Beetlemen - Pete Peterson stop-motion test reel

[blackfransis]

that movement is so fluid - and yet not. very creepy.

[Conbus]

Holy shit that's terrifying.

[oprep3]

In 1969 David Allen had several of the Beetlemen and used some to make the

Lizard Man armatures for Raiders of the Stone Ring which later became the

Primevals. One became the Flesh Gordon Beetleman and The Las Vegas monster armature later became the Nesuahyrrah in Flesh Gordon.

[Dinoslay]

I love the way they move. And the end part where they start swarming over the ridge. It makes me sad to ask why people can't make stuff like this today.

[4thtroika]

That is creepy, especially the way they just keep coming over the top of the hill.

[lavverlylad]

Loadsa Gollums! Heh, heh, Jackson, you should be ashamed of yourself! :)

[GeneralOlde]

It's kind of like Fantasia, only with stop-motion effects.

[areles]

I've been an admierer of Pete Peterson's animation since I came across his name back in '64. I dare say his animation is simply stunning, possibly besting Jim Danforth is every aspect but sculpting and creature design.

[kuhnigget]

Amazing! What a talent. Peterson is one of the great unsung heroes of stop motion. The movement and personality in this test is incredible! I wonder if his ability to create such nuanced movement had anything to do with his own disabilities? I know he eventually ended up in a wheelchair...was he still mobile at this point? Great stuff.

[flasputnik]

Thanks.  Extraordinary, eerie feel.

[Kathespoonmonkey]

Love it

[krafty11]

Thanks Artboy, this scene is really amazing. It's a shame Peterson never found the opportunity to explore his talents to the fullest. This shot rivals anything done by O'Brien or Harryhausen. I know at least one or 2 of those beetleman armatures fell into the hands of Jim Danforth and or Dave Allen, I wonder what became of the rest?

[krafty11]

WOW! THANKS ALOT for posting this! I've always heard about this but never saw it before. Is this available somewhere and do you anything about how it was made? He must have composited all those figures since there couldn't have been that many models, could there?

[artboy123]

Yes there was. There were about 11 or 12 models. Peterson used human reference film and if you notice, when they all start coming over the hill the center ones seem to repeat the same movements. Very smooth stop motion test film, nevertheless! (the test is included in the "special features section" of THE BLACK SCORPION DVD. as is the amazing LAS VEGAS MONSTER TEST SHOTS.

[scarletshade]

Graceful ...

[jmayon]

Nothing compares to good stop-motion....this is proof.

[Faltskogian]

Has a nightmarish quality about it, excellent.

[kuhnigget]

Wow! Great bit of animation history! Thanks for posting!

[artboy123]

Here's another bit of stop motion history...one of the armatures from this sequence was used as the armature for the swash buckling Beetleman in FLESH GORDON

[mythicstudios]

This sort of creeps me out for some reason, I don't know why, maybe I'm just a wimp. Awsome nonetheless.