# Movies with Backwards-running sections **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529 "2010-06-01T18:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/41 "2010-06-01T23:44:39Z")
I never noticed it myself, but according to IMDb: “Near the beginning of [“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”] as the camera flies towards Rohan you can see the smoke pouring back into the chimneys rather than out of them.” > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > In The Pride Of The Yankees, Gary Cooper was filmed wearing a uniform with the number sewn on backwards, batted righty, and ran to third instead of first. Then they reversed the print - all because Cooper was a righty and Lou Gehrig was a lefty. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Never could figure out why they didn’t do that with Ray Liotta in _Field of Dreams_-perhaps it’s because Kevin Costner would have to shown throwing lefty as well… My guess is that at the time “Pride” was released, everyone (for a reasonable definition of “everyone”) knew Gehrig was a lefty and a discrepancy like that would have left off the screen. By the time “Field” was made, not so much. > [@JSexton](#): > > Another from Star Wars. Not quite the same thing, but anytime there are automatic doors, such as on the Death Star, it’s shot in slow mo then sped up, because the effect was done with a crew slowly pulling open heavy doors. Hence the wooden looks on the actors faces while they hold still for a couple minutes. How do they account for them in every other scene? (I kid because I love.) ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/42 "2010-06-02T02:19:30Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I never noticed it myself, but according to IMDb: “Near the beginning of [“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”] as the camera flies towards Rohan you can see the smoke pouring back into the chimneys rather than out of them.” This is the one I came in here to mention. In addition to the chimney smoke, you can tell by the flapping of the flags (ripples traveling toward the poles), and IIRC there is a quick shot of Eowyn with her hair blowing in the wind in reverse. It’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/43 "2010-06-02T06:08:35Z")
IIRC the intestines leaping out of a corpse to strangle someone in **Reanimator** were done by wrapping them around the target, then winding them back into the torso (which just happens to be leaning up against a wall) and then running it in reverse. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/44 "2010-06-02T06:27:45Z")
On Voyage to The Bottom of the Sea, the scene where the giant octopus grabs hold of the Seaview, the shot is made by postioning the octopus on the Seaview, and filming the octous swiming away. Reverse the film and voila. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/45 "2010-06-02T06:55:22Z")
In Truffaut’s adaptation of _Fahrenheit 451_, the scene where Montag suits up for the book burning near the start of the film is the exact same as the scene where Montag finishes the burning and removes the suit, just shown backward (complete with the flame thrower’s flames burning backward). ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/46 "2010-06-02T12:15:59Z")
This is a fairly common film technique, although not always as noticable as smoke or water flowing backwards. 'Twas oft used in the pre-CGI days, for difficult stunts. Example: In RED RIVER, there’s a scene where John Wayne is wrestling with an Indian in a river, and Walter Brennan throws Wayne a knife, which Wayne neatly catches and stabs the Indian. The scene was filmed backwards: both Wayne and Indian actor emerge from water, Wayne un-stabs (stabbing motion backwards) and tosses the knife to Brennan. It’s smooth as silk. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/47 "2010-06-03T02:07:44Z")
In _The 13th Warrior_, a shot was originally filmed with the camera zooming into Antonio Banderas, but was reversed for better effect. The rain drop rolling down his face was carefully edited out. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/48 "2010-06-03T02:57:24Z")
When Mel Gibson is beheaded in Braveheart, they filmed it backwards. Pretty impressive effect. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/49 "2010-06-05T00:21:39Z")
Interestingly enough, I just found this today: Sin City has a shot where Marv c climbs out of a manhole that was run backwards. > **[Sin City (2005) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401792/trivia/)** > > Sin City (2005) - Trivia on IMDb: Cameos, Mistakes, Spoilers and more... ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/50 "2010-06-05T01:05:02Z")
Evil Dead (I or II or maybe both, I forget) uses footage of some gas creeping through the forest running in reverse, to show the beastie of the film retreating in sun light. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/51 "2010-06-05T03:06:11Z")
I appeared in such a sequence in a movie, in which I was hit by a car. I leaned over the hood, the car sped away in reverse, I straightened, turned casually, and walked backwards to the side of the road. I haven’t seen it yet myself, so I can’t vouch for how it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/52 "2010-06-05T03:13:34Z")
[Ace Ventura](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVu3hfwiuUE#t=0m52s) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/53 "2010-06-06T16:29:02Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > This is the one I came in here to mention. In addition to the chimney smoke, you can tell by the flapping of the flags (ripples traveling toward the poles), and IIRC there is a quick shot of Eowyn with her hair blowing in the wind in reverse. It’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. That’s the one I came in to mention, because far from being “easy to miss” it’s so obvious to me that it (briefly) takes me out of the story every time I see it. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/54 "2010-06-06T21:07:59Z")
Evil Dead 2 has parts where blood and other liquid goes back into the walls. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/55 "2010-06-07T00:56:38Z")
In **Brother From Another Planet** , scenes with John Sayles and David Strathairn were shot in reverse to make them look awkwardly alien. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529/56 "2010-06-07T05:39:09Z")
A famous scene is when Sadako comes out of the TV in the Ring, it’s filmed in reverse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-backwards-running-sections/541529.md?page=2)