Did Woodward learn to walk on stilts for this part? He was enormous!
There were also times he reminded me very much of Michael Caine.
An excellent actor,,, first saw him in Breaker Morant and have been a fan ever since.
Also interesting to see David Warner in such a sympathetic part. He usually plays such creeps...
<Did Woodward learn to walk on stilts for this part? He was enormous!>
They probably used different camera angles to achieve this illusion. Another movie where this was done was The Green Mile. In that film, David Morse and Michael Clarke Duncan were both 6'5" tall. Yet Duncan appeared a lot bigger than Morse. This was explained by the use of different camera angles. I am guessing that the same technique was used in this film.
<There were also times he reminded me very much of Michael Caine.
An excellent actor,,, first saw him in Breaker Morant and have been a fan ever since.>
I agree. Woodward was an excellent actor. I remember him in Breaker Morant as well.
<Also interesting to see David Warner in such a sympathetic part. He usually plays such creeps...>
Yes, Warner was out of type, wasn't he? Still, I think he did an excellent job.
Did Woodward learn to walk on stilts for this part? He was enormous!
Not so. In one scene they were inside a house and Woodward was quite tall and walked around.
shareI've been a fan of Woodward since I saw him in Wicker Man.
I loved his laugh, and the angry dressing down he gives Scrooge about his words about prisons and poorhouses.
^^^
I loved that scene, and Woodward slam dunked it. It was so good in fact, that I thought there was some license taken with the novella, as that scene was never in the earlier versions. I was surprised to learn that Dickens actually wrote that line for the Ghost.
Just once, I'd like someone to call me sir without adding 'you're making a scene' ~H Simpson
Yes, I read he did learn to walk on stilts for this part. Wish I could remember where I read that.
share
I read the same thing years ago about the stilts.
Also, I now seem to recall there was an earlier film version where the Ghost of Christmas Present did tell Scrooge about his potential worthlessness in the sight of heaven, I just can't remember which one it was. In any case, it wasn't nearly as powerful as Woodward's performance.
Just once, I'd like someone to call me sir without adding 'you're making a scene' ~H Simpson
Ah, Google is my friend:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19841215&id=t2c xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HAYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2604,9951110
Interesting article, because I didn't realize he wore a "chest wig" too! Thought his hairy manly chest was natural.
More interesting trivia:
http://www.shrewsburychronicle.com/2009/12/10/filming-and-festivity-25 -christmases-ago/
Martin, who at 7ft 2inches tall was a double for the late Edward Woodward (Ghost of Christmas Present)
I did read your comments. Woodward had to use the stilts, as noted in that first link I posted. The second link states, in part: "Martin’s main job was to walk the route Edward Woodward would need to walk on his stilts, making sure there was no obstacles in the way of his footing and trying on the trademark green gown for size."
The shots of the Ghost of Christmas Present are Woodward on the stilts.
Indded, instead of taking liberties, this version probably is more true to the text than any other.
It is not our abilities that show who we truly are...it is our choices
When he cuts Scrooge down to size, it gives me goosebumps. Rare is Christmas Present in adaptations so contemptible of Scrooge, addressing him with a force of vocal power that could lead armies or bring fire and brimstone
http://brianscarecrow.blogspot.com/
Good call!
That would make 3 Christmas' I've saved, vs. 8 that I've ruined; two were kind of a draw..
He sure didn't look like himself.
shareDid Woodward learn to walk on stilts for this part? He was enormous!