# Hey! They're running the film backwards! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2019, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907 "2019-09-27T11:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/21 "2019-09-27T18:06:21Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Lots of stuff in those Esther Williams films were backwards shots. > > You see Esther rising out of the water, completely dry with burning sparklers sticking out of her head. That wasn’t filmed in forward motion, folks. > > So in homages/parodies of that you see similar stuff. Like Scarlett Johansson in _Hail Caesar!_ Surprisingly, the candles rising out of the Lake in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of **Phantom of the Opera** (2004) _wasn’t_ filmed backwards. They built special lighting systems that would self-ignite when they rose out of the water. After 3:00 here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J-feDC_JJfk/hqdefault.jpg "The phantom of the opera (2004) boat scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-feDC_JJfk) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/22 "2019-09-27T18:07:05Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I was at the 1st regular screening of the movie Big Fish, which was a bit odd. About 20 minutes in, Steve Buscemi appears on screen and things start moving backwards. > > Turns out that when the put the movie together from the studio reels, the second reel had already been run through and it was spliced in backwards. > > They refunded our money so they could fix it for the next show. When I first saw _The Stunt Man,_ they ran one of the reels out of order. So you had Cameron saying something in response to Eli Cross that he couldn’t know, then later you see Cross telling him the words he answers with. I figured it out as I left the theater and put it together in my mind. It must have been in other prints. When I saw it again in another theater, the movie stopped at a particular point and the correct reel was played. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/23 "2019-09-27T18:08:54Z")
In _Christine_, they achieved the effect of Christine repairing herself by filming the car being damaged (IIRC they pulled the body panels inward using equipment hidden inside the car) and then playing the footage backwards. In _Planes, Trains, and Automobiles_, when Neal is returning to the L station after realizing that Del doesn’t actually have a home, the overhead shot of the train pulling into the station is simply the same shot of the train leaving the station from a few minutes earlier being played backwards. If you look closely you can see a man walking backwards on the platform. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/24 "2019-09-27T18:32:31Z")
Usually in movies where you see a vine, rope, monster tentacle, or such wrap itself around someone, especially in pre-CGI movies, that shot was done by having the object already around the person and pulling it away, then showing the film in reverse. An example from my recent viewing was in _Burnt Offerings_, where Oliver Reed fights with vines that try to stop him from leaving the house o’ death. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/25 "2019-09-27T18:58:53Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Usually in movies where you see a vine, rope, monster tentacle, or such wrap itself around someone, especially in pre-CGI movies, that shot was done by having the object already around the person and pulling it away, then showing the film in reverse. An example from my recent viewing was in _Burnt Offerings_, where Oliver Reed fights with vines that try to stop him from leaving the house o’ death. Excellent point. They did that in the 1982 John Carpenter version of **The Thing** , when the Norris-head extends a tentacle and pulls itself under the desk. Perversely, the TV show _Ally McBeal_ copied the move. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/26 "2019-09-27T20:12:31Z")
Often, sunrises in movies are just backwards sunsets, because they didn’t want to get up early in the morning. The telltale (unless they think to fix it, which they usually don’t) is that the Sun will be moving the wrong way: In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun near the horizon (at morning or evening) is moving left to right. Well, that, and geography, like the sun rising over the ocean on the West Coast. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/27 "2019-09-27T20:26:31Z")
The scene near the end of Apocalypse Now where Captain Willard rises from the steamy water with camo makeup on, hair dry, and eyes instantly open, must have been filmed the other way around. (Whenever I do this at the pool, there’s a bit of spitting, blowing, slicking my hair back and rubbing my eyes. There just ain’t no way he could rise out of the water like that.) ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/28 "2019-09-27T21:50:12Z")
There’s a scene in the original 1962 version of \*The Manchurian Candidate \*that must have been shot without enough footage for where it was to fit. It’s more of a background scene, a voiceover as we see Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) eating in the summer cabin with the Jordan family. But at one point the film reverses, and Raymond’s fork takes food out of his mouth that he just put in there. It was jarring enough that I noticed it the first time I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/29 "2019-09-27T23:49:00Z")
The [1910 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhoFCG0_SyQ)of Frankenstein. They filmed a papier mache model being burned and reversed the film. Something I learned about [on this very forum](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=865844&highlight=frankenstein)a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/30 "2019-09-28T00:05:33Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > The scene near the end of Apocalypse Now where Captain Willard rises from the steamy water with camo makeup on, hair dry, and eyes instantly open, must have been filmed the other way around. > > (Whenever I do this at the pool, there’s a bit of spitting, blowing, slicking my hair back and rubbing my eyes. There just ain’t no way he could rise out of the water like that.) [Here’s the clip of that scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k1OYtFZs6I), and I doubt they filmed it backwards. The steam on the water is clearly rising, and if you watch his chin, you can see droplets of water falling in the correct direction. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/31 "2019-09-28T12:11:59Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The [1910 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhoFCG0_SyQ)of Frankenstein. They filmed a papier mache model being burned and reversed the film. > > Something I learned about [on this very forum](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=865844&highlight=frankenstein)a few months ago. Which reminds me of a scene in a much later movie, done in a similar way. In the original _Hellraiser_, the reconstitution of Frank up out of the floorboards is done primarily with wax models, filmed as they melted, then run backwards to look as if all the gooshy stuff is coming together to form his body. ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/32 "2019-09-28T13:18:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Often, sunrises in movies are just backwards sunsets, because they didn’t want to get up early in the morning. The telltale (unless they think to fix it, which they usually don’t) is that the Sun will be moving the wrong way: In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun near the horizon (at morning or evening) is moving left to right. > > Well, that, and geography, like the sun rising over the ocean on the West Coast. The beginning of Capricorn One has the sun rising in the wrong direction. FYI: North of the Tropics of Cancer, the sun is ALWAYS moving from left to right, not just when the sun is near the horizon. In addition, there’s a scene near the beginning of Airplane showing a plane approaching the gate. The ancillary vehicles in the background are going backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/33 "2019-09-28T13:34:31Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Another one from the original _Star Wars_, the Tusken Raider pumping his staff-weapon in the air as he’s attacking Luke is actually the same few frames rolled forward and backward multiple times. There’s something similar near the end of _It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World_. After Spencer Tracy has fallen off the fire ladder and landed in a pet shop, there’s a shot of a dog licking his face that’s pretty obviously just a single lick run forwards and backwards. I don’t know if anyone has dug deep enough to find out if it was planned that way, or just the best way to get the effect they wanted with the footage they got. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/34 "2019-09-28T13:39:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Often, sunrises in movies are just backwards sunsets, because they didn’t want to get up early in the morning. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves. Mildly related to this, but not really responsive to the OP: In _The March of the Penguins_, there are two shots of the moon which are used to show the passage of time, one waxing and the other waning. Unfortunately, they are the same shot of the moon, just flipped left-for-right. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/35 "2019-09-28T16:34:53Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The [1910 version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhoFCG0_SyQ)of Frankenstein. They filmed a papier mache model being burned and reversed the film. That’s a great effect! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/36 "2019-09-28T17:13:55Z")
In _Batman and Robin_ there is a scene where Robin is struggling in the water and one of the shots is him surfacing and thrashing, and then the video freezes for a couple frames, then reverses to show him struggling and going down again. It was quite obvious and painful to see, but I guess it could have been intentional since Batman movies were in their campy stage they entered after the first Keaton one but before the reboot. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/37 "2019-09-28T18:03:16Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > In _The Flintstones_, where they recreated the opening sequence that showed Fred leaping into his car, the producers put a harness on John Goodman and pulled him from the car. They then ran the film in reverse and sped it up slightly > > [https://youtu.be/3Aby1zEHVBo](https://youtu.be/3Aby1zEHVBo). That is so weirdly bizarre to watch these days. A guy riding a dinosaur and powering his car with his feet? Sure no problem. But taking the family going to a drive-in movie, that’s just absurd. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/38 "2019-09-28T19:36:34Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > When I first saw _The Stunt Man,_ they ran one of the reels out of order. So you had Cameron saying something in response to Eli Cross that he couldn’t know, then later you see Cross telling him the words he answers with. I figured it out as I left the theater and put it together in my mind. Likewise, when I saw The _Salzburg Connection_ ages ago, reels three and four were shown out of order. The end of two and the beginning of four were at a natural break so it wasn’t noticeable but then the protagonist complained about his apartment being tossed and I wondered what in the hell he was talking about. The break between four and three was much more noticeable and _then_ we saw the bad guy tossing the apartment. More on point to the OP, in _The Prisoner_, the launch of a Rover was obviously [bubbles rising](https://youtu.be/ygLg-7G0Xp0?t=150) looped back and forth a couple times. You see it every episode during the opening, and a few times in the episode itself. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/39 "2019-09-28T19:50:51Z")
The Monkees’ _Head_ has reversed footage as they fall; it’s how they bring it all 'round back the beginning again at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907/40 "2019-09-28T20:02:15Z")
Way back there was a peculiar Japanese film called Latitude Zero. I saw it at a film fest, with a supplement on how a particular effect was achieved, of a sort of volcanic eruption. Thick paints were poured carefully into water, and the spreading effect was run upside down, and used that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-theyre-running-the-film-backwards/840907.md?page=1)