world of both film and television  The authors take their readers into that fascinating world via untold stories from the sets of both popular and cult films and television.  Read the tales behind the make-up and effects on such films as An American Werewolf in London, Star Wars, Pan's Labyrinth, and The Thing, to name a few.  Visit the sets of such TV series as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Doctor Who,” “Star Trek,” and “The Walking Dead,” to name a few.

THE LOWDOWN:  In Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic, there are 293 stories over 15 chapters.  I counted.  That made Masters of Make-Up Effects one of my most difficult book reviews – if not the most difficult.  There is just so much good stuff for film fans and movie buffs that reading it can sometimes feels like sensory overload.

First, I'll mention something that absolutely delighted me.  Co-author Marshall Julius pens an introduction that recounts an interview he conducted with his then-future co-author, Howard Berger, in 2006.  It ended with Berger applying his make-up effects magic on Julius, and the result of that magic...  Well, you have to buy Masters of Make-Up Effects to find out what it is.  [If you are a movie fan, you really should already have this book.]

Masters of Make-Up Effects contains hundreds of photographs, a few of which I was familiar.  However, the vast majority were new to me – these photographs of actors, directors, and, of course, the make-up and effects artists who are the stars of this book.  Yes, I have seen make-up special effects legend, Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow), in film and on television for decades.  However, the other photographs put faces on these make-up effects and make-up artists I only knew as names on screen, on the Internet, and in books.  This includes masters such as Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Greg Nicotero, Dick Smith, David White, Kevin Yagher, and Louis Zakarian, to name a few.

Seeing a photo of Stuart Freeborn and another of the members of his Star Wars “creature crew” was almost a religious experience.  Thank you, Howard and Marshall, for that.  Freeborn and company were the people behind Chewbacca and the creatures of the “Mos Eisley cantina sequence” in the first Star Wars.  In 1982, I saw Star Wars in a pre Return of the Jedi re-release.  That Saturday afternoon, I followed Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi into that “wretched hive of scum and villainy” and movies were never the same for me after that.  So finally seeing the artists behind it is a big deal.

While trying to find a way to talk about all these photos, it was then that I realized that Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic is not only a book of photographs, but it is also a book of stories.  If you like science fiction, fantasy, and horror films and television, this book of stories is for you and the fans in your life.  The storytellers include the great Robert Englund, Rick Baker, Doug Bradley, Bruce Campbell, Nick Dudman, Toni G, Doug Jones, John Landis, James McAvoy, Greg Nicotero, Sarah Rubano, and Tom Savini, to once again name a few.

One does not need to be a fantasy film fan to love this book.  After all, film and TV dramas also require make-up effects and make-up artists.  Chapter 13 is entitled “Reel Lives” and focuses on the make-up work behind films based on real-life figures.  Actors have to be made up to resemble historical figures like Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins in 2012's Hitchcock); Judy Garland (Renée Zellwegger in 2019's Judy); and Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady), to name a few.

I bought this book almost a few months ago, and I find myself repeatedly returning to it.  I can't get enough of the photographs or the stories.  Howard Berger and Marshall Julius have created an important book in Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic, both for what it is and for what it may mean in the future.

As more people discover this book, some because of a second printing, they will realize that it is a gem.  Over time, it will become an important resource for reference and scholarly research.  Movie and television fans, put those unused gift cards from Christmas and the holidays to use and buy Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers who are fans of the magic that is movies will want a copy of Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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Review: "Creepshow" is Still Fun (Happy B'day, George Romero)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 165 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Creepshow (1982)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
DIRECTOR: George A. Romero
WRITER: Stephen King (also partly based upon the short stories “The Crate” and “Weeds” by Stephen King)
PRODUCER: Richard P. Rubinstein
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Gornick
EDITORS: Pasquale Buba, Paul Hirsch, and Michael Spolan with George A. Romero (segment “The Tide”)

HORROR/COMEDY/SCI-FI/FANTASY

Starring: Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Harris, Ted Danson, Stephen King, Warner Shook, Robert Harper, Gaylen Ross, and Tom Savini with Tom Atkins

Inspired by the legendary E.C. horror comics of the 1950’s, director George A. Romero and international best-selling horror novelist Stephen King created the horror movie anthology, Creepshow. Five tales of terror: “Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate,” and “They’re Creeping Up on You,” make up the film, and a framing sequence (prologue/epilogue) bridges the five tales.

In “Father’s Day,” a family patriarch comes back from the grave (literally) on the seventh anniversary of his murder, by his daughter, Bedelia’s (Viveca Lindfors) hand, and he’s looking for his birthday cake. In “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill, Jordy Verrill (Stephen King), a country bumpkin cursed by bad luck, finds a recently fallen meteor, and it affects shocking change upon Jordy’s body. In “Something to Tide You Over,” Richard Vickers (Leslie Nielsen) takes a gruesome revenge upon his wife Becky (Gaylen Ross) and her lover, Harry Wentworth (Ted Danson), but revenge is a two-way street and comes back from a watery grave for Richard.

In “The Crate,” Professor Henry Northrup (Hal Holbrook) takes advantage of a murderous ape-like beast found in a 150-year old crate to deal with his bestial nag of a wife, Wilma “Billie” Northrup (Adrienne Barbeau). In the closing tale, “They’re Creeping Up on You,” a wicked, wealthy man, Upson Pratt (E.G. Marshall) with a fear of germs and bugs gets his comeuppance when he goes against thousands of cockroaches.

Creepshow is delightful horror fun – a combination of thrills, chills, and cheese. Two of the tales, “Something to Tide You Over” and “The Crate” are excellent revenge tales, but all of the shorts capture the spirit of the old E.C. comics with their shock and surprise endings. Director George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead) and screenwriter Stephen King knew exactly what they were going for and how to get it. Makeup effects artist Tom Savini ably creates the gruesome denizens that make this film sparkle, and the production elements are the finishing touch in capturing the right look and mood.

6 of 10
B

Monday, October 31, 2005

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Review: "From Dusk Till Dawn" Still a Bloody, Glorious Mess

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 68 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and gore, language, and nudity
DIRECTOR/EDITOR: Robert Rodriguez
WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino; based upon the story by Robert Kurtzman
PRODUCERS: Gianni Nunnari and Meir Teper
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guillermo Navarro

HORROR/ACTION/DRAMA with elements of comedy and crime

Starring: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Liu, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Michael Parks, Kelly Preston, John Saxson, and Brenda Hillhouse

After a bloody bank robbery, Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his younger brother, Richard (Quentin Tarantino), are on the lam. The brothers take Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel), an ex-preacher, and his children, Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu) hostage, in order to use the Fullers’ RV for their getaway. The Geckos and the Fullers escape the police dragnet across the border into Mexico, where the Gecko Brothers are supposed to rendezvous with a local drug kingpin at a biker and trucker cantina called the Titty Twister. What the quintet doesn’t know is that the bar’s owners and some of the clientele are bloodthirsty vampires.

Movies like Scream, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or even Interview with a Vampire might make the list of great horror movies from the 1990’s, but the Robert Rodriguez directed, Quentin Tarantino scripted horror film, From Dusk Till Dawn is a horrifying, classic howler. Part dark comedy, part gore fest, part action horror, and part crime thriller, FDTD is hell of a film. It’s so blood soaked at times that it might give some people pause and grab their stomachs. Some of the monster and creature makeup and effects are way over the top and hilarious, but the film works.

From Dusk Till Dawn is actually like two movies in one. The first half is straight out of classic crime cinema – dangerous, murderous, cop-killing thieves are on the lam with hostages in tow. The second half is apparently an ode to outlandish Mexican horror films (of which I never seen a one). This mixture is something only genre storytellers do well, and two guys like Tarantino and Rodriguez are steeped in stuff like comics, pulp fiction, and lowbrow cinema to the point where they can make something like FDTD work.

The cast is obviously having a good time; the extras seem to have the best time. George Clooney’s cool and calm killer carries this film across two genres, and his movie star presence shines even in something like this. However, blaxtiploitation star Fred Williamson and horror movie makeup legend, Tom Savini, give sweet kicks to their small, but deliciously kooky parts.

8 of 10
A

Friday, May 20, 2005

From Dusk Till Dawn [Blu-ray]

Review: Wam! Bam! Thank You "Machete"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Machete (2010)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual content and nudity
DIRECTORS: Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez
WRITERS: Robert Rodriguez and Álvaro Rodríguez
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, Robert Rodriguez, and Rick Schwartz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jimmy Lindsey
EDITORS: Rebecca Rodriguez and Robert Rodriguez

ACTION

Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Shea Whigham, Lindsay Lohan, Daryl Sabara, Gilbert Trejo, and Tom Savini

Robert Rodriguez’s recent hell-raising flick, Machete, first hit the screen as a fake trailer in the 2007 Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature, Grindhouse. Part tongue-in-cheek action comedy and part exploitation movie, Machete offers deranged fun that includes everything from dismemberment to a mini-race war.

The film focuses on Machete Cortez (Danny Trejo), a former Mexican Federale turned illegal immigrant. Three years after the powerful drug lord, Rogelio Torrez (Steven Seagal) killed his wife and daughter, Machete roams Texas looking for work. A shady businessman named Michael Booth (Jeff Fahey) offers Machete $150,000 to assassinate corrupt Texas State Senator John McLaughlin (Robert De Niro). After he is double-crossed, Machete joins forces with immigration agent Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba) to take down McLaughlin and a far-ranging conspiracy that includes anti-immigration racists and Machete’s old nemesis, Torrez. Luckily, Machete and Rivera find help in the form of Machete’s brother, the gun-wielding priest, Padre (Cheech Marin), and the taco-truck lady, Luz (Michelle Rodriguez).

I enjoy Robert Rodriguez’s films so very much, and although he has a co-director, Ethan Maniquis, for this film, Machete is true to the spirit of mayhem inherent in movies produced by Troublemaker Studios, Rodriguez’s production company. Machete does seem a bit long, and the narrative is occasionally clunky, but the action sequences have a seamless quality that gives the violence maxim impact upon the viewer.

The cinematic art of beheading, dismemberment, gouging, puncturing, and bladed-weapon-thrusting have rarely looked so good (obviously thanks to computer effects enhancement). Those of us who like that sort of thing will howl with pleasure. The terrific gunfights and pitched gun battles are the giant, juicy, succulent cherry on top of this hack-and-slash fun.

As well-made as this film is from creative and technical points of view, the cast is what assures that Machete manages not to take itself seriously, but also still work as an over-the-top action movie. Of course, Robert De Niro is good; in fact, his spot-on creation of the opportunistic, chauvinistic Senator McLaughlin is gold for this movie. Steve Seagal, Jeff Fahey, and Don Johnson were all, at one point in their careers, B-movie action stars, and they deliver some of their best action flick work here, especially Johnson. The girls are all good here, but Lindsay Lohan effortlessly outshines Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez in a much smaller role.

Machete ultimately relies on Danny Trejo. Seemingly hewn from granite (sans the pretty boy looks), Trejo is an action star with the soul of a thespian. As good as this movie is, there actually isn’t enough of him on screen. Trejo has palatable film presence, and he makes Machete not just a good action movie, but also a good movie, regardless of genre.

7 of 10
A-

Friday, February 11, 2011

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