History.

During the reign of Władysław IV (1632–48), the'was developed, a policy of parliamentary procedure based on the assumption of the political equality of every "gentleman/Polish nobleman," with the corollary that unanimous consent was needed for all measures. A single member of parliament's belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency (usually simply his own estate), even after the act had been approved, became enough to strike the act. Thus it became increasingly difficult to undertake action. The'also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways, through bribing nobles to exercise it. Thus, one could characterise Poland–Lithuania in its final period (mid-18th century) before the partitions as already in a state of disorder and not a completely sovereign state, and almost as a vassal state, with Russian tsars effectively choosing Polish kings. This applies particularly to the last Commonwealth King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who for some time had been a lover of Russian Empress Catherine the Great.  In 1730 the neighbors of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ('), namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, signed a secret agreement to maintain the ': specifically, to ensure that the Commonwealth laws would not change. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the "Alliance of the Three Black Eagles" (or "'s Treaty"), because all three states used a black eagle as a state symbol (in contrast to the white eagle, a symbol of Poland). The Commonwealth had been forced to rely on Russia for protection against the rising Kingdom of Prussia, which demanded a slice of the northwest in order to unite its Western and Eastern portions; this would leave the Commonwealth with a Baltic coast only in Latvia and Lithuania. Catherine had to use diplomacy to win Austria to her side.  The Commonwealth had remained neutral in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), yet it sympathized with the alliance of France, Austria, and Russia, and allowed Russian troops access to its western lands as bases against Prussia. Frederick II retaliated by ordering enough Polish currency counterfeited to severely affect the Polish economy. Through the Polish nobles whom Russia controlled and the Russian Minister to Warsaw, ambassador and Prince Nicholas Repnin, Empress Catherine the Great forced a constitution on the Commonwealth at the so-called Repnin Sejm of 1767, named after ambassador Repnin, who effectively dictated the terms of that Sejm (and ordered the capture and exile to Kaluga of some vocal opponents of his policies, including bishop Józef Andrzej Załuski and others). This new constitution undid the reforms made in 1764 under Stanisław II. The'and all the old abuses of the last one and a half centuries were guaranteed as unalterable parts of this new constitution (in the so-called "Cardinal Laws"). Repnin also demanded religious freedom for the Protestant and Orthodox Christians, and the resulting reaction among some of Poland's Roman Catholics, as well as the deep resentment of Russian intervention in the Commonwealth's domestic affairs, led to the War of the Confederation of Bar of 1768–1772, formed in Bar, where the Poles tried to expel Russian forces from Commonwealth territory. The irregular and poorly commanded Polish forces had little chance in the face of the regular Russian army and suffered a major defeat. Adding to the chaos was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion, the Koliyivshchyna, which erupted in 1768 and resulted in massacres of noblemen ('), Jews, Uniates, and Catholic priests, before it was put down by Polish and Russian troops.  In 1769 Austria annexed a small territory of Spisz and in 1770 it annexed Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ. These territories had been a bone of contention between Poland and Hungary, which was a part of the Austrian crown lands.

First Partition.

In February 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in Vienna. Early in August, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops simultaneously invaded the Commonwealth and occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. On August 5, 1772, the occupation manifesto was issued, much to the consternation of a country too exhausted by the endeavors of the Confederation of Bar to offer successful resistance; nevertheless, several battles and sieges took place, as Commonwealth troops refused to lay down their arms (most notably, in Tyniec, Częstochowa and Kraków).  The partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772. Frederick II of Prussia was elated with his success; Prussia took most of German-speaking Royal Prussia (without Danzig) that stood between its possessions in the Kingdom of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, as well as Ermland (Warmia), northern areas of Greater Poland along the Noteć River (the Netze District), and parts of Kuyavia (but not the city of Toruń). Despite token criticism of the partition from Empress Maria Theresa, Austrian statesman Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg, was proud of wresting as large a share as he did, with the rich salt mines of Bochnia and Wieliczka. To Austria fell Zator and Auschwitz (Oświęcim), part of Lesser Poland embracing parts of the counties of Kraków and Sandomir and the whole of Galicia, less the city of Kraków. Empress Catherine II of Russia was also very satisfied. By this "diplomatic document" Russia came into possession of that section of Livonia that had remained in Commonwealth control, and of Belarus embracing the counties of Vitebsk, Polotsk and Mstislavl. By this partition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory and half of its population (four million people), of which a large portion had not been ethnically Polish. By seizing northwestern Poland, Prussia instantly gained control over 80% of the Commonwealth's total foreign trade. Through levying enormous customs duties, Prussia accelerated the collapse of the Commonwealth.  After having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław and the Sejm approve their action. When no help was forthcoming and the armies of the combined nations occupied Warsaw to compel by force of arms the calling of the assembly, no alternative could be chosen save passive submission to their will. The so-called Partition Sejm, with Russian military forces threatening the opposition, on September 18, 1773, signed the treaty of cession, renouncing all claims of the Commonwealth to the occupied territories.

Second Partition.

By 1790 the First Polish Republic had been weakened to such a degree that it was forced into an unnatural and terminal alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The Polish–Prussian Pact of 1790 was signed. The conditions of the Pact contributed to the subsequent final two partitions of Poland–Lithuania.  The May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of the Repnin Sejm. Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth. Arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792.  In the War in Defense of the Constitution, pro-Russian conservative Polish magnates, the Confederation of Targowica, fought against Polish forces supporting the constitution, believing that Russians would help them restore the Golden Liberty. Abandoned by their Prussian allies, Polish pro-constitution forces, faced with Targowica units and the regular Russian army, were defeated. Prussia signed a treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked and both countries would receive chunks of Commonwealth territory. In 1793, deputies to the Grodno Sejm, last Sejm of the Commonwealth, in the presence of the Russian forces, agreed to Russian territorial demands. In the Second Partition, Russia and Prussia helped themselves to enough land so that only one-third of the 1772 population remained in Poland. Prussia named its newly gained province South Prussia, with Posen (and later Warsaw) as the capital of the new province.  Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support. The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support, and in 1794 the Kościuszko Uprising began.

Third Partition.

Kosciuszko's ragtag insurgent armies won some initial successes, but they eventually fell before the superior forces of the Russian Empire. The partitioning powers, seeing the increasing unrest in the remaining Commonwealth, decided to solve the problem by erasing any independent Polish state from the map. On 24 October 1795 their representatives signed a treaty, dividing the remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries. One of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko, advised Catherine II on the Second and Third Partitions of Poland.  The Russian part included and 1.2 million people with Vilnius, the Prussian part (new provinces of New East Prussia and New Silesia) and 1 million people with Warsaw, and the Austrian with 1.2 million and Lublin and Kraków.

Summary.

With regard to population, in the First Partition, Poland lost over four to five million citizens (about a third of its population of 14 million before the partitions). Only about 4 million people remained in Poland after the Second Partition which makes for a loss of another third of its original population, about a half of the remaining population. By the Third Partition, Prussia ended up with about 23% of the Commonwealth's population, Austria with 32%, and Russia with 45%.  During the Napoleonic Wars and in their immediate aftermath the borders between partitioning powers shifted several times, changing the numbers seen in the preceding table. Ultimately, Russia ended up with most of the Polish core at the expense of Prussia and Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna, Russia controlled 82% of the pre-1772 Commonwealth's territory (this includes its puppet state of Congress Poland), Austria 11%, and Prussia 7%.

Aftermath.

The King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, under Russian military escort left for Grodno where he abdicated on November 25, 1795; next he left for Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he would spend his remaining days. This act ensured that Russia would be seen as the most important of the partitioning powers.  As a result of the Partitions, Poles were forced to seek a change of status quo in Europe. Polish poets, politicians, noblemen, writers, artists, many of whom were forced to emigrate (thus the term Great Emigration), became the revolutionaries of the 19th century, as desire for freedom became one of the defining parts of Polish romanticism. Polish revolutionaries participated in uprisings in Prussia, the Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia. Polish legions fought alongside Napoleon and, under the slogan of "For our freedom and yours", participated widely in the Spring of Nations (particularly the Hungarian Revolution of 1848).  Poland would be briefly resurrected—if in a smaller frame—in 1807, when Napoleon set up the Duchy of Warsaw. After his defeat and the implementation of the Congress of Vienna treaty in 1815, the Russian-dominated Congress Kingdom of Poland was created in its place. After the Congress, Russia gained a larger share of Poland (with Warsaw) and, after crushing an insurrection in 1831, the Congress Kingdom's autonomy was abolished and Poles faced confiscation of property, deportation, forced military service, and the closure of their own universities. After the uprising of 1863, Russification of Polish secondary schools was imposed and the literacy rate dropped dramatically. In the Austrian sector which now was called Galicia, Poles fared better and were allowed to have representation in Parliament and to form their own universities, and Kraków with Lemberg (Lwów/Lviv) became centers of Polish culture and education. Meanwhile, Prussia Germanized the entire school system of its Polish subjects, and had no more respect for Polish culture and institutions than the Russian Empire. In 1915 a client state of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary was proposed and accepted by the Central Powers of World War I: the Regency Kingdom of Poland. After the end of World War I, the Central Powers' surrender to the Western Allies, the chaos of the Russian Revolution and the Treaty of Versailles finally allowed and helped the restoration of Poland's full independence after 123 years.

Fourth Partition.

The term "Fourth Partition of Poland" may refer to any subsequent division of Polish lands, including: If one accepts more than one of those events as partitions, fifth, sixth, and even seventh partitions can be counted, but these terms are very rare. (For example, Norman Davies in "God's Playground" refers to the 1807 creation of the Duchy of Warsaw as the fourth partition, the 1815 Treaty of Vienna as the fifth, the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as the sixth, and the 1939 division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the USSR as the seventh.)  The term "Fourth Partition" was also used in the 19th and 20th centuries to refer to diaspora communities who maintained a close interest in the project of regaining Polish independence. Sometimes termed Polonia, these expatriate communities often contributed funding and military support to the project of regaining the Polish nation-state. Diaspora politics were deeply affected by developments in and around the homeland, and vice versa, for many decades.

Historiography.

More recent studies claim that partitions happened when the Commonwealth had been showing the beginning signs of a slow recovery and see the last two partitions as an answer to strengthening reforms in the Commonwealth and the potential threat they represented to its power-hungry neighbours.  As historian Norman Davies stated, because the balance of power equilibrium was observed, many contemporary observers accepted explanations of the "enlightened apologists" of the partitioning state. 19th-century historians from countries that carried out the partitions, such as 19th-century Russian scholar Sergey Solovyov, and their 20th century followers, argued that partitions were justified, as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had degenerated to the point of being partitioned because the counterproductive principle of "" made decision-making on divisive issues, such as a wide-scale social reform, virtually impossible. Solovyov specified the cultural, language and religious break between the supreme and lowest layers of the society in the east regions of the Commonwealth, where the Belarusian and Ukrainian serf peasantry was Orthodox. Russian authors emphasized the historical connections between Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, as former parts of the medieval old Russian state where dynasty of Rurikids reigned (Kievan Rus'). Thus, Nikolay Karamzin wrote: "Let the foreigners denounce the partition of Poland: we took what was ours." Russian historians often stressed that Russia annexed primarily Ukrainian and Belorussian provinces with Eastern Slavic inhabitants, although many Ruthenians were no more enthusiastic about Russia than about Poland, and ignoring ethnically Polish and Lithuanian territories also being annexed later. A new justification for partitions arose with the Russian Enlightenment, as Russian writers such as Gavrila Derzhavin, Denis Fonvizin, and Alexander Pushkin stressed degeneration of Catholic Poland and the need to "civilize" it by its neighbors.  Nonetheless other 19th century contemporaries were much more skeptical; for example, British jurist Sir Robert Phillimore discussed the partition as a violation of international law; German jurist Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim presented similar views. Other older historians who challenged such justifications for the Partitions included French historian Jules Michelet, British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay, and Edmund Burke. Edmund Burke was alone in criticizing the immorality of this act.  Several scholars focused on the economic motivations of the partitioning powers. Jerzy Czajewski wrote that the Russian peasants were escaping from Russia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in significant enough numbers to become a major concern for the Russian Government sufficient to play a role in its decision to partition the Commonwealth. Increasingly in the 18th century until the partitions solved this problem, Russian armies raided territories of the Commonwealth, officially to recover the escapees, but in fact kidnapping many locals. Hajo Holborn noted that Prussia aimed to take control of the lucrative Baltic grain trade through Danzig (Gdańsk).  Some scholars use the term'sector' in reference to Commonwealth territories consisting of Polish (not Polish-Lithuanian) cultural heritage as well as historical monuments dating as far back as the first days of Poland's statehood.

Other countries.

The Ottoman Empire was one of only two countries in the world that refused to accept the partitions, (the other being the Persian Empire) and reserved a place in its diplomatic corps for an Ambassador of Lehistan (Poland).  In 1795, Iran (known to the Europeans as Persia at the time) was one of two countries (the other being the Ottoman Empire) to not recognize the Partition of Poland by the Austrian Empire, Prussia and the Russian Empire.  "", the Italian National Anthem, contains a reference to the partition.  The ongoing partitions of Poland were a major topic of discourse in The Federalist Papers, where the structure of the government of Poland, and of foreign influence over it, is used in several papers (Federalist No. 14, Federalist No. 19, Federalist No. 22, Federalist No. 39 for examples) as a cautionary tale for the writers of the U.S. Constitution.

The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg Monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations.

Dělení Polska neboli "Trojí dělení Polska" probíhalo v letech 1772–1795, přičemž tato zem byla rozdělena mezi Prusko, Rakousko a Rusko.


Plot.

James Bond—agent 007—saves a woman on the beach from committing suicide by drowning, and later meets her again in a casino. The woman, Contessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo, invites Bond to her hotel room to thank him, but when Bond arrives he is attacked by an unidentified man. After subduing the man, Bond returns to his own room and finds Tracy there, who claims she did not know the attacker was there. The next morning, Bond is kidnapped by several men, including the one he fought, who take him to meet Marc-Ange Draco, the head of the European crime syndicate Unione Corse. Draco reveals that Tracy is his only daughter and tells Bond of her troubled past, offering Bond one million pounds if he will marry her. Bond refuses, but agrees to continue romancing Tracy if Draco reveals the whereabouts of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE.  Bond returns to London, and after a brief argument with M at the British Secret Service headquarters, where Bond tries to resign, heads for Draco's birthday party in Portugal. There, Bond and Tracy begin a whirlwind romance, and Draco directs the agent to a law firm in Bern, Switzerland. Bond investigates the office of Swiss lawyer Gumbold, and learns that Blofeld is corresponding with London College of Arms genealogist Sir Hilary Bray, attempting to claim the title 'Count Balthazar de Bleuchamp'.  Posing as Bray, Bond goes to meet Blofeld, who has established a clinical allergy-research institute atop Piz Gloria in the Swiss Alps. Bond meets twelve young women, the "Angels of Death", who are patients at the institute's clinic, apparently cured of their allergies. At night Bond goes to the room of one patient, Ruby, to seduce her. At midnight Bond sees that the 12 ladies go into a sleep-induced hypnotic state while Blofeld gives them audio instructions for when they return home. In fact, the women are being brainwashed to distribute bacteriological warfare agents throughout the world.  Bond tries to trick Blofeld into leaving Switzerland so that MI6 can arrest him without violating Swiss sovereignty. Blofeld refuses and Bond is eventually caught by henchwoman Irma Bunt. Blofeld reveals that he identified Bond after his attempt to lure him out of Switzerland, and tells his henchmen to take the agent away. Bond eventually makes his escape by skiing down Piz Gloria while Blofeld and his men give chase. Arriving at the village of Lauterbrunnen, Bond finds Tracy and they escape Bunt and her men after a car chase. A blizzard forces them to a remote barn, where Bond professes his love to Tracy and proposes marriage to her, which she happily accepts. The next morning, as the chase continues, Blofeld sets off an avalanche; Tracy is captured, while Bond is buried but manages to escape.  Back in London at M's office, Bond is informed that Blofeld intends to hold the world at ransom by threatening to destroy its agriculture using his brainwashed women, demanding amnesty for all past crimes, and that he be recognised as the current Count de Bleuchamp. M tells 007 that the ransom will be paid and forbids him to mount a rescue mission. Bond then enlists Draco and his forces to attack Blofeld's headquarters, while also rescuing Tracy from Blofeld's captivity. The facility is destroyed, and Blofeld escapes the destruction alone in a bobsleigh, with Bond pursuing him. The chase ends when Blofeld becomes snared in a tree branch and injures his neck. Bond and Tracy marry in Portugal, then drive away in Bond's Aston Martin. When Bond pulls over to the roadside to remove flowers from the car, Blofeld (wearing a neck brace) and Bunt commit a drive-by shooting of the couple's car. Bond survives, but Tracy is killed in the attack.

Cast.

Blofeld's Angels of Death.

The Angels of Death are twelve beautiful women from all over the world being brainwashed by Blofeld under the guise of allergy or phobia treatment to spread the Virus Omega. A number appeared in the representative styles of dress of their particular nation. Their unwitting mission is to help Blofeld contaminate and ultimately sterilise the world's food supply.

Production.

The novel "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was first published after the film series started and contains "a gentle dig at the cinematic Bond's gadgets"; Broccoli and Saltzman had originally intended to make "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" after "Goldfinger" and Richard Maibaum worked on a script at that time. However, "Thunderball" was filmed instead after the ongoing rights dispute over the novel was settled between Fleming and Kevin McClory. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was due to follow that, but problems with a warm Swiss winter and inadequate snow cover led to Saltzman and Broccoli postponing the film again, favouring production of "You Only Live Twice".  Between the resignation of Sean Connery at the beginning of filming "You Only Live Twice" and its release, Saltzman had planned to adapt "The Man with the Golden Gun" in Cambodia and use Roger Moore as the next Bond, but political instability meant the location was ruled out and Moore signed up for another series of "The Saint". After "You Only Live Twice" was released in 1967, the producers once again picked up with "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".  Peter Hunt, who had worked on the five preceding films, had impressed Broccoli and Saltzman enough to earn his directorial debut as they believed his quick cutting had set the style for the series; it was also the result of a long-standing promise from Broccoli and Saltzman for a directorial position. Hunt also asked for the position during the production of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", and he brought along with him many crew members, including cinematographer Michael Reed. Hunt was focused on putting his mark – "I wanted it to be different than any other Bond film would be. It was my film, not anyone else's." "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was the last film on which Hunt worked in the series.

Writing.

Screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who had worked on all the previous "Bond" films bar "You Only Live Twice", was responsible for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"s script. Saltzman and Broccoli decided to drop the science fiction gadgets from the earlier films and focus more on plot as in "From Russia With Love". Peter Hunt asked Simon Raven to write some of the dialogue between Tracy and Blofeld in Piz Gloria, which was to be "sharper, better and more intellectual"; one of Raven's additions was having Tracy quoting James Elroy Flecker. When writing the script, the producers decided to make the closest adaptation of the book possible: virtually everything in the novel occurs in the film and Hunt was reported to always enter the set carrying an annotated copy of the novel.  With the script following the novel more closely than the other film adaptations of the eponymous source novels, there are several continuity errors due to the films taking place in a different order, such as Blofeld not recognising Bond, despite having met him face-to-face in the previous film "You Only Live Twice". In the original script, Bond undergoes plastic surgery to disguise him from his enemies; the intention was to allow an unrecognisable Bond to infiltrate Blofeld's hideout and help the audience accept the new actor in the role. However, this was dropped in favour of ignoring the change in actor.  To make audiences not forget it was the same James Bond, just played by another actor, the producers inserted many references to the previous films, some as in-jokes. These include Bond breaking the fourth wall by stating "This never happened to the other fellow"; the credits sequence with images from the previous installments; Bond visiting his office and finding objects from "Dr. No", "From Russia with Love", and "Thunderball"; and a caretaker whistling the theme from "Goldfinger". Maibaum later said he thought "Lazenby was not ideal for the part" but "it was a marvelous script."

Casting.

In 1967, after five films, Sean Connery resigned from the role of James Bond and—during the filming of "You Only Live Twice"—was not on speaking terms with Albert Broccoli. The confirmed front runners were Englishman John Richardson, Dutchman Hans De Vries, Australian Robert Campbell, Englishman Anthony Rogers and Australian George Lazenby.  Broccoli and Hunt eventually chose Lazenby after seeing him in a Fry's Chocolate Cream advertisement. Lazenby dressed the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Savile Row suit (ordered for, but uncollected by, Connery), and going to Connery's barber at the Dorchester Hotel. Broccoli noticed Lazenby as a Bond-type man based on his physique and character elements, and offered him an audition. The position was consolidated when Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression. Lazenby was offered a contract for seven films; however, he was convinced by his agent Ronan O'Rahilly that the secret agent would be archaic in the liberated 1970s, and as a result he left the series after the release of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969.  For Tracy Draco, the producers wanted an established actress opposite neophyte Lazenby. Brigitte Bardot was invited, but after she signed to appear in "Shalako" opposite Sean Connery, the deal fell through, and Diana Rigg—who had already been the popular heroine Emma Peel in "The Avengers"—was cast instead. Rigg said one of the reasons for accepting the role was that she always wanted to be in an epic film. Telly Savalas was cast following a suggestion from Broccoli, and Hunt's neighbour George Baker was offered the part of Sir Hilary Bray. Baker's voice was also used when Lazenby was impersonating Bray, as Hunt considered Lazenby's imitation not convincing enough. Gabriele Ferzetti was cast as Draco after the producers saw him in "We Still Kill the Old Way", but Ferzetti's heavy Italian accent also led to his voice being redubbed by English actor David de Keyser for the final cut.

Filming.

Principal photography began in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, on 21 October 1968, with the first scene shot being an aerial view of Bond climbing the stairs of Blofeld's mountain retreat to meet the girls. The scenes were shot at the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria, located atop the Schilthorn near the village of Mürren. The location was found by production manager Hubert Fröhlich after three weeks of location scouting in France and Switzerland. The restaurant was still under construction, but the producers found the location interesting, and had to finance the provision of electricity and the aerial lift to make filming there possible. Various chase scenes in the Alps were shot at Lauterbrunnen and Saas-Fee, while the Christmas celebrations were filmed in Grindelwald, and some scenes were shot on location in Bern. Production was hampered by weak snowfall which was unfavourable to the skiing action scenes. The producers even considered moving to another location in Switzerland, but it was taken by the production of "Downhill Racer". The Swiss filming ended up running 56 days over schedule. In March 1969, production moved to England, with London's Pinewood Studios being used for interior shooting, and M's house being shot in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. In April, the filmmakers went to Portugal, where principal photography wrapped in May. The pre-credit coastal and hotel scenes were filmed at Hotel Estoril Palacio in Estoril and Guincho Beach, Cascais, while Lisbon was used for the reunion of Bond and Tracy, and the ending employed a mountain road in the Arrábida National Park near Setúbal. Harry Saltzman wanted the Portuguese scenes to be in France, but after searching there, Peter Hunt considered that not only were the locations not photogenic, but were already "overexposed". While the first unit shot at Piz Gloria, the second unit, led by John Glen, started filming the ski chases. The downhill skiing involved professional skiers, and various camera tricks. Some cameras were handheld, with the operators holding them as they were going downhill with the stuntmen, and others were aerial, with cameramen Johnny Jordan – who had previously worked in the helicopter battle of "You Only Live Twice" — developing a system where he was dangled by an long parachute harness rig below a helicopter, allowing scenes to be shot on the move from any angle. The bobsledding chase was also filmed with the help of Swiss Olympic athletes, and was rewritten to incorporate the accidents the stuntmen suffered during shooting, such as the scene where Bond falls from the sled. Blofeld getting snared with a tree was performed at the studio by Savalas himself, after the attempt to do this by the stuntman on location came out wrong. Glen was also the editor of the film, employing a style similar to the one used by Hunt in the previous Bond films, with fast motion in the action scenes and exaggerated sound effects.  The avalanche scenes were due to be filmed in co-operation with the Swiss army who annually used explosions to prevent snow build-up by causing avalanches, but the area chosen naturally avalanched just before filming. The final result was a combination of a man-made avalanche at an isolated Swiss location shot by the second unit, stock footage, and images created by the special effects crew with salt. The stuntmen were filmed later, added by optical effects. For the scene where Bond and Tracy crash into a car race while being pursued, an ice rink was constructed over an unused aeroplane track, with water and snow sprayed on it constantly. Lazenby and Rigg did most of the driving due to the high number of close-ups. For the cinematography, Hunt aimed for a "simple, but glamorous like the 1950s Hollywood films I grew up with", as well as something realistic, "where the sets don't look like sets". Cinematographer Michael Reed added he had difficulties with lighting, as every set built for the film had a ceiling, preventing spotlights from being hung from above. While shooting, Hunt wanted "the most interesting framings possible", which would also look good after being cropped for television.  Lazenby said he experienced difficulties during shooting, not receiving any coaching despite his lack of acting experience, and with director Hunt never addressing him directly, only through his assistant. Lazenby also declared that Hunt also asked the rest of the crew to keep a distance from him, as "Peter thought the more I was alone, the better I would be as James Bond." Allegedly, there also were personality conflicts with Rigg, who was already an established star. However, according to director Hunt, these rumours are untrue and there were no such difficulties—or else they were minor—and may have started with Rigg joking to Lazenby before filming a love scene "Hey George, I'm having garlic for lunch. I hope you are!" Hunt also declared that he usually had long talks with Lazenby before and during shooting. For instance, to shoot Tracy's death scene, Hunt brought Lazenby to the set at 8 o'clock in the morning and made him rehearse all day long, "and I broke him down until he was absolutely exhausted, and by the time we shot it at five o'clock, he was exhausted, and that's how I got the performance." Hunt said that if Lazenby had remained in the role, he would also have directed the successor film, "Diamonds Are Forever", and that his original intentions were concluding the film with Bond and Tracy driving off following their wedding, saving Tracy's murder for the pre-credit sequence of "Diamonds Are Forever". The idea was discarded after Lazenby quit the role.  "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was the longest "Bond" film until "Casino Royale" was released in 2006. Despite that, two scenes were deleted from the final print: Irma Bunt spying on Bond as he buys a wedding ring for Tracy, and a chase over London rooftops and into the Royal Mail underground rail system after Bond's conversation with Sir Hilary Bray was overheard.

Music.

The soundtrack for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" has been called "perhaps the best score of the series." It was composed, arranged and conducted by John Barry; it was his sixth successive "Bond" film. Barry opted to use more electrical instruments and a more aggressive sound in the music – "I have to stick my oar in the musical area double strong to make the audience try and forget they don't have Sean... to be Bondian beyond Bondian."  Barry felt it would be difficult to compose a theme song containing the title "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" unless it were written operatically, in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan. Leslie Bricusse had considered lyrics for the title song but director Peter R. Hunt allowed an instrumental title theme in the tradition of the first two Bond films. The theme was described as "one of the best title cuts, a wordless Moog-driven monster, suitable for skiing at breakneck speed or dancing with equal abandon."  Barry also composed the love song "We Have All the Time in the World", with lyrics by Burt Bacharach's regular lyricist Hal David, sung by Louis Armstrong. It is heard during the Bond–Tracy courtship montage, bridging Draco's birthday party in Portugal and Bond's burglary of the Gebrüder Gumbold law office in Bern, Switzerland. Barry recalled Armstrong was very ill, but recorded the song in one take. Armstrong did however make some further recordings in 1970 and 1971. The song was re-released in 1994, achieving the number three position during a 13-week spell in the UK charts.  Barry and David also wrote two other songs for the film, both performed by Danish singer Nina. One, entitled "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?", was featured in the film in several scenes. The other, "The More Things Change", was recorded by Nina at the same session, but did not end up in the finished film. Instead, it appeared as the b-side of the UK single of "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" and an instrumental version of it appeared on John Barry's 1970 LP "Ready When You Are J.B.".  The theme, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", is used in the film as an action theme alternative to Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme", as with Barry's previous "007" themes. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was covered in 1997 by the British big beat group the Propellerheads for the "Shaken and Stirred" album. Barry-orchestrator Nic Raine recorded an arrangement of the escape from Piz Gloria sequence and it was featured as a theme in the trailers for the 2004 Pixar animated film directed by Brad Bird, "The Incredibles". Barry was the first choice to do the score for The Incredibles. However, he declined to do the score as he did not wish to duplicate the sound of his older work.

Release and reception.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was released on 18 December 1969 with its premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. Lazenby appeared at the premiere with a beard, looking "very un-Bond-like", according to the "Daily Mirror". Lazenby claimed the producers had tried to persuade him to shave it off to appear like Bond, but at that stage he had already decided not to make another Bond film and rejected the idea. The beard and accompanying shoulder-length hair "strained his already fragile relationship with Saltzman and Broccoli". As "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" had been filmed in stereo, the first Bond film to use the technology, the Odeon had a new speaker system installed to benefit the new sounds.  Because Lazenby had informed the producers that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was to be his only outing as Bond and because of the lack of gadgets used by Bond in the film, few items of merchandise were produced for the film, apart from the soundtrack album and a film edition of the book. Those that were produced included a number of Corgi Toys, including Tracey's Mercury Cougar(1969), Campbell's Volkswagen and two versions of the bobsleigh—one with the 007 logo and one with the Piz Gloria logo. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was nominated for only one award: George Lazenby was nominated in the "New Star of the Year – Actor" category at the 1970 Golden Globe Award ceremony, losing out to Jon Voight.

Box office.

The film topped the North American box office when it opened with a gross of $1.2 million. The film closed its box office run with £750,000 in the United Kingdom (the highest-grossing film of the year), $64.6 million worldwide, half of "You Only Live Twice"s total gross, but still one of the highest-grossing films of 1969. It was one of the most popular movies in France in 1969, with admissions of 1,958,172. Nonetheless this was a considerable drop from "You Only Live Twice". After re-releases, the total box office was $82,000,000 worldwide.

Contemporary reviews.

The majority of reviews were critical of either the film, Lazenby, or both, while most of the contemporary reviews in the British press referred to George Lazenby at some point as "The Big Fry", a reference to his previous acting in Fry's Chocolate advertisements. Derek Malcolm of "The Guardian" was dismissive of Lazenby's performance, saying that he "is not a good actor and though I never thought Sean Connery was all that stylish either, there are moments when one yearns for a little of his louche panache." For all the criticism of Lazenby, however, Malcolm says that the film was "quite a jolly frolic in the familiar money-spinning fashion". Tom Milne, writing in "The Observer" was even more scathing, saying that "I... fervently trust ("OHMSS") will be the last of the James Bond films. All the pleasing oddities and eccentricities and gadgets of the earlier films have somehow been lost, leaving a routine trail through which the new James Bond strides without noticeable signs of animation."  Donald Zec in the "Daily Mirror" was equally damning of Lazenby's acting abilities, comparing him unfavourably to Connery: "He looks uncomfortably in the part like a size four foot in a size ten gumboot." Zec was kinder to Lazenby's co-star, saying that "there is style to Diana Rigg's performance and I suspect that the last scene which draws something of a performance out of Lazenby owes much to her silken expertise." A. H. Weiler of "The New York Times" also weighed in against Lazenby, saying that "Lazenby, if not a spurious Bond, is merely a casual, pleasant, satisfactory replacement."  One of the few supporters of Lazenby amongst the critics was Alexander Walker in the London "Evening Standard" who said that "The truth is that George Lazenby is almost as good a James Bond as the man referred to in his film as 'the other fellow'. Lazenby's voice is more suave than sexy-sinister and he could pass for the other fellow's twin on the shady side of the casino. Bond is now definitely all set for the Seventies." Judith Crist of "New York" also found the actor to be a strong point of the movie, stating that "This time around there's less suavity and a no-nonsense muscularity and maleness to the role via the handsome Mr. Lazenby".  The feminist film critic Molly Haskell also wrote an approving review of the film in "The Village Voice": "In a world, an industry, and particularly a genre which values the new and improved product above all, it is nothing short of miraculous to see a movie which dares to go backward, a technological artefact which has nobly deteriorated into a human being. I speak of the new and obsolete James Bond, played by a man named George Lazenby, who seems more comfortable in a wet tuxedo than a dry martini, more at ease as a donnish genealogist than reading (or playing) "Playboy", and who actually dares to think that one woman who is his equal is better than a thousand part-time playmates." Haskell was also affected by the film's emotional ending: "The love between Bond and his Tracy begins as a payment and ends as a sacrament. After ostensibly getting rid of the bad guys, they are married. They drive off to a shocking, stunning ending. Their love, being too real, is killed by the conventions it defied. But they win the final victory by calling, unexpectedly, upon feeling. Some of the audience hissed, I was shattered. If you like your Bonds with happy endings, don't go."

Retrospective reviews.

Modern reception to the film has been more favorable. Film critic James Berardinelli summed this up in his review of the movie: "with the exception of one production aspect, [it] is by far the best entry of the long-running James Bond series. The film contains some of the most exhilarating action sequences ever to reach the screen, a touching love story, and a nice subplot that has agent 007 crossing (and even threatening to resign from) Her Majesty's Secret Service." Lazenby is frequently quoted as the weakest Bond, although Connery, Moore, Dalton, and Craig have rated his performance.  The American film reviewer Leonard Maltin has suggested that if it had been Connery in the leading role instead of Lazenby, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" would have epitomised the series. On the other hand, Danny Peary wrote, "I'm not sure I agree with those who insist that if Connery had played Bond it would definitely be the best of the entire Bond series... Connery's Bond, with his boundless humor and sense of fun and self-confidence, would be out of place in this picture. It actually works better with Lazenby because he is incapable of playing Bond as a bigger-than-life hero; for one thing he hasn't the looks... Lazenby's Bond also hasn't the assurance of Connery's Bond and that is appropriate in the crumbling, depressing world he finds himself. He seems vulnerable and jittery at times. At the skating rink, he is actually "scared." We worry about him... "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" doesn't have Connery and it's impossible to ever fully adjust to Lazenby, but I think that it still might be the best Bond film, as many Bond cultists claim." Peary also described "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as "the most serious", "the most cynical" and "the most tragic" of the Bond films.  Brian Fairbanks differed in his opinion of Lazenby, saying that the film "gives us a James Bond capable of vulnerability, a man who can show fear and is not immune to heartbreak. Lazenby is that man, and his performance is superb." Fairbanks also thought "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" to be "not only the best Bond, it is also the last truly great film in the series. In fact, had the decision been made to end the series, this would have been the perfect final chapter."  The filmmaker Steven Soderbergh writes that "For me there's no question that cinematically "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is the best Bond film and the only one worth watching repeatedly for reasons other than pure entertainment... Shot to shot, this movie is beautiful in a way none of the other Bond films are". The director Christopher Nolan also stated that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was his favourite Bond film; in describing its influence on his own film, "Inception" (2010), Nolan said, "What I liked about it that we've tried to emulate in this film is there's a tremendous balance in that movie of action and scale and romanticism and tragedy and emotion."  The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 80% based on 50 reviews, and a weighted average of 6.78 out of 10. The website's critical consensus states, "George Lazenby's only appearance as 007 is a fine entry in the series, featuring one of the most intriguing Bond girls in Tracy di Vincenzo (Diana Rigg), breathtaking visuals, and some great ski chases." IGN ranked "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as the eighth best Bond film, "Entertainment Weekly" as the sixth, and Norman Wilner of MSN, as the fifth best. Digital Spy listed the film as the best James Bond film to date. The film also became a fan favourite, seeing "ultimate success in the home video market". In September 2012 it was announced that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" had topped a poll of Bond fans run by 007 Magazine to determine the greatest ever Bond film. "Goldfinger" came second in the poll and "From Russia With Love" was third.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a 1969 spy film and the sixth in the "James Bond" series produced by Eon Productions. It is based on the 1963 novel by Ian Fleming. Following Sean Connery's decision to retire from the role after "You Only Live Twice", Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby, to play the part of James Bond. During the making of the film, Lazenby announced that he would play the role of Bond only once.

V tajné službě Jejího Veličenstva (také Ve službách Jejího Veličenstva) je v pořadí šestý film o Jamesi Bondovi z roku 1969, adaptace jedenáctého románu spisovatele Iana Fleminga o této postavě z roku 1963.


History.

The term allelopathy from the Greek-derived compounds "allelo-" and "-pathy" (meaning "mutual harm" or "suffering"), was first used in 1937 by the Austrian professor Hans Molisch in the book "Der Einfluss einer Pflanze auf die andere - Allelopathie" (The Effect of Plants on Each Other - Allelopathy) published in German. He used the term to describe biochemical interactions by means of which a plant inhibits the growth of neighbouring plants. In 1971, Whittaker and Feeny published a study in the journal "Science", which defined allelochemicals as all chemical interactions among organisms. In 1984, Elroy Leon Rice in his monograph on allelopathy enlarged the definition to include all direct positive or negative effects of a plant on another plant or on micro-organisms by the liberation of biochemicals into the natural environment. Over the next ten years, the term was used by other researchers to describe broader chemical interactions between organisms, and by 1996 the International Allelopathy Society (IAS) defined allelopathy as "Any process involving secondary metabolites produced by plants, algae, bacteria and fungi that influences the growth and development of agriculture and biological systems." In more recent times, plant researchers have begun to switch back to the original definition of substances that are produced by one plant that inhibit another plant. Confusing the issue more, zoologists have borrowed the term to describe chemical interactions between invertebrates like corals and sponges.  Long before the term allelopathy was used, people observed the negative effects that one plant could have on another. Theophrastus, who lived around 300 BC noticed the inhibitory effects of pigweed on alfalfa. In China around the first century CE, the author of "Shennong Ben Cao Jing", a book on agriculture and medicinal plants, described 267 plants that had pesticidal abilities, including those with allelopathic effects. In 1832, the Swiss botanist De Candolle suggested that crop plant exudates were responsible for an agriculture problem called soil sickness.  Allelopathy is not universally accepted among ecologists. Many have argued that its effects cannot be distinguished from the competition which results when two (or more) organisms attempt to use the same limited resource, to the detriment of one or both. Allelopathy is a direct negative effect on one organism resulting from the input of substances into the environment by another. In the 1970s, great effort went into distinguishing competitive and allelopathic effects by some researchers, while in the 1990s others argued that the effects were often interdependent and could not readily be distinguished.  However, by 1994, D. L. Liu and J. V. Lowett at the Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, wrote two papers in the "Journal of Chemical Ecology" that developed methods to separate the allelochemical effects from other competitive effects, using barley plants and inventing a process to examine the allelochemicals directly. In 1994, M.-C. Nilsson at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå showed in a field study that allelopathy exerted by "Empetrum hermaphroditum" reduced growth of Scots pine seedlings by c. 40%, and that below-ground resource competition by "E. hermaphroditum" accounted for the remaining growth reduction. For this work she inserted PVC-tubes into the ground to reduce below-ground competition or added charcoal to soil surface to reduce the impact of allelopathy, as well as a treatment combining the two methods.

Application.

The possible application of allelopathy in agriculture is the subject of much research. Current research is focused on the effects of weeds on crops, crops on weeds, and crops on crops. This research furthers the possibility of using allelochemicals as growth regulators and natural herbicides, to promote sustainable agriculture. A number of such allelochemicals are commercially available or in the process of large-scale manufacture. For example, Leptospermone is a purported thermochemical in lemon bottlebrush ("Callistemon citrinus"). Although it was found to be too weak as a commercial herbicide, a chemical analog of it, mesotrione (tradename Callisto), was found to be effective. It is sold to control broadleaf weeds in corn but also seems to be an effective control for crabgrass in lawns. Sheeja (1993) reported the allelopathic interaction of the weeds "Chromolaena odorata" ("Eupatorium odoratum") and "Lantana camara" on selected major crops.  Many crop cultivars show strong allelopathic properties, of which rice ("Oryza sativa") has been most studied. Rice allelopathy depends on variety and origin: Japonica rice is more allelopathic than Indica and Japonica-Indica hybrid. More recently, critical review on rice allelopathy and the possibility for weed management reported that allelopathic characteristics in rice are quantitatively inherited and several allelopathy-involved traits have been identified.  Many invasive plant species interfere with native plants through allelopathy. A famous case of purported allelopathy is in desert shrubs. One of the most widely known early examples was "Salvia leucophylla", because it was on the cover of the journal "Science" in 1964. Bare zones around the shrubs were hypothesized to be caused by volatile terpenes emitted by the shrubs. However, like many allelopathy studies, it was based on artificial lab experiments and unwarranted extrapolations to natural ecosystems. In 1970, "Science" published a study where caging the shrubs to exclude rodents and birds allowed grass to grow in the bare zones. A detailed history of this story can be found in Halsey 2004.  Allelopathy has been shown to play a crucial role in forests, influencing the composition of the vegetation growth, and also provides an explanation for the patterns of forest regeneration. The black walnut "(Juglans nigra)" produces the allelochemical juglone, which affects some species greatly while others not at all. The leaf litter and root exudates of some "Eucalyptus" species are allelopathic for certain soil microbes and plant species. The tree of heaven, "Ailanthus altissima", produces allelochemicals in its roots that inhibit the growth of many plants. The pace of evaluating allelochemicals released by higher plants in nature has greatly accelerated, with promising results in field screening.  Garlic mustard is an invasive plant species in North American temperate forests. Its success may be partly due to its excretion of an unidentified allelochemical that interferes with mutualisms between native tree roots and their mycorrhizal fungi.

Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial (positive allelopathy) or detrimental (negative allelopathy) effects on the target organisms and the community. Allelochemicals are a subset of secondary metabolites, which are not required for metabolism (i.e. growth, development and reproduction) of the allelopathic organism. Allelochemicals with negative allelopathic effects are an important part of plant defense against herbivory.

Alelopatie (rovněž allelopatie, amenzalismus, antibióza či antagonismus) je jeden ze základních typů biologických interakcí mezi dvěma či více organismy. Jeden organismus (inhibitor) ovlivňuje negativně druhý organismus (amenzál) svými chemickými látkami, které vypouští do prostředí. Může se jednat o jednu, nebo několik látek. Amenzál přitom na inhibitora nepůsobí nijak, tedy ani kladně ani záporně.


Life and career.

He was born in Červený Hrádek near Chomutov, Bohemia, the second son of Elisabeth and Jan Brokoff. Ferdinand Brokoff's work is often compared with the work of Matthias Braun. Initially he mostly helped his father, but from 1708 he worked independently and two years later, at the age of 22, he became known for his work on several statues on Charles Bridge in Prague, including the statuary of "St. Adalbert", the statue of "St. Gaetano", the sculpture group of "Francis Borgia", the statues of "St. Ignatius" and "Francis Xaverius", and the sculpture group of "Saints John of Matha, Felix of Valois and Ivan" which depicts in its lower section a dungeon in which emaciated Christians are guarded by a dog and a figure in Turkish costume.  Around 1714 Ferdinand Brokoff began working with the Austrian architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and moved to Vienna (while still taking commissions from Prague) where he worked on the church of St. Charles Borromei. He was also active in Silesia (Wrocław), but had to return to Prague soon due to progressing tuberculosis. Nevertheless, he continued to sculpt in Prague and made some significant pieces during the 1720s, such as the monumental statuary and pillar at Hradčany Square () in 1726. In 1722 he was also commissioned to create 13 pieces of the Calvary to put in the niches of the New Castle Stairway, a project that was never realized.  Towards the end of his life, the illness gradually prevented him from working alone, thus he only created the designs and models, and had them realized by his younger assistants. He died in Prague.

Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff (Czech: "Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff", 12 September 1688 – 8 March 1731) was a sculptor and carver of the Baroque era.

Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff (12. září 1688, Červený Hrádek u Jirkova – 8. březen 1731, Praha) byl český sochař a řezbář, syn sochaře a řezbáře Jana Brokoffa a bratr sochaře a řezbáře Michala Jana Josefa Brokoffa.


Developmental history.

Early development.

In 1857, Oscar Rejlander created the world's first "special effects" image by combining different sections of 32 negatives into a single image, making a montaged combination print. In 1895, Alfred Clark created what is commonly accepted as the first-ever motion picture special effect. While filming a reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots, Clark instructed an actor to step up to the block in Mary's costume. As the executioner brought the axe above his head, Clark stopped the camera, had all of the actors freeze, and had the person playing Mary step off the set. He placed a Mary dummy in the actor's place, restarted filming, and allowed the executioner to bring the axe down, severing the dummy's head. Techniques like these would dominate the production of special effects for a century.  It wasn't only the first use of trickery in cinema, it was also the first type of photographic trickery that was only possible in a motion picture, and referred to as the "stop trick". Georges Méliès, an early motion picture pioneer, accidentally discovered the same "stop trick." According to Méliès, his camera jammed while filming a street scene in Paris. When he screened the film, he found that the "stop trick" had caused a truck to turn into a hearse, pedestrians to change direction, and men to turn into women. Méliès, the stage manager at the Theatre Robert-Houdin, was inspired to develop a series of more than 500 short films, between 1914, in the process developing or inventing such techniques as multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand painted color. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality with the cinematograph, the prolific Méliès is sometimes referred to as the "Cinemagician." His most famous film, "Le Voyage dans la lune" (1902), a whimsical parody of Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon", featured a combination of live action and animation, and also incorporated extensive miniature and matte painting work.  From 1910 to 1920, the main innovations in special effects were the improvements on the matte shot by Norman Dawn. With the original matte shot, pieces of cardboard were placed to block the exposure of the film, which would be exposed later. Dawn combined this technique with the "glass shot." Rather than using cardboard to block certain areas of the film exposure, Dawn simply painted certain areas black to prevent any light from exposing the film. From the partially exposed film, a single frame is then projected onto an easel, where the matte is then drawn. By creating the matte from an image directly from the film, it became incredibly easy to paint an image with proper respect to scale and perspective (the main flaw of the glass shot). Dawn's technique became the textbook for matte shots due to the natural images it created.  During the 1920s and 1930s, special effects techniques were improved and refined by the motion picture industry. Many techniques—such as the Schüfftan process—were modifications of illusions from the theater (such as pepper's ghost) and still photography (such as double exposure and matte compositing). Rear projection was a refinement of the use of painted backgrounds in the theater, substituting moving pictures to create moving backgrounds. Lifecasting of faces was imported from traditional maskmaking. Along with makeup advances, fantastic masks could be created which fit the actor perfectly. As material science advanced, horror film maskmaking followed closely.  Many studios established in-house "special effects" departments, which were responsible for nearly all optical and mechanical aspects of motion-picture trickery. Also, the challenge of simulating spectacle in motion encouraged the development of the use of miniatures. Animation, creating the illusion of motion, was accomplished with drawings (most notably by Winsor McCay in "Gertie the Dinosaur") and with three-dimensional models (most notably by Willis O'Brien in "The Lost World" and "King Kong"). Naval battles could be depicted with models in studio. Tanks and airplanes could be flown (and crashed) without risk of life and limb. Most impressively, miniatures and matte paintings could be used to depict worlds that never existed. Fritz Lang's film "Metropolis" was an early special effects spectacular, with innovative use of miniatures, matte paintings, the Schüfftan process, and complex compositing.  An important innovation in special-effects photography was the development of the optical printer. Essentially, an optical printer is a projector aiming into a camera lens, and it was developed to make copies of films for distribution. Until Linwood G. Dunn refined the design and use of the optical printer, effects shots were accomplished as in-camera effects. Dunn demonstrating that it could be used to combine images in novel ways and create new illusions. One early showcase for Dunn was Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane", where such locations as Xanadu (and some of Gregg Toland's famous 'deep focus' shots) were essentially created by Dunn's optical printer.

Color era.

The development of color photography required greater refinement of effects techniques. Color enabled the development of such "travelling matte" techniques as bluescreen and the sodium vapour process. Many films became landmarks in special-effects accomplishments: "Forbidden Planet" used matte paintings, animation, and miniature work to create spectacular alien environments. In "The Ten Commandments", Paramount's John P. Fulton, A.S.C., multiplied the crowds of extras in the Exodus scenes with careful compositing, depicted the massive constructions of Rameses with models, and split the Red Sea in a still-impressive combination of travelling mattes and water tanks. Ray Harryhausen extended the art of stop-motion animation with his special techniques of compositing to create spectacular fantasy adventures such as "Jason and the Argonauts" (whose climax, a sword battle with seven animated skeletons, is considered a landmark in special effects).

The science fiction boom.

During the 1950s and 1960s numerous new special effects were developed which would dramatically increase the level of realism achievable in science fiction films.  If one film could be said to have established a new benchmark for special effects, it would be 1968's "", directed by Stanley Kubrick, who assembled his own effects team (Douglas Trumbull, Tom Howard, Con Pederson and Wally Veevers) rather than use an in-house effects unit. In this film, the spaceship miniatures were highly detailed and carefully photographed for a realistic depth of field. The shots of spaceships were combined through hand-drawn rotoscoping and careful motion-control work, ensuring that the elements were precisely combined in the camera—a surprising throwback to the silent era, but with spectacular results. Backgrounds of the African vistas in the "Dawn of Man" sequence were combined with soundstage photography via the then-new front projection technique. Scenes set in zero-gravity environments were staged with hidden wires, mirror shots, and large-scale rotating sets. The finale, a voyage through hallucinogenic scenery, was created by Douglas Trumbull using a new technique termed slit-scan.  The 1970s provided two profound changes in the special effects trade. The first was economic: during the industry's recession in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many studios closed down their in-house effects houses. Technicians became freelancers or founded their own effects companies, sometimes specializing on particular techniques (opticals, animation, etc.).  The second was precipitated by the blockbuster success of two science-fiction and fantasy films in 1977. George Lucas's "Star Wars" ushered in an era of science-fiction films with expensive and impressive special effects. Effects supervisor John Dykstra, A.S.C. and crew developed many improvements in existing effects technology. They created a computer-controlled camera rig called the "Dykstraflex" that allowed precise repetition of camera motion, greatly facilitating travelling-matte compositing. Degradation of film images during compositing was minimized by other innovations: the Dykstraflex used VistaVision cameras that photographed widescreen images horizontally along stock, using far more of the film per frame, and thinner-emulsion filmstocks were used in the compositing process. The effects crew assembled by Lucas and Dykstra was dubbed Industrial Light & Magic, and since 1977 has spearheaded many effects innovations.  That same year, Steven Spielberg's film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" boasted a finale with impressive special effects by "" veteran Douglas Trumbull. In addition to developing his own motion-control system, Trumbull also developed techniques for creating intentional "lens flare" (the shapes created by light reflecting in camera lenses) to provide the film's undefinable shapes of flying saucers.  The success of these films, and others since, has prompted massive studio investment in effects-heavy science-fiction films. This has fueled the establishment of many independent effects houses, a tremendous degree of refinement of existing techniques, and the development of new techniques such as computer-generated imagery (CGI). It has also encouraged within the industry a greater distinction between special effects and visual effects; the latter is used to characterize post-production and optical work, while "special effects" refers more often to on-set and mechanical effects.

Introduction of computer generated imagery (CGI).

A recent and profound innovation in special effects has been the development of computer generated imagery (CGI), which has changed nearly every aspect of motion picture special effects. Digital compositing allows far more control and creative freedom than optical compositing, and does not degrade the image as with analog (optical) processes. Digital imagery has enabled technicians to create detailed models, matte "paintings," and even fully realized characters with the malleability of computer software.  Arguably the biggest and most "spectacular" use of CGI is in the creation of photo-realistic images of science-fiction/fantasy characters, settings and objects. Images can be created in a computer using the techniques of animated cartoons and model animation. "The Last Starfighter" (1984) used computer generated spaceships instead of physical scale models. In 1993, stop-motion animators working on the realistic dinosaurs of Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" were retrained in the use of computer input devices. By 1995, films such as "Toy Story" underscored the fact that the distinction between live-action films and animated films was no longer clear. Other landmark examples include a character made up of broken pieces of a stained-glass window in "Young Sherlock Holmes", a shape-shifting character in "Willow", a tentacle formed from water in "The Abyss", the T-1000 Terminator in "", hordes and armies of robots and fantastic creatures in the "Star Wars (prequel)" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies, and the planet, Pandora, in "Avatar".

Planning and use.

Although most visual effects work is completed during post-production, it must be carefully planned and choreographed in pre-production and production. A visual effects supervisor is usually involved with the production from an early stage to work closely with the Director and all related personnel to achieve the desired effects.  Practical effects also require significant pre-planning and co-ordination with performers and production teams. The live nature of the effects can result in situations where resetting due to an error, mistake, or safety concern incurs significant expense, or is impossible due to the destructive nature of the effect.

Live special effects.

Live special effects are effects that are used in front of a live audience, such as in theatre, sporting events, concerts and corporate shows. Types of effects that are commonly used include: flying effects, laser lighting, theatrical smoke and fog, CO effects, and pyrotechnics. Other atmospheric effects can include flame, confetti, bubbles, and snow.

Mechanical effects.

Mechanical effects encompass the use of mechanical engineering to a greater degree. Cars being flipped and hauled over buildings are usually an effect built on specialized rigs and gimbals such as in movies like Unknown. These features were made possible by the use of these rigs and gimbals. Usually a team of engineers or freelance film companies provide these services to movie producers. As the action event is being recorded against a green screen, camera men, stunt artists or doubles, directors and engineers who conceptualize and engineer these monumental mechanics, all collaborate at the same time to acquire the perfect angle and shot that provides the entertainment users enjoy. It is then edited and reviewed before final release to the public.

Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, SPFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual world.

Speciální efekty se používají ve filmu, televizi, fotografii a zábavním průmyslu k realizování takových obrazů a scén (např. bitvy v kosmu), které jsou běžnými způsoby nedosažitelné.


Spelling and etymology.

The indigenous name of this city is "Qusqu". Although the name was used in Quechua, its origin is found in the Aymara language. The word is derived from the phrase "qusqu wanka" ('Rock of the owl'), related to the city's foundation myth of the Ayar Siblings. According to this legend, Ayar Awqa ("Ayar Auca") acquired wings and flew to the site of the future city; there he was transformed into a rock to mark the possession of the land by his "ayllu" ("lineage"):  The Spanish conquistadors adopted the local name, transliterating it into Spanish phonetics as "Cuzco" or, less often, "Cozco". "Cuzco" was the standard spelling on official documents and chronicles in colonial times, though "Cusco" was also used. "Cuzco", pronounced as in 16th-century Spanish, seems to have been a close approximation to the Cusco Quechua pronunciation of the name at the time. As both Spanish and Quechua pronunciation have evolved since then, the Spanish pronunciation of 'z' is no longer close to the Quechua pronunciation of the consonant represented by 'z' in "Cuzco". In 1976, the city mayor signed an ordinance banning the traditional spelling and ordering the use of a new one, "Cusco", in municipality publications. Nineteen years later, on 23 June 1990, the local authorities formalized a new spelling related more closely to Quechua: "Qosqo".  There is no international, official spelling of the city's name. In English-language publications both "s" and "z" can be found. The "Oxford Dictionary of English" and "Merriam-Webster Dictionary" prefer "Cuzco" and in scholarly writings "Cuzco" is employed more often than "Cusco". The city's international airport code is CUZ, reflecting the earlier Spanish spelling.

History.

Killke culture.

The Killke people occupied the region from 900 to 1200 CE, prior to the arrival of the Inca in the 13th century. Carbon-14 dating of Saksaywaman, the walled complex outside Cusco, established that Killke constructed the fortress about 1100 CE. The Inca later expanded and occupied the complex in the 13th century. In March 2008, archaeologists discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and aqueduct system at Saksaywaman. The temple covers some and contains 11 rooms thought to have held idols and mummies, establishing its religious purpose. Together with the results of excavations in 2007, when another temple was found at the edge of the fortress, this indicates a longtime religious as well as military use of the facility.

Inca history.

Cusco was long an important center of indigenous people. It was the capital of the Inca Empire (13th century – 1532). Many believe that the city was planned as an effigy in the shape of a puma, a sacred animal. How Cusco was specifically built, or how its large stones were quarried and transported to the site remain undetermined. Under the Inca, the city had two sectors: the "urin" and "hanan". Each was divided to encompass two of the four provinces, Chinchasuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Kuntisuyu (SW) and Qullasuyu (SE). A road led from each quarter to the corresponding quarter of the empire.  Each local leader was required to build a house in the city and live part of the year in Cusco, restricted to the quarter that corresponded to the quarter in which he held territory. After the rule of Pachacuti, when an Inca died, his title went to one son and his property was given to a corporation controlled by his other relatives (split inheritance). Each title holder had to build a new house and add new lands to the empire, in order to own land for his family to keep after his death.  According to Inca legend, the city was rebuilt by Sapa Inca Pachacuti, the man who transformed the Kingdom of Cuzco from a sleepy city-state into the vast empire of "Tawantinsuyu". Archaeological evidence, however, points to a slower, more organic growth of the city beginning before Pachacuti. The city was constructed according to a definite plan in which two rivers were channeled around the city. Archaeologists have suggested that this city plan was replicated at other sites.  The city fell to the sphere of Huáscar during the Inca Civil War after the death of Huayna Capac in 1528. It was captured by the generals of Atahualpa in April 1532 in the Battle of Quipaipan. Nineteen months later, Spanish explorers invaded the city after kidnapping and murdering Atahualpa (see Battle of Cuzco), and gained control because of their arms and horses, employing superior military technology.

After the Spanish invasion.

The first three Spaniards arrived in the city in May 1533, after the Battle of Cajamarca, collecting for Atahualpa's Ransom Room. On 15 November 1533 Francisco Pizarro officially arrived in Cusco. "The capital of the Incas... astonished the Spaniards by the beauty of its edifices, the length and regularity of its streets." The great square was surrounded by several palaces, since "each sovereign built a new palace for himself." "The delicacy of the stone work excelled" that of the Spaniards'. The fortress had three parapets and was composed of "heavy masses of rock". "Through the heart of the capital ran a river... faced with stone.... The most sumptuous edifice in Cuzco... was undoubtedly the great temple dedicated to the Sun... studded with gold plates... surrounded by convents and dormitories for the priests.... The palaces were numerous and the troops lost no time in plundering them of their contents, as well as despoiling the religious edifices," including the royal mummies in the Coricancha.  Pizarro ceremoniously gave Manco Inca the Incan fringe as the new Peruvian leader. Pizarro encouraged some of his men to stay and settle in the city, giving out repartimientos to do so. Alcaldes were established and regidores on 24 March 1534, which included the brothers Gonzalo Pizarro and Juan Pizarro. Pizarro left a garrison of 90 men and then departed for Jauja with Manco Inca.  Pizarro renamed it the "very noble and great city of Cuzco". Buildings constructed after the Spanish invasion have a mixture of Spanish influence with Inca indigenous architecture, including the Santa Clara and San Blas neighborhoods. The Spanish destroyed many Inca buildings, temples and palaces. They used the remaining walls as bases for the construction of a new city.  Father Vincente de Valverde became the Bishop of Cusco and built his cathedral facing the plaza. He placed a St. Dominic monastery on the ruins of the House of the Sun and a nunnery where the House of the Virgins of the Sun was stood.  The city was retaken from the Spanish during the Siege of Cuzco of 1536 by Manco Inca Yupanqui, a leader of the Sapa Inca. Although the siege lasted 10 months, it was ultimately unsuccessful. Manco's forces were able to reclaim the city for only a few days. He eventually retreated to Vilcabamba, the capital of the newly established small Neo-Inca State, which lasted for another 36 years but he was never able to return to Cuzco. Throughout the conflict and years of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, many Incas died of smallpox.  Cusco stands on layers of cultures, with the Tawantinsuyu (old Inca Empire) built on Killke structures and the Spanish replacing indigenous temples with Catholic churches and palaces with mansions for the invaders.  Cusco was the center for the Spanish colonization and spread of Christianity in the Andean world. It became very prosperous thanks to agriculture, cattle raising and mining, as well as its trade with Spain. The Spanish colonists constructed many churches and convents, as well as a cathedral, university and archdiocese.

Present.

A major earthquake on 21 May 1950 caused damage in more than one third of the city's structures. The Dominican Priory and Church of Santo Domingo, which were built on top of the impressive "Qurikancha" (Temple of the Sun), were among the affected colonial era buildings. Inca architecture withstood the earthquake. Many of the old Inca walls were at first thought to have been lost after the earthquake, but the granite retaining walls of the "Qurikancha" were exposed, as well as those of other ancient structures throughout the city. Restoration work at the Santo Domingo complex exposed the Inca masonry formerly obscured by the superstructure without compromising the integrity of the colonial heritage. Many of the buildings damaged in 1950 had been impacted by an earthquake only nine years previously.  Since the 1990s, tourism has increased. Currently, Cusco is the most important tourist destination in Peru. Under the administration of mayor Daniel Estrada Pérez, a staunch supporter of the "Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua", between 1983 and 1995 the Quechua name "Qosqo" was officially adopted for the city.

Geography and climate.

Cusco extends throughout the Huatanay (or Watanay) river valley. Located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cusco, its elevation is around. To its north is the Vilcabamba mountain range with mountains. The highest peak is Salcantay () about northwest of Cusco.  Cusco has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen "Cwb"). It is generally dry and temperate, with two defined seasons. Winter occurs between April to September, with abundant sunshine and occasional nighttime freezes; July is the coolest month with an average of. Summer occurs between October and March, when the weather turns cloudy and wet; November is the warmest month which averages. Although frost and hail are common, the last reported snowfall was in June 1911. Temperatures usually range from, but the all-time temperature range is between. Sunshine hours peak in July; the equivalent of January in the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, February, the equivalent of August in the Northern Hemisphere, has the least amount of sunshine.  Cusco was found in 2006 to be the spot on Earth with the highest average ultraviolet light level.

Tourism.

Tourism has been the backbone to the economy starting in the early 2000s, bringing in more than 1.2 million tourists per year. In 2002, the income Cusco received from tourism was US$837 million. In 2009, that number increased to US$2.47 billion.

Main sights.

The indigenous Killke culture built the walled complex of Sacsayhuamán about 1100. The Killke built a major temple near Saksaywaman, as well as an aqueduct (Pukyus) and roadway connecting prehistoric structures. Saksaywaman was expanded by the Inca. The Spanish explorer Pizarro sacked much of the Inca city in 1535. Remains of the palace of the Incas, Qurikancha (the Temple of the Sun) and the Temple of the Virgins of the Sun still stand. Inca buildings and foundations in some cases proved to be stronger than the foundations built in present-day Peru. Among the most noteworthy Spanish colonial buildings of the city is the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, Cusco.  The major nearby Inca sites are Pachacuti's presumed winter home, Machu Picchu, which can be reached on foot by the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu or by train; and the "fortress" at Ollantaytambo.  Less-visited ruins include: Incahuasi, the highest of all Inca sites at ; Vilcabamba, the capital of the Inca after the capture of Cusco; the sculpture garden at Ñusta Hisp'ana (aka Chuqip'allta, Yuraq Rumi); Tipón with working water channels in wide terraces; as well as Willkaraqay, Patallaqta, Chuqik'iraw, Moray, Vitos and many others.  The surrounding area, located in the Watanay Valley, is strong in gold mining and agriculture, including corn, barley, quinoa, tea and coffee.  Cusco's main stadium Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega was one of seven stadiums used when Peru hosted South America's continental soccer championship, the Copa América, in 2004. The stadium is home to one of the country's most successful soccer clubs, "Cienciano".  The city is served by Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport.

Architectural heritage.

Because of its antiquity and importance, the city center retains many buildings, plazas, streets and churches from colonial times, and even some pre-Columbian structures, which led to its declaration as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983. Among the main sights of the city are:

"Barrio de San Blas".

This neighborhood houses artisans, workshops and craft shops. It is one of the most picturesque sites in the city. Its streets are steep and narrow with old houses built by the Spanish over important Inca foundations. It has an attractive square and the oldest parish church in Cusco, built in 1563, which has a carved wooden pulpit considered the epitome of Colonial era woodwork in Cusco.  The Quechua name of this neighborhood is "Tuq'ukachi", which means the opening of the salt.

"Hatun Rumiyuq".

This street is the most visited by tourists. On the street "Hatun Rumiyoq" ("the one with the big stone") was the palace of Inca Roca, which was converted to the Archbishop's residence.  Along this street that runs from the "Plaza de Armas" to the "Barrio de San Blas", one can see the Stone of Twelve Angles, which is viewed as a marvel of ancient stonework and has become emblematic of the city's history.

Basílica de la Merced.

Its foundation dates from 1536. The first complex was destroyed by the earthquake of 1650. Its rebuilding was completed in 1675.  Its cloisters of Baroque Renaissance style, choir stalls, colonial paintings and wood carvings are highlights, now a popular museum.  Also on view is an elaborate monstrance made of gold and gemstones that weighs and is in height.

Cathedral.

The first cathedral built in Cusco is the "Iglesia del Triunfo", built in 1539 on the foundations of the Palace of Viracocha Inca. Today, this church is an auxiliary chapel of the cathedral.  The main basilica cathedral of the city was built between 1560 and 1664. The main material used was stone, which was extracted from nearby quarries, although some blocks of red granite were taken from the fortress of Saksaywaman.  This great cathedral presents late-Gothic, Baroque and plateresque interiors and has one of the most outstanding examples of colonial goldwork. Its carved wooden altars are also important.  The city developed a distinctive style of painting known as the "Cuzco School" and the cathedral houses a major collection of local artists of the time. The cathedral is known for a Cusco School painting of the Last Supper depicting Jesus and the twelve apostles feasting on guinea pig, a traditional Andean delicacy.  The cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Cuzco.

Plaza de Armas de Cusco.

Known as the "Square of the warrior" in the Inca era, this plaza has been the scene of several important events, such as the proclamation by Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Cuzco.Similarly, the Plaza de Armas was the scene of the death of Túpac Amaru II, considered the indigenous leader of the resistance.  The Spanish built stone arcades around the plaza which endure to this day. The main cathedral and the Church of La Compañía both open directly onto the plaza.

"Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús".

This church (Church of the Society of Jesus), whose construction was initiated by the Jesuits in 1576 on the foundations of the "Amarucancha" or the palace of the Inca ruler Wayna Qhapaq, is considered one of the best examples of colonial baroque style in the Americas.  Its façade is carved in stone and its main altar is made of carved wood covered with gold leaf. It was built over an underground chapel and has a valuable collection of colonial paintings of the Cusco School.

Qurikancha and Convent of Santo Domingo.

The Qurikancha ("golden place") was the most important sanctuary dedicated to the Sun God (Inti) at the time of the Inca Empire. According to ancient chronicles written by Garcilaso de la Vega (chronicler), Qurikancha was said to have featured a large solid golden disc that was studded with precious stones and represented the Inca Sun God – Inti. Spanish chroniclers describe the Sacred Garden in front of the temple as a garden of golden plants with leaves of beaten gold, stems of silver, solid gold corn-cobs and 20 life-size llamas and their herders all in solid gold.  The temple was destroyed by its Spanish invaders who, as they plundered, were determined to rid the city of its wealth, idolaters and shrines. Nowadays, only a curved outer wall and partial ruins of the inner temple remain at the site.  With this structure as a foundation, colonists built the Convent of Santo Domingo in the Renaissance style. The building, with one baroque tower, exceeds the height of many other buildings in this city.  Inside is a large collection of paintings from the Cuzco School.

Museums.

Cusco has the following important museums:  There are also some museums located at churches.

Population.

The city had a population of about 434,114 people in 2013 and 434,654 people in 2015 according to INEI.

Cuisine.

As capital to the Inca Empire, Cusco was an important agricultural region. It was a natural reserve for thousands of native Peruvian species, including around 3,000 varieties of potato cultivated by the people. Fusion and neo-Andean restaurants developed in Cusco, in which the cuisine is prepared with modern techniques and incorporates a blend of traditional Andean and international ingredients.

International relations.

Twin towns and sister cities.

Cusco is twinned with:

Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (, ), is a city in southeastern Peru, on the eastern end of the Knot of Cuzco near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru, and in 2017 it had a population of 428,450. Its elevation is around.

Cuzco nebo Cusco () je město na jihu Peru v Andách. V předkolumbovském období bylo centrem Incké říše a dodnes bývá označováno za historické hlavní město Peru. Cuzco je jedním z nejvýznamnějších peruánských turistických cílů, od roku 1983 figuruje historické centrum města na seznamu světového kulturního dědictví UNESCO. V roce 2011 zde žilo 398 663 obyvatel.


Characteristics.

According to their interpretations of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM + ) images, Radarsat-1 data, and SRTM data, El-Baz and Ghoneim described this circular feature as having a central peak, an inner ring, and discontinuous outer rim. The hypothetical outer rim is 31 kilometres (19 mi) in diameter. This feature consists of well-cemented, coarse- and fine-grained sandstones of the Gilf Kebir and Wadi Malik formations.  Were this an impact structure, it would be bigger than the largest confirmed impact structure in the region, the Oasis crater in Libya, which is approximately half the size, with a diameter of approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi). It is estimated that a meteorite large enough to have created a Kebira-sized impact structure would have been roughly 1 kilometre (0.75 mi) in diameter.

Origin of Kebira Crater.

Because it is based entirely on remote sensing data and the current lack of formally published field studies, ideas about the impact origin of the Kebira Crater remain unconfirmed and untested according to papers published in the formal scientific literature. In one paper, it and some other recently proposed impact structures are described as being "dubious." The Impact Field Studies Group's Impact Database (formerly Suspected Earth Impact Sites, SEIS) list rates this as improbable for an impact origin. This catalog notes that the observed circular area was visible in Google Earth as having a flat top in the center. They suggest that the flat tops indicates that the strata within the center of this feature is flat-lying and undisturbed. If this is an impact structure, the strata within the center of it would not be flat lying. Instead, the strata within it center would be complexly and distinctly folded, tilted, and faulted as a result of an extraterrestrial impact.  After the existence of a possible impact structure was announced, in early March 2006 an expedition traveled through the site and informally published their findings: "[C]ontinued north.. towards a large circular feature that was recently announced to be an 'impact crater'.. We drove past the 'central uplift' along its western edge, then drove into the central part. It is evident, that what is considered the 'central uplift' is in fact nothing more than an eroded outlier of the Gilf, the undisturbed horizontal bedding being clearly visible at all times. The circular shape appears to be pure coincidence, the whole feature is the result of drainage patterns and subsequent eolian erosion, there is nothing to suggest its impact origin." And "We were now in the crater area, looking at the western edge of the central uplift area of the 'crater'. What we saw were uniform horizontal layers of sedimentary rocks, undisturbed except by the processes of natural erosion. The jumbled, chaotic rock formation that we would expect to see in the central uplift area of a crater was not evident at all."  A study published in "Meteoritics & Planetary Science" reported a field investigation of another "crater field" East of the Gilf Kebir, also reported based on remote sensing data. After analyzing the presence/absence of several geologic features associated with impact craters, such as target rocks, breccias, pseudo-shatter cones, and circular morphology, the authors concluded: "[T]here are [sic] no clear and unequivocal evidence supporting the impact origin of the circular structures in Glif Kebir region; until substantial evidence is produced, it's necessary to identify the origin of the craters in others [sic] endogenic geological processes." They proposed the most likely alternative source of the crater to be a hydrothermal vent, although they went on to say: "However, even this hypothesis is not fully satisfactory: probably these complex and peculiar features are the result of interaction between different geological process. At present, this hypothesis cannot be completely constrained; further investigations are necessary. Anyway, the lacking of clear evidences of a meteoritic impact and the geological framework of the investigated area, lead us to confirm the hydrothermal-volcanic hypothesis.

Libyan desert glass source.

As noted by Longinelli and others, the Carboniferous Wadi Malik Formation and erosional remnants of the Lower Cretaceous Gilf Kebir Formation, which are exposed within this proposed impact structure, "have been considered as possible source materials for LDG despite the lack of clear evidence" for the origin of this feature as the result of an extraterrestrial impact. Because of its size and hypothesized origin, El-Baz and Ghoneim speculated that the Kebira Crater was the source of Libyan desert glass that is found scattered over about within the Great Sand Sea in western Egypt and near the Libyan border. Aboud also suggested that if the Kebira Crater is an impact structure, it might be the solution to the mystery about the source of Libyan desert glass. However, he cautioned that origin of this feature was still largely conjecture that required additional research to confirm. Ramirez-Cardona and others also suggested that the Kebira Crater might be the source of Libyan desert glass. Instead of proposing that Libyan desert glass was ejected from this feature by an impact, they hypothesized that it was transported from it by an Oligocene-Miocene Gilf River system that contained the Kebira Crater within its drainage basin. They also noted that evidence for the Kebira Crater being an impact structure lacked direct field observations. Most recently, Longinelli and others studied the oxygen isotope and chemical composition of Libyan desert glass and samples of sands and sandstone from its proposed source areas. They found that the mean oxygen isotope values of the sandstone samples from the Kebira Crater differed greatly from their Libyan desert glass samples. Because of this, they concluded that the sandstone exposed in this feature can be ruled out as being the source of Libyan desert glass.

Kebira Crater () is the name given to a circular topographic feature that was identified in 2007 by Farouk El-Baz and Eman Ghoneim using satellite imagery, Radarsat-1, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data in the Sahara desert. This feature straddles the border between Egypt and Libya. The name of this feature is derived from the Arabic word for "large", and also from its location near the Gilf Kebir ("Great Barrier") region in southwest Egypt. Based solely on their interpretations of the remote sensing data, they argue that this feature is an exceptionally large, double-ringed, extraterrestrial impact crater. They suggest that the crater's original appearance has been obscured by wind and water erosion over time. Finally, they speculated that this feature might be the source of the yellow-green silica glass fragments, known as "Libyan desert glass", that can be found across part of Egypt's Libyan Desert. They neither conducted any fieldwork at this feature nor studied any samples collected from it. However, the Kebira Crater is currently not listed in the Earth Impact Database. Field trips to investigate the feature have found no supporting evidence. The "central uplift" clearly retains the horizontal bedding of the surrounding sandstone tableland, providing clear evidence against a possible impact origin.

Kebira je impaktní kráter na Sahaře. Střed kráteru leží v Libyi, jeho východní okraj zasahuje na území Egypta. Jméno kráteru pochází z arabštiny a znamená „velký“. Koresponduje také s názvem nedaleké oblasti náhorní plošiny Džilf al-Kabír (v překladu "Velká bariéra") ležící v jihozápadním Egyptě.