Customer Reviews

Fantastic Flesh

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Makeup EFX" is a terrific documentary combining technique with film history. Featured are scenes from such horror classics as "Frankenstein," "The Exorcist," "Planet of the Apes," "An American Werewolf in London," "The Chronicles of Narnia," and more. Since the advent of CGI filmmaking, audiences have become jaded by cinema monsters, but this film focuses on the pre-CGI era, when assorted techniques and long hours were required to transform actors into abominably awful-looking creatures or victims of horrible violence. This is a must-see for aficionados of the horror genre.

Granted that it is a documentary, I found it informative as far as the history of make-up effects up until present day. Little did I realize that there were other great artists aside from Lon Chaney, such as Jack Pierce, the creator of the iconic Universal Frankenstein Monster who created the pieces from mere cotton! It also has unique behind the scenes footage from movies old and new, showcasing how these incredible minds set forth their craft even before the advent of show-stopping CGI. Even better, it shows the latest direction in which CGI and Practical effects have become intermeshed and how they will affect future movies. While the title sounds like a how-to video, it's more of an appreciation for the people who started it all. There is even a tribute to Stan Winston who had passed away suddenly from a rare blood cancer (see Fangoria magazine in 2008, october issue I think) which I think was quite touching.

Fantastic Flesh is a cool documentary made by the Starz team, helmed by comic book legend & B-movie director Kevin VanHook, which delves into the field of special effects and the men who've shaped the art form as well as the course of cinematic history. The film includes in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in genre filmmaking and FX work including the late Dick Smith. We're given some amazing insights into the FX process behind many films and we hear, from the directors themselves, how important the FX industry has been to film.

If I could say anything at all negative about the documentary it would be that I didn't feel it touched on enough of the history of special effects makeup for cinema. It would have been interesting to hear a bit more about the history of FX makeup, reaching back further than Chaney's work or the groundbreaking FX used in Frankenstein. I'd say an additional 20 minutes of information could have easily been added to this and it still would have been too short for me, it's that good! Outside of my petty gripe, this is a fantastic documentary, one that no horror enthusiast should miss. Fantastic Flesh is a must-see, and if you're a documentary junky like me, a must-have release.

Very nice video with lots of good info on make up FX artists. With such a low price I can't really complain. This is not so much an instructional video as it is a documentary. I've enjoyed watching it several times.

This film didn't really have much in the way of educational information. It was basically a bunch of big names in the business talking about what they enjoy about doing their work, a handful of personal stories lacking detail and a few cool behind the scenes moments.

The enthusiasm of the interviewees makes this worth a watch or two as a rental, but it's not really worth the price unless you want to own everything related to Special FX.

This get you know more about the industry of prosthetic makeup in the film industry. It would not get you to become masters but rather than a introduction of the prosthetic make-up industry.

While this DVD covers a great deal about special effects makeup, the majority of the program centers on mainly one special effects makeup lab, KNB. It would have been great if they could have showed out makeup labs as well.

In this documentary they reference the fans who like them. Grew up on effects and has seen all of their favorite artists works.I am that fan and I can say that all the stories in this are ones we've heard before.
There is no real flow at all either they just jump back and forth to different stuff without any segue,Its just a series of random interviews and random clips that don't always have anything to do with what the interviewee was talking about.

There a lengthy scene with Tom Savini where he describes a scene from "Dawn of the dead" where Flyboy gets shot in the shoulder and how he did the effect on the spot with no preparation it then cuts to a clip from a different part in the movie where someone is being eaten.This documentary seems to constantly build up without fallow through.

I was expecting to see behind the scenes stuff like people working on effects, besides the occasional store room shot there's no real insight as far as art or process and the few historical things that are presented are in no particular order and would be hard to fallow if I didn't already hear the story somewhere else.

If your like me and must see everything with spfx in it. I recommend renting or borrowing this, like I did. I would have been even more disappointed if i had paid for it

Good video to have for people who want to learn more about Make-up FX artists in Hollywood, and their craft, from the professionals themselves.

This was a b-day gift for my husband who is truly into make-up and special effects and he was amazed and so was I