Cinema is an art built on a foundation of deception.

Much of what you see and perceive is artifice, startlingly similar to whatever reality is being presented, but at its core completely false. City streets are often a couple of blocks of false fronts, designed to look like a thriving metropolis. The flawless actress owes as much to forgiving lenses and skillful makeup as to genetic fortune. Spaceships are computer generated, superheroes are artfully costumed (look, Ma, no fat), and that sudden spray of blood is a combination of corn syrup and red food dye. Delicious.

That's not always the case, though. There have been times when filmmakers striving for authenticity have gone to extraordinary lengths to get the right image on screen. Here's a list of films that made the extra effort:

FITZCARRALDO (1982): One sequence in this film about personal obsession involves carrying a riverboat through a South American jungle. In order to get the scenes just right, director Werner Herzog had a riverboat built and then carried through the South American jungle.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956): Although he couldn't quite pull off parting the Red Sea, director Cecil B. DeMille had a replication of a significant section of ancient Egypt built in California. The extensive set, built, shot and then buried near Pismo Beach, is now an active archaeological site.

FULL METAL JACKET (1987): For his role as the pushed-over-the-edge Pvt. Pyle, Vincent D'Onofrio packed some 70 pounds onto his frame. It reportedly took him seven months to put the weight on and then, once filming finished, nine more to take it back off.

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957): Unable to make a miniature bridge work in this location-specific epic, director David Lean had a replica of the famous prisoner-produced span built and then, as the story dictated, blown up. It took the production company six months longer to build the reproduction in Ceylon than it took POWs to erect the original.

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR. (1928): This Buster Keaton comedy features one of the great visual gags in film history. Keaton narrowly avoids being crushed by the front of a collapsing house, thanks to the fortuitous location of an open window. What made the stunt so amazing is that the structure which fell around Keaton weighed several tons and the carefully measured clearance offered only inches to spare. Try getting that gag insured today.

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.