Article by Janine Pourroy

Although Barry Longyear's futuristic story of survival and friendship in an unwelcoming environment seemed an ideal film property, the process of bringing Enemy Mine to the screen would prove anything but ideal. The need for intricate alien makeups, bizarre scenery and dogfighting spacecraft automatically earmarked the project as an especially challenging one -- rendered even more so by the replacement of the original director in mid-production. Ultimately, however, the film would come together under the direction of Wolfgang Petersen who orchestrated both the demanding live-action shoot and an international assemblage of multitalented effects people.

Der Trickfilm - A Survey of German Special Effects

Article by Rolf Giesen

During the opening years of the twentieth century, when the art of filmmaking was being developed on an international scale, the German cinema promptly established a sungular identity for itself -- an identity shaped largely by the fact that its prime innovators seemed possessed by an insatiable fascination with the fantastic. Tasked with subjects ranging from epic fantasy to futuristic science fiction, German technicians were among the first to explore and exploit the magical capabilities of the motion picture camera.

Fright Night

Article by Jennifer Benidt and Janine Pourroy

Writer-director Tom Holland conceived of Fright Night as a contemporary tribute to the traditional vampire film, complete with all affectations of the genre. But instead of employing the simplistic techniques of yore, Holland was determined to utilize state-of-the-art special effects to their fullest. Undaunted by a relatively meager budget, Holland and Columbia Pictures turned toRichard Edlund and Boss Film Corporation with a unique challenge to produce an array of high-quality illusions -- everything from flying bats to snarling man-beasts -- all for an unprecedented bargain price.