(music)
- [Narrator] Of all the windows in your world,
some are more magical than others.
One magic window looks out
on worlds that stretch beyond the imagination.
It's a window that can transport you
to adventure, romance, mystery,
and carry you anywhere in the universe.
All the way to behind the scenes at the
biggest fantasy factory on Earth.
Welcome to Universal Studios.
(electronic music)
- Good morning.
- Another day.
(electronic music)
- [Narrator] If you want to see how to make a movie
this is the place for you.
That's exactly what all the people do who come to
work here every day.
And most of them aren't actors or directors.
They're carpenters, electricians, painters, tailors
all kinds of people with all kinds of skills.
That's because the people who really
make the movies are people who can make just
about anything and make anything happen.
- We've got to make this look as
if it's about six or seven years old.
- Well, neon really brightens things up.
- That's correct.
Give me four spares. I don't want to have to wait.
- [Narrator] And what makes Universal Studios
such a special place for the rest of us
who don't make movies for a living?
Something that's as old as the studio itself.
(ragtime music)
- [Narrator] Universal Studios back
in opening year, 1915.
Hard to tell the actors from the crew here.
They all seem to be having a ball
but Universal's founder, one time Nickelodeon owner
Carl Laemmle, wanted the public in on the act too.
So for 25¢, visitors got a box lunch
and a chance to watch silent movies being made.
It was the first Universal Studios tour and lasted
until the advent of sound in the movies
put an end to live audiences on the set.
(dramatic music)
In 1964, the public was again invited
behind the scenes for a brand new kind of Universal tour.
People came from all over the world to get a glimpse
of movie magic in the making,
and maybe even a cameo appearance by you never know who.
- [Alfred Hitchcock] You know who I am
I'd like to tell you about Universal Studios Tour.
They have sets,
stuntmen,
- Action - Quiet, we're rolling.
- special effects,
(explosion)
- stars, - [Tour Operator] We're now
entering our back lot.
This is known as Colonial Street.
- You do meet the strangest people on the tour.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Today, MCA entertainment
is keeping all the great traditions
born at Universal, alive and well
by continuing to add new titles to the thousands of movies
and television shows released under the
Universal and MCA logos
and continuing to treat millions of visitors a year
to an experience so unique, it's become one
of the most popular man-made attractions on Earth.
- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen
welcome to the Universal Studios Tour.
- [Narrator] The tour takes you all
over this 420 acre movie empire.
Inside, around, and through a series of adventures
that bring you closer to the movies
than you've ever been before.
Now, hang on because your video tour is about to
take you even closer than that.
(roaring)
- Come on Dad.
(dramatic music and lights)
- This monster was so big and so great.
It felt like he was going to devour us.
(roaring)
(water rushing)
(upbeat music)
- [Tour Operator] Ladies and gentlemen,
we're now entering Amity Island.
The town that was terrorized by a great white
man-eating shark.
Look out ladies and gentlemen
he coming up on the side of the tram!
(subway brakes squealing)
(screaming)
(crashing)
- [Narrator] The tourist tram ride is filled with thrills
but the biggest richest thrill of all is discovering
you've traveled through the screen,
to the behind the scenes world,
where movies and TV shows are actually made.
- [Tour Operator] Right around the corner here
is Hill Valley from "Back to the Future".
This is actually one of the most frequently used sets
here on the back lot.
It's known as Courthouse Square.
- [Narrator] If this place seems familiar, it is.
You can see it by revisiting the screen classic
"To Kill a Mockingbird".
Over the years, countless commercials, TV shows,
and feature films have included scenes
shot on this same location.
One of the most recent and popular
is Steven Spielberg's mega hit, "Back to the Future".
(music and electrical sounds)
- We're standing here at
Courthouse Square where "Back to the Future"
was photographed and we actually had a situation
where we had to create two different time zones.
One was present day and the other one
was going back 30 years.
We landed up coming in and aging down the sets
changing some of the facades and changing some of the signs.
And we actually came back in here and tore
out all this grass that you see behind me and came in
and asphalted over it for the present day shots.