The behind-the-scenes of the timeless Christmas classic Home Alone is back in the spotlight. Director Christopher Columbus recalled in a past interview that he "was terrified that the stunt performers might be seriously injured" during filming, and the interview has been revisited at year-end.
According to a report by the Daily Mail on the 24th (local time), Columbus in 2021 told the American Film Institute in an interview that the action scenes in the 1990 release Home Alone were all filmed practically with no CGI. At the time, before computer graphics became widespread, prop making and the stunt performers' committed physical acting were central.
The scene he said he feared most was when the burglars Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) climb to the second floor and are hit in the face by a paint can thrown by Kevin (Macaulay Culkin). Columbus recalled, "When the director yelled 'cut' after the take, no one laughed. I really thought someone was hurt," and added, "From the set it wasn't funny at all; it was only terrifying."
Fortunately the paint can was made of rubber, but there wasn't even a rubber mat on the floor. He said, "They were only wearing padding and performed everything for real. I always worried we might actually kill these people."
Other famous scenes in the film were also the product of 'real' effects. The scene where Marv steps on nails used rubber nails, and for the scene of walking barefoot over Christmas decorations, Daniel Stern wore rubber foot prosthetics. The director laughed, "If you freeze the frame the foot looks a little big."
In particular, the scene in which a spider crawls across a face used a real tarantula. The spider handler warned, "If you scream it may attack," and ultimately Stern performed a "silent scream" while the sound was added in postproduction.
The scene in which Harry's head catches fire was not CGI either. When Joe Pesci strongly objected, the crew put a ceramic helmet on and set it on fire, and filming proceeded only after the producer's 8-year-old daughter wore it first to prove its safety. However, Pesci later confessed in an interview with People that "he suffered serious burns to his head from that scene."
Columbus said, "Even so, Home Alone was the epitome of slapstick comedy," and emphasized, "Because of the courage of the actors and the stunt performers, it has become a beloved Christmas film to this day."
Released in 1990, Home Alone tells the story of a boy left alone when his family goes on Christmas vacation who defends his home against burglars, and it remains an immortal Christmas classic that is replayed every year around the world during the year-end season.
[Photo] film still
[OSEN]