Douglas Trumbull

A nostalgic journey through ’80s Sci-Fi-films, exploring their impact and relevance today, told by the artist who made them and by those who were inspired to turn their visions into reality.

Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick and released in 1982, is one of the most influential science fiction films ever made. Its depiction of Los Angeles in the year 2019 is oppressively prophetic: climate catastrophe, increasing public surveillance, powerful monopolistic corporations, highly evolved artificial intelligence; a fantastic vision of the future world that has become a frightening reality.

Explore the personal and professional triumphs and challenges of actor Natalie Wood, which have often been overshadowed by her premature death.

Decades after serving in WWII and assassinating Adolf Hitler, a legendary American war veteran must now hunt down the fabled Bigfoot.

Everyone has seen a Trumbull sequence in Stanley Kubrick's "2001 A Space Odyssey", Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" or Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Recognized and respected SFX maestro, he has also directed two full-length films which left their mark on sci-fi cinema: "Silent Running" and "Brainstorm". Today, at over 70, Trumbull-the-pioneer continues his quest for innovation and still dreams of a cinema which places spectators into the film. "Trumbull Land" is an immersive portrait of Douglas Trumbull in his studios and a diving headfirst in his cinema.

Long before satellites would journey to planets and deep-space telescopes would photograph distant galaxies, there was an artist whose dazzling visions of planets and stars would capture the imagination of all who beheld them. Before that, he was an architect working on projects like the Chrysler Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. He would later become a matte painter in Hollywood working on films like Citizen Kane and Destination Moon. Who was this remarkable man? His name was Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986). Chesley Bonestell’s mesmerizing depiction of “Saturn As Seen From Titan” became known as “the painting that launched a thousand careers.” Told by the many people who were influenced by Chesley Bonestell or knew him personally and punctuated with rare interview footage of the artist himself, the documentary compellingly chronicles the life of a quiet, artistic visionary, whose architecture and space art continue to inspire us to reach for the stars.

A man sets out to photograph UFOs in a scientifically verifiable manner only to get more than he bargained for. Shot by acclaimed visual effects master Douglas Trumbull in a new process called MAGI, 4K 3D at 120 frames per second, to create a powerful sense of immersion previously unseen in cinema.

A man sets out to photograph UFOs in a scientifically verifiable manner only to get more than he bargained for. Shot by acclaimed visual effects master Douglas Trumbull in a new process called MAGI, 4K 3D at 120 frames per second, to create a powerful sense of immersion previously unseen in cinema.

Shot in France, England, Switzerland and the United States, this documentary covers director Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre) and his 1974 Quixotic attempt to adapt the seminal sci-fi novel Dune into a feature film. After spending 2 years and millions of dollars, the massive undertaking eventually fell apart, but the artists Jodorowsky assembled for the legendary project continued to work together. This group of artists, or his “warriors” as Jodorowsky named them, went on to define modern sci-fi cinema with such films as Alien, Blade Runner, Star Wars and Total Recall.

This film is the story of an idealistic flight officer who hijacks her spaceship during an interplanetary cold war, and attempts to escape our solar system in search of other habitable worlds. However, when a small group of soldiers led by Second Lieutenant Kai provide unexpected resistance, Malleck’s master plan is threatened. A compelling sci-fi action/drama about one woman's vision for the next logical step in human development: the leap from interplanetary to interstellar colonization.

A documentary on Terrence Malick and the making of his film "The Tree of Life."

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.

Overview of the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This documentary about "2001: A Space Odyssey" looks at some of the things that seemed fanciful in 1968, which don't seem quite as much anymore.

Douglas Trumbull does a true deep dive into the making of the movie.

Mr. Trumbull discusses his history and ideas of creating innovative technologies for the cinematic industry.

A documentary film on the making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

With commentary from Hollywood stars, outtakes from his movies and footage from his youth, this documentary looks at Stanley Kubrick's life and films. Director Jan Harlan, Kubrick's brother-in-law and sometime collaborator, interviews heavyweights like Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen and Sydney Pollack, who explain the influence of Kubrick classics like "Dr. Strangelove" and "2001: A Space Odyssey," and how he absorbed visual clues from disposable culture such as television commercials.

The making of "The Andromeda Strain".

The making of Stanley Kubrick's classic space epic, presented by James Cameron, including unseen footage.

Author Arthur C. Clarke and the cast and crew of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey" star in this documentary, released in the film's long-anticipated title year. The origins of the production are traced as we see how the early days of the space race influenced Kubrick and Clarke's vision of a far more optimistic 21st century than we've managed to achieve - at least so far.

This is the rare UK Channel 4 documentary about Blade Runner, giving insights into it's history with interviews of Ridley Scott, the writers and nearly all the cast. Interviews with production staff, including Ridley, give details into the creative process and turmoil during preproduction. Stories from Paul M. Sammon and Fancher provide insight into Philip K. Dick and the origins of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Interweaved are cast interviews with the notable exceptions of Harrison Ford and Sean Young. Through these interviews we get a sense of how difficult and frustrating the film was to make as a result of an exacting director without allies and hot, wet, smoggy conditions; which added to the high pressure atmosphere everyone increasingly felt as the film went over budget. There is also a tour of some locations, most notably the Bradbury Building and the Warner Brothers backlot that was the LA 2019 streets, which look very different from Ridley's dark version.

In Search of the Obelisk is the first part of a three part interactive 'show' that played at the Luxor Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. In Search of the Obelisk is a short film in which a team of intrepid archaeologists discover an ancient pyramid in the Nevada Desert and discover massive caverns filled with advanced alien technology, which then morphs into an interactive film experience, where the characters talk to the audience in real time as the first motion control 'ride' begins.

Two brilliant research scientists have invented a device capable of recording and playing back sensory experiences only to have devastating results when one of them records their own death.

Two brilliant research scientists have invented a device capable of recording and playing back sensory experiences only to have devastating results when one of them records their own death.

See the full spectrum of the Showscan process. Magic sequences, special effects, miniature photography, high speed thrills and suspense.

In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine, and hopefully stop it.

Fantasies become nightmares and dreams become reality in the spellbinding story of a young boy and his family.

After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

In a future Earth barren of all flora and fauna, the planet's ecosystems exist only in large pods attached to spacecraft. When word comes in that the pods are to be jettisoned into space and destroyed so that the spacecraft can be reused for commercial purposes, most of the crew of the Valley Forge rejoice at the prospect of going home. Not so for botanist Freeman Lowell who loves the forest and its creatures, so decides to take matters into his own hands to protect what he loves.

In a future Earth barren of all flora and fauna, the planet's ecosystems exist only in large pods attached to spacecraft. When word comes in that the pods are to be jettisoned into space and destroyed so that the spacecraft can be reused for commercial purposes, most of the crew of the Valley Forge rejoice at the prospect of going home. Not so for botanist Freeman Lowell who loves the forest and its creatures, so decides to take matters into his own hands to protect what he loves.

An on-set documentary about the making of the classic science fiction film 'Silent Running'.

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico, are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scramble to a secure laboratory and try to first isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.

A high school girl encounters a variety of kookie characters and humorous sexual situations while searching for the meaning of life.

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

Traveling from Earth to an overall view of the universe, then zooming down to the atomic scale. Produced and exhibited at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.