Macedonia - Mountain Bridge

Production Designer Leslie Dilley, producer Branko Lustig and Director Mimi Leder spent four months in 
Eastern Europe scouting locations for the first 'DreamWorks SKG' offering 'The Peacemaker'.
For a climactic battle scene, where helicopters track down the terrorists on a bridge, they were searching for 
a mountain bridge spanning a deep ravine.
The renowed German Cinematographer of the show, Dietrich Lohmann, in 'American Cinematographer' (Sept.1997): 
"The Company couldn't locate an appropiate location where a mountain bridge spanned a ravine.
The ravine and mountain background were created in CGI and composited with the live-action film and background plates."
The CGI work was helmed by Pacific Title Digital and Pacific Data Images.
For the live-action elements of this stunning sequence they discovered a suitable bridge in the mountains of Macedonia. 
The credible Sets by Leslie Dilley ('Star Wars','Indiana Jones','The Abyss') and the camera style of 
DOP Lohmann further enhanced the film's realistic tension.
Mimi Leder and her cinematographer wanted to involve the audience as subjective participants, rather than uninvolved spectators.
Dietrich Lohman filmed the excellently staged action scenes on the bridge and on a special platform in Super 35 
with ARRI cameras, outfitted with Zeiss lenses.
A look behind the scenes of the thrilling battle on a bridge.

The rockets fired by the helicopter get the terrorists in trouble. 
The rear part of the truck looks pretty tattered here... 

The barely damaged truck (?) gets into the lurch and finally gets stuck in the bridge railing.
Thanks to CGI we look into a scary deep ravine.
The crew is preparing the set. 
Safety aspects are particularly important in such an exposed area.
What a great location!
The spotlight placed there indicates the preparations for some close-ups.
A big crane was brought to the Set. Look how they secured the truck.
Director Mimi Leder and Cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann are mapping out an impending shot on the bridge.
The two have always been in close discussion during the project:
Camera angles, movement, coverage and the mood of the lighting.
I suppose, that these scenes were filmed on some kind of platform, an artificial piece of bridge, built for the movie(?).
Lohmann had a huge crew on his side (operators, gaffer, grips,...) and many of the crew members hired in 
Europe had worked with him on 'War and Remembrance'.
The very succesful American miniseries and the sequel to 'The Winds of War'.
George Clooney and Director Mimi Leder on Set in Macedonia, 1996.
George was in top form and did most of his stunts himself.
Here we see George Clooney hanging on the crane.
To have better control, the guide rope runs through a pulley that hangs on the hook of the crane.
George enjoys the great view.
Curious, but that's surely not the bridge ...it must be some kind of platform, but I could not find any information about that.
The Camera in Action is the famous ARRI 535, an excellent machine.
Several ARRI 535's were deployed to enhance coverage from different angles and to give Editor David Rosenbloom 
something to play with.
The show's camera and lighting packages were provided by ARRI Munich, Germany.
DOP Dietrich Lohmann on the Arri - Super 35 package: 
"With improvements in negative and intermediate films, as well as in the optics used in the labs, 
you can get high quality prints in 70mm and widescreen 35mm formats."
Battle inside the truck. 
Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe (Clooney) rams a knife in the foot of Alek Kodoroff (Aleksandr Baluev).
A cleverly edited, fast scene.
The authentic mountain bridge Set is a perfect location for an action highlight - A thrilling top notch Action sequence!
With the help of a camera crane Dietrich Lohmann can bring the Super 35 lens inside of the truck to get some very realistic shots.
You can't get closer into the scene. Great!
Dietrich Lohmann: 
"Our intention was to shoot fast and rough as a means to pull the audience right into the action."
Russian Mafia criminal Kodoroff is dead and Devoe (Clooney) is ready to secure the nuclear warheads and get them on the hook 
of the Helicopter.
As you can clearly see, this is not the bridge!
It is very well possible and would make sense, if this is an especially built platform right next to the real bridge.
Like the most CGI elements, this is completely invisible in the movie.
Perfect work!
The Warheads hang on the hook.
A well done composite effects shot of CGI and live-action elements. 
The truck sails into the dark depth.
The CGI explosions (the Truck, Helicopter,..) are not quite as convincing as the other visual effects.
But this flying truck tarpaulin is a cool gag, and I enjoyed how the explosion illuminates the ravine. 
Pretty effective.
Back on the real bridge with George Clooney, Steadicam operator Guy Bee and Director Mimi Leder.
Guy Bee also served as the A-Camera Operator for the show.
A typically scene with Director Mimi Leder. 
She began rehearsals without cameras and did the fine tuning of visual perspectives with cinematographer Lohmann.
Devoe (Clooney) has to contact Dr. Julia Kelly (Nicole Kidman): 
"Kelly, a guy got away with a bomb".
There is no time for a break ... pursue, discover, switch off!
Kelly (Nicole Kidman) is not amused. A nuclear bomb in the hand of a terrorist. Nobody wants that.
Kidman & Clooney play very well together, convincing and entertaining.
The harsh contrast of their characters in the movie is the key & great fun.
Thanks to the some stunning scenes, like the bridge/platform thriller, 'The Peacemaker' can easily stand the battle with 
other great Action Movies of the 90s.
Fine work.
7-8/10
'The Peacemaker' Producer Walter F. Parkes ('Men in Black','MIB II'), a film executive at DreamWorks SKG, 
in conversation with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. 
'Peacemaker' is powered by a bunch of good Players and hungry and talented Makers.
I like Aleksandr Baluev and his vicious Russian military mafia criminal character General Aleksandr Kodoroff. 
Among the Makers I would like to mention makeup supervisor Rolf John Keppler, the son of makeup veteran Werner Keppler. 
Werner was the long time Garage wizard on the side of makeup master John Chambers. 
His Son Rolf started his career on 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' in the 80s.
His father also worked for the Star Trek imperium.
Among the physical effects crew were some well known British experts, like Jeff Clifford.
A very experienced special effects technician ('Avalanche Express', 'Dune') and old buddy of the British Sp/Fx legend Kit West.
'The Peacemaker' is available on blu-ray.

www.moon-city-garbage.agency