I keep finding myself without time to devote to my more ghoulish, spooky pastimes, and getting in to the ol' S&P on any kind of timely basis remains one of the casualties of my schedule and grown-up life.
Still, when one of the great heroes of fantasy, sci-fi and horror has passed on, I must find a moment to honor that legend's memory and life's work.
Rest now after your long illness, amici...
Carlo Rambaldi
1925 -- 2012
Signore Rambaldi was a pioneering, accomplished and much-studied special/mechanical effects artist, probably best known for creating the world's most beloved alien castaway, E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial.
But before E.T. came along, Rambaldi had already been responsible for two other iconic aliens featured in our pop culture cinematic nightmares and dreamscapes since the '70s, one for an earlier Spielberg outing...
... and the other for Ridley Scott and H.R. Giger.
He created many remarkable beings, and bits of beings (arms, hands, heads, tails etc.) for many films in the '70s, '80s and into the '90s before sickness began plaguing him.
Rambaldi's artistry resided in his uncanny ability to make organic the complexities of mechanical motion, his genius for making magical life from the most mundane bits of spring, wire, wood, foam, metal... any wonder that he was one my first and greatest artistic inspirations?
He even made some very big arms and hands -- that moved well! -- for the wonderfully rotten, badly brilliant De Laurentis 1976 remake of the classic King Kong.
Carlo Rambaldi's work has been studied, admired and much beloved by special effects artists old and new, and thanks to his iconic contributions to cinema's A-list non-humans, we can be sure of it staying that way for a long, long time.
One of my earliest heroes.
Thank you for being here a while, and brightening our lives with your light.
Ristorare in pace, Mr. Rambaldi.
DUMDUMSHREKPAPA!
No comments:
Post a Comment