Cinematic Game-Changers

[Diesel]

Saw this over on MSN

Note: The films listed are pertaining to visual effects

As we await the arrival of James Cameron's 'Avatar,' here are the movies that came before to advance the art form and dazzle our senses

King Kong (1933)

Stop-motion animation had been used in films as far back as 1898, but "King Kong" was the first major motion picture to feature a central character (the title monster) brought wholly to life by the process. The influence of the effects work by animator Willis O'Brien, while clearly not up to modern standards, is immeasurable. Just about every fantastic creature ever visualized on the big screen, from the Cyclops in "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" to Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" to, yes, Cameron's Navi aliens in "Avatar," owes something to O'Brien and his giant ape. Kong stunned audiences in 1933; he still wields a compelling power over us to this day.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) / "The War of the Worlds" (1953) / "Forbidden Planet" (1956)

With a few exceptions, science fiction cinema in the first half of the 20th century was mostly juvenile in tone and threadbare in execution. The '50s changed all that: Both the impact of written sci-fi and real world horrors such as the atomic bomb led to an influx of movies that took the genre seriously. These three stand out not just for their intelligent, literate narratives, but for their iconic images: the indestructible Gort holding the world at bay in "The Day the Earth Stood Still," the Martian war machines devastating Southern California in "The War of the Worlds," and the vast underground remains of the long-dead Krell in "Forbidden Planet." This was the decade when science fiction movies came of age, and this trailblazing trio helped lead the way.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968)

If '50s sci-fi cinema marked a sharp progression for the genre, then Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece was a gigantic evolutionary leap. Using pioneering special effects (by Douglas Trumbull), realistic science, awe-inspiring visuals and magnificent music, Kubrick captured the mystery and cosmic grandeur of the universe in a way that few filmmakers have truly achieved since. The scale of the story, nothing less than the history of human intelligence, as aided by interested outside parties, is immense; nothing defines it better than astronaut Dave Bowman's (Keir Dullea) trip through the "Star Gate," an interdimensional tunnel that remains perhaps the greatest head trip ever filmed.

"Star Wars" (1977)

George Lucas brought space opera to the screen with the kind of effects (spearheaded by John Dykstra) and energy that the makers of the old "Flash Gordon" serials could only have dreamed of. The first inkling of this came in the very first scene, where a tiny spaceship is pursued by an Imperial battle cruiser that slides over the top of the screen, and just keeps going and going and going. The next two hours feature a space station the size of a small moon, the destruction of an entire planet, space dogfights between dozens of ships -- all things only seen in the pages of written sci-fi until then. But it's still that first shot of that gigantic battleship that sets the tone.

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977)

The first major motion picture about our collective relationship with UFOs discarded the old silver saucers for something more ethereal: extraterrestrial vehicles that seemed constructed out of light, buzzing our highways and houses like butterflies. But even those could not prepare audiences for the alien mother ship, a literal city in space that rises over and dwarfs the Devil's Tower in Wyoming. The ominous, almost subsonic rumbling as the ship casts its long shadow over the hundreds of stunned spectators below (and in the theater) is the sound of humankind truly realizing that it is not alone, and not very big in the scheme of things.

"Superman" (1978)

"You'll believe a man can fly." The first big-budget motion picture based on a comic book character promised a lot with that line and delivered. The effects in "Superman" don't quite look as fantastic now (and perhaps didn't even back then), but that wasn't the point. This was the first serious attempt to bring a beloved superhero to the screen, setting the stage for future epics like "Spider-Man" and "The Dark Knight." Christopher Reeve's committed, unwavering performance also set the standard for actors to take this kind of role to heart. And who doesn't still feel a thrill at our first sight of the Man of Steel as he soars through his Fortress of Solitude?

"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991)

Long before he conceived of "Avatar," James Cameron began pushing the envelope for visual effects. His experimentation with CG in 1989's "The Abyss" paved the way for the groundbreaking images seen in his epic sequel to the much more modest "The Terminator." With the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), a liquid metal killing machine able to change its shape into almost anything, Cameron created a terrifying monster and unleashed a new technology that opened the floodgates for more mind-blowing visuals than ever before. Hollywood has arguably become overdependent on CG in the nearly 20 years since, but that's another article.

"Jurassic Park" (1993)

If "T2" opened up the door for CG-generated visual effects, Steven Spielberg's frightening and beautiful dinosaurs kicked it down, along with half the wall around it. "Jurassic Park" makes up for its flaws in narrative and characterization simply by giving us the most realistic, terrifying and majestic prehistoric animals imaginable, with scenes that stir the childhood fascination with these mysterious creatures in all of us. Our first sighting, of a giant Brachiosaurus standing on its hind legs to munch the top of a tree, has a sense of wonder and awe matched just a few scenes later by the sheer terror and ferocity of the marauding Tyrannosaurus rex.

"Independence Day" (1996)

Destroying human civilization has been a sci-fi staple almost from the start, but director Roland Emmerich took it to a whole new level with this modern-day "War of the Worlds." Say what you will about his dubious ways with character and plot, but Emmerich boldly leveled every major city and landmark he could find in this blockbuster, culminating in that unforgettable shot of an alien spacecraft blowing the White House to smithereens. The convincing effects gave the scenes of mass devastation an unsettling intensity at times that has perhaps been matched but never quite topped, not even by Emmerich himself, who just recently wrecked the world again in "2012."

"The Matrix" (1999)

Like many innovative special effects, the concept of "bullet time" (slowing down time to see things normally unavailable to the human eye) extends far back beyond even the origins of cinema itself. But it was perfected and brought to the forefront in the Wachowski brothers' visionary epic, enhancing the sensation of watching events inside a completely artificial universe. The impact on subsequent movies, commercials and videos cannot be denied. "The Matrix," however, was influential in other ways, introducing elements such as simulated reality (e.g., the Internet), cyberpunk, martial arts, and Eastern philosophy to an eager and dazzled audience. Even its own sequels could not match the visual and intellectual meal laid out by the original.

"The Lord of the Rings" (2001-2003)

For decades, J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy milestone was considered unfilmable. But Peter Jackson had a vision of how to bring the saga to the screen, helped in no small way by advances in digital film technology. The results were nothing short of breathtaking: The massive armies of Rohan and Mordor sweeping toward each other across the plains of Gondor and Gandalf's noble stand against the Balrog are just two of the many sights Tolkien fans had probably never imagined they'd see with their own eyes. And then there was Gollum: The first fully realized character in a live action film brought to life through motion capture. The "Rings" trilogy also had something many tent-pole movies lack: a heart. In these days of more spectacular, more expensive and more realistic effects, that always remains the biggest game-changer of all.

____________________________________

What do you guys think of the choices? Anything you think should be on the list that isn't or that is on the list that shouldn't be?

[mikejet]

No Abyss? I hate how Abyss gets not love in the Avatar trailer.

[Diesel]

It gets a small mention in the T2 section

[mikejet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

It gets a small mention in the T2 section

That's a shame. Abyss was when James Cameron really started to experiment with CGI. By the time he was making T2 he was already quite comfortable with it.

When I watch the making of for Abyss and how they used empty oil storage tanks and covers the tops with black beads to block out the Sun, now that's dedication.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

[What do you guys think of the choices? Anything you think should be on the list that isn't or that is on the list that shouldn't be?

Metropolis
The Wizard of Oz

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

For visual effects

Oops. Didnt see that in the title and didnt read the article.

So.... NEVERMIND my whole post. I changed it. ;-)

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Oops. Didnt see that in the title and didnt read the article.

So.... NEVERMIND my whole post.

What post?

[Fighter]

Bonnie and Clyde forever changed the way graphic violence was portrayed in film

Thank you Arthur Penn

[Sponge-worthy]

I would mostly agree with Star Wars and Jurassic Park. The others are debateable, but I might have added Tron to the list.

[groove93]

I agree with the list but I'm not too crazy about Close Encounters of a Third Kind. I would put Jaws instead of Close Encounters due to the fact that it was the first movie to be considered a "Blockbuster".

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Diesel

What post?

[Dexter Morgan]

No Toy Story...?

[brettallica]

Pretty solid choices if you ask me. T2 and Jurassic Park were absolute ground-breakers whose effects still look good today, almost 20 years later. Did anyone else notice the 1980s-less list? It went from Superman (1978) to T2 (1991). If Tron would have been in there, that would have represented the decade well (and fairly).

[Offender_Mullet]

Great list, but seriously.....Close Encounters of the Third Kind? .......oh wait.......a list isn't a list if you don't name-drop Spielberg in there somewhere.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by ryan69969

I would mostly agree with Star Wars and Jurassic Park. The others are debateable, but I might have added Tron to the list.

2001 and the Matrix are debatable

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

2001 and the Matrix are debatable

heresy!!!

but i would agree on Matrix. in fact, i think Blair Witch (same year as Matrix) was more of a game changer: introduced (?) the shaky-cam film, that only costs $20K to make, yet raked in 84% of Matrix's box office results. ($141mill US v. $171 mill US for matrix). we've seen countless similar films since Blair Witch opened the gates (Open Water, Cloverfield, etc)

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

heresy!!!

but i would agree on Matrix. in fact, i think Blair Witch (same year as Matrix) was more of a game changer: introduced (?) the shaky-cam film, that only costs $20K to make, yet raked in 84% of Matrix's box office results. ($141mill US v. $171 mill US for matrix). we've seen countless similar films since Blair Witch opened the gates (Open Water, Cloverfield, etc)

And we've seen innumerable copies of the Matrix in terms of slow-motion technique and bullet time (i.e. 300, Wanted, even Scary Movie!). Ah, good one with Open Water! I do remember seeing that several years ago. I think it's actually a pretty interesting story and was a good concept but there was virtually no way to execute it well.

[RatedRstar]

No Starship Troopers = Fail. To this day ST has the best conglomeration of practical and special effects put on film.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by RatedRstar

No Starship Troopers = Fail. To this day ST has the best conglomeration of practical and special effects put on film.

I wouldn't go that far, even though they were pretty good. However, I do not think they were in any way gamechanging, as were the ones on the list.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Blu Atlas

No Toy Story...?

I agree, I think that should have definitely been on there. Propelled the animation genre (or medium, if you prefer to refer to it as that) into a completely new realm.