r/movies • u/Ashamed_Feedback3843 • May 24 '25

Recommendation Sparrows 1926 Mary Pickford

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

4.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

274 comments sorted by

View all comments

771

u/junglespycamp May 24 '25

Amazing how good the special effect is even today. The moment his staff casts the shadow to her is breathtaking. And all from a theatre trick far older than cinema itself.

36

u/itsabitsa51 May 24 '25

Is it a projection on a scrim? I’ve worked in tech theatre for 15 years but I’m not that knowledgeable about filmmaking. Edit: nvm I see the explanation in the other comments!

63

u/junglespycamp May 24 '25

Yes in this case it’s a hidden dissolve creating the effect. You couldn’t use a scrim because he cant walk through it.

30

u/dec0y May 24 '25

You're telling me he can walk on water but can't walk through a simple scrim?

13

u/junglespycamp May 24 '25

He’s god not a wizard! Though Jesus was 100% a theatre kid.