MovieChat Forums > Live and Let Die (1973) Discussion > The awful makeup of Mr. Big

The awful makeup of Mr. Big

posted 15 years ago by TheSolarSailor
19 replies | jump to latest

Did the makeup that transforms Kanaga into Mr. Big really fool anybody back in 1973? Seriously, it's so fake looking...a rubber black face that really doesn't disguise Yaphet Kotto at all. I want to laugh when he "reveals" himself to Bond, seeing that he was obviously Kanaga in disguise. There is nothing plot wise to indicate to the audience that Kanaga and Mr. Big were one and the same, which leads me to believe that the intention was to really surprise the audience. Well, was anybody REALLY surprised by this ashy looking rubber prosthetic?

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[–] buckaroobanzai50 14 years ago

The make-up (?) was awful!! And on the commentary for the DVD, someone credits Rick Baker as the make-up artist. But a still in the extras shows another man applying the prosthetic to Yaphet Kotto. There is NO WAY that a highly talented artist such as Rick Baker, would've produced such a result. He was however responsible for the excellent head of the Witch Doctor, that Bond shoots before Jane Seymour is tied up.

[–] theverylastboyscout 14 years ago

That makeup was almost as awful and fake looking as Connery's "japanese"-makeup in YOLT.

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[–] koolstup 14 years ago

I don't think the make-up was designed to conceal the identity of Kananga (to the viewer at least). I remember being scared when I first saw LALD on TV when I was young, when he rips off the latex mask. I think that was the main effect the producers were after.

[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

I just saw "LALD" on Blu-ray and the crappy makeup is now more evident than ever. On Standard Definition it didn't look that cheesy but on HD it looks like a cheap Halloween mask. Besides that wig is so ludicrous!
However nothing can beat the exploding balloon that we are supposed to believe is Yaphet Kotto . Roger Moore's Bond flicks are sooo campy and cheesy (except for the TSWLM)

[–] knewton014 14 years ago

I don't believe anybody when they say they knew Kananga and Mr Big were the same person.

[–] norman-dostal 7 years ago

You're joking - are you blind?

[–] TheSolarSailor 14 years ago

Well, I have never seen the film in Blu-Ray, but I have the remastered DVDs and I think the makeup looks horribly fake even there. I never watched this film much back in the day, so I honestly don't know if the makeuyp used to look a bit more believable or not. Maybe back when it ran in theaters it was more convincing, not only due to the poor picture quality (when compared to high definition) and the fact that audiences of the time were fooled a bit more than we tech-savvy folks of today who know all of the tricks before we see them.

I love this movie, but Mr. Big was laughably unconvincing looking.

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[–] wwestar 14 years ago

The picture back then would have been superior picture quality. The wonderful about film is that even though it's old the films were shown on the whole on much larger screens than now. A good print from 1973 will still be better than any HD 1080 version.

[–] TheSolarSailor 14 years ago

While true, the overall quality of film back in the day was not so pure that it showed up every last detail or error. The better the quality of technology these days, the more it has shown up the old effects that used to look wonderful. This is true of George Pal's 1953 film War of the Worlds, which had impressive effects for all these years, but where now you can clearly see on DVD every last wire holding up the massive, heavy models of the Martian war machines. The Star Wars movies looked perfect on the big screen, but on VHS and then laserdisc, the effects were shown up and the mattes and such were clearly visible. This is the basis by which I ask if Mr. Big's makeup actually looked more convincing back in the day than it does now on DVD or higher quality.

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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] wwestar 12 years ago

I think you're missing the point slightly. I've seen a print of the 1953 War of the Worlds on a big screen and you can clearly see the wires. Star Wars was impressive because they were the latest effects for the time and since visual effects have progressed and because you've had repeated viewings of films you can see that visual effects have got better over time. My point was that the make up on Live and let die doesn't look bad because of new technology but because make up effects have improved since 1972. The way you see it on Blu ray is pretty much how audiences would have seen it on a Show Print at first run cinemas but they would only have been able to compare it to make up effects that had proceeded it. I believe it was Rick baker who did the Make up effects.

[–] porfle 12 years ago

I saw this at the theater when it came out, and the Mr. Big makeup ALWAYS looked fake. Even in the MAD Magazine spoof that came out soon after, the artist points this out.

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[–] TheSolarSailor 11 years ago

I think you're missing the point slightly. >>> It wouldn't be the first time!

wwestar, is seeing a print in theaters these days truly comparable to what it would have been like back in 1953? I am just curious, as I have never been afforded the opportunity of watching an actual film print of something old in theaters. The only thing I have seen is last month's AMC's presentation of the two original Frankenstein movies and that was a digital projection, and of course Halloween which was basically a BluRay projection.

I saw this at the theater when it came out, and the Mr. Big makeup ALWAYS looked fake. Even in the MAD Magazine spoof that came out soon after, the artist points this out. >>> Thank you porfle. That is what I was wanting to know. You were there and saw for yourself back in the day.

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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] Sfondi 11 years ago

i thought the mr.big was just some weirdo that liked to cover his face in makeup, but then he ripped the mask off

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[–] EgaBog 11 years ago

That's what I thought as well.

[–] TheSolarSailor 11 years ago

That's one way to look at it!

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Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] pawtrax67 8 years ago

He did a good job disguising his voice. I'm pretty sure Big 70's Sunglasses, fake nose, fake goatee, and wig would have worked without the mask.

You have to remember his character is supposed to be a Prime Minister, he couldn't let himself be known as a drug dealer and ganglord too. Instead of the cheesy shock value, they could have cast a different actor. And just say it was his cousin or something.

[–] j-curl 8 years ago

I laugh my ass off the scene where he reveals himself to Bond. The makeup is so bad and cartoonish.

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[–] HorrorMetal (834) 5 years ago

That was a rather ridiculous moment for sure. I really hope that wasn't supposed to be some shocking and elaborate twist. I can't believe that Bond was actually fooled by that lame "disguise".