Les Bowie
Encyclopedia
Les Bowie was a Canadian-born
special effects artist working mainly in Britain
.
Bowie began his career as a matte
painter at in 1946. His work found places in classic films such as Great Expectations
, Oliver Twist
and The Red Shoes.
He created his own company in 1951 and worked freelance on projects for relatively low-budget studios such as Hammer Films
and Oakmont Productions. His films for Hammer included The Quatermass Xperiment
(1955), Dracula
(1958) and The Kiss of the Vampire
(1963). His Oakmont films were Attack on the Iron Coast
, Submarine X-1
and Mosquito Squadron
. Bowie worked with Ray Harryhausen
on Jason and the Argonauts, First Men in the Moon, One Million Years B.C.
and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
.
Notable non-Hammer films included The Day the Earth Caught Fire
(1961), Fahrenheit 451
(1966) Casino Royale
(1967) and The Assassination Bureau
(1969).
He was also one of a team to win an Academy Award for his work on the 1978 film Superman, specialising in mattes
and composites
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
special effects artist working mainly in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Bowie began his career as a matte
Matte (filmmaking)
Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single, final image. Usually, mattes are used to combine a foreground image with a background image . In this case, the matte is the background painting...
painter at in 1946. His work found places in classic films such as Great Expectations
Great Expectations (1946 film)
Great Expectations is a 1946 British film which won two Academy Awards and was nominated for three others...
, Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist (1948 film)
Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dicken's 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony...
and The Red Shoes.
He created his own company in 1951 and worked freelance on projects for relatively low-budget studios such as Hammer Films
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
and Oakmont Productions. His films for Hammer included The Quatermass Xperiment
The Quatermass Xperiment
The Quatermass Xperiment is a 1955 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions, it was based on the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment written by Nigel Kneale. It was directed by Val Guest and stars Brian Donlevy as the eponymous Professor Bernard...
(1955), Dracula
Dracula (1958 film)
Dracula, also known as Horror of Dracula in the United States, is a 1958 British horror film. It is the first in the series of Hammer Horror films inspired by the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh, Melissa Stribling and...
(1958) and The Kiss of the Vampire
The Kiss of the Vampire
The Kiss of the Vampire also known as Kiss of Evil, is a 1963 British vampire film made by the film studio Hammer Film Productions...
(1963). His Oakmont films were Attack on the Iron Coast
Attack on the Iron Coast
Attack on the Iron Coast is a 1967 British-American Oakmont Productions international co-production war film directed by Paul Wendkos in the first of his five picture contract with Mirisch Productions, and starring Lloyd Bridges, Andrew Keir, Sue Lloyd, Mark Eden and Maurice Denham...
, Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1
Submarine X-1 is a 1969 British World War II war film loosely based on the Operation Source attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in 1943. In the film James Caan stars as Lt...
and Mosquito Squadron
Mosquito Squadron
#Mosquito Squadron is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum, with a memorable music score , which was composed and conducted by Frank Cordell.-Plot:During a Second World War Royal Air Force attack against German V-1...
. Bowie worked with Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and special effects creator...
on Jason and the Argonauts, First Men in the Moon, One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film starring Raquel Welch, set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions, and was a remake of the 1940 Hollywood film One Million B.C., and it recreates many of the scenes of that film...
and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a 1977 fantasy film, the third and final Sinbad film that Ray Harryhausen made for Columbia, after The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. The film was directed by Sam Wanamaker...
.
Notable non-Hammer films included The Day the Earth Caught Fire
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a British science fiction disaster film starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern and Janet Munro. It was directed by Val Guest and released in 1961....
(1961), Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1966 film directed by François Truffaut, in his first colour film as well as his only English-language film. It is based on the novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury....
(1966) Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
(1967) and The Assassination Bureau
The Assassination Bureau
The Assassination Bureau Limited is a black comedy film made in 1969 based on an unfinished novel, The Assassination Bureau, Ltd by Jack London...
(1969).
He was also one of a team to win an Academy Award for his work on the 1978 film Superman, specialising in mattes
Matte painting
A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques...
and composites
Compositing
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...
.