Horror Movies: texas chainsaw massacre

Τετάρτη 16 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Origins and inspiration for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre film (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

Origins and inspiration for the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

“Who will survive and what will be left of them?”

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) is one of the most significant and box office successful horror films. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an independent film written, produced and directed by Tobe Hooper the majority of film makers and actors were students from University of Texas at Austin. The film Texas Chainsaw Massacre has a huge impact on film industry and it’s considered that redefined the “last girl” horror film concept.

Tobe Hooper's inspiration for Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a “meat movies” according to a large number of very well established film critics and academics because the main concept of the film beyond the title! The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not a film about Chainsaws and not a film about a massacre. It’s a film about a cannibals family in Texas fictionalizing the most bizarre crimes in American history through camera lens using “cinema verite” (documentary) film making style.

In the beginning of cinema the act of cannibalism was not shown on camera, films like “Dr X” (Michael Curtiz, 1932) and “Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (George King, 1936) were the first films about fictional stories of cannibals.

Four decades later, in 1963 HG Lewis a southern independent filmmaker filmed the prototype for the gore, the legendary film “Blood Feast” and for the first time in cinema audience watched the cannibalistic intentions of fictional characters but there are restrictions to limb – lopping and tongue – pulling aplenty and there is no “human flesh consumed”. In 1972, Gary Sherman directed in London the film “Death Line” (in USA it was distributed) under the title “Raw Meat”. The plot structure of the film is based around the history of the “Man” a fictional character who was cannibal and he killed his victims in the tunnels around Russell Square tube station. In 1973 Fassbinder protégé Ulli Lommel directed the film “Wolves” / “Zaerlichekeit Der Voelte” the story of the film is about a true – life case of cannibal killer Fritz Haarmann.

Tobe Hooper’s idea about Texas Chainsaw Massacre

One Christmas during Tobe Hooper’s early life, the teenager Tobe Hooper was trapped in the hardware department of Montgomery Ward’s by the throng of seasonal shoppers. Tobe Hooper was looking around to find a way to escape he saw a chainsaw and immediately realized that the only way to get out from his trap was to use the chainsaw – the broad outline of the film’s plot and feel followed soon after.

The real crime case (cannibal case) of Wisconsin grave ripper and ghoul Edward Gein influenced the creation of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Kim Henkel co written the script of the film and during one interview she revealed that a local real crime case known as “Candyman Murders” influenced the script development and the creation of the film Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Also, Tobe Hooper said that EC Comics influenced him for the creation of plot structure.

You can see a Tobe Hooper interview about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series

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Resources

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Wikpedia

The Texas Chanisaw Massacre - Internet Movies Database

Ed Gein the True Story

Tobe Hooper - Wikipedia

Tobe Hooper - Internet Movies Data Base

I need to mention that this article tries to provide information to reader using all the available data on the day of its publishing. New information and data for this subject and issue are published every day. It’s been highly recommended to the reader to search on Google for more information. World is moving searching is the driving force. Searching is the source of inspiration and the source of truth.

Πέμπτη 20 Δεκεμβρίου 2012

Leatherface

Leatherface more than just a masked fictional and cinema villain

“The film you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths in particular Sally Hardestry and her invalid brother Franklin. It’s all the more tragic that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives..”

Voice Over, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

Leatherface - The history of masks in art and ceremonies

The masked villain as a main antagonist in fiction and generally in art is old but it was re introduced in American Independent Horror Cinema by Tobe Hopper in the milestone film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1973). The Mask is not only an object to increase the value of a plot structure or an object to maximize the importance of a fictional or cinema character. In my opinion the mask in cinema is more than an object is a global symbol of unknown, a warning of danger and a sign of death.

The use of masks is also in rituals and ceremonies, is a very ancient human practice across the world. Also, masks were used in drama and psychotherapy. Masks used for their expressive power as a feature of masked performance both ritually and in a large number of theater traditions.

Masks play a key part within theater traditions and especially in non – western theater. They also continue to be ritual; force within contemporary theater. Masks used also in Ancient Greece and Rome. In contemporary theater masks and puppets incorporated into European theater by avant – garde artists from the turn of the ninetieth century.

Leatherface - the background

Tobe Hooper the director, producer and co- writer of the film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was inspired by a chainsaw and he created one of the most successful horror film franchises ever. The film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is based on a true crime case of Wisconsin grave ripper, body snatcher and cannibal Ed Gein. Before “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” Ed Geith case inspired the creation of Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Psycho and two decades after the release of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” the same real crime case inspired the creation of another unforgettable villain Jame Gumb in the film The Silence of the Lambs.

Leatherface – The fictional character

The original character Leatherface was introduced by Tobe Hooper in 1974 legendary independent Horror film “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. The character is presented as a fat, ugly and antisocial man who works at the meat factory of the family. He kills cows for a living and also young teenagers.

At the initial film Leatherface appears as a killing machine who is under the complete control of his family he looks that he afraid the other members of his family and especially the elders.

to be continued

You can watch the trailer of Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974) and see the initail Leatherface character