r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/padfoony • 3h ago

Christopher Nolan avoided CGI and used 7ft stuntmen to portray Laestrygonians in The Odyssey. The giant leader, King Antiphates, is portrayed by actor Josh Stewart, while Matt Damon’s stunt double is Devyn Dalton, who is just under 5ft.

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u/SeeingEyeDug 3h ago

This is why those late 90’s and early 2000’s movies hold up so well in the earlier days of CGI. Like LoTR trilogy, Titanic, etc. They used practical effects and models and used CGI to enhance that.

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u/VegaJuniper 2h ago

LotR used more and more CGI as it went along. My favorite is still FotR: the battle of Amon Hen just has this incredible physicality while the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in RotK just looks like a video game cutscene. Partly it's because the battles became more massive and difficult to do practically, but also because the CGI evolved and they became more comfortable making it visible.

In FotR, you only see the eyes of Gollum briefly, because that's all they could do, the Balrog looks amazing because it's wreathed in shadows, with flames and smoke hiding its shape, etc.

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u/SDRPGLVR 1h ago

Yeah the ogre/troll (I forget which it is) in Fellowship is a strong example of the CGI not holding up. Doesn't ruin the movie in the slightest, but it's a funny thing to look back on when so much of the rest of the movie is timeless and gorgeous.

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u/VegaJuniper 1h ago

Cate Blanchett's "evil queen" speech is another. I know some people love it, but to me it's always been corny as hell, and a really janky special effect.