Forced Perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation between them and the vantage point of the spectator or camera. It has uses in photography, filmmaking and architecture. In filmmaking Forced perspective had been a feature of German silent films, and ''Citizen Kane'' revived the practice. Movies, especially B-movies in the 1950s and 1960s, were produced on limited budgets and often featured forced perspective shots. Forced perspective can be made more believable when environmental conditions obscure the difference in perspective. For example, the final scene of the famous movie ''Casablanca'' takes place at an airport in the middle of a storm, although the entire scene was shot in a studio. This was accomplished by using a painted backdrop of an aircraft, which was "serviced" by dwarfs stan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Most Powerful Laser Guide Star System, Paranal Observatory
Most or Möst may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** Autodrom Most, motorsport race track near Most * Möst, Khovd, a district in Khovd, Mongolia * Most, Mokronog-Trebelno, a settlement in Slovenia * Most, Istria County, a settlement in Croatia Other uses * Most (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Franz Welser-Möst (born 1960), Austrian conductor * ''Most'' (1969 film), a film about WWII Yugoslavian partisans * ''Most'' (2003 film), a Czech film * ''Most!'', 2018 Czech TV series * Most (grape) or Chasselas * most (Unix), a terminal pager on Unix and Unix-like systems * Most (wine) or Apfelwein * ''most'', an English degree determiner * Monolithic System Technology (MoST), a defunct American fabless semiconductor company * Most (Croatian political party), a party founded in 2012 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the Tolkien's legendarium, fantasy of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting Middle-earth, the central continent of Arda (Middle-earth), Arda in an imagined mythological past. They are based on the Dwarf (mythology), dwarfs of Germanic myths who were small humanoids that lived in mountains, practising mining, metallurgy, blacksmithing and jewellery. Tolkien described them as tough, warlike, and lovers of stone and craftsmanship. The origins of Tolkien's Dwarves can be traced to Norse mythology; Tolkien also mentioned a connection with Jewish history and language. Dwarves appear in his books ''The Hobbit'' (1937), ''The Lord of the Rings'' (1954–55), and the posthumously published ''The Silmarillion'' (1977), ''Unfinished Tales'' (1980), and ''The History of Middle-earth'' series (1983–96), the last three edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. Characteristics The medievalist Charles Moseley (writer), Charles Moseley described the dwarves of Tolkien's leg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Top Secret!
''Top Secret!'' is a 1984 action comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker ( ZAZ) and Martyn Burke. It stars Val Kilmer (in his film debut) and Lucy Gutteridge alongside a supporting cast featuring Omar Sharif, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, and Jeremy Kemp. The film parodies various film styles such as musicals starring Elvis Presley, spy films of the Cold War era and World War II films. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre. Plot Nick Rivers, an American rock star ("Skeet Surfin), travels to East Germany to perform at a cultural festival, which secretly serves the East German government as a diversion for a military operation with the intent of reuniting Germany under their rule. At a dinner, Nick encounters Hillary Flammond, a member of the local resistance movement who is attempting to avoid the authorities. He pretends to be her date to get to know her, and performs an impromptu song and dance (" Tutti Frutti"), mist ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oliver Hardy
Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film, '' Outwitting Dad'', in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy. Early life and education Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy on January 18, 1892, in Harlem, Georgia. His father, Oliver, was a Confederate States Army veteran of the American Civil War who had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and was a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment. The elder Oliver Hardy assisted his father in running the remnants of the family's cotton plantation. He then bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time Tax C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films and cameo roles. Laurel began his career in music hall, where he developed a number of his standard comic devices, including the bowler hat, the deep comic gravity and the nonsensical understatement, and developed his skills in pantomime and music-hall sketches.McCabe 2005, p. 143. Robson, 2005. Retrieved: 18 June 2012. He was a member of "Fred Karno's London Comedians", where he was Charlie Chaplin's understudy. He and Chaplin arrived in the United States on the same ship from the United Kingdom with the Karno troupe. Laurel began his film career in 1917 and made his final appearance in 1951. He appeared with his comic partner Oliver Hardy in the film short ''The Lucky Dog'' in 1921, although they did not become ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brats (1930 Film)
''Brats'' is a 1930 Laurel and Hardy comedy short. The film was directed by James Parrott. Laurel and Hardy play dual roles as their own children. It also inspired a helper group for the Michigan tent for The Sons of the Desert, which is composed of all the child members of the tent. This is the first of only three films where the boys each play a dual role: the second is '' Twice Two'' and the third and last is '' Our Relations''. Plot Laurel and Hardy are spending a night in with the kids. The fathers are playing checkers and pool, but are constantly distracted by their own incompetence and by their children, who are constantly bullying each other and trying to stay up late. The film begins with Stan and Ollie playing a game of checkers, and Little Stan and Little Ollie. playing with blocks. They smash a vase and are sent to bed. Little Ollie is pushed into a full bath and chases Little Stan out (leaving the taps and the shower on), but slips on the soap causing part of the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Laurel And Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "sound film, talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer Marvin Hatley, T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats. Prior to emerging as a team, both had well-established film careers. Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions. Both had appeared ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Visual Gag
In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretations of the goings-on. Visual gags are used in magic, plays, and acting on television or movies. Types In a 1991 essay ''Notes on the Sight Gag'', Noel Carroll establishes a taxonomy of sight gags, breaking down the varieties into six types: ;The mutual interference or interpenetration of two (or more) series of events (or scenarios): The audience is fully aware of the on-screen situation, but some or all of the characters misunderstand it. This type is used in the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film ''The 39 Steps (1935 film), The 39 Steps'', in a scene where two characters attempt to check into an inn while disguising the fact that they are handcuffed together. The innkeeper assumes from their intense hand-holding that they are newlyweds, and the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Europe 2007 Disk 1 340
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east. Europe shares the landmass of Eurasia with Asia, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the Drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the waterway of the Bosporus, Bosporus Strait. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and Europe ... is formed by the Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus Mountains, and the Black Sea with its outlets, the Bosporus and Dardanelles." Europe covers approx. , or 2% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface (6.8% of Earth's land area), making it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harry Potter (character)
Harry James Potter is the titular character of the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. The plot of the seven-book series chronicles seven years in the life of the orphan Harry, who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard. He attends Hogwarts, a school of magic, where he receives guidance from the headmaster Albus Dumbledore and becomes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry learns that during his infancy, the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort murdered his parents but was unable to kill him as well. The plot of the series revolves around Harry's struggle to adapt to the wizarding world and defeat Voldemort. Harry is regarded as a fictional icon and has been described by critics and publications as one of the greatest characters of all time. He is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe in all eight ''Harry Potter'' films, and Dominic McLaughlin in the upcoming television series. Harry also appears in the play '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rubeus Hagrid
Rubeus Hagrid () is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He was introduced in '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (2001) as a half-giant who is the gamekeeper and groundskeeper at the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is a member of the Order of the Phoenix and eventually becomes the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Hagrid is portrayed by Robbie Coltrane in all eight ''Harry Potter'' films. Creation and development Rubeus Hagrid was one of the first characters Rowling created. In a 1999 interview, she explained that the name "Hagrid" is an Old English word. She said it means "you'd had a bad night" and she explained that Hagrid "has a lot of bad nights" due to his heavy drinking. In Latin, "Rubeus" means "red", and was chosen because Rowling conceived of Hagrid as an "earthy, warm, and physical man". The character of Hagrid and conversations between him, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in his hut are e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's conflict with Lord Voldemort, a Black magic, dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic, and subjugate all wizards and Muggles (non-magical people). The series was originally published in English by Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Corporation, Scholastic Press in the United States. A series of many genres, including fantasy, drama, Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age fiction, and the British school story (which includes elements of mystery (fiction), mystery, thriller (genre), thrille ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |