10 amazing stunts filmed without using computer graphics (1 photo + 10 video)

We are already accustomed to the abundance of computer graphics in modern cinema. But there are also exceptions. Whether it's driving a car off a cliff or eating something living and deadly, some actors are ready to go to the end, trying to realize the director's vision. It's hard to believe, but these stunts were filmed without the use of CGI.



10. "Tyler Rake: Rescue Mission 2" (2023)

After the release of John Wick, director Sam Hargrave knew he had to try. Not only do audiences expect full-on action, they want it to be as realistic as possible. He invited Chris Hemsworth to play the lead role in his action movie "Tyler Rake: Rescue 2".

In the prison escape scene, Hemsworth's character is hit with a Molotov cocktail and his hand is engulfed in flames. The scene was filmed several times, requiring jackets made from fire-resistant materials to protect the superstar from actual fire.

9. "Batman Returns" (1992)



Michelle Pfeiffer played Catwoman in Tim Burton's superhero film Batman Returns. She trained hard and did martial arts, so she was able to perform most of the stunts on her own.

It is noteworthy that it was the most static trick that impressed the audience. In the scene with the Penguin (Danny DeVito), Pfeiffer puts a live bird in his mouth. Years later, Michelle said she would not have performed the stunt if she had known the risks of injury or illness. Burton shot the scene in one take, and the rest, as they say, is history.

8. "Fast and Furious 6"



While the Fast and Furious franchise gained popularity with its action-packed, logically inconsistent CGI productions (they literally flew into space!), a decade ago, Vin Diesel and company were still making action movies the old fashioned way.

In the sixth part, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his associates engage in a fight with professional criminal racers, which leads to a series of large-scale battle scenes involving cars, planes and even a tank.

Instead of hand-drawn special effects, director Justin Lin used a real tank weighing 60 tons, capable of moving at a speed of 96.5 km/h. There was also a completely new section of highway built that could cause chaos.

7. "Candyman" (1992)



The bees in the classic horror film Candyman were real. To prevent insects from entering his throat, a plug was inserted into Tony Todd's mouth. While filming the frightening scene, he was stung 23 times, but was well compensated for his suffering. Todd negotiated a $1,000 bonus for each bite.

6. "Oppenheimer" (2023)



The biographical film directed by Christopher Nolan tells the story of the creator of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy plays a genius who experiences ups and downs. Along this path, the viewer is treated to a spectacle - the Trinity test.

According to Nolan, recreating a nuclear explosion without using computer graphics presented the greatest challenges. In the New Mexico desert, they used fuel barrels with explosives underneath them. Visual effects were used in post-production to stitch together footage of multiple explosions.

5. "Death Proof" (2007)



Zoe Bell is a real stuntwoman. In Tarantino's black comedy, her heroine climbs onto the hood of a Dodge Challenger, which accelerates to 140 km/h. Moreover, the director forced the film's antagonist, stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), to try to ram her car. Bell put her life on the line so that the author of "Pulp Fiction" could carry out his plan.

4. John Wick 4 (2023)



The John Wick films, directed by former stuntmen, are full of action scenes. And franchise star Keanu Reeves throws himself into battle at almost every turn.

In Paris, 222 steps lead up Montmartre Hill to the famous Sacré-Coeur Basilica, and it's here that director Chad Stahelski staged one of John Wick 4's most daring and deadly stunts. In this scene, Wick (Reeves) finds himself at the bottom of the stairs and is forced to fight an army of henchmen to climb up and face the main villain. When the hero has almost reached the top, he falls down. Vincent Bouillon, Reeves' backup, spared no effort and worked the fall twice.

3. "Inception" (2010)



Christopher Nolan seems to be striving to outdo himself with every subsequent film. However, in the thriller Inception, he showed supreme skill with a combination of mind-blowing set pieces, sparse use of CGI and truly epic stunt work. The fight in the corridor in zero gravity leaves a special impression.

Stuck between levels of sleep in a hotel that is physically and metaphysically unstable, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is forced to fend off goons while gravity and perspective shift.

Inspired by the rotating structure used in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, he built two giant suspended sets: a horizontal one that could rotate 360 ​​degrees, and a vertical one to hold the cables. So Gordon-Levitt spent three weeks filming inside the spinning corridor.

2. "GoldenEye" (1995)



Wanting to make his mark on Bond and introduce a new Agent 007, director Martin Campbell went to great lengths and began with one of the franchise's craziest stunts - the dam jump.

Instead of Pierce Brosnan, stuntman Wayne Michaels fell from a height of 220 m from the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland, setting a record in cinema history.

After the release of the film, this place became popular among bungee jumping enthusiasts.

1. "Mission: Impossible: Deadly Reckoning, Part 1" (2023)



Mission: Impossible has become synonymous with all-out action and crazy stunt work, thanks to Tom Cruise's ever-increasing appetite for danger.

Similar to the first film, in which Ethan Hunt (Cruise) fights double agent Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) on a train from London to Paris, Deadly Reckoning sees Hunt fight terrorist Gabriel (Esai Morales) on top of the Orient Express. .

Director Christopher McQuarrie and his team built a special train that could house the equipment and travel at speeds of up to 96.5 km/h. Cruz and Morales fought, trying not to fall, as the locomotive raced along a real railroad track.