Greetings again from the darkness. It’s unusual for a story on movies to mention such dissimilar films as Hitchcock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) and the sci-fi cult favorite FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956), or two classics as diverse as SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952) and BEN-HUR (1959). What could these four films, and thousands of others, possibly have in common? The answer is the magic and artistry of backdrops or backings – a history as old as cinema.
This February 2020 segment from CBS Sunday Morning is only about six minutes long, yet provides a nice overview of how these have been used, and are continuing to be used, to create some of the scenery that sets the mood for memorable moments from our favorite movies (as well as those we wish we could forget).
Thanks to reader BG for passing this along:
Movie Reviews from the Dark 