From groundbreaking practical effects to revolutionary CGI, these films continue to amaze audiences with their visual achievements. Join us as we explore the most impressive and enduring special effects in cinema history, featuring prehistoric creatures, alien encounters, and technological marvels that still captivate viewers today.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best movies whose special
00:11effects are still something special.
00:13Meyer spoilers to come.
00:14What's all this Wii stuff?
00:15They just want the rabbit.
00:18Number 20, Babe.
00:20Well, what did your mother call you to tell you apart from your brothers and sisters?
00:24Our mom called us all the same.
00:26And what was that, dear?
00:28She called us all babe.
00:29Talking animals have come a long way.
00:32This visually lush 90s film uses effects by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, among others,
00:37to bring its farm animals to life.
00:38The VFX studio, Rhythm and Hues, overlaid CGI animation over the live-action footage.
00:44The development team also studied real-life animal behavior to make the animatronics look
00:48as convincing as possible.
00:49They even used real-life piglets as models.
00:52It took years for this film to even reach production.
00:54The results were worth it, winning an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
00:58Babe's attention to detail changed talking animal films for good.
01:01That'll do, pig.
01:06That'll do.
01:07Number 19, Forrest Gump.
01:09In China, they never go to church.
01:13No religion, too?
01:15Hard to imagine.
01:18Well, it's easy if you try, Dick.
01:20You wouldn't think this tale of an eventful life would require much CGI.
01:25However, when Forrest Gump meets the likes of John F. Kennedy and John Lennon, the results
01:29are astoundingly convincing.
01:31To do this, the special effects team at Industrial Light & Magic integrated Tom Hanks' Forrest
01:36with archival footage using CGI and a blue screen for Hanks.
01:40Other examples of CGI magic include the scene at the March on Washington where real-life
01:44extras were multiplied by camera to create the illusion of thousands.
01:48This seamless blend of modern real-life footage and archival ones is a clear winner.
01:53Similarly, the movie won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects as well as other awards.
01:58President Johnson awarded four Medals of Honor to men from each of the armed services.
02:02America owes you a debt of gratitude, son.
02:04Number 18, An American Werewolf in London.
02:07Tomorrow night's the full moon.
02:09You're gonna change.
02:11Transformation sequences are always a great opportunity to display great visual effects.
02:15When David is bitten by a werewolf, it triggers his own grisly transformation.
02:20This scene alone took a whole week to film, although preparations began for months.
02:24To create David's wolf self, the team took molds of actor David Naughton's arms, legs, and feet.
02:29The werewolf look was then achieved with detailed makeup by Rob Bottin and his team.
02:34The design itself, however, was conceived by Rick Baker before he left production.
02:38The werewolf suit was commandeered by an operator on a wheelbarrow-like structure.
02:42It's a great example of all the magical things practical effects can do, and all before CGI.
02:48Please, run!
02:55Number 17, The Fifth Element.
02:57Priest, you and those before you have served us well.
03:02But war is coming.
03:04Stone's not safe on Earth anymore.
03:07Sci-fi films have a long history of pushing special effects technology to the limits.
03:12One film in particular, directed by Luc Besson, is proof of this.
03:16The Fifth Element created its futuristic New York with its flying taxi cabs,
03:20with the help of artists and over 8,000 drawings.
03:23The designs were conceived by Jean-Claude Mezier and Jean Giroux.
03:27To bring Besson's interplanetary world to life, a mix of live-action, models and props,
03:32pyrotechnics, creature effects, and digital software were used.
03:36Not to mention the 200 alien designs done by artists around the world.
03:40It's a monumental achievement.
03:42You want something done?
03:44Do yourself!
03:46Number 16, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
03:49I know this sounds crazy, but ever since yesterday, on the road, I've been seeing this shape.
03:56Part of what makes Close Encounters such a unique special effects picture
03:59is that it doesn't throw special effects at the audience every minute.
04:02Rather, director Steven Spielberg keeps many of the film's otherworldly elements clouded in mystery.
04:07Then, when the alien mother ship finally does show up, Spielberg doesn't disappoint.
04:12This science fiction classic's visual achievements are only matched by its masterful storytelling.
04:17Much like Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,
04:20it continues to convince the world that we aren't alone in the universe.
04:24Bye.
04:40Number 15, Metropolis.
04:42Even in today's technologically advanced world,
04:45it's impossible to watch Fritz Lang's Metropolis without saying,
04:48Wow.
04:49Every second of this film is a technological wonder,
04:52crafting a stunning dystopian future that would influence filmmaking visionaries for decades to come.
04:57Believe it or not, much of the film heavily used miniatures
05:00to bring this daunting scene to life.
05:02It's hard to imagine a film like Metropolis without a few scenes.
05:05It's hard to imagine a film like Metropolis without a few scenes.
05:09Believe it or not, much of the film heavily used miniatures
05:11to bring this daunting city to life.
05:13Through some crafty camera tricks and the shift-on process,
05:16there's rarely a second of disbelief.
05:18Coming out towards the end of the silent era,
05:20Metropolis remains a perfect example of how this visual medium can make dreams come true.
05:32Number 14, The Fly.
05:34Something went wrong, Seth. When you went through, something went wrong.
05:39When it comes to practical effects wizardry, this is still a gold standard.
05:42Winning an Academy Award for Best Makeup,
05:44the film's special effects team took three months to make the titular fly,
05:48or rather, several flies,
05:50as Seth Brundle slowly undergoes seven stages in his transformation into an insect.
05:54With the final form being called the Brundlefly,
05:57the team used a combination of prosthetics,
05:59a full body suit for actor Jeff Goldblum,
06:01and two puppets, one depicting the living Brundlefly,
06:04and the other its corpse.
06:06The result is gruesome and gross, even to modern standards,
06:09which shows that practical effects can be the most convincing of all.
06:24Number 13, Starship Troopers.
06:26Do you think there's any possibility of salvaging this man?
06:31Yes, sir, I do.
06:33You wouldn't expect a late 90s romp as corny and over-the-top as Starship Troopers
06:37to age especially well.
06:39Yet, director Paul Verhoeven of Robocop and Total Recall
06:42found a strong balance between prosthetics and computer-generated effects,
06:46envisioning a wild 23rd century.
06:48Earning an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects,
06:51Starship Troopers also delivered some of the coolest giant bugs ever put on screen.
06:55There are a few special effects here and there
06:57that look like something out of a multi-million dollar B-movie.
07:01Given this space adventure's goofy nature, however, that's actually pretty fitting.
07:04Looks like I'm your girl, sir.
07:10Number 12, Independence Day.
07:12Another sci-fi classic in terms of special effects,
07:15Roland Emmerich's Alien Invasion film still impresses with its special effects.
07:19For the film's famous White House explosion scene,
07:22the special effects team used miniature models and motion control cameras,
07:25as well as pyrotechnics.
07:27Shooting the miniature models with around 4,000 elements
07:30took 8 months, with 4 camera crews.
07:32They then combined the footage digitally in post-production.
07:34They even invited 50 members of the press to witness the explosion of the White House model.
07:38The actual aliens were designed by Patrick Tatopoulos using bodysuits.
07:42It's an explosive show.
07:48Number 11, The Abyss.
07:55Another Academy Award winner for Best Visual Effects,
07:58the Charlie James Cameron film is a largely overlooked gem.
08:01But the film is no slouch in the effects department,
08:04holding its own even against the achievements of Titanic and Avatar.
08:07With almost half of the principal photography taking place underwater,
08:10the film's team had to train a whole week to film in the main water tank.
08:14A combination of real submersibles and mock-ups was used.
08:17The Alien was created with a mixture of computer graphics and stop-motion animation.
08:21For its eerily sinuous water tentacle,
08:24Industrial Light and Magic created it via computer graphics.
08:28A marvellous achievement.
08:34Number 10, The Wizard of Oz.
08:40The 80s and 90s were one thing.
08:42For effects from the 30s to come out this good is a miracle.
08:45It's all thanks to Arnold Gillespie,
08:47in charge of miniatures and mechanical effects.
08:50To create the tornado, he used a piece of muslin cloth
08:53suspended from a steel gantry and connected to a rod.
08:56The monkeys were actually men on piano wires.
08:58Where the film shines best of all,
09:00is in the beautifully intricate makeup.
09:02Particularly with the scarecrow, tin man and the lion.
09:05While this classic film's effects are definitely recognisable as such,
09:08they are all the more astonishing considering no computers were involved.
09:11They never take you out of the movie at all.
09:13Now that's movie magic.
09:15If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again,
09:18I won't look any further than my own backyard.
09:21Because if it isn't there,
09:24I never really lost it to begin with.
09:26Number 9, Alien
09:28No special effects list would be complete without this classic sci-fi film.
09:32The film used fiberglass and hen's eggs for the alien eggs.
09:35The facehugger alien was designed by Dan O'Bannon,
09:38based on the artwork by H.R. Giger.
09:40It is a puppet with a proboscis made out of sheep intestine,
09:43and the corpse was made out of fish and shellfish.
09:45It's the famous chestburster scene that still wows,
09:48designed by Giger himself.
09:50The scene was accomplished by shoving a puppet through a fake torso,
09:53complete with fake blood from squibs.
09:59The alien's tube-like design was inspired by Francis Bacon's 1944 painting.
10:03Similar effects were employed in the film's sequel, Aliens.
10:06Yet, nothing beats the iconography of this first installment.
10:10You admire it.
10:15I admire its purity.
10:17Number 8, Star Wars Original Trilogy
10:19Well, that's the real trick, isn't it?
10:23And it's gonna cost you something extra.
10:25When we think of game-changing special effects blockbusters,
10:28Star Wars immediately comes to mind.
10:30Audiences are still in complete awe of the original trilogy's
10:33handmade set pieces, costumes, and props.
10:36You could argue that some of the creatures and locations
10:38don't look as polished as those in modern sci-fi blockbusters.
10:41The galaxy George Lucas created is booming with so much personality,
10:45however, that it practically feels inhabitable.
10:48If only Lucas hadn't taken us out of the experience with CGI
10:51in the special editions.
10:53I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader.
10:57They are clear, my master.
11:00Number 7, Blade Runner
11:02I need the old Blade Runner.
11:04I need your magic.
11:06You must quit when I come in here, Brian.
11:10I'm twice as quick now.
11:12This film has the distinction of having one of the most beautifully designed
11:15sci-fi cities.
11:17Influenced by Fritz Lang's Metropolis,
11:19this film's futuristic Los Angeles was created using
11:21matte paintings and models, as well as smoke effects.
11:24Over 90 special effects shots were done for the movie,
11:27though only a fraction of them were retained.
11:29The spinner was a miniature model built in four different sizes.
11:32The effects were so impressive that author Philip K. Dick,
11:35whose novel the film was based on,
11:37claimed they were just as he had imagined it.
11:39You can't get a higher praise than that.
11:41All those moments will be lost in time.
11:49Like tears in rain.
11:57Number 6, The Thing
11:59I don't know what the hell's in there,
12:01but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is.
12:03Rob Bottin strikes again with the effects of this sci-fi horror film,
12:07directed by John Carpenter.
12:09For the titular creature, Bottin conceived of an ever-changing alien
12:12that imitates the form of other living beings,
12:14shying away from the usual man-in-a-suit style of effect.
12:18The dog-thing was made from a hand puppet sculpted in clay.
12:21The Norris-thing's stomach-mouth was accomplished
12:23by using a double amputee with prosthetic arms.
12:26For the insides, a mix of creamed corn,
12:28microwaved bubblegum, mayonnaise,
12:30and KY jelly were used.
12:32Some stop-motion animation was even employed
12:34during the bear-thing scene.
12:36These effects are still wonderfully realistic.
12:38You see, when a man bleeds,
12:42it's just tissue.
12:44No blood from one of you things won't obey when it's attacked.
12:49It'll try and survive.
12:51Number 5. The Matrix
12:53What are you trying to tell me?
12:55That I can dodge bullets?
12:59No, Neo.
13:01I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready,
13:04you won't have to.
13:06Sci-fi just keeps on winning.
13:08This modern-day classic never wears us out
13:10with its slick, crowd-pleasing special effects.
13:13One of them, known as Bullet Time,
13:15was conceived by John Gaeta,
13:17inspired by Otomo Katsukuro's Akira
13:19and director Michael Gondry's music videos.
13:21The Bullet Time effect was made with a combination
13:23of time-sliced photography
13:25and a high-frame frequency of 12,000 per second.
13:28Stuns, such as the helicopter crashing into a building,
13:30were done via digital compositing.
13:32The visual effects team came to pioneer
13:34universal capture,
13:36recreating characters, actions,
13:38and locations digitally.
13:40It's a stunning feat, and of course,
13:43we're here for best visual effects.
13:45Do you believe it now, Trinity?
13:47Number four, who framed Roger Rabbit?
13:49Any value?
13:51You're under arrest!
13:53Combining animation and live-action
13:55is now a standard part of special effects
13:57and filmmaking.
13:59One of the most seamless examples has to be this marvel.
14:01Directed by Robert Zemeckis,
14:03the cartoon and real worlds do not so much collide
14:05as much as coexist in seamless realism.
14:07The animation team made sure
14:09the animated characters' interactions
14:11with their live-action environments
14:13were as real as possible.
14:15To achieve this, the animated designs
14:17were given depth using the use of shadows,
14:19highlights, and tone mats.
14:21Even the opening cartoon took nine months to animate.
14:23The results are still jaw-dropping,
14:25even decades later.
14:27Oh, Roger, you were magnificent.
14:29Was I really?
14:31Number three, Terminator 2, Judgment Day.
14:33Jesus, you were gonna kill that guy!
14:35Of course, I'm a Terminator.
14:37Where the original Terminator
14:39has a couple of moments that look kinda cheesy,
14:41director James Cameron nearly perfected
14:43his vision with Terminator 2, Judgment Day.
14:45This sequel most notably
14:47employed landmark computer-generated
14:49imagery to give the T-1000
14:51his liquid metal appearance.
14:53Of course, the film didn't solely rely on CGI, either.
14:55Utilizing practical effects
14:57and puppets you'd never believe weren't computerized.
14:59It may be a movie about killer cyborgs,
15:01but nothing about T2
15:03feels artificial.
15:05That's great! See, you're getting it.
15:08Number two,
15:102001, A Space Odyssey.
15:12I know I've made some very poor
15:14decisions recently.
15:18But I can give you
15:20my complete assurance
15:22that my work will be back
15:24to normal. Much like Back to the Future,
15:26many of the innovations in 2001,
15:28A Space Odyssey have yet to become a reality.
15:30Some of the technology looks pretty
15:32dated, too. While that admittedly takes us
15:34out of the illusion a little, we're still
15:36blown away at how Stanley Kubrick pulled off
15:38such a technical extravaganza in 1968.
15:40Where most sci-fi movies at the time
15:42looked blatantly phony, Kubrick
15:44settled for nothing less than state-of-the-art
15:46production values, marking one of the first
15:48times the audience really felt like they'd been
15:50teleported to outer space. This film's
15:52revolutionary effects remain a major step
15:54forward in cinematic evolution.
15:56I am putting myself to the fullest
15:58possible use.
16:00Which is all I think that any conscious
16:02entity can ever hope to do.
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16:20Number 1. Jurassic Park
16:22Welcome
16:24to Jurassic Park.
16:26When the park opened over two decades ago,
16:28the world was treated to the most realistic
16:30and badass dinosaur cinema
16:32had ever seen. Hell, you could argue that
16:34they're still the greatest dinosaurs ever put on film.
16:36Demonstrating the full potential of
16:38CGI, Steven Spielberg brought
16:40these savage beasts back from extinction.
16:42Jurassic Park additionally made impeccable
16:44use of animatronics, constructing
16:46a life-size T-Rex that continues to thrill
16:48audiences of all ages. Watching
16:50the film, you really know what's handcrafted
16:52and what's computer generated.
16:54All we know for sure is that the end product
16:56is almost 100% authentic
16:58and enthralling.
17:02If you've decided
17:04not to endorse your park,
17:06so have I.
17:08Which other older film still dazzles you with
17:10its amazing effects? Let us know in the comments
17:12down below.
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