Archive for the ‘Pete Peterson’ Category

Flesh Gordon – The Great God Porno (the Nesuahyrrah)

Saturday, November 10th, 2007

BlueSpill’s server logs show a lot of people searching for Flesh Gordon, so here’s another clip to compliment Jim Dansforth’s masterful Beetle Man sword fight: Flesh Gordon’s final stop-motion sequence, featuring the Great God Porno (also known as the Nesuahyrrah).

Like the Beetle Man swordfight, the armature for the Nesuahyrrah came from Pete Peterson, who built it for his test reel The Las Vegas Monster.

The Great God Porno is among the most inventive stop-motion characters from feature films of the era. Not just a lumbering monster, he’s one of the few stop-motion actors with dialogue and a distinct personality. That Flesh Gordon is an X-rated sex romp makes the talent that went into animating the Great God Porno even more remarkable.

Laine Liska sculpted the Nesuahyrrah puppet. David Allen, Jim Aupperle, and Robert Maine animated the Great God Porno, with Maine completing the bulk of the animation. Jim Danforth and Dennis Muren also assisted with setup and lighting.

The Great God Porno is never actually called “Nesuahyrrah” in the film, although it’s often refered to by that name in books. If anyone knows the story, I’m curious to learn where the nickname originated (but I do know what it means — just spell it backwards).

I originally posted the scene complete and unedited, but someone at YouTube actually found it offensive and yanked it. This edited version should prevent damage to impressionable minds.

Posted in David Allen, Dennis Muren, Jim Aupperle, Jim Danforth, Laine Liska, Pete Peterson, Robert Maine, stop motion | 2 Comments »

Flesh Gordon – Beetle Man Sword Fight

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

Released in 1972 as a softcore pornographic send-up of the old Flash Gordon serials, Flesh Gordon features sfx scenes that are real gems. Master effects artists Jim Danforth, David Allen, Dennis Muren, Doug Beswick, James Aupperle and Steven Czerkas all contributed to the film’s look.

Go ahead and watch the whole movie. The story is silly and entertaining, and a bit of titillation is good for your soul.

A highlight of Flesh Gordon is the beetleman sword fight sequence, animated by Jim Danforth. You’ll recognize the character design from Pete Peterson’s bettlemen test reel. Danforth restored and upgraded one of Peterson’s stop-motion puppets, and it shines in Flesh Gordon (literally – it’s painted gold). His masterful animation of the sword fight outdoes even the sword-fighting skeleton from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. I’m particularly impressed by the miniature staircase, which is more convincing than the corny plaster rocks that decorate the live-action set.

When I was eighteen I rented this movie from Captain Video on Market near Castro. I dubbed it onto a Betamax tape and (mostly) ignored everything except this scene.

Posted in David Allen, Dennis Muren, Doug Beswick, Jim Aupperle, Jim Danforth, Pete Peterson, Stephen Czerkas, stop motion | No Comments »

Pete Peterson – Beetlemen Test Reel

Monday, April 30th, 2007

Here’s another fantastic clip from Pete Peterson’s personal projects. This clip was discovered, along with The Las Vegas Monster, in a trunk from his former residence. Pete Peterson died in the 1960’s, before his work found much appreciation.

In his story for the film, the beetlemen are humans who mutated while hibernating in suspended animation.

Behind the scratches and damage to this short length of color footage lies an atmospheric scene that exceeds its simple concept. A lesser animator might approach this demo as a straightforward walk cycle, but Peterson evokes tremendous personality from each beetle-man. His long, evenly-paced style applies perfectly to the skulking mutants, and makes the appearance of an entire horde of bettlemen even more startling. This is a superior example of character animation.

Pete Peterson must have built several articulated puppets to support the multitude of characters in this short film. How many? I imagine that, when a puppet exited the frame to the left, Peterson immediately repositioned it to re-enter the frame from the right. I don’t believe it’s likely that Peterson optically composited puppets to create a crowd, especially considering that this is color film. Nevertheless I count four bettlemen on screen thirty seconds into the clip. I don’t know if Pete Peterson had assistance machining and skinning the armatures, but manufacturing four detailed, highly articulate stop-motion puppets is its own accomplishment.

At least one beetleman stop-motion puppet saw life in a feature film. A sword-fighting beetleman, animated by Jim Danforth, makes a strong impression in the 1972 feature Flesh Gordon.

Posted in Independent Cinema, Jim Danforth, Pete Peterson, stop motion | 1 Comment »

Pete Peterson – The Las Vegas Monster

Wednesday, April 25th, 2007

Pete Peterson’s stop-motion animation is greatly underappreciated today. As Willis O’Brien’s production assistant, he was responsible for memorable scenes in Mighty Joe Young, The Black Scorpion, and Behemoth the Sea Monster. The grace of his animations contrasts with the crippling arthritis he developed at the peak of his career. Peterson valiantly worked through his physical pain on the animation set, even while bound to a wheelchair.

The Las Vegas Monster is a test reel created by Pete Peterson for an unrealized motion picture. You’ll recognize the set and low-key lighting from The Black Scorpion. Peterson designed the monster and built the armature. Years later, the monster’s armature became the backbone for the Great God Porno (sometimes called the Nesuahyrrh) in the 1972 feature Flesh Gordon.

The monster – a mutated baboon – creeps along with a four-limbed simian gait that’s a refreshing change from King Kong’s, and the articulated feelers protruding out the nose are effectively bizarre. (They also sell the concept of the monster’s body reacting physically as it swings its body around, particularly at the end of the clip.) I’m also impressed with the monster’s extended pitch when hurling objects – it’s a motion that can’t be achieved by an actor in costume.

This clip’s pace seems slow to me. In contemporary animation, shots of the monster hurling cars and boulders would be photographed in just a few frames for more energetic actiont. But the pacing works with the long duration of each animation cut. This 2:19 clip is made up of only eight cuts (excluding the actor who briefly sticks his head out a door), and the longest is an astonishing 52 seconds, approximately 1,248 frames. Peterson must have been gifted with intense patience and memory.

The Las Vegas Monster demonstrates Pete Peterson’s innate talent for stop-motion animation, and I want to learn more.

Posted in Independent Cinema, Pete Peterson, Willis O'Brien, stop motion | 2 Comments »