The Movie - Nosferatu


To watch F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" (1922) is to seethe vampire movie before it had really seen itself. Here is the story of Dracula before it was buried alive in clichés, jokes, TV skits, cartoons and more than 30 other films. The film is in awe of its material. It seems to really believe in vampires.

Max Schreck, who plays the vampire, avoids most of the theatrical touches that would distract from all the later performances, from Bela Lugosi to Christopher Lee to Frank Langella to Gary Oldman. The vampire should come across not like a flamboyant actor but like a man suffering from a dread curse. Schreck plays the count more like an animal than a human being; the art direction by Murnau's collaborator, Albin Grau, gives him bat ears, clawlike nails and fangs that are in the middle of his mouth like a rodent’s, instead of on the sides like on a Halloween mask.

Murnau's silent film was based on the Bram Stoker novel, but the title and character names were changed because Stoker's widow charged, not unreasonably, that her husband's estate was being ripped off. Ironically, in the long run Murnau was the making of Stoker, because “Nosferatu” inspired dozens of other Dracula films, none of them as artistic or unforgettable, although Werner Herzog's 1979 version with Klaus Kinski comes closest.

“Nosferatu” is a better title, anyway, than “Dracula.” Say “Dracula” and you smile. Say “Nosferatu” and you've eaten a lemon. Murnau's story begins in Bremen, Germany. Knock (Alexander Granach), a simian little real estate agent, assigns his employee Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to visit the remote castle of Count Orlok, who wishes to buy a house in town--"a deserted one." A clue to the story can be found in Orlok's letter, which we see over Knock's shoulder. It is written in occult symbols; since Knock can read it, we should not be surprised later when he calls Orlok “Master.”

During Hutter's trip to Orlok's lair in the Carpathian Mountains, Murnau's images foretell doom. In an inn, all of the customers fall silent when Hutter mentions Orlok's name. Outside, horses bolt and run, and a hyena snarls before slinking away. At Hutter's bedside, he finds a book that explains vampire lore: They must sleep, he learns, in earth from the graveyards of the Black Death.

Hutter's hired coach refuses to take him onto Orlok's estate. The count sends his own coach, which travels in fast-motion, as does his servant, who scurries like a rat. Hutter is still laughing at warnings of vampirism, but his laugh fades at dinner, when he cuts himself with a breadknife and the count seems unhealthily interested in “Blood--your beautiful blood!”

Two of the key sequences in the film now follow; both are montages in which simultaneous events are intercut. That's a routine technique today, but Murnau is credited with helping to introduce the montage, and here we see Orlok advancing on Hutter while, in Bremen, his wife, Ellen, sleepwalks and cries out a warning that causes the vampire to turn away. (He advances and retreats through an archway shaped to frame his bat-like head.) Later, after Hutter realizes his danger, he escapes from the castle and races back to Bremen by coach, while Orlok travels by sea, and Murnau intercuts the coach with shipboard events and Ellen restlessly waiting.

The shots on the ship are the ones everyone remembers. The cargo is a stack of coffins, all filled with earth (from the nourishing graveyards of the plague). Crew members sicken and die. A brave mate goes below with a hatchet to open a coffin, and rats tumble out. Then Count Orlok rises straight up, stiff and eerie, from one of the coffins, in a shot that was as frightening and famous in its time as the rotating head in “The Exorcist.” The ship arrives in port with its crew dead, and the hatch opens by itself.

Murnau now inserts scenes with little direct connection to the story, except symbolically. One involves a scientist who gives a lecture on thevenus flytrap, “the vampire of the vegetable kingdom.” Then Knock, in a jail cell, watches in closeup as a spider devours its prey. Why cannot man likewise be a vampire? Knock senses his Master has arrived, escapes, and scurries about the town with a coffin on his back. As fear of the plague spreads, “the town was looking for a scapegoat,” the titles say, and Knock creeps about on rooftops and is stoned, while the street is filled with dark processions of the coffins of the newly dead.

Ellen Hutter learns that the only way to stop a vampire is for a good woman to distract him so that he stays out past the first cock's crow. Her sacrifice not only saves the city but also reminds us of the buried sexuality in the Dracula story. Bram Stoker wrote with ironclad 19th century Victorian values, inspiring no end of analysis from readers who wonder if the buried message of Dracula might be that unlicensed sex is dangerous to society. The Victorians feared venereal disease the way we fear AIDS, and vampirism may be a metaphor; the predator vampire lives without a mate, stalking his victims or seducing them with promises of bliss--like a rapist, or a pickup artist. The cure for vampirism is obviously not a stake through the heart, but nuclear families and bourgeois values.

Is Murnau's “Nosferatu” scary in the modern sense? Not for me. I admire it more for its artistry and ideas, its atmosphere and images, than for its ability to manipulate my emotions like a skillful modern horror film. It knows none of the later tricks of the trade, like sudden threats that pop in from the side of the screen. But “Nosferatu” remains effective: It doesn’t scare us, but it haunts us. It shows not that vampires can jump out of shadows, but that evil can grow there, nourished on death.

In a sense, Murnau's film is about all of the things we worry about at 3 in the morning--cancer, war, disease, madness. It suggests these dark fears in the very style of its visuals. Much of the film is shot in shadow. The corners of the screen are used more than is ordinary; characters lurk or cower there, and it's a rule of composition that tension is created when the subject of a shot is removed from the center of the frame. Murnau's special effects add to the disquieting atmosphere: the fast motion of Orlok's servant, the disappearance of the phantom coach, the manifestation of the count out of thin air, the use of a photographic negative to give us white trees against a black sky.

Murnau (1888-1931) made 22 films but is known mostly for three masterpieces: “Nosferatu”; “The Last Laugh” (1924), with Emil Jannings as a hotel doorman devastated by the loss of his job, and “Sunrise” (1927), which won Janet Gaynor an Oscar for her work as a woman whose husband considers murdering her. The worldwide success of “Nosferatu” and “The Last Laugh” won Murnau a Hollywood contract with Fox, and he moved to America in 1926. His last film was “Tabu” (1931); he was killed in a car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway just before its premiere, his promising career cut short at 43.

If he had lived, the rest of his career would have been spent making sound films. He probably would have made some great ones. But with a silent like “The Last Laugh,” he famously did not require a single title card to tell his story. And “Nosferatu” is more effective for being silent. It is commonplace to say that silent films are more “dreamlike,” but what does that mean? In “Nosferatu,” it means that the characters are confronted with alarming images and denied the freedom to talk them away. There is no repartee in nightmares. Human speech dissipates the shadows and makes a room seem normal. Those things that live only at night do not need to talk, for their victims are asleep, waiting.

The Beast And Horns


The details of the visions of the little horn of Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation 13 reveal the antichrist of Bible prophecy.



Daniel's Vision
John's Vision
"Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea."

"And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another."

"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it."

"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh."

"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it."

"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns."

"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Daniel 7:2-8

"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" Daniel 7:21

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:24-25
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Revelation 13:1-2

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."

"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"

"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."

"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:3-8

"And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelation 13:17-18

Now lets take a closer look at the similarities:
1. The beasts arise 'out of the sea', 'up from the sea' Rev. 13:1, Daniel 7:3
2. 'like unto a leopard', 'another, like a leopard' Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:6
3. 'feet of a bear', 'like to a bear' Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:5
4. 'mouth of a lion', 'was like a lion' Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:4
5. 'the dragon', 'a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible' Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:7
6. 'seven heads', (the four beasts have a total of 7 heads) Rev. 13:1, Daniel 7:4-7
7. 'ten horns', 'it had ten horns' Rev. 13:1, Daniel 7:7

Notice also that the beast and the little horn rule for the same period of time:

8. 'forty and two months', 'time, times, and dividing of time' Rev. 13:5, Daniel 7:25

The beast and the little horn have a notable leader:

9. 'number of a man', 'eyes of a man' Rev. 13:18, Daniel 7:8

The beast of Revelation 13 and the little horn do the same things:

10. 'blasphemy against God', 'speak great words' Rev. 13:5-6, Daniel 7:8, 20, 25
11.'make war with the saints', 'made war with the saints' Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:21

Here are some additional points:
Notable power and position comes from the 'dragon':


12. 'gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority', "fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly... and it had ten horns.' Rev. 13:2, Daniel 7:7

The beast receives a deadly wound:

13. 'wounded to death' Rev. 13:3
This wound is healed and the beast regains worldwide influence and power:

14. 'and his deadly wound was healed' Rev. 13:3

The beast is a religious power that receives worship:

15. 'all the world wondered...and they worshipped the beast', "shall be diverse" Rev. 13:3-4, Daniel 7:24

Through the books of Revelation and Daniel God gives us a thorough description of the antichrist of Bible prophecy. It is important to identify the antichrist because from it will come the sign, or "mark", of it's authority. Against this mark, "the mark of the beast", or the mark of the authority of the antichrist, comes one of the Bible's strongest prohibitions.

"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" Revelation 14:9-10

16. 'And he causeth all, to receive a mark', 'think to change times and laws:' Rev. 13:15-17, Daniel 7:25
(see also Romans 6:16)

A Brief History Of Horror - Horror Movies That Is


The history of horror is a vast and perhaps foolhardy thing to tackle. No matter how hard you try, there are films and horror subgenres that will slide through the cracks..

But horror is somewhat unique among the film genres in that there is a recognizable pattern that happens again and again. A film will come along and terrify an audience capturing their imaginations and making bank- Filmmakers flock to the cash cow like vampires to blood which leads to sequels and imitators – sometimes better than the original. But eventually the sequels run out of steam and the subgenre created by the original smash hit fades into memory lurking in the corners of history waiting to be rediscovered and reborn- this process is commonly referred to as cycles. Although other genres behave similarly, the unique appeal of horror from its low budget requirements to broad multinational appeal, make horror especially susceptible to these boom and fade cycles.

But as we look at how the genre changes over time, we must not think of the history of horror as being a rigid one way street. New films borrow from old films all the time, a constant remix of subgenres and new techniques to make something for the contemporary culture.


So who did the first horror films borrow from? Monsters, murderers, demons and beasts have been around since antiquity, ghost stories told round camp fires since we learned how to talk. But the roots of filmed horror were an extension of a genre of literature that got it’s start in the late 1700s: Gothic Horror. Developed by writers in both Great Britain and the United States the Gothic part of the name refers to pseudo medieval buildings that these stories took place – think of a old castle on a dark and stormy night – gloomy forests, dungeons and secret passage ways.

Famous gothic writers include Mary Shelly, Bram Stoker and of course Edgar Allan Poe.

HORROR IN THE SILENT ERA

It was from Gothic literature that the first horror films found inspiration. And why not? The genre was popular in both books and theater at the time. Although the term horror did not come into use for film until the 1930s, early filmmakers and film goers certainly showed an interest in the macabre as evident In this snippet of a “Spook Tale” from 1895 created by the Lumiere brothers.

In 1896 Georges Méliès would go on to create what is considered to be the first horror film ever made:

“The Manor of the Devil” – with bats, castles, trolls, ghosts, and a demon – played by Georges Méliès himself, you can see the elements of gothic horror are already firmly entrenched by this time in the public psyche.

Silent films in the teens and 20s were still exploring the possibilities of this new filmmaking medium. Several experiments were conducted including the first Frankenstein adapted by Thomas Edison’s studios in 1910 and Dante’s Inferno by Giuseppe de Liguoro in Italy in 1911. But the heart of horror in silent films would start to beat only after conclusion of the first world war and in ashes of the tattered country of Germany.

GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

German Expressionism was a style of cinema that emphasized expression over realistic depictions of reality. Starting off as a rising movement throughout Europe, German filmmakers and artist developed this unique style inside a cultural bubble that was the result of embargo in place during World War I. Without the influx of an already internationally powerful Hollywood, the German cottage film industry grew quite quickly and creatively. A consortium of German industries came together and convinced the German military of the importance of a German film unit – this would become the Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft – the UFA. But by the time the company was operational, Germany had lost the war, and the UFA turned it’s goals to producing films for profit.

On the slate in 1919 was a film written by Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz with Robert Wiene set direct. The result would be a film that would be go on to be the Great Grand Daddy of all horror films: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

In the first few years of the Wiemar Republic, electricity was still scarce and German industries were allotted power on a quota basis. UFA had used up almost all their quota that year so the filmmakers decided to paint the shadows on the set rather than try to create them naturally with electric light.

This technique combined with the sharp angles and bizarre perspective distortion created an unforgettable look that established German Expressionism both artistically and as a commercially popular style of cinema.

German filmmakers continued the tradition of Expressionist horror films with The Golem: How He Came into the World in 1920 which was lensed by Karl Freund who also shot Metropolis and F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu In 1922.

Nosferatu

The German film industry did well in the immediate post war era… much better than the rest of the German economy which was mired in runaway inflation due to the War reparations Germany was obligated to pay under the Treaty of Versailles. Fortunately for the film industry, people flocked to the movies because it was the only form of entertainment that people felt they were getting their money’s worth. Berlin became the cultural center of Europe despite the shaky economy.

To stabalize the currency, the WWI allies offered Germany the Dawes Plan in 1925 which was a system of loans and agreements aimed to try to get the economy back under control. Unfortunately the Dawes plan also curtailed German film exports – the result was many independent studios lost financing shut down for good.

Even the national studio UFA was at the brink of collapse in 1925. A good oppurtunity for Hollywood to swallow up a once powerful foreign competitor. Paramount and MGM lent $4 million in exchange for collaborative rights to UFA Studios, theater, and personnel establishing the Parufamet Distribution Company in 1926.

This agreement effectively moved German Expressionism into Hollywood as scores of artist traveled to the US to work in Hollywood studios. Many German artists decided stay permanently, some even returning as refugees from the growing German Nazi movement in the 1930s. The German Immigrant contribution would leave a lasting mark on the style of films in the coming years.

HORROR FILMS LEARN TO SCREAM

It’s hard to overstate the effect that sound had on transforming cinema in the late 1920s. It was a radical artistic leap, and probably more so for horror than any other genre except perhaps the musical – just try turning off the sound on your favorite horror film – it just wouldn’t have the same impact.

In the tightly controlled Hollywood studio system of the 1930s, there was one studio that would be responsible for the first cycle of horror films – Universal Pictures. One rung beneath the big five were the little three: Universal, Columbia and United Artists who made and distributed pictures but didn’t have any theater holdings. During the silent era, Universal was responsible for the few achievements in American horror most notably The Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame both starring Lon Chaney. But in the 30s, Universal really sunk their teeth into horror, kicking off the Universal Gothic horror cycle:

Their first hit was Dracula, directed Tod Browning and lensed by UFA cinematographer Karl Freund starring the Hungarian Bela Lugosi in 1931.

James Whale continued the cycle with Frankenstein with Boris Karloff also in 1931.. Karl Freund even got a shot at the director’s chair with The Mummy in 1932. Followed by James Whale again with the Invisible Man in 1933, Stuart Walker’s Werewolf in London 1935 and Hambert Hillyer’s Dracula’s Daughter in 1936.

But the Universal Gothic Horror Cycle began to lose steam and fall into the pit of self parody with titles like The Invisible Man Returns, The Mummy’s Hand, and Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man in 1943. Moving into 1940s, the Universal Monsters stable started to be treated like Batman villains bringing all the characters together in 1944’s House of Frankenstein and 1945’s House of Dracula. And by 1948 when Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in a surprising popular comedy outing, Universal would retire the first string of monsters from serious horror filmmaking.

While Universal’s offerings slipped from horror to formula, a small division at RKO, the smallest of the big 5 studios would start to lay stylistic foundation for low budget horror films to come. Val Lewton, a journalist, novelist and poet turned story editor for David O Selznick was put in charge of a low budget division at RKO to produce horror films for a measly $150,000 a piece. The catch? The studio would provide the title, Lewton would develop the story.

The first title? Cat People - which would be directed by Jacuqes Tourneur and photographed by film noir veteran Nicholas Musuraca in 1942.

Using leftover studio sets and creating the scares by using mood and shadows rather than makeup and monsters – Cat People was truly a glimpse at the more psychologically scary films in the decades to come, Costing $141,000 but bringing in over $4 million in the first 2 years Lewton’s low budget horror division was practically saving the always cash strapped RKO.

MUTATED MONSTER MASH

The period between the post World War II years and the 1950s was perhaps the most difficult time Hollywood had ever gone through. From Supreme Court rulings ripping apart the studio system to a death match against television for patrons, this time period saw an increasingly protective Hollywood trying desperately to stay relevant. Horror films got relegated to strictly B-film status as Hollywood preserved it’s A-list talent for lavish epics. But the horror film was still popular with the teens who wanted thrills even if the plot lines were ludicrous.

The Icy Soviet-American arms race meant the nuclear boogey man was always top of mind. Horror films tapped into this cold war fear of invasion blending into a Pulp Science Fiction cycle with films like The Thing From Another World, The Day The Earth Stood Still both from 1951, and Forbidden Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers both in 1956.

But monsters didn’t only come from outer space, Creatures also emerged from the deep like the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms in 1953, Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954 and of course the Japanese nuclear monster Godzilla also 1954.

By the mid 1950s the Pulp Sci-Fi Horror cycle would start to wear down and be taken over by exploitative producers like William Castle who relied on gimmicks to sell tickets to low rent horror outings.

WILLIAM CASTLE

In Macabre 1958, Castle promised every customer a $1,000 life insurance policy should they die of fright. House on Haunted Hill in 1959 was filmed in “Emergo” which triggered a skeleton that would fly around the theater suspended on wires. Once kids knew this was coming they’d bring their slingshots and see who could be the one to shoot it down. And the Tingler, also in 1959, wired up movie theater seats with joy buzzers and encouraged the audience to scream as a way of calming down the spine monster that was let loose in the theater.

PSYCHOLOGY, SEX, AND GORE

From the 1960s on we begin to see a massive explosion of styles and cycles into the horror genre as it gained both in popularity, Prestige and freedom once the restrictive censorship of the Production Code was abandoned in 1964.

Alfred Hitch

No discussion of the horror film could be even self respecting without the mention of the Maestro himself: Alfred Hitchcock. Honing his precise abilities to play an audience like a musical instrument, it was 1960’s Psycho that shocked audiences into believing horror could be more than B-Film Fare.

Unlike the monsters of previous horror cycles, Norman Bates was rooted in reality – an every day human on the outside but a psychological monster in the mind. Hitchcock would deliver another natural horror with The Birds in 1963.

On the other end of the Atlantic Ocean, Hammer Films Productions in The United Kingdom began rebooting Universal’s Gothic Monsters – but adding sex and gore. Shot in full color, Hammer’s first Gothic horror reboot was Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the monster. For the first time in a Frankenstein film, blood was shown on screen and in full chilling color.

Between 1957 and 1974, Hammer cranked out 7 Frankenstein movies, 6 Draculas, 9 other vampire outings, 2 Jekyll & Hydes, and 3 Mummy films. The Hammer Studio, located on the banks of the River Thames between Bray and Windsor even became the setting of it’s own parody – as it’s country style Down Place mansion was used as the set for Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975, a film that in itself is a send up of the Hammer Horror style.

ROGER CORMAN

Back in the US, perhaps inspired by the success of Hammer’s approach to sex and gore was the legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman. Whereas Alfred Hitchcock would meticulously storyboard his films and often times enjoyed studio financial backing, Corman pumped films as fast as he could – Little Shop of Horrors in 1960 was shot in just under three days with a budget of just $30,000 using sets that had been left over from Bucket of Blood. Corman knew what audiences wanted, blood and babes and he delivered. His greatest acclaim as a director came with his Edgar Allan Poe Cycle released between 1959 and 1964 collaborating with screenwriter Richard Matheson and actor Vincent Price in films like House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), and The Raven (1963).

Horror was starting be taken seriously both at the highest craft of film production and at the lowest: setting the stage for important horror films sub-genres that come in the following decades.

The Occult – films about the Satan and the Supernatural – were popular big budget subjects starting with Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby in 1968 which was actually a William Castle project. Then came what many consider the greatest entry in the Occult cycle 1973’s: The Exorcist directed by William Friedkin, followed in 1976 with Richard Donnor’s The Omen and Stuart Rosenberg’s Amnityville Horror in 1979.

The Film school generation – a group of filmmakers who grew up on and formally studied horror began to to inject B-movie horror devices into their mainstream work. Steven Spielberg’s Jaws in 1975 made creature horror big business – igniting not only a Shark cycle but the the whole summer blockbuster style of production and marketing. Brian De Palma’s Carrie in 1976 set the stage for a Teen Horror cycle by turning Stephen King’s first novel into big box office and Oscar Nominations for the leads. 1979’s Alien by Ridley Scott successful remixed horror and science fiction as did John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing in 1982 which was a neither a box office or critical success but has stood the test of time to be one of most terrifying special effects films ever made. Spielberg would return to horror with 1982’s Poltergeist working with Tobe Hooper to create a masterful ghost story which was released only a week away from Spielberg’s other 1982 hit: E.T.

And then there’s 1980s The Shining which in true Kubrick fashion, defies any category or imitation. Again, not a critical hit -it won Kubrick a Razzie Nomination for worst director – and only a mild box office success in its time The Shining would go on to become an absolute must watch for any student of horror.

INDEPENDENT HORROR AND THE SLASHER

Horror has been a staple of the low budget world since the Universal Creature days and as film production technology progressed and costs steadily declined the rise of independent filmmakers meant a rise of new takes on horror.

Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974, based on the plot of serial killer Ed Gein who was also the inspiration for Psycho and Silence of the Lambs, was shot on a skeleton budget in the sweltering Texas summer heat. Mired in money issues, the cast and crew didn’t see much financial reward from the film’s success, but the rawness of the teenagers in peril inspired many more teen horror slasher imitations.

Then in 1978 came John Carpenter’s Halloween one the most successful independent horror film ever made.

Produced on a budget of $325,000 and grossing nearly $240 million dollars as of 2012, Halloween is the first of it’s kind Hitchcock inspired slasher film.. Unlike many of it’s followups and imitators, Halloween actually contains very little graphic violence or gore. Without much money to spend on sets and props, Carpenter constructed his horror inside everyday suburbia – the Michael Myers mask was just a $2 Captain Kirk mask painted white.

But terror in the backyard worked.

Friday the 13th directed by Sean S. Cunningham in 1980 and A Nightmare on Elm Street by Wes Craven in 1984 were both studio backed slasher films that followed the similar horror in the backyard formula to tremendous success and numerous numerous sequels.

But independent horror wasn’t just about the slasher.

In 1981 a group of young kids Bruce Campell, Sam Raimi, and Robert Tapert released a small independent film which they had made by raising $150,000 from local investors. The film, The Evil Dead. was heavy on splatter effects and stop motion gore, gain a cult following especially after being released in the relatively new Home Video Tape market in 1983.

In fact it was the promise of distribution through this new technology video tape and cable that unleashed a flood of blood soaked horror films that were never made for the theater.

THE 90S AND MODERN HORROR

When the 90s came around, the slasher cycle had pretty much run its course and was starting to fall into parody. Even Raimi’’s Magic Spell Zombie cycle was being parodied by Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive (also known as Braindead) in 1992 which racheting up the Evil Dead splatter effects to a comical 11.

Wes Craven’s self aware slasher film Scream in 1996 about a killer among a group of kids that already know all the rules of slasher films rebooted a new Teen Horror cycle which led to I Know What You Did Last Summer directed by Jim Gillespie and Final Destination directed by James Wong.

Monster films turned increasingly to CGI effects for scares such as Species, and Anacoda..

Psychological Horror and Thriller have remained popular throughout the 90s and 2000s including films like Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense, Se7en, The Others and The Ring.

But there are Three modern horror film cycles arose in late nineties and into the 2000s that are somewhat unique to our modern era. Torture Porn as it is disparagingly labeled, is the modern reboot of the Splatter films going back to the Hammer Horror era. This latest cycle emphasizes intense gore, grunge and often tortuous violence. The Saw franchise, the most successful horror film franchise of all time, is considered the first in the latest crop of splatter films with it’s first installment in 2004 by James Wan. This was followed by Eli Roth’s Hostel in 2005 – where the moniker toture porn was coined by critic David Edelstein.

The Blair Witch Project directed by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick and released in 1999 represents the first major film in the modern found footage horror sub-genre. Though a borrowed idea from Cannibal Holocaust from 1980, The Blair Witch Project used the device of piecing together first hand footage to reconstruct the last terrifying moments of the original eye witness. Blair Witch also holds the title of being one of the first films ever to be marketed almost entirely through the internet. The found footage device would go into common use from small films like Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity in 2007 and even large creature films like Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield in 2008.

And finally, we cannot end this overview of horror without the most recent Zombie Cycle. With roots going back to George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968 the modern Zombie Apocalypse Cycle began when Danny Boyle breathed a new life into the undead genre with 28 Days Later in 2002.

Recent Zombie films feed our fears of a medical pandemic and the break down of society fears brought on by the financial meltdown in the mid 2000s. Still going strong with films like World War Z and the long form Television melodrama The Walking Dead, the Zombie Cycle may be seeing it’s fade out as comedic outings like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead have poked fun at the formula.

There’s something about horror films that can transcend national and cultural boundaries. As the digital democratization of filmmaking continues horror will be a genre that can delight or terrify people no matter where they are from or what language they speak. This is because horror works on us differently than other genres- a topic I’ll explore in the next video on the psychology of horror. But as we’ve seen in this detailed but no way exhaustive survey of the history horror, the next big scary movie can come from anywhere, no matter the budget, stars, or the country of origin. Horror is very much a director’s genre – All that matters is if can you make an audience shiver with fright? Go out there and make something scary.

Blind Man Is Given Sight With Frog Eyes - That's Right Frog Eyes - It's An Amazing Transformation!

Barry Before And After His Amazing Eye Surgery.   

A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Barry of his vision.

Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Barry has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a revolutionary high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of 'Frog Eyes,' he's regained enough of his vision to live a normal life.

An Eye From A Donated Set Of Frog Eyes

"It's awesome. It's exciting - seeing something new every day," Barry said during a recent appointment at the Regional Eye Center. The 35-year-old former bodybuilder and factory worker is the first of four people in the U.S. that will receive Frog Eyes since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year.

Barry's Doctors Removed And Replaced Both Of His Eyes During The 4.5 Hours 
Of Surgery.    Barry Woke Up Very Happy And Pleased With His New Frog Eyes.

The facility will be the site of all future surgeries since FDA approval.

A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Barry of his vision.

Barry refers to as his new 'Frog Eyes', as his 'New Eyes'.

The visual improvement is sometimes startling for Barry and his wife, who is just as amazed at her husband's progress as he is.

"I said something I never thought I'd say: 'Stop staring at me while I'm eating,'" Barry's wife said.

She no longer needs to drive her husband the nearly 200 miles for check-ups and visits with the occupational therapist who helps Barry reawaken his visual memory and learn techniques needed to make the most of his new vision.

At the recent visit, the occupational therapist handed Barry white and black plates, instructed him to move them back and forth in front of light and dark backgrounds and asked that he determine their color.

For Barry, the long hours on the road and the drive back home are going to be a blessing.

"What's it worth to see again? It's worth everything," Barry said.

Candidates for the Frog eye transplants must be 25 or older with end-stage retinitis pigmentosa that has progressed to the point of having "bare light" or no light perception in both eyes.

One of two physicians who performed the 4.5-hour surgery on Barry, is scheduled to discuss his experiences of the transplant process during a meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He calls it a "game-changer."

Barry agrees: "I can walk through the house with ease and read a newspaper. If that's all I get out of this, it'd be great. Who would of thought that eyes from a frog would allow me to see again!" 

While Barry will never have 20/20 vision again he seems to be happy with his 'new eyes'.

Barry says the only drawback is that he has to use specially formulated eye drops to moisturize his eyes. He stated even though his eyes have a transparent glass like covering on the surface below this it's slightly 
rough and bumpy and this causes some irritation. Because of this Barry will always be required to keep plenty of boxes of these eye drops on hand so he'll never run out. Barry says he's not complaining.

Barry also added that he'll wear sunglasses while outside, shopping, or driving, etc. so people won't be too shocked or surprised by his 'new eyes'.

Geronimo - History


Geronimo, "I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.  The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians. We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other.  I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.  When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom and protection. Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us... and to Usen.  I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures."

Geronimo (Goyathlay), a Bedonkohe Apache

Geronimo {jur-ahn'-i-moh}, or Goyathlay ("one who yawns"), was born in 1829 in what is today western New Mexico, but was then still Mexican territory. He was a Bedonkohe Apache (grandson of Mahko) by birth and a Net'na during his youth and early manhood. His wife, Juh, Geronimo's cousin Ishton, and Asa Daklugie were members of the Nednhi band of the Chiricahua Apache.

He was reportedly given the name Geronimo by Mexican soldiers, although few agree as to why. As leader of the Apaches at Arispe in Sonora, he performed such daring feats that the Mexicans singled him out with the sobriquet Geronimo (Spanish for "Jerome"). Some attributed his numerous raiding successes to powers conferred by supernatural beings, including a reputed invulnerability to bullets.


Geronimo's war career was linked with that of his brother-in-law, Juh, a Chiricahua chief. Although he was not a hereditary leader, Geronimo appeared so to outsiders because he often acted as spokesman for Juh, who had a speech impediment.


Geronimo was the leader of the last American Indian fighting force formally to capitulate to the United States. Because he fought against such daunting odds and held out the longest, he became the most famous Apache of all. To the pioneers and settlers of Arizona and New Mexico, he was a bloody-handed murderer and this image endured until the second half of this century.


To the Apaches, Geronimo embodied the very essence of the Apache values, agressiveness, courage in the face of difficulty. These qualities inspired fear in the settlers of Arizona and New Mexico. The Chiricahuas were mostly migratory following the seasons, hunting and farming. When food was scarce, it was the custom to raid neighboring tribes. Raids and vengeance were an honorable way of life among the tribes of this region.


By the time American settlers began arriving in the area, the Spanish had become entrenched in the area. They were always looking for Indian slaves and Christian converts. One of the most pivotal moments in Geronimo's life was in 1858 when he returned home from a trading excursion into Mexico. He found his wife, his mother and his three young children murdered by Spanish troops from Mexico. This reportedly caused him to have such a hatred of the whites that he vowed to kill as many as he could. From that day on he took every opportunity he could to terrorize Mexican settlements and soon after this incident he received his power, which came to him in visions. Geronimo was never a chief, but a medicine man, a seer and a spiritual and intellectual leader both in and out of battle. The Apache chiefs depended on his wisdom.


When the Chiricahua were forcibly removed (1876) to arid land at San Carlos, in eastern Arizona, Geronimo fled with a band of followers into Mexico. He was soon arrested and returned to the new reservation. For the remainder of the 1870s, he and Juh led a quiet life on the reservation, but with the slaying of an Apache prophet in 1881, they returned to full-time activities from a secret camp in the Sierra Madre Mountains.


In 1875 all Apaches west of the Rio Grande were ordered to the San Carlos Reservation. Geronimo escaped from the reservation three times and although he surrendered, he always managed to avoid capture. In 1876, the U.S. Army tried to move the Chiricahuas onto a reservation, but Geronimo fled to Mexico eluding the troops for over a decade. Sensationalized press reports exaggerated Geronimo's activities, making him the most feared and infamous Apache. The last few months of the campaign required over 5,000 soldiers, one-quarter of the entire Army, and 500 scouts, and perhaps up to 3,000 Mexican soldiers to track down Geronimo and his band.


In May 1882, Apache scouts working for the U.S. army surprised Geronimo in his mountain sanctuary, and he agreed to return with his people to the reservation. After a year of farming, the sudden arrest and imprisonment of the Apache warrior Ka-ya-ten-nae, together with rumors of impending trials and hangings, prompted Geronimo to flee on May 17, 1885, with 35 warriors and 109 women, children and youths. In January 1886, Apache scouts penetrated Juh's seemingly impregnable hideout. This action induced Geronimo to surrender (Mar. 25, 1886) to Gen. George CROOK. Geronimo later fled but finally surrendered to Gen. Nelson MILES on Sept. 4, 1886. The government breached its agreement and transported Geronimo and nearly 450 Apache men, women, and children to Florida for confinement in Forts Marion and Pickens. In 1894 they were removed to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Geronimo became a rancher, appeared (1904) at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, sold Geronimo souvenirs, and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade.


Geronimo's final surrender in 1886 was the last significant Indian guerrilla action in the United States. At the end, his group consisted of only 16 warriors, 12 women, and 6 children. Upon their surrender, Geronimo and over 300 of his fellow Chiricahuas were shipped to Fort Marion, Florida. One year later many of them were relocated to the Mt. Vernon barracks in Alabama, where about one quarter died from tuberculosis and other diseases. Geronimo died on Feb. 17, 1909, a prisoner of war, unable to return to his homeland. He was buried in an Apache cemetery.

NASA - History


"An Act to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere, and for other purposes." With this simple preamble, the Congress and the President of the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on October 1, 1958. NASA's birth was directly related to the pressures of national defense. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in the Cold War, a broad contest over the ideologies and allegiances of the nonaligned nations. During this period, space exploration emerged as a major area of contest and became known as the space race.

During the late 1940s, the Department of Defense pursued research and rocketry and upper atmospheric sciences as a means of assuring American leadership in technology. A major step forward came when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a plan to orbit a scientific satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) for the period, July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958, a cooperative effort to gather scientific data about the Earth. The Soviet Union quickly followed suit, announcing plans to orbit its own satellite.

The Naval Research Laboratory's Project Vanguard was chosen on 9 September 1955 to support the IGY effort, largely because it did not interfere with high-priority ballistic missile development programs. It used the non-military Viking rocket as its basis while an Army proposal to use the Redstone ballistic missile as the launch vehicle waited in the wings. Project Vanguard enjoyed exceptional publicity throughout the second half of 1955, and all of 1956, but the technological demands upon the program were too great and the funding levels too small to ensure success.

A full-scale crisis resulted on October 4, 1957 when the Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite as its IGY entry. This had a "Pearl Harbor" effect on American public opinion, creating an illusion of a technological gap and provided the impetus for increased spending for aerospace endeavors, technical and scientific educational programs, and the chartering of new federal agencies to manage air and space research and development.

More immediately, the United States launched its first Earth satellite on January 31, 1958, when Explorer 1 documented the existence of radiation zones encircling the Earth. Shaped by the Earth's magnetic field, what came to be called the Van Allen Radiation Belt, these zones partially dictate the electrical charges in the atmosphere and the solar radiation that reaches Earth. The U.S. also began a series of scientific missions to the Moon and planets in the latter 1950s and early 1960s.

A direct result of the Sputnik crisis, NASA began operations on October 1, 1958, absorbing into itself the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics intact: its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of $100 million, three major research laboratories-Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory-and two smaller test facilities. It quickly incorporated other organizations into the new agency, notably the space science group of the Naval Research Laboratory in Maryland, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed by the California Institute of Technology for the Army, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, where Wernher von Braun's team of engineers were engaged in the development of large rockets. Eventually NASA created other Centers and today it has ten located around the country.

NASA began to conduct space missions within months of its creation, and during its first twenty years NASA conducted several major programs:

Human space flight initiatives-Mercury's single astronaut program (flights during 1961-1963) to ascertain if a human could survive in space; Project Gemini (flights during 1965-1966) with two astronauts to practice space operations, especially rendezvous and docking of spacecraft and extravehicular activity (EVA); and Project Apollo (flights during 1968-1972) to explore the Moon.

Robotic missions to the Moon Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter), Venus (Pioneer Venus), Mars (Mariner 4, Viking 1 and 2), and the outer planets (Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2).

Aeronautics research to enhance air transport safety, reliability, efficiency, and speed (X-15 hypersonic flight, lifting body flight research, avionics and electronics studies, propulsion technologies, structures research, aerodynamics investigations).

Remote-sensing Earth satellites for information gathering (Landsat satellites for environmental monitoring).

Applications satellites for communications (Echo 1, TIROS, and Telstra) and weather monitoring.

An orbital workshop for astronauts, Skylab.

A reusable spacecraft for traveling to and from Earth orbit, the Space Shuttle.

Early Spaceflights: Mercury and Gemini

NASA's first high-profile program involving human spaceflight was Project Mercury, an effort to learn if humans could survive the rigors of spaceflight. On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. became the first American to fly into space, when he rode his Mercury capsule on a 15-minute suborbital mission. John H. Glenn Jr. became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962. With six flights, Project Mercury achieved its goal of putting piloted spacecraft into Earth orbit and retrieving the astronauts safely.

Project Gemini built on Mercury's achievements and extended NASA's human spaceflight program to spacecraft built for two astronauts. Gemini's 10 flights also provided NASA scientists and engineers with more data on weightlessness, perfected reentry and splashdown procedures, and demonstrated rendezvous and docking in space. One of the highlights of the program occurred during Gemini 4, on June 3, 1965, when Edward H. White, Jr., became the first U.S. astronaut to conduct a spacewalk.

Going to the Moon - Project Apollo

The singular achievement of NASA during its early years involved the human exploration of the Moon, Project Apollo. Apollo became a NASA priority on May 25 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." A direct response to Soviet successes in space, Kennedy used Apollo as a high-profile effort for the U.S. to demonstrate to the world its scientific and technological superiority over its cold war adversary.

In response to the Kennedy decision, NASA was consumed with carrying out Project Apollo and spent the next 11 years doing so. This effort required significant expenditures, costing $25.4 billion over the life of the program, to make it a reality. Only the building of the Panama Canal rivaled the size of the Apollo program as the largest nonmilitary technological endeavor ever undertaken by the United States; only the Manhattan Project was comparable in a wartime setting. Although there were major challenges and some failures - notably a January 27, 1967 fire in an Apollo capsule on the ground that took the lives of astronauts Roger B. Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and Edward H. White Jr. Jr. - the program moved forward inexorably.

Less than two years later, in October 1968, NASA bounced back with the successful Apollo 7 mission, which orbited the Earth and tested the redesigned Apollo command module. The Apollo 8 mission, which orbited the Moon on December 24-25, 1968, when its crew read from the book of Genesis, was another crucial accomplishment on the way to the Moon.

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil A. Armstrong uttered these famous words on July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 mission fulfilled Kennedy's challenge by successfully landing Armstrong and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. on the Moon. Armstrong dramatically piloted the lunar module to the lunar surface with less than 30 seconds worth of fuel remaining. After taking soil samples, photographs, and doing other tasks on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin rendezvoused with their colleague Michael Collins in lunar orbit for a safe voyage back to Earth.

Five more successful lunar landing missions followed. The Apollo 13 mission of April 1970 attracted the public's attention when astronauts and ground crews had to improvise to end the mission safely after an oxygen tank burst midway through the journey to the Moon. Although this mission never landed on the Moon, it reinforced the notion that NASA had a remarkable ability to adapt to the unforeseen technical difficulties inherent in human spaceflight.

With the Apollo 17 mission of December 1972, NASA completed a successful engineering and scientific program. Fittingly, Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt, a geologist who participated on this mission, was the first scientist to be selected as an astronaut. NASA learned a good deal about the origins of the Moon, as well as how to support humans in outer space. In total, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon during 6 Apollo lunar landing missions.

In 1975, NASA cooperated with the Soviet Union to achieve the first international human spaceflight, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). This project successfully tested joint rendezvous and docking procedures for spacecraft from the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. After being launched separately from their respective countries, the Apollo and Soyuz crews met in space and conducted various experiments for two days.

Space Shuttle

After a gap of six years, NASA returned to human spaceflight in 1981, with the advent of the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle's first mission, STS-1, took off on April 12, 1981, demonstrating that it could take off vertically and glide to an unpowered airplane-like landing. On STS-6, during April 4-9, 1983, F. Story Musgrave and Donald H. Peterson conducted the first Shuttle EVA, to test new spacesuits and work in the Shuttle's cargo bay. Sally K. Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when STS-7 lifted off on June 18, 1983, another early milestone of the Shuttle program.

On January 28, 1986 a leak in the joints of one of two Solid Rocket Boosters attached to the Challenger orbiter caused the main liquid fuel tank to explode 73 seconds after launch, killing all 7 crew members. The Shuttle program was grounded for over two years, while NASA and its contractors worked to redesign the Solid Rocket Boosters and implement management reforms to increase safety. On September 29, 1988, the Shuttle successfully returned to flight and NASA then flew a total of 87 successful missions.

Tragedy struck again on February 1, 2003, however. As the Columbia orbiter was returning to Earth on the STS-107 mission, it disintegrated about 15 minutes before it was to have landed. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board was quickly formed and determined that a small piece of foam had come off the External Tank and had struck the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panels on the underside of the left wing during launch on January 16. When the orbiter was returning to Earth, the breach in the RCC panels allowed hot gas to penetrate the orbiter, leading to a catastrophic failure and the loss of seven crewmembers.

NASA is poised to return to flight again in summer 2005 with the STS-114 mission. There are three Shuttle orbiters in NASA's fleet: Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour.

Toward a Permanent Human Presence in Space

The core mission of any future space exploration will be humanity's departure from Earth orbit and journeying to the Moon or Mars, this time for extended and perhaps permanent stays. A dream for centuries, active efforts to develop both the technology and the scientific knowledge necessary to carry this off are now well underway.

An initial effort in this area was NASA's Skylab program in 1973. After Apollo, NASA used its huge Saturn rockets to launch a relatively small orbital space workshop. There were three human Skylab missions, with the crews staying aboard the orbital workshop for 28, 59, and then 84 days. The first crew manually fixed a broken meteoroid shield, demonstrating that humans could successfully work in space. The Skylab program also served as a successful experiment in long-duration human spaceflight.

In 1984, Congress authorized NASA to build a major new space station as a base for further exploration of space. By 1986, the design depicted a complex, large, and multipurpose facility. In 1991, after much debate over the station's purpose and budget, NASA released plans for a restructured facility called Space Station Freedom. Another redesign took place after the Clinton administration took office in 1993 and the facility became known as Space Station Alpha.

Then Russia, which had many years of experience in long-duration human spaceflight, such as with its Salyut and Mir space stations, joined with the U.S. and other international partners in 1993 to build a joint facility that became known formally as the International Space Station (ISS). To prepare for building the ISS starting in late 1998, NASA participated in a series of Shuttle missions to Mir and seven American astronauts lived aboard Mir for extended stays. Permanent habitation of the ISS began with the launch of the Expedition One crew on October 31 and the docking on November 2, 2000.

On January 14, 2004, President George W. Bush visited NASA Headquarters and announced a new Vision for Space Exploration. This Vision entails sending humans back to the Moon and on to Mars by eventually retiring the Shuttle and developing a new, multipurpose Crew Exploration Vehicle. Robotic scientific exploration and technology development is also folded into this encompassing Vision.

The Science of Space

In addition to major human spaceflight programs, there have been significant scientific probes that have explored the Moon, the planets, and other areas of our solar system. In particular, the 1970s heralded the advent of a new generation of scientific spacecraft. Two similar spacecraft, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, launched on March 2, 1972 and April 5, 1973, respectively, traveled to Jupiter and Saturn to study the composition of interplanetary space. Voyagers 1 and 2, launched on September 5, 1977 and August 20, 1977, respectively, conducted a "Grand Tour" of our solar system.

In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit around the Earth. Unfortunately, NASA scientists soon discovered that a microscopic spherical aberration in the polishing of the Hubble's mirror significantly limited the instrument's observing power. During a previously scheduled servicing mission in December, 1993, a team of astronauts performed a dramatic series of spacewalks to install a corrective optics package and other hardware. The hardware functioned like a contact lens and the elegant solution worked perfectly to restore Hubble's capabilities. The servicing mission again demonstrated the unique ability of humans to work in space, enabled Hubble to make a number of important astronomical discoveries, and greatly restored public confidence in NASA.

Several months before this first HST servicing mission, however, NASA suffered another major disappointment when the Mars Observer spacecraft disappeared on August 21, 1993, just three days before it was to go into orbit around the red planet. In response, NASA began developing a series of "better, faster, cheaper" spacecraft to go to Mars.

Mars Global Surveyor was the first of these spacecraft; it was launched on November 7, 1996, and has been in a Martian orbit mapping Mars since 1998. Using some innovative technologies, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft landed on Mars on July 4, 1997 and explored the surface of the planet with its miniature rover, Sojourner. The Mars Pathfinder mission was a scientific and popular success, with the world following along via the Internet. This success was followed by the landing of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers in January 2004, to much scientific and popular acclaim.

Over the years, NASA has continued to look for life beyond our planet. In 1975, NASA launched the two Viking spacecraft to look for basic signs of life on Mars; the spacecraft arrived on Mars in 1976 but did not find any indications of past or present biological activity there. In 1996 a probe from the Galileo spacecraft that was examining Jupiter and its moon, Europa, revealed that Europa may contain ice or even liquid water, thought to be a key component in any life-sustaining environment. NASA also has used radio astronomy to scan the heavens for potential signals from extraterrestrial intelligent life. It continues to investigate whether any Martian meteorites contain microbiological organisms and in the late 1990s, organized an "Origins" program to search for life using powerful new telescopes and biological techniques. More recently scientists have found more and more evidence that water used to be present on Mars.

The "First A in NASA:" Aeronautics Research

Building on its roots in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA has continued to conduct many types of cutting-edge aeronautics research on aerodynamics, wind shear, and other important topics using wind tunnels, flight testing, and computer simulations. In the 1960s, NASA's highly successful X-15 program involved a rocket-powered airplane that flew above the atmosphere and then glided back to Earth unpowered. The X-15 pilots helped researchers gain much useful information about supersonic aeronautics and the program also provided data for development of the Space Shuttle. NASA also cooperated with the Air Force in the 1960s on the X-20 Dyna-Soar program, which was designed to fly into orbit. The Dyna-Soar was a precursor to later similar efforts such as the National Aerospace Plane, on which NASA and other Government agencies and private companies did advanced hypersonics research in such areas as structures, materials, propulsion, and aerodynamics.

NASA has also done significant research on flight maneuverability on high speed aircraft that is often applicable to lower speed airplanes. NASA scientist Richard Whitcomb invented the "supercritical wing" that was specially shaped to delay and lessen the impact of shock waves on transonic military aircraft and had a significant impact on civil aircraft design. Beginning in 1972, the watershed F-8 digital-fly-by-wire (DFBW) program laid the groundwork for electronic DFBW flight in various later aircraft such as the F/A-18, the Boeing 777, and the Space Shuttle. More sophisticated DFBW systems were used on the X-29 and X-31 aircraft, which would have been uncontrollable otherwise. From 1963 to 1975, NASA conducted a research program on "lifting bodies," aircraft without wings. This valuable research paved the way for the Shuttle to glide to a safe unpowered landing, as well as for the later X-33 project, and for a prototype for a future crew return vehicle from the International Space Station.

In 2004, the X-43A airplane used innovative scramjet technology to fly at ten times the speed of sound, setting a world's record for air-breathing aircraft.

Applications Satellites

NASA did pioneering work in space applications such as communications satellites in the 1960s. The Echo, Telstar, Relay, and Syncom satellites were built by NASA or by the private sector based on significant NASA advances.

In the 1970s, NASA's Landsat program literally changed the way we look at our planet Earth. The first three Landsat satellites, launched in 1972, 1975, and 1978, transmitted back to Earth complex data streams that could be converted into colored pictures. Landsat data has been used in a variety of practical commercial applications such as crop management and fault line detection, and to track many kinds of weather such as droughts, forest fires, and ice floes. NASA has been involved in a variety of other Earth science efforts such as the Earth Observation System of spacecraft and data processing that have yielded important scientific results in such areas as tropical deforestation, global warming, and climate change.

Conclusion

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats. NASA technology has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view the Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way. While the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny "blue marble" in the cosmos.