This gravity-defying Fred Astaire dance routine from a 1951 movie had people in awe
We’re so used to seeing CGI effects in movies nowadays that we tend to not even notice them anymore. We may watch some artificially augmented Marvel character pick up a truck and hurl it at another digitally created character and think ‘so what?’.
So it’s truly wonderful to see a clip from a film made many years before the advent of CGI effects which has us thinking ‘how did they do that!?’
The film in question is Royal Wedding from 1951 and features Fred Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling with no support from wires and certainly with no computer trickery.
Thanks to Historic Vids for sharing on Twitter.
Imagine seeing this gravity-defying dance sequence in a theater in 1951 pic.twitter.com/F8dvMiAPWC
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) November 22, 2024
Absolutely glorious and bamboozling. Others felt broadly the same.
1.
I saw it as a child in the '90s and it blew my mind.
— ☮ ♥ ♫ (@idnomiar) November 22, 2024
2.
This blew my mind as a kid in the 80s, it still holds up.
Practical effects > CGI
— Jesse Hagy (@JesseHagy) November 22, 2024
3.
They really had to be creative and think about how to film this those days.
— Markus A. Kraus (@markusakraus) November 22, 2024
4.
who else thinks it was the inspiration for the INCEPTION hotel corridor scene ? pic.twitter.com/LzmLnnbsKo
— Hendo AI (@HendoAi) November 22, 2024
5.
i'm willing to bet its the same trick they used in 2001: A Space Odyssey where they rotated the entire room and kept the camera locked with the room's rotation.
— Diet Listerine (@yogurt_mania) November 23, 2024
6.
All in one take too. https://t.co/ArsZGzcMEw
— nick abbot (@NIAbbot) November 23, 2024
7.
People’s mind would be blown seeing this back then, but even in today’s world, Fred Astaire’s skill is awesome! What a class act! https://t.co/52RESXEOLe
— J :o) (@JohnKG72) November 23, 2024
And just in case you haven’t quite figured it out, here’s the explanation which doesn’t at all lessen the magic…
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Source @historyinmemes Image Screengrab