Recycling is a great idea for our planet, and it turns out Hollywood has been doing it for ages! While we’re busy sorting our plastics, filmmakers have been carefully saving and reusing everything from sets to sound effects. Sometimes it’s obvious, but often these recycled bits slip right past us.
Here are 10 fascinating ways Hollywood recycles its movies!
The Wilhelm Scream: Heard It Before?
The Wilhelm Scream is one of the most well-known sound effects in movie history, showing up in over 400 films and TV shows! Its first use was in a B-movie Western called The Charge At Feather River. A character named Private Wilhelm gets shot with an arrow and lets out a memorable scream.
Disney loves this scream! You can hear it in Star Wars and even Toy Story. It’s also become a staple in video games like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto. Isn’t it funny how one scream can have such a long life?
Submarine Footage: One Size Fits All
Filming at sea is super expensive. So, when Ice Station Zebra needed submarine footage, they went all out to get it. They attached a camera to a real submarine and filmed it diving. Genius!
Since one submarine looks much like another underwater, that footage has been used in tons of other movies, including Gray Lady Down, Never Say Never Again, and Firefox. Talk about getting your money’s worth!
Recycled Film: Kubrick’s Garage Sale
Filmmakers are like those uncles who hoard everything. They keep old film clips, hoping they’ll be useful one day. And sometimes, they really are!
Stanley Kubrick, known for filming lots of extra footage, shot hours of helicopter scenes for The Shining. Ridley Scott later used some of that footage in Blade Runner. He just changed the music and painted out a Volkswagen. Voila! Instant mountain scenery!
Even Crispin Glover got recycled in Back to the Future II. After he didn’t want to be in the sequel, they used old shots of him from the first movie. Talk about a blast from the past!
Disney’s Animation: Trace and Repeat
Disney is famous for recycling animations. They would trace over old scenes and put them in new movies. For example, a scene of Snow White dancing with forest animals was reused in Robin Hood.
This process, called rotoscoping, has been around for a long time. Nowadays, digital animators reuse 3D assets, making it even harder to spot. Keep an eye out next time you watch a Disney classic!
Sets That Travel: From West to Space
Sets are big and expensive, especially in the old days before CGI. Star Trek needed a new alien location every week, which could break the bank. To save money, they reused sets from the Forty Acres studio backlot.
This backlot had everything, including the town of Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show. The Star Trek crew simply dressed it up to look post-apocalyptic in the episode Miri. Who knew Mayberry could be so versatile?
Title Recycling: Crash, Bang, Oops!
You’d think filmmakers would want unique titles, but sometimes the best name has already been taken. In 1995, David Cronenberg directed a movie called Crash. Then, in 2004, David Haggis also directed a movie called Crash. Awkward!
Even Ridley Scott’s Gladiator shared its name with an earlier boxing movie. Sometimes, you just have to hope your movie becomes the definitive version. And in this case, it did!
Robby the Robot: An Icon for All Ages
Robby the Robot first appeared in Forbidden Planet in 1956 and quickly became an icon. Unlike other robots that looked like men in suits, Robby had a unique, mechanical design with a domed head and visible parts.
He went on to appear in numerous TV shows like The Twilight Zone and movies like Gremlins. In 2004, Robby was inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame. He’s a true Hollywood legend!
Biblical Sets: From Jesus to Brian
When the Python’s made The Life of Brian, they faced many challenges. The movie reused sets from Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth, which was filmed two years earlier. Even some of the extras were the same!
Director Terry Jones said that the Tunisian extras kept telling him, “Mr. Zeffirelli wouldn’t have done it like that.” Ouch! Talk about déjà vu.
The Goofy Holler: A Disney Signature
The Goofy Holler is another stock sound effect that’s been used in countless Disney movies. It was originally recorded by yodeler Hannes Schroll for the Goofy short film, The Art of Skiing.
This yodel-yell has appeared in movies like Pete’s Dragon, The Rescuers, and Moana. It even made its way into Family Guy and Batman: The Animated Series. It’s the sound that keeps on giving!
The Odessa Steps: A Tribute to a Classic
The Odessa Steps scene from The Battleship Potemkin is one of the most influential film moments ever. It’s been recreated in many movies as a nod to filmmaking greatness. In the original, civilians are massacred on the steps by Cossacks.
The Untouchables famously recreated the scene at Union Station with a baby carriage bouncing down the steps. Other films like Foreign Correspondent and The Godfather have also paid tribute to this iconic scene.
Even Naked Gun 33 1/3 parodied The Untouchables’ homage. It’s a classic scene that continues to inspire and entertain.
So there you have it – 10 clever ways Hollywood recycles its movies! From sound effects to sets, filmmakers have always found creative ways to save money and pay tribute to the classics. Next time you’re watching a movie, keep an ear and eye out for these recycled moments!
Did you recognize any of these recycled movie moments? Leave your comment below!
