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The most fascinating non-CGI effect from Terminator 2 is a cut scene which can be seen in the director's cut, where they use Linda Hamilton twin sister in a sur

by the_af 5y ago

The most fascinating non-CGI effect from Terminator 2 is a cut scene which can be seen in the director's cut, where they use Linda Hamilton twin sister in a surprising way: to fake a "mirror" scene where Sarah is operating on the Terminator's head. They are in front of a mirror. They wanted to actually use Arnie in the reflection to show his face; they wanted a dummy for the head closest to the camera, to show the surgery inside the head. So they used a window in the wall instead of a mirror! Linda Hamilton and her twin sister are mimicking each other's movements to make it seem it's a mirror image. (The other use of Linda's twin sister, the scene where the T-1000 fakes being Sarah, is better known)

fennecfoxy 5y ago
Why not just use a half silvered mirror, that way you don't need the twin
- simonh 5y ago
  If you could see the reflection of Linda Hamilton in the mirror, wouldn't you also see the reflection of the Terminator dummy?
LaserDiscMan 5y ago
"Oh boy!" The same technique of using an extended set to fake a mirror was frequently used on Quantum Leap.
- klodolph 5y ago
  Or in Airplane! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D-n0yctyGY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D-n0yctyGY
  - dtgriscom 5y ago
    It was at least the third or fourth watching when I noticed that one. One of the densest movies I've ever encountered.
  - dotancohen 5y ago
    Airplane! might be the greatest movie of all time. It's funny, but it is also suspenseful, has great acting, and is full of serious subtlety and commentary. Even with the humor removed it is a terrific film.
peterburkimsher 5y ago
Thank engineers Thank Terminator Thank Hackaday Thank Hacker News Thank messenger zdw Thank the_af commenter Thank God for idea that twins are like cd ~/./../.../new_environment git clone human_genes configure make new
5faulker 5y ago
Ah... the brilliance of the old days.
knorker 5y ago
Huh? Do you have a reference for that? This is what I remember from T2 director's cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBHj8Xs4sg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBHj8Xs4sg (at 0:21). When I saw the theatrical cut it always confused me how John could tell who was the T1000. And it also annoyed me that Arnie shot the frozen T1000, seemingly only speeding up his thawing. In the director's cut you see that T1000 is actually damaged, but not damaged like a non-liquid robot would be. It's not losing mobility (control) of an arm, but instead losing control of its morphing functions. It's complete genius that was (almost[1]) entirely cut from the theatrical cut. It's ridiculous that the edit it out. [1] There's exactly one "flicker" of T1000 metalliness in the theatrical cut. A small remnant of a genius idea.
- the_af 5y ago
  > Huh? Do you have a reference for that? I can't find the "making of" video where they tell how they did this, but here is the cut scene: https://youtu.be/tZNE637BeEI https://youtu.be/tZNE637BeEI In scenes where you see Arnie's face in the mirror at the same time as his head being operated on, it's not a mirror, and one of the two Sarah's is not Linda Hamilton (whoever's face is shown less clearly). Edit: lots of hits on Google saying this is how they did it, but I cannot find a single authoritative reference, like a making of video or someone involved in the production saying so.
  - knorker 5y ago
    Ok, I was being an idiot. I was thinking of the other Hamilton-twin scene. Got it, yeah that was a good use of her.
- mordymoop 5y ago
  I just figured that T1000 would never say “get out of the way!” instead of just shooting him.
- easymodex 5y ago
  Oh i remember as a kid it made sense, they didn't have that kind of relationship. Since his mom was a badass always fighting type, she didn't care about herself she just wanted John to live, but here she was calling him like "John, help me". While the real mom was just "Get out of the way" no BS type. And yeah like the other poster said, if it was T-1000 he wouldn't say get out of the way.
gmueckl 5y ago
This is explained in one of the DVD extras on my copy of Terminator 2. I don't remeber if it's in the director's commentary of the movie or one of the extra videos and I don't have time to look it up. But it's definitely there.
sho_hn 5y ago
I agree this is super neat, but for what it's worth, the "the mirror is actually a hole in the set" technique is kind of a standard go-to in movie making. I am very enamored with the iconic "impossible mirror" shot in Robert Zemeckis' "Contact" instead, which used subtle CGI to brilliant effect to innovate over the practical bag of tricks. It's my single favorite effects shot in movies: https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk (from 1:10 for the impatient)
- OJFord 5y ago
  Amazing. I do wonder if I'd actually notice just watching it (haven't seen the film) vs. it being pointed out to me though. I think I miss (just thinking 'nice cinematography', but not realising specifically why) a lot of clever stuff.
  - scrollaway 5y ago
    For what it's worth, i missed it when watching the movie. It just feels like there's something weird that just happened but you can't quite tell, like a nice and subtle spice in a well made dish.
  - fknorangesite 5y ago
    > I do wonder if I'd actually notice just watching it Almost certainly not; that's the point.
    - kleiba 5y ago
      I don't remember whether I noticed it or not when I saw the movie, but I'd like to believe I would have. It reminds be a bit of the final scene of Hitchcock's "Birds": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxw4UDY5g8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxw4UDY5g8 (up until 0:35)
      - dotancohen 5y ago
        1. What reminds you of Birds? I don't see the parallels. 2. The original Birds did not have that music. I cannot believe how classic media remasters completely ruin the tone of the originals. From Star Wars, to Rust in Peace, to Birds now.
johnflan 5y ago
From T3 (I believe this was a cut scene too) but really enjoyed the backstory for the T800 chassis and voice https://youtu.be/kayFrIR-Qfw https://youtu.be/kayFrIR-Qfw

by the_af 5y ago

fennecfoxy 5y ago

Why not just use a half silvered mirror, that way you don't need the twin

simonh 5y ago
If you could see the reflection of Linda Hamilton in the mirror, wouldn't you also see the reflection of the Terminator dummy?

LaserDiscMan 5y ago

"Oh boy!" The same technique of using an extended set to fake a mirror was frequently used on Quantum Leap.

klodolph 5y ago
Or in Airplane! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D-n0yctyGY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D-n0yctyGY
- dtgriscom 5y ago
  It was at least the third or fourth watching when I noticed that one. One of the densest movies I've ever encountered.
- dotancohen 5y ago
  Airplane! might be the greatest movie of all time. It's funny, but it is also suspenseful, has great acting, and is full of serious subtlety and commentary. Even with the humor removed it is a terrific film.

peterburkimsher 5y ago

Thank engineers Thank Terminator Thank Hackaday Thank Hacker News Thank messenger zdw Thank the_af commenter Thank God for idea that twins are like cd ~/./../.../new_environment git clone human_genes configure make new

5faulker 5y ago

Ah... the brilliance of the old days.

knorker 5y ago

Huh? Do you have a reference for that? This is what I remember from T2 director's cut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBHj8Xs4sg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBHj8Xs4sg (at 0:21). When I saw the theatrical cut it always confused me how John could tell who was the T1000. And it also annoyed me that Arnie shot the frozen T1000, seemingly only speeding up his thawing. In the director's cut you see that T1000 is actually damaged, but not damaged like a non-liquid robot would be. It's not losing mobility (control) of an arm, but instead losing control of its morphing functions. It's complete genius that was (almost[1]) entirely cut from the theatrical cut. It's ridiculous that the edit it out. [1] There's exactly one "flicker" of T1000 metalliness in the theatrical cut. A small remnant of a genius idea.

the_af 5y ago
> Huh? Do you have a reference for that? I can't find the "making of" video where they tell how they did this, but here is the cut scene: https://youtu.be/tZNE637BeEI https://youtu.be/tZNE637BeEI In scenes where you see Arnie's face in the mirror at the same time as his head being operated on, it's not a mirror, and one of the two Sarah's is not Linda Hamilton (whoever's face is shown less clearly). Edit: lots of hits on Google saying this is how they did it, but I cannot find a single authoritative reference, like a making of video or someone involved in the production saying so.
- knorker 5y ago
  Ok, I was being an idiot. I was thinking of the other Hamilton-twin scene. Got it, yeah that was a good use of her.
mordymoop 5y ago
I just figured that T1000 would never say “get out of the way!” instead of just shooting him.
easymodex 5y ago
Oh i remember as a kid it made sense, they didn't have that kind of relationship. Since his mom was a badass always fighting type, she didn't care about herself she just wanted John to live, but here she was calling him like "John, help me". While the real mom was just "Get out of the way" no BS type. And yeah like the other poster said, if it was T-1000 he wouldn't say get out of the way.

gmueckl 5y ago

This is explained in one of the DVD extras on my copy of Terminator 2. I don't remeber if it's in the director's commentary of the movie or one of the extra videos and I don't have time to look it up. But it's definitely there.

sho_hn 5y ago

I agree this is super neat, but for what it's worth, the "the mirror is actually a hole in the set" technique is kind of a standard go-to in movie making. I am very enamored with the iconic "impossible mirror" shot in Robert Zemeckis' "Contact" instead, which used subtle CGI to brilliant effect to innovate over the practical bag of tricks. It's my single favorite effects shot in movies: https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk https://youtu.be/avRdYf78kLk (from 1:10 for the impatient)

OJFord 5y ago
Amazing. I do wonder if I'd actually notice just watching it (haven't seen the film) vs. it being pointed out to me though. I think I miss (just thinking 'nice cinematography', but not realising specifically why) a lot of clever stuff.
- scrollaway 5y ago
  For what it's worth, i missed it when watching the movie. It just feels like there's something weird that just happened but you can't quite tell, like a nice and subtle spice in a well made dish.
- fknorangesite 5y ago
  > I do wonder if I'd actually notice just watching it Almost certainly not; that's the point.
  - kleiba 5y ago
    I don't remember whether I noticed it or not when I saw the movie, but I'd like to believe I would have. It reminds be a bit of the final scene of Hitchcock's "Birds": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxw4UDY5g8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULxw4UDY5g8 (up until 0:35)
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      1. What reminds you of Birds? I don't see the parallels. 2. The original Birds did not have that music. I cannot believe how classic media remasters completely ruin the tone of the originals. From Star Wars, to Rust in Peace, to Birds now.

johnflan 5y ago

From T3 (I believe this was a cut scene too) but really enjoyed the backstory for the T800 chassis and voice https://youtu.be/kayFrIR-Qfw https://youtu.be/kayFrIR-Qfw