Recently, after one of my "LIFE at Disneyland" post, a good friend of mine Imagineer sent to me a kind email telling me how he was pleased to see this rare LIFE pictures. And he added that it remembered him an old LIFE issue that was released at the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean in 1967.
What? A LIFE issue with LIFE pictures shoot at the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean more than 40 years ago? I had to find it, and the most difficult was to find the right "date" of the issue. I succeed to find the date, and also find a copy of it on ebay. As there won't be enough original copy of the magazine available for everybody, i'm sharing today these pictures with you. At that time, back in 1967, LIFE photographers were the best news magazine photographers in the world, so no need to say that the pictures are good.
Life did a four pages article on POTC, and on the first double page you can find this great portrait of the Pirate auctioneer - picture above.
Or this one of the pirates in jail and the dog with the keys.
And also this one of the prisoners in the dunking the mayor scene.
They also shoot images of a boat moving in the burning city scene.
LIFE photographers went also backstage at WDI and shoot two pictures of the imagineers at work on the Audio-Animatronics. Here is one of them working on a AA goat...
...and here is another imagineer at work on a pirate Audio-Animatronic.
Now, i suppose that you would be really interested to read the article itself, wouldn't you? That's why i took pictures for you of the whole pages. They are in high resolution, so if you double-click on them you should be able to read the text of this memorable LIFE article.
Here is the first double-page...
Here is page 3...
...and Here is the page 4 - half-page, in fact for these last two.
If you want to find a copy of the original magazine, it is the LIFE issue of September 15, 1967 and there is twelve copies available on EBay. But the the front cover picture was not one of Pirates of the Caribbean. No, the "main" article of this LIFE issue was on...Joseph Stalin's daughter!
All pictures: copyright Time-Life
Pirates of the Caribbean is an attraction only Disney could create. Imagine how unbelievable difficult it was back in the 60s to get all those animatronics to work and in sync with each other, without micro controllers and all the other technological advancements we have today.
ReplyDeleteIt is the most immersive ride of its kind in the world and all versions are true masterpieces from beginning to the end.
Adding the drops to an otherwise harmless flume ride was as ingenious for it's time as are the stunning scenes, animatronics, visual effects and storytelling itself.
I especially love the original and the Paris versions. The Paris version is the most original besides the original itself. Having a drop near the end of the ride improves suspense.
If you ever have the opportunity, try to get a reservation at the Blue Bayou or the Blue Lagoon in Paris, the visuals and detail are truly stunning.