Frank Turley Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 We hardly ever see real smiting of iron in a movie. Might there be an exception? I can't say for sure, but my journeyman-helper, Daniel, and I just lent some blacksmithing equipment to a Santa Fe area movie set, a Western village called Bonanza Creek. The blacksmith is played by Shaylor Alley, a local farrier and sometime blacksmith. We're hoping that they'll allow a hidden gas forge to heat a few bars, so a bar can be [apparently] brought from the fake coal forge to the anvil. Daniel and I are simply providing props. We have no sayso in their exact use, although we've made suggestions. Seth MacFarlane is the director. The movie is purported to be a humorous Western titled, "A Million Ways to get Killed in the West." The filming has just begun, so there won't be a release for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Furrer Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Found this online: "The Hollywood Reporter as following "a cowardly sheep farmer (MacFarlane) who chickens out of a gunfight and sees his girlfriend (Seyfried) leave him for another man. When a mysterious woman (Theron) rides into town, she helps him find his courage. But when her outlaw husband arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test. Neeson would play Theron's outlaw husband." It was co-written by MacFarlane and his longtime creative partners Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild." Not much room for smithing I would think. Most likely just used to flesh out the western town, but there is always hope. Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I was walking around old town San Diego and happened across an historic working blacksmith shop. As I approached, The smith pumped the bellows a couple times, and went to work on the anvil. I noticed the coke fire kept bubbling, and he ain't pumped the bellows in a minute or so. He would have fooled a normal citizen, but after me asking, he threw down and admitted he had an electric blower underneath, and just pumped the bellows for show. It all came across quite well, I didn't call foul.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale M. Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 And then today I cranked the blower for almost two hours as the resident black smith and his apprentice did demos for school children at our local museum and we then got to work at forge for a hour or so after demo... Surely would not what to crank blower all day... Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil H Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 1. Be good to see Liam Neeson in a dark role. 2. Charlize Theron would be enough to make anyone to find some extra courage. 3. Any chance that it could be re-written so that Theron falls for the blacksmith ( etc., etc.,etc.) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Emig Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Authentic smithing in a movie?? Good luck to that-mostly they just use it as window dressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Good luck Frank props are not real for the most part I have made bunches of them a lot of blue foam. Wonder if you could make a gas forge with Lava rocks. The closest I have ever seen was from the African Queen. and the straightening of the prop shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale M. Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Good luck Frank props are not real for the most part I have made bunches of them a lot of blue foam. Wonder if you could make a gas forge with Lava rocks. The closest I have ever seen was from the African Queen. and the straightening of the prop shaft. A classic for sure in many ways.... Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 The folk who make movies don't care about "authentic." Their job is to entertain. They try to tell a story in an interesting way. They NEVER EVER let something as irrelevant as "fact" get in their way. I can rattle off several titles containing fun or whimsical smithing bits, but not a one that is authentic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 The folk who make movies don't care about "authentic." Their job is to entertain. They try to tell a story in an interesting way. They NEVER EVER let something as irrelevant as "fact" get in their way. I can rattle off several titles containing fun or whimsical smithing bits, but not a one that is authentic. Rattle off please. Not to sidetrack the main purpose of my reply but I agree with your statements completely and haven't expected any authenticity in movies/TV/News/etc. for decades. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzer Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Closest I have seen in quite a while was in an episode of "The Virginian" though technically not a movie, each episode is roughly 90 minutes. They have been rerunning them on cable so I got to see a couple while travelling last week. Our hero needs information from a horse trader, who happened to be working at the anvil as he approaches. I was rather surprised when instead of the usual horseshoe, the trader pulled a shovel blade out of the forge, placed it properly on the anvil and hammered it on the flat with a localized cherry heat in the area he was repairing. And he didn't quench it as he was approached, but set it aside while he talked! (Didn't the writer get the cliche' manual? :D ) I think it's safe to assume there was no actual heat involved, but it certainly appeared that someone was taking care to be at least somewhat realistic in their depiction of day to day smithing on a small horse ranch. For a '60's TV show it was even more surprising. I am still holding out hope for more realistic smithing in Westerns, but it has taken over 50 years to get them to quit carrying their pistols in a buscadero rig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Blythin Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 It is so rate to see anything authentic in the movies. I'm a locksmith by trade, and their fora are full of people hacking on how lock picking is portrayed in TV & movies. One smithing example I recently noticed, was Orlando Bloom in 'The Kingdom of Heaven'. Early in the film he is a blacksmith/farrier, and they do have him pounding on actual incandescent steel. They then show him shoeing a horse - 'burning on' a shoe to test it's fit, etc. it wasn't a half bad attempt, for Hollywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thingmaker3 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Rattle off please. Not to sidetrack the main purpose of my reply but I agree with your statements completely and haven't expected any authenticity in movies/TV/News/etc. for decades. Frosty The Lucky. Okay: Fun & whimsical but with no authenticity... Dwarven counter-blow hammer at the beginning of the The Hobbit. Orcs cold-forging an edge on their bronze machetes in The Two Towers. Totosai adjusting a sword in InuYasha. (Totosai is a fire-breathing demon blacksmith.) Ged & his father in Earthsea. (Just in the movie - in the book Ged was a goat-herder, not a smith.) Buster Keaton in The Blacksmith. And of course that Disney thing with Orlando Bloom & whats-his-name fighting in a 1700s industrial smithy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Evans Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 (edited) Rattle off please. Frosty The Lucky. Were the 3811 views and 82 posts not enough for you in Idle talk, Who is your favorite Blacksmith from the movies? Gluttons for punishment some people! :) Edited May 12, 2013 by Alan Evans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Okay, so I misread and thought you were referring to smithing elements in the Titles, not the titles of shows with smithing in them. Okay, how about the episode of Have Gun Will Travel, or it, Bat Masterson, where the hero was waylaid, robbed and dumped in the desert. As he was making his way to salvation he came across a wagon train that'd been wiped out by indians. He salvaged arrows, a spoke form a wheel to shave down for an atlatl to thro the arrows. Last he forged a knife from a wagon wheel, not the tire but the bearing rim. That inspired me to make an atlatl sort of rock thrower that put men even footing with the big kids but Dad wouldn't even consider letting make a forge and knife. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Okay: Fun & whimsical but with no authenticity... Dwarven counter-blow hammer at the beginning of the The Hobbit. Orcs cold-forging an edge on their bronze machetes in The Two Towers. Totosai adjusting a sword in InuYasha. (Totosai is a fire-breathing demon blacksmith.) Ged & his father in Earthsea. (Just in the movie - in the book Ged was a goat-herder, not a smith.) Buster Keaton in The Blacksmith. And of course that Disney thing with Orlando Bloom & whats-his-name fighting in a 1700s industrial smithy. You forgot the scene in "Conan the Barbarian" where they cast the sword then hammer it all out. I was watching "Vikings" on the history channel. While I found that in general they did a good job depicting Viking living around the time of the LIndisfarne raid of 793, I was rather disappointed when they did show one scene where a blacksmith, forging a sword of course, finished his hammering, quenched the still hot blade then put it back in the fire. We all know that all blacksmiths did was forge swords and make armor. Forget making cooking utensils, carpenters tools, nails, and just about every other metal item that a village would have to use for daily life. Nope, gotta show em making swords, cause that's all blacksmiths do. (Sarcastic rant over) :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richbridge99 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Not much black smithing shown, but a Canadian made movie Gunless, has the makings of an old western Canadian smithy. If nothing else, the blacksmith plays an important role in a quirky, but enjoyable movie. Some of you more experienced Smith's could critic a lot more than I can. Richard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmccustomknives Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Ah smithing is so romantisized in the movies and I understand a particular video game. A guy came to me asking about 'smithing as his son wants to become one because of a video game. My nephew however decided to try it after he was showed now to forge. He decided it wasn't near as easy as it looked. :rolleyes: As far as anyone using my stuff, for a movie or not rule 1, no cold steel allowed on the anvil. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitsuwa Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 In the Hollywood movie The Last Samurai, Kuniiye Yoshihara who is a sword smith in real life has a short scene forging on a blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Shears Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 There's an interesting opening sequence for the Russell Crowe movie HAMMERS OVER THE ANVIL, where an unseen (never see the face, only hands) farrier forges a horseshoe from bar stock. Couldn't get into the plot, so I never finished watching the movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinobi Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 watching last of the mohicans right now, 10 minutes in they have a passing through town shot which includes maybe 10-15 seconds of a blacksmith working that i had never really even registered the previous times i had watched the movie. but since i have started learning how to forge something just stuck out to me, and im reasonably certain that the smith is using a flatter (flat face up) as his hammer! paged through it in slo mo and it catches the light on the way down and you can pretty plainly see the flat face. at least the iron was actually hot :blink: just found that amusing :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 My mum works in the film industry & worked on the re-make of Great Expectations, i haven't actually seen it yet but she said Jason Flemyng (who played Joe Gargery) had blacksmithing lessons as part of his role research. Hopefully it shows in the film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 B.T.W careful what you post about films that aren't out yet. If the production feel you're giving away anything or undermining them in any way, you'll really know about it. It's getting insane the levels of protection they go to to protect script leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 watching last of the mohicans right now, 10 minutes in they have a passing through town shot which includes maybe 10-15 seconds of a blacksmith working that i had never really even registered the previous times i had watched the movie. but since i have started learning how to forge something just stuck out to me, and im reasonably certain that the smith is using a flatter (flat face up) as his hammer! paged through it in slo mo and it catches the light on the way down and you can pretty plainly see the flat face. at least the iron was actually hot :blink: just found that amusing :) Yeah, that's a common thing to see in movies. the producers must think blacksmiths had those weird looking "hammers" so they have to shoot them using one. the one I've seen most is a top swage being used upside down as a hammer. Heck, I used to go to museums in various cities and towns here in Alaska and I don't know how many times I've sought out the curator so I could arrange the "blacksmith shop" to reflect a real shop. Most had a mannequin holding a top swage upside down as a hammer. <sigh> At least the curators of museums were receptive to having someone with a little experience correct things. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel OF Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 Something else has just occurred to me - continuity & the problems it poses. The continuity persob won't want the headache of making sure the iron is heated to the same colour each time you see the smith, much easier for it just to be cold. Also films are very tightly budgeted, if it's going to cost them extra insurance money to have an extra in the background hitting hot iron, they wont pay it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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