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Bob Maloogaloogaloogaloogalooga

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I love stumbling across great performances of physical comedy. Quite a while ago I saw the movie “Big Man on Campus” on TV. Then I later picked up a VHS copy on a website. Made in 1989, the movie was also known as “The Hunchback of UCLA.” It stars Allan Katz (who was also the writer) as Bob, the hunchback. A student finds him living in a bell tower, hiding from the world, and takes it upon himself to bring Bob out into society.

For a good part of the movie, Bob speaks his own made up language, or just acts out his silent comedy. He is brutish, but loving. He is funny, sweet, and sad. This particular scene is an extraordinary melding of those three characteristics.

A character’s simplicity can allow him to do things he doesn’t understand are innapropriate. But doing so reveals more of his inner nature. In this next scene, he shows yet another side of himself.

Bob also has appetites, which is a classic component of any good character.

I recommend watching the whole film. It can be seen on youtube in it’s entirety HERE.

The most violent Stooge sequence

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I was out of town this past weekend, and was unable to see the new Three Stooges movie. Here is a re-post of an excellent Three Stooges video.

As soon as I saw which Stooge sequence this was, I wasn’t about to argue the “most violent” claim. Although I still distinctly remember another film where Moe brought a pickaxe down on Curly’s head, severely damaging a perfectly good pickaxe. I recommend watching it on youtube, at full screen. The little viewer reduces the impact.

Humbuggery

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If you haven’t seen the “Flying Like A Bird” video on youtube, here it is.

Today, an email went out to former ILM employees looking for a VFX expert to analyze the video and discuss whether it’s real or faked. The more I look at it, the more I believe it’s fake. I have three reasons:

1. The sudden focus shift when he takes off is very suspicious.
2. The shot of him in the air could have easily been faked practically. Those wings would probably allow the wearer to glide some distance, so he could have jump from a height to get the short clip.
3. The landing is distant and blurry.

ILMers weigh in in this article. They propose the wings are all CG.

Honestly, I wanted it to be real. And it’s that desire that is significant. People want to see fantastic things. We know the magician fools us, but that’s okay. And when someone creates an illusion that we take to be real, we are even more impressed at having been fooled. That is how P.T. Barnum became an icon of American culture. He concocted outrageous exhibits and spectacles. He would create a public buzz, put on a great show and collect the money. Imagine what Barnum would do with the social media of today. Which reminds me, please pass on this link!

The fraudsters remind us of our own foolishness. To create fraud in the name of entertainment is an art form, and I enjoy it. I salute you, Birdman!