PA Jack wrote: ....I read an actress interview about this scene, and you are right - this was an intricate process. She also said the mud smelled awful for the whole crew. But this is a really good scene, up there with Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle, I think, although the cinematography is infinitely better. Add in the self-rescue and there was a lot in the scene that needed to be just right.
All scenes are not this good. For instance, I don’t think anyone took a week to film the scene in Death Curse of Tartu; they just threw some sawdust on a swamp pool in the Everglades. Just watching your post reminded me of how good the Prey scene was.
Exactly this. In fact, it would be a fun exercise to try to determine the extreme ends of the cost/effort continuum.
Death Curse of Tartu would no doubt be a contender for the low end.
Krull comes to mind as one of the more elaborate. Apparently, there were multiple pneumatic (possibly hydraulic) rams/cylinders that the actors were lowered on. You can see Ken Marshall wobble a bit as he was balancing himself on one of them. It was also a large set.
Guns of Darkness would also be a contender on the high end, as well as the opening sequence of the Brazilian soap opera
Deus Nos Acuda (
God Help Us).