10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

so Cinefex is asking on their facebook page what folk think are the 10 best visual effects shots in film history are

here are mine:

- T-1000 face head split/reassemble (Terminator 2)
- Boat turning upside down (The Poseidon Adventure)
- werewolf transformation (American Werewolf in London)
- chase through the Asteriods (Empire Strikes Back)
- half head twist scene, not the full 360 later in the film (The Exorcist) simple effect, but utterly shocking scene
- dancing on the walls and ceiling (Royal Wedding)
- car chase on freeway (The Matrix Reloaded)
- T-rex reveal / attack on the kids (Jurassic Park)
- the Dragon (Dragonslayer)
- reveal of mothership (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)

yours?

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Every shot with Gollum was ridiculous, like it was light years ahead of Jar Jar or any other CGI character. The American Werewolf in London transformation and the T1000 coming out of the floor in T2 stand out to me relative to when they came out. Some Ray Harryhausen effects were also ahead of their time.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

I gotta go with the first shot in the original Star Wars. Dramatic and actually story related.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

It'll probably get overlooked by T2 and company, but the spaceship from <i>Flight of the Navigator</i> was the first filmed live-action use of CGI using environment mapping. It still holds up pretty damn well today...not bad for a kid's movie from 1986.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psc49538ea.jpg

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Others:
Shuttle docking waltz in "2001: ASO"
Crab/spider head sequence in "The Thing"
Water tentacle in "The Abyss"
Collapsing spiral staircase in "The Haunting" (1963)

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

I feel obligated to give a pretentious, snobby answer, so I'll say the eyeball slice in Chein Andalou

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YAiIUdWk1Ng" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Good god! That was incredible.

More eyeball goodness from Zombie 2 :)

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1ppIWBqPYjg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

They Call Her One Eye (Thriller) had a pretty incredible eyeball scene as well. Rummors were that they used a corspe.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Very good ones listed so far.

I'll add:
Superman: The Movie - superman flying.
Gravity - from what I understand pretty much everything was CGI, including the astronaut's bodies.
The Perfect Storm - CGI water.
Black Narcissus - matte paintings.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

There should be separate lists for CGI and practical effects. The T-Rex in Jurassic Park could qualify for both lists :)

Since Gravity was mentioned, the two scenes that stood out for me was the opening sequence and

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Irreversible - fire extinguisher
Day of the Dead - Captain Rhodes vs. zombies
Blade Runner - Los Angeles 2019 Opening scene
2001 - time travel
Metropolis - a bunch of stuff

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

That Gravity sequence reminded me too much of the car sequence from Children of Men in the technical aspects. Both well done.

I think some of the best effects in movies are the ones you simply do not notice. In the Social Network the effects of creating the twin brothers was expertly done. Same for the opening sequence of running through the campus and the small effects that built the scene.

Of course there are classics like Blade Runner, American Werewolf in London and the Thing that simply stand the test of time.

For sheer spectacle then i have to say the opening future war scene of Terminator 2 takes some beating. Remember seeing it opening day and it blew me away. Till this day whenever i buy a new TV or sound system this is the first thing i put in to test how good it is.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Speaking of that, Jeremy Irons as the Mantle twins in David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

10. Garfield
9. Scooby Doo
8. Samuel L gets bit in Deep Blue Sea
7. Everything in Van Helsing
6. Monkeys in Indy 4
5. Monkeys in Jumanji
4. Shark in Shark Attack 3
3. Werewolf in American Werewolf in Paris
2. Dinosaur in A Sound of Thunder
1. Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

70s': DAWN OF THE DEAD biker getting eaten by zombies.
80s': DAY OF THE DEAD zombies eating army a-hole.
90s': T2
2000s': Any movie that doesn't have teal fx which is not many.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

rotfl

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

And Michael J. Fox interacting with himself (as Marty, his son and daughter) in Back to the Future Part II. First use of the VistaGlide motion control camera.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

-other-

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

I still don't get how they did the jogging scene in 2001. That whole movie is its own top 50.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Whatever you think of 2001, it's pretty damn amazing how well the effects have held up. Almost all special effects age in some fashion, but that film has stood the test of time remarkably well, sheerly in visual terms.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

The fighting stained glass knight in Young Sherlock Holmes.
The creature effects in John Carpenter's version of The Thing
Train crash in The Fugitive
E.T. interacting with the kids.
The folding cityscape in Inception.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Think stationary camera with a rotating set.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Hayden Christensen in Return of the Jedi
The walkie-talkies in E.T.
The crocodile in Eraser
Attack of the cats in Let the Right One In
Brad Pitt hit by a car in Meet Joe Black
Superman vs. Nuclear Man on the moon

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

I assume a rotating set.

Funny how Inception blew people away with techniques that were that old.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

I liked Keaton and his clones in Multiplicity.

Re: 10 best visual effects shots in film history
 

Kermit riding the bike blew my mind.

Nice Fred Astaire call-out, Giles! :lol: :up:

Watching the special features ruined the LOTR short-tall effect for me. :lol: