Can anyone here identify the three American warships moored in the background in Tangier Bay during the scene where Capt. Jerome assumes command of the joint Marine-naval landing party? I believe the largest ship with the three tall funnels is supposed to be the armored cruiser USS Brooklyn. The other two are a bit harder to identify.
Good luck, all!
The ship to the left appears to be the cruiser Cleveland (C-19). The ship to the right appears to be a single stack ship. I can't find any US warships of that period (c.1904) which had only one stack. According to the history of the USS Iowa at www.greatwhitefleet.org the Iowa (BB-4) along with Kearsarge (BB-5), Alabama (BB-8), Maine (BB-10), Olympia (C-6), Baltimore (C-3) and Cleveland (C-19) sailed to the Mediterranean in the spring of 1904. There were several ships already on station at that time (including the Brooklyn). You can find photos of most US warships at the Naval Historical Center website.
Hope this helps.
Thank you very much for your reply, rebel60. I believe you're right about the ship on the left being the USS Cleveland, as the Denver-class protected cruisers did indeed have the distinctive tall twin funnels and two-masted schooner rig, and, according to the book 'U.S. Warships of World War I' by Paul Silverstone, they were "designed for peacetime duties on foreign stations and tropical service".
The ship on the right could likely be a gunboat, possibly the USS Castine (PG-6), as certain sources list her stations between 1903 and 1905 in the South Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean.
Wow. We might have identified the ships from that impressive matt painting!
I think you're right about the Castine.
This is one of my favorite flicks - everything done right. However, I always wondered what if they could have done the background of the landing scene using CGI rather tan a matte painting (as you said it is very impressive), it would have been even more impressive.
You know, with the recent release of the DVD, the opportunity to insert a CGI shot of the three vessels in the harbor was there, but, IMHO, the matte painting gives that particular scene a more powerful and realistic effect. It's as if the sun, the haze, and distance diminished their features.
It's one of my favorite shots in the film, and that panorama still holds up today.
True enough.
As an additional observation - since we were able to identify the ships in the background, it's obvious that Milius did his homework. Not only were the ships recognizable as specific ships, but they were ones that were present during the real crisis.
they may have used a CGI insertion , if it had been invented yet! The wind and the Lion was made in the mid 70s, Star Wars used matte paintings and had to invent computer controled motion cameras. CGI was not in common use until this century< for crying out loud.
shareNot quite true - CGI was being extensively used through the '80s, albeit not to the extent it is today - but still, your point is well-taken.
There may be honor among thieves, but there's NONE in politicians!
Yeah, the Brooklyn is definitely there. I think the other guys helped you out.
"The best of them won't come for money - they'll come for ME!" - Lawrence of Arabia
If Milius is interested in sprucing up his film, then I'm sure he'd keep the feel of the actual shot. There's one man on the face of this Earth who probably could've done better than CGI; Albert Whitlock. Regrettably he's passed on, but have a look at his Roman galley in History of the World. The sail actually billows in the shot. That's the kind of detail CGI shot would need for a spruced up "Wind and the Lion".
I hope to own this film on hi-def.
p.s. I thought one of those ships was the Mississippi... the one sold to Greece in later years.