For most of us, until recently, a good film meant a good plot line, good thesps and a talented helmer, but today, they are not enough. Virtual reality dominates all the audiovisual media, including highly respected films. According to that, Time Out NY recently published an interesting feature article of what they called the ‘50 most special effects of all time.’
Please note that with the digital filmmaking’s new era a distinction between special effects and visual effects has been emerged – while the visual effects come to play in the post-production digitally, special effects make for the on-set mechanical effects and in-camera optical effects.
Time Out’s explanation is that it’s a ranking of ‘the most awe-inducing moments of our dreams and nightmares.’ So, these movies take all special effects, not just visual effects. That means the list has everything from Lord of the Rings to King Kong to 2001: A Space Odyssey to Metropolis and everything in-between, from 1902-2009. It’s worthy of note that the number of films on the list are from each decade.
On Time Out New York’s six-page feature, you can find descriptions for each decision. Here, you can find the full list:
50. Them! (1954)
49. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
48. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
47. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
46. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
45. Poltergeist (1982)
44. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
43. The Invisible Man (1933)
42. The Fly (1986)
41. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
40. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
39. The Birds (1963)
38. Planet of the Apes (1968)
37. Anchors Aweigh (1945)
36. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
35. Superman (1978)
34. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
33. Forrest Gump (1994)
32. The Exorcist (1973)
31. Tron (1982)
30. Bwana Devil (1952)
29. Avatar (2009)
28. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
27. Vertigo (1982)
26. Babe (1995)
25. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
24. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
23. Jurassic Park (1993)
22. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
21. Dead Ringers (1988)
20. The Thing (1982)
19. The Ten Commandments (1956)
18. Scanners (1981)
17. Godzilla (1954)
16. Star Wars (1977)
15. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
14. The Muppet Movie (1979)
13. The Matrix (1999)
12. Forbidden Planet (1956)
11. Zelig (1983)
10. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
9. Metropolis (1927)
8. Blade Runner (1982)
7. The Abyss (1989)
6. Jaws (1975)
5. King Kong (1933)
4. Alien (1979)
3. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Are there any key movies missing? Can you think of any movie over the last two years that bring much more to the landscape?
From Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest directors of all time – check it out below:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU4TQ1NTo50[/youtube]
Official 2001: A Space Odyssey Trailer
