• Special Effects in The Gold Rush

    Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush isn’t notable just for its timeless gags; it’s also a superbly designed film with impressive sets and special effects. For a supplemental feature in our new edition of the film, we interviewed effects specialist Craig Barron to shed light on how Chaplin and his crew achieved some of the film’s visual coups. In this short clip, Barron breaks down the scene in which the side of a cliff collapses under the character Black Larsen, realized with miniatures and photographic tricks.

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3 comments

  • By thevoid99
    June 12, 2012
    05:37 PM

    Wow... that seemed so ahead of its time but also timeless. Why can't there be more use of miniatures instead of CGI? It will make it look more realistic.
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    • By Terry Pagitt
      August 22, 2012
      06:18 AM

      Usually because miniatures can be costly and consume a lot of time. In-camera effects also risked damaging the negative and entire retakes would then have to be performed. Yes it looked a lot cooler if it was done properly. The three best examples I can think of where models still look real are Metropolis(1927), 2001(1968) and Blade Runner (1982). When you look at the cost in each respective era these films were made in you can understand the economy of computer animation.

  • By Angus Lamont
    October 21, 2012
    08:38 AM

    The Gold Rush will always remain one of my favourite films. The Special effects scenes have always fascinated me, especially the use of miniatures. To see a short documentary focusing on these visual effects is fantastic. Shame as I am from Great Britain so I will be paying quite a lot for a copy of this.
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