Making-Of Documentaries - YouTube/Vimeo/etc. finds

Since people really liked the YouTube/Vimeo/etc. finds for Original Trilogy making-ofs, documentaries, promos, etc., as well as the other similar threads that I and others have made, I figured it made sense to make a similar thread for the Off Topic section as well. I’m sure people here know of plenty of interesting non-SW making-of documentaries, TV programs, etc.

This thread doesn’t really need any “rules” as with the documentary and trailer threads, but a highlighted title and short description would be appreciated. Of course any additional info like IMDB links, article links, and especially a thumbnail photo would be nice too. If you want to simply add the YouTube thumbnail to the post you can do it relatively easy like this.), or just PM me with the video link and I’ll send you the image link.

There is also the Video Essays - YouTube/Vimeo/etc. finds thread for fan made videos that don’t qualify as documentaries. And I’ve made a thread exclusively for full films posted online that are in the Public Domain in the Public Domain Movies (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds) thread.

An In-Progress INDEX… (click on ‘Expand’ to see the Index)

1 • Special Effects - 1984 documentary on SFX (scroll down)
2 • Burden of Dreams (1982)
3 • Inside The Labyrinth (1986)
4 • Journey to Krull - The Making of the Film (1983)
5 • Blade Runner Convention Reel (1982)
6 • On the Set of Blade Runner - 1982 Featurette
7 • A Look Into the 23rd Century - Behind the Scenes of Logan’s Run (1976)
8 • Giger’s Alien (1979)
9 • The Making of The Matrix (1999)
10 • Unmasking Zorro - The Making of The Mask of Zorro (2001)
11 • Movie Magic (1994-1997) (Playlist)
12 • The Making of Evil Dead II or The Gore the Merrier (2000)
13 • The Incredibly Strange Film Show - Sam Raimi (1988) (scroll down)
14 • Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood (1987)
15 • The House of Horror (2013) (Playlist - scroll down)
16 • Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989) (Deleted from YouTube)
17 • Arena: The Making of the Shining - BBC 1980/1999
18 • The Making of Fire & Ice (1983)
19 • The Making of a Popeye Cartoon (1938)
20 • Spider-Man On The Move (1981) (scroll down)
21 • Double Fine Adventure! (Playlist)
22 • The Making of Grim Fandango Remastered (scroll down)
23 • The Making of Day of the Tentacle Remastered (scroll down)
24 • The Making of Full Throttle (scroll down)
25 • 60 Million for Fantasies: How The NeverEnding Story Was Made (1984) (German audio, Eng. subs.)
26 • Re-imagining The NeverEnding Story (2014) (scroll down)
27 • Raiders of the Lost Ark featurette (1981)
28 • Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark (TV special, 1981) (scroll down)
29 • Raiding The Lost Ark: A Filmumentary By Jamie Benning (2012) (scroll down)
30 • The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (1998)
31 • Samuel Fuller and The Big Red One (1984)
32 • Return to Escape from New York (2003)
33 • John Carpenter discusses Escape from New York in 1994 (scroll down)
34 • Escape From New York - Unit Supervisor/Matte Artist Robert Skotak Talks Miniature Effects (scroll down)
35 • Escape From New York - Interview with Photographer Kim Gottlieb-Walker (scroll down)
36 • Making of Escape from L.A. (1996 TV special) (scroll down)
37 • Final Cut: The Making & Unmaking of Heaven’s Gate (2004)
38 • The Making of “The Silence of the Lambs” Featurette (1991)
39 • Inside the Labyrinth: The Making of The Silence of the Lambs (2001) (scroll down)
40 • The Inside Story: The Silence of the Lambs (2010) (scroll down)
41 • Jodorowsky’s DUNE (2013)
42 • What Is Brazil? (1985)
43 • 8mm Footage by Sean Young from Dune set 1983
44 • Destination Dune - 1984 Featurette (Deleted from YouTube)
45 • Impressions Of Dune (2003) (Deleted from YouTube)
46 • Dune Models and Miniatures (2006) (Deleted from YouTube)
47 • Interview with David Lynch on Dune (scroll down)
48 • Pink Floyd - The Other Side of the Wall (1982)
49 • Retrospective: Looking Back At The Wall (1999) (scroll down)
50 • Rock Milestones: Pink Floyd - The Wall (2019) (scroll down)
51 • Pink Floyd - The Wall: The Lost Documentary (1980) (scroll down)
52 • Hot Air & Fantasy: The Making of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)
53 • Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss’
54 • The Making of Dr. No (Deleted from YouTube)
55 • The Making of From Russia With Love (Deleted from YouTube)
56 • The Making of Goldfinger (Deleted from YouTube)
57 • The Making of Thunderball (Deleted from YouTube)
58 • The Making of You Only Live Twice (Deleted from YouTube)
59 • On Location With Ken Adam (007: Thunderball) (Deleted from YouTube)
60 • On Location with Ken Adam (007: You Only Live Twice) (Deleted from YouTube)
61 • In the Teeth of Jaws (1997)
62 • Animal Icons: Jaws (2005) (scroll down)
63 • The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of ‘Jaws’ (2007) (scroll down)
64 • Jaws: The Inside Story (2010) (scroll down)
65 • Inside Jaws: A Filmumentary By Jamie Benning (2013) (scroll down)
66 • GoldenEye - Building a Better Bond Featurette (1994)
67 • GoldenEye: The Secret Files (1995)
68 • 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
69 • 100 Years of Universal: Dracula - The Restoration (scroll down)
70 • 100 Years of Universal: Jaws - The Restoration (scroll down)
71 • Richard III - Restoration Demonstration (scroll down)
72 • The Man Who Knew Too Much - Restoration Demonstration (scroll down)
73 • The Gold Rush (1925 Version) Restoration Demo (scroll down)
74 • James Bond 007 - License to Restore (scroll down) (Deleted from YouTube)
75 • Ex:S - The Wicker Man (1998)
76 • The Wicker Man Enigma (2001) (scroll down)
77 • Scotland on Screen - The Wicker Man (excerpt; 2009) (scroll down)
78 • Interviews with Christopher Lee & Director Robin Hardy on The Wicker Man (scroll down)
79 • Creating an Iconic Character: The Incredible Hulk TV Series (2008)
80 • Of Muppets & Men: The Making of The Muppet Show (1982)
81 • 60 Minutes: Backstage at The Muppet Show (1979)
82 • An Opera of Violence: The Making of Once Upon a Time in the West Part 1 (2003)
83 • The Wages of Sin: The Making of Once Upon a Time in the West Part 2 (2003) (scroll down)
84 • Something To Do With Death: The Making of Once Upon a Time in the West Part 3 (2003) (scroll down)
85 • Emulsional Rescue: The Godfather Restoration Documentary
86 • It’s A Wonderful Life - 4K Restoration Process
87 • Conan Unchained: The Making of Conan The Barbarian (2000)
88 • Naked Making Lunch (1992)
89 • CRAFT: Creatures - Naked Lunch (2016) (scroll down)
90 • Portrait of a 60% Perfect Man - Billy Wilder Documentary (1982)
91 • “Nobody’s Perfect” - The Making of ‘Some Like It Hot’ (2001) (scroll down)
92 • Tarkovsky shooting Stalker
93 • Ghost in the Shell - Production Report (1995)
94 • The Fear of God: 25 Years of ‘The Exorcist’ (1998)
95 • E! True Hollywood Story - Curse of the Exorcist (2004) (scroll down)
96 • Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist (2010) (scroll down)
97 • Ghostbusters: The Legends of Ghostbusters - Cast & Crew Vignette
98 • Ghostbusters: Making a Ghost - Special Effects Vignette (scroll down)
99 • Ghostbusters Special Effects: Slimer, Stay Puft and Library Ghost (scroll down)
100 • Horizon - How To Film The Impossible (Remastered)
101 • More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)
102 • Bela Lugosi: Hollywood’s Dark Prince (1995)
103 • Boris Karloff: The Gentle Monster (1995) (scroll down)
104 • Lon Chaney: Son of a Thousand Faces (1995) (scroll down)
105 • The Making of Star Trek: The Original Series
106 • Billy Blackburn’s Treasure Chest - Rare Home Movies from of Star Trek: The Original Series (scroll down)
107 • Leonard Nimoy - Star Trek Memories Documentary (1983) (scroll down)
108 • A Bold New Enterprise - The Making Of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
109 • Star Trek: The Motion Picture Featurette (1979)
110 • The World of The Dark Crystal (1983)
111 • The Making of Rock & Rule (1983)
112 • Going Mad: The Battle of Fury Road (2017)
123 • A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making (2018)
124 • The Sweatbox (2002) - Kingdom of the Sun / Emperor’s New Groove documentary
125 • The Making Of Lifeforce (1985)
126 • Lifeforce Extras: Space Vampires in London & Carlsen’s Curse
127 • Ciao, Federico! (1970) - The Making of ‘Fellini Satyricon’
128 • Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet (2006)
129 • MGM Parade (1956) S1E28 clips: Walter Pidgeon promotes ‘Forbidden Planet’ + Meet Robby! (scroll down)
130 • The Inner Workings of Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (introduction by Forrest Ackerman) (scroll down)
131 • The Lost Footage of Forbidden Planet (scroll down)
132 • Forbidden Planet - Deleted Scenes/Outtakes/Alternate Footage (scroll down)
133 • Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983)
134 • Hollywood Goes to Hell - The Making of From Dusk Till Dawn (2000)
135 • On Location: Where Eagles Dare (1968)

NOTE: If one of the videos should be deleted from YouTube/Vimeo/etc. please PM ZkinandBonez so that the link can either be replaced or labelled as defunct. Alternatively PM one of the mods.

I’ll start with a simple documentary that covers various special effect techniques used from the early days of cinema up to the mid-80s.

Special Effects - 1984 documentary on SFX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp1Y_kVL6a0 - from the Cinema Garmonbozia YouTube channel (53 mins long)

darth-gary said:

Honestly, if someone had told me 3 years ago that Werner Herzog would soon appear in something Star Wars related, I wouldn’t have believed them.

Ditto. And seeing Herzog in the Mandalorian was to me, in all seriousness, one of the highlights of the series. He’s been one of my favourite directors for a long time and Burden of Dreams is one of those rare times when the documentary is equally as good as the film it’s about.

Inside The Labyrinth (1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LPSOnJyKDA - from the The Fourth Wall YouTube channel (1 hour 56 mins long).

The blurb:
“A behind the scenes look at the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth, featuring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.”

IMDB link & Back-up YT link

One of my favourite making-ofs as it really goes into a lot of details about the filmmaking process (especially the FX part), and unlike most BTS docs, which are usually not more than half and hour or less, this one makes great use of its nearly two hour runtime. Fun little bonus detail: Gates McFadden, who most will recognize as Dr. Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation appears in this documentary, though here she’s credited and referred to as Cheryl McFadden, which is the name she used when she worked as a choreographer instead of as an actress.

Journey to Krull - The Making of the Film (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MXYNyv6oeE&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=5&t - from the EndsAndOdds YouTube channel (22 mins long).

The blurb:
“A behind-the-scenes look at the 1983 fantasy film Krull. Narrated by Tom Bosley.”

IMDB link

Blade Runner Convention Reel (1982)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZVW8Zn5fSM&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=8&t - from the FUTURENOIR1982 YouTube channel (13 mins long).

The blurb:
“One of the Blade Runner Convention Reels featuring interviews with Ridley Scott, Syd Mead and Douglas Trumbull about making Blade Runner universe. This 16 mm featurette, made by M. K. Productions in 1982, is specifically designed to circulate through the country’s various horror, fantasy and science fiction conventions.”

On the Set of Blade Runner - 1982 Featurette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUg5xnTdxHo - from the 6stringsmonk YouTube channel (14 mins long).

Video also includes the Convention Reel and 6 minutes of silent BTS footage.

A Look Into the 23rd Century (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMx6ToStHms&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=9&t - from the Behind The Science Fiction YouTube channel (9 mins long).

The blurb:
“A promotional short giving a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the science fiction film Logan’s Run (1976).”

IMDB link

The Making of The Matrix (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ufqaDx4iuQ&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=4&t - from the Andrew Rayner YouTube channel (26 mins long).

The blurb:
“A promotional making-of documentary for the film Matrix, The (1999) that devotes its time to explaining the digital and practical effects contained in the film.”

IMDB link

Unmasking Zorro (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyjHIKf6zEg&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=18&t - from the Yet Another Channel YouTube channel (45 mins long).

The blurb:
“A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film The Mask of Zorro (1998), including a brief history of the iconic character.”

IMDB link

This has been one of my favourite movies since I was a child, and unfortunately it seems to be mostly forgotten these days. One of the last classic summer action movies made just as the industry started to get obsessed with CG-spectacle.

Movie Magic (1994-1997)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJXFMKmLwetci0pqwy5MgWcD0jgITXAYD - Playlist by the Danny van Spreuwel YouTube channel (32 videos, ca. 22 mins per episode).

The blurb:
“Documentary series dealing with every aspect of special effects in movies, from low-budget make-up to multi-million-dollar computer-generated graphics. The clear presentation includes descriptions of the creation and technical problems of the effects, and interviews with effects technicians, directors, stars and other crew. Each episode deals with one topic, effect or technician.”

IMDB link

darth-gary said:

That Labyrinth doc is great. I went to a screening of the movie on January 8th (Bowie’s birthday) and, though I’ve seen it a hundred or so times, I always find some little detail I never noticed before. This time it was in a shot panning around Sarah’s room, in the foreground is a wooden Labyrinth board game where you had to use knobs on the sides to tilt the board and make the small metal ball-bearing get to the end of the maze without falling in a hole… I used to get those for Christmas fairly consistantly, probably had like 7 or 8 of them at one point, heh. Also, I’d never seen that Krull featurette before! It was a peculiar but welcome choice to use Tom Bosley (the dad from Happy Days, David the Gnome) as the narrator for that.

Yeah, there’s a lot of fun little easter-eggs inside her room, like the Escher picture that foreshadows the climax of the film, dolls that resemble the various creatures she meets in the labyrinth, the music box which plays the same tune as the ball-room scene. There’s even a figure that blatantly resembles Jared that is very prominent in one shot in the last scene. I suppose these are all clues that the whole adventure was a dream, kinda like what Wizard of Oz did as well.

Also, great find on those two Sam Raimi videos, I remember seeing that first doc when I was in high-school and fanatically watching anything 80’s horror I could get my hands on.

Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4k6mRMw9fk - from the Cinema Garmonbozia YouTube channel (48 mins long).

The blurb:
“A retrospective of the films of Britain’s Hammer Studios, renowned for making stylish horror films in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, featuring interviews with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee & Martin Scorsese among others.”

IMDB link

The House of Horror - Memories of Bray (2013)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCqISFK17hERfshH-ZWlVnmCTnm1n6Jd4 - playlist from the official Hammer YouTube channel (5 videos, ca. 10 mins each).

The blurb:
“Discover how a manor house in suburban England became known as ‘The House of Horror’ in this 5 part series charting the growth of Hammer Studios.”

Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AJCVmvyKl0 from The Phantom Zone YouTube channel (49 minutes long).
(Shortened backup version from the VintageTreats YouTube channel)

The blurb:-
“Legendary British actor Peter Cushing (1913-1994) talks about his career in TV and film and his early years in Hollywood, while sharing private memories and anecdotes in his usual delightfully humorous way.”

DELETED FROM YOUTUBE

IMDB link

Arena: The Making of the Shining - BBC 1980/1999
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQVvHj2dwK4&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=10&t - from the Freq Out YouTube channel (28 mins long).

This is the 1999 broadcast of the documentary with added introduction by the producer of Arena.

The blurb:
“Stanley Kubrick allowed his then-17-year-old daughter, Vivian, to make a documentary about the production of The Shining. Created originally for the BBC television show Arena, this documentary offers rare insight into the shooting process of a Kubrick film.”

Dailymotion back-up link of the 1980 version; https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkq12a

IMDB link

The Making of Fire & Ice (1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPuTVjpuom8 - from the Returning Shadow YouTube channel (13 mins long).

The blurb:
“Fire and Ice was a 1983 animated film collaboration between Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta. Because it was the most action-oriented story Bakshi had directed up until that point, rotoscoping was used, adding a sense of realism that also helped replicate the look of Frazetta’s artwork. This footage comes directly from director Ralph Bakshi’s old VHS footage.”

Back-up YouTube link

This is probably the oldest making-of I’ve ever seen. It’s actually kinda weird to see a making-of that predates the invention of television. I’m assuming this was show before a movie alongside actual cartoons, newsreels, etc.

The Making of a Popeye Cartoon (1938)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkKjRr_zlxw&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=15&t - from the Margo Burns YouTube channel (6 mins long).

The blurb:
“How the Fleischer Studios made the Popeye episode Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp.”

Spider-Man On The Move (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2qGPQGDmMg&list=PLYn2a0e2FVIJ66EP8vMU64l-kIhHU9zg7&index=17&t - from the Josh Hadley YouTube channel (26 mins long).

The blurb:
“Documentary on the making of Spider-man and His Amazing Friends. Hosted by Stan Lee.”

I honestly can’t remember seeing a lot of documentary series about the making of games, but this series was fantastic and it really gave me a completely new appreciation for what goes into the making of PC games.

Double Fine Adventure!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIhLvue17Sd7F6pU2ByRRb0igiI-WKk3D - playlist from the official DoubleFineProd YouTube channel (21 videos, 20-30 mins average per episode).

The blurb:
“This landmark documentary series allows everyone to share in the passion, humor, and heartbreak of making “Broken Age”! Featuring twenty episodes plus a host of new special features, the Double Fine Adventure is the most in-depth look at video game development ever produced.”

They also made a similar 3-part making-of for the remastered version of Grim Fandango (one of the most origina PC games ever made IMO), as well as the remastered version of Day of the Tentacle & Full Throttle.

The Making of Grim Fandango Remastered
Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNhE7zxJymE (12:30 mins long)
Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-LSMCYjHow (7:30 mins long)
Part 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4rOgZ3RINE (15 mins long)
from the official DoubleFineProd YouTube channel.

The blurb:
“The makers of Grim Fandango discuss the development of the beloved adventure game and how Double Fine Productions plans to release the original classic to a contemporary audience.”

The Making of Day of the Tentacle Remastered
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjF4eMrYfG0 - from the official DoubleFineProd YouTube channel (12:30 mins long).

The blurb:
“Originally released by LucasArts in 1993 as a sequel to Ron Gilbert’s ground breaking Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle is a mind-bending, time travel, cartoon puzzle adventure game in which three unlikely friends work together to prevent an evil mutated purple tentacle from taking over the world! Now, over twenty years later, Day of the Tentacle is back in a remastered edition that features all new hand-drawn, high resolution artwork, with remastered audio, music and sound effects”

The Making of Full Throttle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS9_HODguwU - from the official DoubleFineProd YouTube channel (11 mins long).

The blurb:
“Tim Schafer recounts his time at LucasArts and the many influences that helped create the classic adventure game Full Throttle.”

Great finds, Raiders and the Thing are two of my favourite 80’s films (or any decade for that matter). The Raiders featurette was especially interesting. Its always fascinating to see contemporary BTS and interviews from before a film has made its impact and everyone’s trying to sell you on the idea.