What old movies hold up because of a lack of special effects or because clever use of effects?
What older movies made a good use of either side stepping special effects or have effects that somehow still hold up today? Why are they good movies?
155
Comments180
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a masterpiece of clever tricks, superb acting, and professional animation.
The Thing still has the best practical movie monster effects I have ever seen. And the most upsetting.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a breathtaking film that uses wirework choreography to transport you into a storybook fantasy.
During COVID lockdowns, my husband and I started coming up with movie anthologies or themes we could watch so we would A) always know what to watch next and B) further educate ourselves in film. My favorite anthology to date has been John Carpenter. I had never seen a John Carpenter movie before and we went through all of them and it was a blast. But out of all of his films, The Thing was by far the most impactful. My husband and I both grew up on the Internet and are highly desensitized to gross and scary things. But we were both on the edge of our seats while also appreciating the masterful prosthetics and puppetry that went into that movie. I always have to warn people, that I can't recommend it enough but it's not for the faint of heart. Definitely one of the Great horror films ever made.
Not sure if you're a fan of the Redlettermedia guys, but they did three videos reviewing every Carpenter movie - might be interesting :-)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
I love Redlettermedia and that was a great series!
Yay! 😁
+1 who framed Roger rabbit. The performance and eye contact is unreal. Watch Disney new vfx remakes, no one can match that.
Two out of these three are movies I keep coming back to.
Welp, guess I can't avoid the Thing for much longer. Unless, of course, I can.
I'm not much for horror. But, it's also sci-fi. I'm torn.
On a scale of 0 to Event Horizon and Alien (1979), I assume the Thing is beyond even these.
I love Event Horizon, but I don't put it quite on the same shelf as Alien and The Thing. It's "A" tier against "S" tier for me. But they are all what I'd consider sci-fi horror. If you like those two, pull the trigger and watch Carpenter's masterpiece.
The original Jurassic Park. Crazy to think that movie came out in 1993, over 32 years ago.
I recently watched through the Corridor Crew "VFX Artists React" series, and they often praise this film for understanding the limitations of CGI at the time and setting up the scenes to actually use those limitations in their favor.
Episodes involving the film:
Current catalog of what was covered in each episode. They have talked about most of the films that I see mentioned in this thread.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Corridor/wiki/index
::: spoiler Huge list
VFX Artists React
VFX Artists React #1: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #2: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Marvel: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Resurrected Actors: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #3: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - The Star Wars Prequels: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #4: Niko, Wren, and guest Andrew Kramer
VFX Artists React #5: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #6: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #7: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #8: Clint, Niko, and guest Andrew Price ("The Blender Guru")
VFX Artists React #9: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #10: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Corridor Crew's Own CGI: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Magic: Niko, Wren, and guest Zach King
VFX Artists React #11: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #12: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #13: Niko, Wren, and guest Mike Diva
VFX Artists React #14: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #15: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #16: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #17: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Star Wars: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Lord of the Rings #1: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Lord of the Rings #2: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #18: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React - Avengers: Endgame: Niko, Wren, and guest Matt Aitken
VFX Artists React #19: Niko, Wren, and guest Matt Aitken
VFX Artists React #20: Niko, Wren, and guest David F. Sandberg
VFX Artists React #21: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #22: Niko, Wren, and guest Allan McKay
VFX Artists React #23: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #24: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #25: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #26: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #27 - Russian: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #28: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #29: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #30: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #31: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #32: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #33: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React - TRON: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #34: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #35: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React - Halloween: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #36: Niko, Sam, and guest Freddie Wong
VFX Artists React - The Boys: Niko, Wren, and guest Stephan Fleet
VFX Artists React #37: Niko, Sam, and guest Freddie Wong
VFX Artists React #38: Clint, Niko, and guest Andrew Kramer
VFX Artists React - The Mandalorian: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #39: Clint, Niko, and guest Andrew Kramer
VFX Artists React - Harry Potter: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #40: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Featuring BEEPLE: Clint, Niko, and guest Mike Winkelmann ("BEEPLE")
VFX Artists React #41: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Moon Landing: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Zack Snyder's Justice League: Niko, Wren, and guest Freddie Wong
VFX Artists React #42: Niko, Wren, and guest Freddie Wong
VFX Artists React #43: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #44: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #45: Sam, Wren, and guest Felix Jorge
VFX Artists React #46: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #47: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - The Mummy: Niko, Wren, and guest Alex Laurant
VFX Artists React #48: Niko, Wren, and guest Alex Laurant
VFX Artists React #49: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #50: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #51: Niko, Wren, and guest Alex Laurant
VFX Artists React #52: Niko, Wren, and guest Seth Rogen
VFX Artists React #53: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Clint, Niko, and guest Joe Farrell
VFX Artists React #54: Niko, Wren, and guest Seth Rogen
VFX Artists React #55: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #56: Niko, Sam, and guest Bryan Grill
VFX Artists React - Dune: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #57: Niko, Sam, and guest Alan Melikdjanian ("Captain Disillusion")
VFX Artists React - Spider-Man 2's: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #58: Sam, Wren, and guest Adam Savage
VFX Artists React #59: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #60: Jordan, Wren, and guest Josée Chapdelaine
VFX Artists React #61: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #62: Sam, Wren, and guest Adam Savage
VFX Artists React #63: Clint, Niko, and guest Joe Farrell
VFX Artists React #64: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #65: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #66: Niko, Wren, and guest Robyn Luckham
VFX Artists React #67: Niko, Wren, and guest Robyn Luckham
VFX Artists React #68: Niko, Wren, and guest Sean Walker
VFX Artists React #69: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Spider-Man: No Way Home: Niko, Wren, and guest Kelly Port
VFX Artists React #70: Niko, Wren, and guest Sean Walker
VFX Artists React #71: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #72: Clint, Wren, and guest Joe Farrell
VFX Artists React #73: Niko, Wren, and guest Kelly Port
VFX Artists React #74: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #75: Niko, Sam, Wren, and guest Ian Hubert
VFX Artists React #76: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #77: Clint, Wren, and guest Joe Farrell
VFX Artists React #78: Niko, Wren, and guest John Berton, Jr.
VFX Artists React - The Boys #2: Niko, Wren, and guest Stephan Fleet
VFX Artists React #79: Niko, Wren, and guest John Berton, Jr.
VFX Artists React #80: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #81: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - The Boys #3: Niko, Wren, and guest Stephan Fleet
VFX Artists React #82: Niko, Wren, and Mathieu Dimuro
VFX Artists React #83: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #84: Niko, Wren, and guest Tim Miller
VFX Artists React #85: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Video Game Cinematics #1: Niko, Sam, and guest Jerome Denjean
VFX Artists React #86: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #87: Niko, Wren, and guest Julien Héry
VFX Artists React #88: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Video Game Cinematics #2: Niko, Sam, and guest Jerome Denjean
VFX Artists React #89: Niko, Wren, and guest Mathieu Dimuro
VFX Artists React #90: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #91: Niko, Wren, and guest Tim Miller
VFX Artists React #92: Fenner, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #93: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Avatar 2: Niko, Wren, and guest Eric Saindon
VFX Artists React #94: Clint, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #95: Jordan, Niko, and guest Aaron Estrada
VFX Artists React #96: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #97: Niko, Wren, and guest Eric Saindon
VFX Artists React #98: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #99: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #100: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #101: Niko, Sam, and guest Ara Khanikian
VFX Artists React #102: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #103: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #104: Niko, Wren, and guest Tim Webber
VFX Artists React #105: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #106: Niko, Wren, Sam (food poisoning), and Jordan
VFX Artists React #107: Niko, Wren, and guest Paul Debevec
VFX Artists React #108: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #109: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #110: Niko and guests David Goyer and Chris MacLean
VFX Artists React #111: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #112: Niko, Wren, and guest Todd Vaziri
VFX Artists React #113: Jordan, Wren, and guest Guy Williams
VFX Artists React - The Flash: Jordan, Wren, and guest Guy Williams
VFX Artists React #114: Jordan, Wren, and guest Guy Williams
VFX Artists React #115: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #116: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #117: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #118: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #119: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #120: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #121: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #122: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Godzilla: Niko, Peter, and Wren
VFX Artists React #123: Niko, Wren, and guest James Willingham
VFX Artists React #124: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React - Barbenheimer: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React - Indiana Jones: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #125: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #126: Sam, Wren, and guest Gareth Edwards
VFX Artists React - Ghostbusters: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #127: Sam, Wren, and guest Gareth Edwards
VFX Artists React #128: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #129: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React - More Magic: Niko, Wren, and guest Zach King
VFX Artists React - James Bond: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #130: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #131: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #132: Niko, Wren, and guest Robert Legato
VFX Artists React - Magic 2 (#133): Niko, Wren, and guest Zach King
VFX Artists React - Planet of the Apes (#134): Jordan, Wren, and guest Erik Winquist
VFX Artists React #135: Nico, Peter, and Wren
VFX Artists React #136: Jordan, Nico, and Wren
VFX Artists React #137: Jordan, Nico, and Wren
VFX Artists React #138: Jordan, Nico, and Sam
VFX Artists React #139: Niko, Wren, and guest Robert Legato
VFX Artists React #140: Niko, Sam, Wren, and special guest spiders
VFX Artists React #141: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #142: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #143: Niko, Wren, and guest William Mesa
VFX Artists React #144: Jordan, Wren, and guest Erik Winquist
VFX Artists React #145: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #146: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #147: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #148: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #149: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #150: Clint, Jordan, and Niko
VFX Artists React #151: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #152: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #153: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #154: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #155: Jordan, Sam, and guest Stephen Fleet
VFX Artists React #156: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #157: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #158: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #159: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #160: Jordan, Niko, and Wren [episode alternatively labeled as ["Alien Romulus"]
VFX Artists React #160: Jordan, Niko, and Wren [duplicate labeling of #160 on the website]
VFX Artists React #161: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #162: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Megalopolis: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #163: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #164: Niko, Sam, and guest Freddie Wong
VFX Artists React #165: Jordan, Wren, and guest Luke Millar
VFX Artists React - 2024 Oscar-Nominated Movies: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #166: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #167: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #168: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #169: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #170: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #171: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #172: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #173: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #174: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #175: Niko, Wren, and guest Adam Savage
VFX Artists React #176: Clint, Jordan, and Wren
VFX Artists React #177: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #178: Niko, Wren, and guest Adam Savage
VFX Artists React #179: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #180: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Independence Day: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #181: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #182: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #183: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #184: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #185: Sam, Wren, and guest Tim Miller
VFX Artists React #186: Jordan, Wren, and guest Seth Worley
VFX Artists React #187: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #188: Sam, Wren, and guest Tim Miller
VFX Artists React #189: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #190: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #191: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #192: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #193: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #194: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #195: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #196: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React #197: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React #198: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #199: Jordan, Niko, and Sam
VFX Artists React #200: Jordan, Niko, and Wren
.
.
. VFX Artists React - Bad and Worse
VFX Artists React - Bad and Worse #1: Jordan, Sam, and Wren
.
.
. VFX Artists React - Bollywood
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #1: with Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #2:: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #3: Clint, Niko, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #4: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #5: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #6: Clint, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #7: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #8: Niko, Sam, and Wren
VFX Artists React - Bollywood #9: Niko, Sam, and Wren
.
.
. VFX Artists React - Tollywood
VFX Artists React - Tollywood: Niko, Sam, and guest Freddie Wong
Stuntmen React
Stuntmen React #1: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #2: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #3: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #4: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React - Marvel: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #5: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #6: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #7: Sam, Niko, and guest Chris Cowan
Stuntmen React #8: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #9: Clint, Niko, and guest Ilram Choi
Stuntmen React #10: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #11: Clint, Niko, and guest Jesse La Flair
Stuntmen React #12: Clint, Niko, and guest Jesse La Flair
Stuntmen React #13: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #14: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #15: Clint, Niko, and guest Aaron Toney
Stuntmen React #16: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React - Sword Fights #1: Clint, Niko, and guest Luke LaFontaine
Stuntmen React - Driving: Clint, Niko, and guest David Patterson
Stuntmen React #17: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #18: Clint, Niko, and guest Aaron Toney
Stuntmen React #19: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #20: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #21: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #22: Clint, Niko, and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #23: Niko and guests Aaron Toney and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #24: Niko and guests Aaron Toney and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #25: Niko and guests Malay Kim and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #26: Niko and guests Freddie Wong and Scott Adkins
Stuntmen React - Sword Fights #2: Niko and guests Luke LaFontaine and Jessica Medina
Stuntmen React #27: Niko and guests Freddie Wong and Scott Adkins
Stuntmen React #28: Clint, Niko, and guest Jesse La Flair
Stuntmen React, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Niko and guests Chris Cowan and Yung Lee
Stuntmen React #29: Niko and guests Travis Wong and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #30: Niko and guests Chris Cowan and Yung Lee
Stuntmen React #31: Niko and guests Travis Wong and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React - Marvel #2: Niko and guest Gui DaSilva-Greene and James Young
Stuntmen React #32: Niko and guests James Young and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntmen React #33: Clint, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Andy Cheng
Stuntmen React #34: Clint, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Andy Cheng
Stuntmen React #35: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Mark Wagner
Stuntmen React #36: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Daniel Stevens
Stuntmen React #37: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #38: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Eric Linden
Stuntmen React #39: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest J.J. Perry
Stuntmen React #40: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest J.J. Perry
Stuntmen React #41: Niko and guests Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou (RackaRacka)
Stuntmen React #42: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest J.J. Perry
Stuntmen React #43: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest David Leitch
Stuntmen React #44: Niko and guests Eric Linden and Taran Butler
Stuntmen React #45: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Anis Cheurfa
Stuntmen React - Helicopter Stunts: Niko, Wren, and guest Fred North
Stuntmen React - The Karate Kid: Niko, Gui DaSilva-Greene, and guest Ben Wang
Stuntwomen React
Stuntwomen React #1: Clint, Niko, and guest Amy Johnston
Stuntwomen React #2: Clint, Niko, and guest Amy Johnston
Stuntwomen React #3: Clint, Niko, and guest Lauren Mary Kim
Stuntwomen React #4: Clint, Niko, and guest Amy Johnston
Stuntwomen React #5: Clint, Niko, and guest Lauren Mary Kim
Stuntwomen React #6: Clint, Niko, and guest Amy Johnston
Stuntwomen React #7: Clint, Niko, and guest Lauren Mary Kim
Stuntwomen React #8: Clint, Niko, and guest Lauren Mary Kim
Stuntwomen React #9: Clint, Niko, and guest Amy Johnston
Stuntwomen React #10: Niko and guests Cassandra Ebner and Gui DaSilva-Greene
Stuntwomen React #11: Niko and guests Amy Johnston and Kimberly Shannon Murphy
Stuntwomen React #12: Niko and guests Amy Johnston and Kimberly Shannon Murphy
Animators React
Animators React - Cartoons #1: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Koenig
Animators React - Cartoons #2: Clint, Niko, and guest Eric Koenig
Animators React - CGI #1: Clint, Niko, and guest Alexander Snow
Animators React - CGI #2: Clint, Niko, and guest Alexander Snow
Animators React - Cartoons #3: Niko, Wren, and guest Alexander Snow
Animators React - Anime #1: Niko, Wren, and guest Alexander Snow
Animators React - Cartoons #4: Niko, Wren, and guest Eric Koenig
Animators React - Cartoons #5: Niko, Wren, and guest Eric Koenig
Animators React - Cartoons #6: Niko, Wren, and guest Eric Koenig
Animators React - Arcane: Niko, Wren, and guest Alexander Snow
Animators React - Cartoons #7: Niko, Wren, and guest Alexander Snow
Animators React - Love Death + Robots: Niko and guests Alexander Snow and Patrick Osborne
Animators React - Cartoons #8: Sam, Wren, and guest Arin Hanson
Animators React - Cartoons #9: Niko and guests Alexander Snow and Patrick Osborne
Animators React - Cartoons #10: Fenner, Niko, and guest Tom Bancroft
Animators React - Cartoons #11: Niko and guests Tom Bancroft and Tony Bancroft
Animators React - Anime #2: Niko, Wren, and guest Alex Snow
Animators React - Cartoons #12: Niko, Wren, and guest Ted Ty
Animators React - Cartoons #13: Niko, Wren, and guest Alex Snow
Animators React - Cartoons #14: Niko, Wren, and guest Tom Bancroft
Animators React - Cartoons #15: Niko, Peter, and guest Aaron Blaise
Animators React - Cartoons #16: Niko, Peter, and guest Aaron Blaise
Animators React - The Simpsons: Niko, Wren, and David Silverman
Animators React - Wallace and Gromit: Niko and guests Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham
Directors React
Directors React #1: Nick, Niko, and guest David Lowery
I really recommend using SponsorBlock when watching this channel.
Lord of the Rings effects still hold up, in my opinion at least. The Balrog uses a lot of "hidden" information with the use of blackness to cover up bad cgi. Horse charges are zoomed out far enough to disguise how few horses are actually there. Most of the movies use practical effects though.
There is an enormous amount of CGI in Lord of the Rings that you don’t really notice. Yes they used lots of miniatures and other practical effects, but that only takes you so far. The extended DVDs are full of some of the really cool ways they combined digital and practical. They show PJ “filming” at one point with a block of wood with a mocap ball on it.
They invented an entire new software just to make the huge battle scenes good. That software, Massive, is still used today to simulate giant crowds.
Gollum hasn’t aged perfectly, but pretty well for an entirely CGI character from the early 2000s.
💀
We had an apprentice at work a few years ago who had never seen those movies. The first was released the year he was born.
I shrivelled into a corpse as he told me that.
Reading this made my back hurt.
Especially when you compare the effects in Lord of the Rings to the Hobbit. You can really see when the studio is overworked and underpaid, even when it's a studio as good as weta.
I can usually turn a blind eye to bad CGI, but The Hobbit was next-level awful. It wasn't so much bad as unfinished. I felt I was watching a pirated movie before post production was complete.
Yeah, I was racking my brain to find a major movie filmed in the last decade without digital effects so that I could induce a recognition of the passage of time, and I couldn’t manage it. Covid started more than half a decade ago, and modern movies rarely use solely practical effects
Fury Road was almost all practical effects
There is a LOT of CGI in Fury Road.
They did lots of practical stunts, yeah, but each of those shots is then supplemented with CGI. Extra vehicles and scenery and whatnot.
There’s this weird thing where filmmakers like to pretend they don’t use CGI and it makes us as viewers think that CGI is somehow worse.
Edit: Bonus, check out the episode of It Was a Shit Show about Fury Road. It’s fascinating.
They’ve even started adding NFC to behind the scenes footage to make it seem as if something that was CGI actually wasn’t. Someone linked the corridor crew playlist above. They talk about this when they cover Barbie.
What’s NFC in this context? I only know it as Near Field Communication.
Very weird. I’m sure I typed “VFX”. Then again, that’s the kind of thing autocorrect sometimes thinks it knows better than you do about.
Yup, autocorrect loves to think it’s smarter than it is.
So was sicario edit: and the raid, but most isn’t all. Visual effects are simply too tantalizing and/or useful. Particularly for landscapes, I simply don’t notice
It still had 2,000 VFX shots.
2001 a space odyssey's effects are completely practical, which make sense since it came out before the first moon landing. it's all physical models and cut-out photographs being moved in stop-motion, or huge rotating sets to simulate centrifugal gravity, or colored film being spun over a set of rollers.
personally i think it's worth it to watch it for the effects alone, which is just as well because its influence is such that it has been eclipsed story-wise by things that came after it and so feels a bit shallow.
Kubrick was in charge of faking the moon landing, but he insisted on shooting it on location.
Nonsense. Kubrick hated travelling. He filmed it in London, like Fullmetal Jacket.
Being a perfectionist, though, he had NASA land astronauts on the moon to take reference pictures for the backgrounds.
In exchange for filming it NASA gave him the lens he used to film Barry Lyndon's candlelit scenes.
Gotta agree with this. The only effect that doesn't look 100% real is when the space stewardess walks up the walls to deliver food to the cockpit of Aries moon lander. Everything else looks amazing.
And don't watch it in 480p on a phone screen. If you can, get yourself the 4K Blu-Ray version (the copy I ripped is 72 gigabytes. Yes it's worth it).
She’s walking funny on purpose. Those are meant to be some kind of velcro or magnetic slippers she’s wearing. She’s walking carefully because she doesn’t want to go drifting around in microgravity while carrying a tray of food.
That’s my interpretation, anyway.
That's very plausible, but it still doesn't work well and looks silly IMO. The storytelling doesn't quite work there.
Edit: Also the little shuffle still doesn't make sense to me even with your framing. I'd still expect her to take somewhat larger, less awkward steps. And sway a little less. Except the room is rotating around her.
Don't forget they lost Best Costume to Planet Of The Apes because the mimes they hired to play the monkeys were so convincing they were assumed by many to be real.
This film is my go-to whenever anyone mentions visual effects. If I were a director, this would be my gold standard for absolutely timeless effects.
I tried watching this movie but couldn't get further than 20-30min. I was just bored out of my mind. None of the sci-fi or story elements were interesting enough to keep me engaged.
It might be a good movie but I think it's just not for me
it's very slow and esoteric, it was criticised for it even at the time. if you approach it as a demonstration of pre-digital film techniques, and try to figure out how things were done, it may hold your attention longer. if you're into that sort of thing.
Good idea. Maybe something to do while being stoned af
i think it's probably very good for that
Totally understandable, even to someone who counts this film as a favorite. It is very slow moving.
Alien,
the original 1979 one.
Imo it really aged well,
recently rewatched it and was amazed by how good the special effects looked, especially for that time.
It's also a really good movie,
scores 8.5/10 on IMDB,
kept me on the tip of my chair for the full 2 houra.
Alien is a 10/10 for me. Showed my wife last year and she was indeed on the edge of her seat for the duration. And she hates science fiction!
So much of the movie has leaked into pop culture and memes that it's easy to forget just how horrifying it is, how well crafted. I hadn't sat down and really watched it for decades until I watched it with my wife.
There is one scene where the two characters are gathering coolant bottles for the life support (Lambert and one of the Mechanics I'm blanking on) where you can see the xenomorph is a dude in a suit. The rest are cleverly done to hide that fact, and it's done very well. The scene in the air vents when the xeno catches Dallas is terrifying even knowing it's coming.
I really enjoy the explosion at the end.
Through the rest of the movie the effects are timeless and suck you into the movie. Then you get that finale and remember this movie came out in the 70s
The Princess Bride
The flames are real flames! The R.O.U.S. is a tiny guy in a suit! The giant is... Andre the Giant!
Yeah, the behind the scenes stuff for that movie is wild.
They had to keep reshooting the fire swamp scene, because Cary Elwes (Westley/Dread Pirate Roberts) kept panicking every time Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup) got lit on fire.
The R.O.U.S. scene had to be delayed, because they had to go bail the dude in the rat suit out of jail. He had apparently gotten too drunk the night before, and was in the drunk tank on the morning that they were supposed to shoot the R.O.U.S. scene.
Mary Poppins. The (as it possibly happens) one of a kind lense that perfectly matched the frequency of light produced by sodium vapor lamps. It produced a green screen like effect that was better than anything else for decades to come.
Look at the above image above and notice how perfectly you can see the background through the diaphanous fabric of the hat.
The wild part about it is that this technique required a very specific prism in the camera in order to work properly, and the tech behind it was completely lost to time and nobody else knew how to make that work, which is why we've primarily had blue/green screens with chunky matte lines ever since. The guys at Corridor Digital managed to recreate the effect pretty authentically, and it's awesome to see the results of their work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQuIVsNzqDk
I have a really tough time believing that for decades people couldn't figure out how to do this and so sufferer with chromakeying on hundred, 200+ million dollar blockbustere
Star wars, with models and miniatures.
Most great old movies, where cheesy effects were irrelevant next to the story.
Gravity Falls Little Gift Shop of Horrors, where the characters watch an 'incredibly expensive' stop motion scene that we (the audience) only see as reflected shadows.
Just gave the special editions a rewatch. The cgi inserted scenes have aged incredibly poorly, especially compared to the rest of the 1977 effects
The "Despecialized" editions are the best right now. I appreciate what Lucas wanted to do in the 90s but I wish he'd just left the originals alone.
I’ve really enjoyed 4K77.
And matte paintings. Never forget the legendary artists who turned paintings into scenery, or the camera workers who managed to blend in the actors to them.
How about most of the storm troopers standing at attention for the arrival of Vader? Matte painting.
The bottomless chasm in Bespin, matte painting.
Leia's hair in the first one? Matte painting.
Don't make me bust out the LART.
Blade Runner (1982) still looks incredible. The miniatures and attention to detail in design effectively set the tone for subsequent cyberpunk.
Gremlins. My brother and I were just discussing this because we heard that the new Gremlins movie will be using analog effects.
We live in the timeline that all the other timelines use as a ridiculous example.
You're telling me there's a dimension for EVERY possibility?
Yup.
So there's a timeline where Donald Trump becomes president?
Twice!
My favorite effect in gremlins is spoken word. Hear me out. The movies aren't really scary and rely mostly on jump scare effects.
However the 'Santa stuck in the chimney' story is such a powerful, unexpected confrontation with a claus-trophobic (pun trademarked from now on) and disgusting gory event that it makes the whole movie feel so much darker as a kid.
Trough that scene the whole movie is elevated (in a horror genre perspective) from a funny sorry with jump-starts to something that sticks with you for way longer.
https://youtu.be/IKX9fGvF63E
One of my favorite songs lol. And I wanna be at the rnc by the same gury, Nick lutsgo
https://youtube.com/shorts/09Nan-uARF4
That was a beautiful song, but what the fuck is a grimlin?
It's grEmlin!
The Thing, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Alien(s), ET - just from top of my head. The Thing would be my favorite out of the bunch. No CGI, just pure and hardcore man-made effects.
Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park make heavy use of CGI. The liquid metal effects in T2, and any time you see an entire dinosaur that is standing up and moving around in Jurassic Park, are computer generated. They were just done very well.
Jurassic park is a classic one to list in this category. The reason is that they mixed a lot of practical with the CGI and (imo more importantly) because they used the CGI sparingly and in a way that was basically "what if there was a bigger animatronic there" without going over board with it.
Of course T2 and Jurassic Park has CGI and it holds fucking strong today still. When I was talking about no CGI, I was talking about The Thing being my fav out of the bunch because of no CGI and just looking awesome so many years later.
Still my favorite movie of all time
Nobody sidestepped special effects like film noir did. They made a whole genre out of, "If we dim the lights enough, nobody will notice we stole this set from a different movie."
The history of film noir is something really special that came together due to a unique set of circumstances (saddle up for an infodump). The Great Depression had given popularity to pulp fiction novels, generally focusing on working class protagonists struggling to keep a roof over their heads, and often viewing power and social structures through cynical terms. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hitler destroyed the German film industry, which had previously been the best in the world. A bunch of people who were generally some combination of gay/Jewish/communist/film makers came to America and brought their expertise, expressionist style, and antifascist perspectives to Hollywood, where it blended with existing American culture to create something entirely new.
Every iconic aspect of film noir was that way for a reason - even if the reason was often, "saving money," like I mentioned before. The older, grizzled detective and the young femme fatale were cast out of necessity, especially during wartime when young men who would have otherwise dominated those roles were out fighting (or expected to be). While of course they are product of their time and can contain sexist themes, they provided roles for women that were more complex and had more agency than before. And they were also subject to censorship, but some movies, such as Crossfire (1947), snuck hidden meanings under the radar. The book Crossfire was based on was centered around a homophobic murder, but the Hays Code prohibited any mention of homosexuality, so the plot was changed to a racist/antisemitic murder (which also capitalized on the anti-Nazi sentiment of the time) - but with subtext alluding to the original plot. The effect is that the two forms of bigotry are linked together (tagline: "Hate Is Like A Loaded Gun!"), and the director later said that the Code, "had a very good effect because it made us think. If we wanted to get something across that was censorable... we had to do it deviously. We had to be clever. And it usually turned out to be much better than if we had done it straight."
Film noir's fans cut across demographics, popular with women and men alike. Back in those days, going to the movie theater was an all-day affair with multiple films shown, and film noir movies generally occupied the role of "B movies" (necessitating their cheap production values), but the point is that they were just targeted towards... moviegoers. And I don't want to paint it as just, "foreign socialists promoting their agenda through hidden messages" or that sort of thing, it genuinely was a blending of perspectives and cultures that (much as I hate to say it as a certified America hater) really represents America at it's best, the dream that we ought to aspire to. There really was something magical happening in the cultural dialogue that these movies are the product of.
But of course, we're not allowed to have nice things. Due to McCarthyism, the alliances and blending of cultures and ideas that had allowed the genre to exist were ripped apart. People were pressured to name names and sell out their colleagues, which spawned distrust and animosity, betrayal and grudges that would disrupt the industry even after the direct threat had passed. And eventually replacing film noir and it's proletarian focus and cynical view of society, came the spy movies, glorifying government agents infiltrating other countries as part of this global ideological conflict against communism. Propagandizing trash. Dead art taking no risks and presenting nothing to challenge the audience.
Anyway, film noir is cool and fun and artsy and had a progressive (for its time, at least) current insofar as it was allowed to.
Thank you for the information!
Jurassic Park
Yup, it was lauded for its amazing CGI when it came out, but the vast majority of the movie was shot with puppets and practical effects. It’s also a great example of “less is more” in the sense that the movie is over two hours long, but only has like 15 minutes of actual dinosaur footage. That meant they were able to focus their time and resources effectively, to make the few bits of CGI as good as they could be.
Jaws.
The shark prop didn’t work well and looked terrible, which resulted in much of it being left out of the movie. The movie is more terrifying because of this.
The shark has a name, it's Bruce
The severed head rolling into view in the hole of the sunken boat still freaks me out. I think it was filmed in the back yard pool of one of the producers.
The fifth element.
Tron. Vector graphics and filters gave a better effect than any of the weak sequels.
Forever underappreciated. They were hiring research professors at universities to do that stuff. It was so cutting edge that it was actually experimental.
And they got disqualified from the Oscars "because they cheated" -- the following year there was a brand new nomination category for computer generated effects...
Just like the monkeys in 2001. They were so good, the Oscar jury thought they were animals instead of actors.
Yeah that part made me very sad.
Tron.
Even now the CGI looks pretty dope and that shit was done on computers from the 80s!
The Thing and the Aliens trilogy
Some of the best practical monster effects ever in film, and Aliens especially had awesome sets.
Star Trek (original series)
The teleportation effect is so fucking simple (literally just beads swirled around in water) and yet looks so damn cool.
Tron had little CGI sequences. Almost everything was made with practical effects.
I can't believe no one has said The Thing yet.
The creature effects are so good, it holds up today.
Not sure if they are just not federated to your instance, but your comment is the third time I see that film mentioned.
First thing I thought seeing the title. Such an old movie and still is impressive!
That head that turns into the spider walker, perhaps best special effect ever in my book.
You want old movies? How about Royal Wedding (1951). It has a scene where Fred Astaire dances on the walls and ceiling. There's no cgi or special effects, it was just done with a simple camera trick.
Here's the scene. When he sets the picture on the desk, they cut to a wide shot before the room starts spinning. Everything he touched had to be "nailed down", including the cigarette, the hat and coats, the chair and the picture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1AQjcmzvx8
Modern movies need more random tap dance breaks.
Reading through I see no one has yet mentioned dark crystal which I think is hensens magnus opus.
I watched the Netflix series and then the Making Of show about it. Apparently they tried CGI gelflings to cut costs and just couldn't live up to the puppetry, so eventually Netflix relented and gave them enough budget to match Henson's original quality.
The series was a solidly decent story, but the production was spectacular. The practical puppet effects are mind-boggling.
It's really a good showcase of how CGI should augment practical effects, not replace them. Fury Road is another good example.
Only the best Xmas movie if all time - Gremlins.
InnerSpace. I'll die on hill that this movie deserves better.
Well that takes me back a spell. Great movie. I'd have to rewatch it to assess the effects but I remember them as awesome when I saw it as a kid.
Matrix 1. Other than some CGI, it doesn't have so much special effects as much as it has special camera tricks.
How dare you, matrix does not qualify for old movie yet. Right? Right????
Anything before the year 2000 is old. Ask any Gen Z/Alpha.
probably the best simpsons quote ever
Older than LOTR and has aged better, in my opinion.
I agree. Even when it was new and I went "wow look where the technology has gone!" I still felt that it was insufficient and would age. Honestly the movies are fantastic until they try to show giant orc armies and then it's a bit MEH.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen a mention for The Thief of Bagdad.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0033152/
When you watch it you won’t believe it was made 85 years ago.
Roger Ebert reviewed it stunningly. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-thief-of-bagdad-1940
Citizen Kane. A lot of clever and groundbreaking effects that most people don’t even realize are happening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwz4FENS_ok
It’s often hyped as groundbreaking, but that seriously misunderstands what they’re doing. Nothing in Kane is new, it’s Gregg Toland’s homage to the 3D films of the 1930s. Some of the best stuff people don’t even talk about now, like how almost every main character has prosthetics to make them resemble press figures of the time. It’s a satire.
Once you see the pterodactyls, you can never unsee them.
Definitely Forbidden Planet. Killer electronic music soundtrack as well.
The 50’s version?
I think there is only the 1956 version. Maybe you're thinking of Day The Earth Stood Still?
It is a little slow at times, but the fun bits are really awesome. And you can get a linux package to display system info as !Krells
Ah, had to scroll too far to find this one. It should be higher. The production quality and special effects are absolutely stunning for the era. The scenes where they’re walking around in Morbius’ giant machine are awesome. Blows my mind, underrated.
Nice job of building tension with the invisible monster. It’s also a solid movie despite the trope of “military men out on a lark fighting monsters, plus a hot chick.”
I was kind of shocked how well Flight of the Navigator held up when I rewatched it for the first time as an adult a couple of years ago. The effects used for the ship were great.
It was a favourite growing up (up there's with Explorers, The Goonies to me back then), I hadn't watched it in decades till a few years ago. I also thought it held up really well. Besides the exterior spaceship there's minimal effects anyways (plus cute aliens of course which were practical) it's more an odd buddy (new friend?) comedy. I still thought what was there was for the ship effects held up better than expected for the time.
Course may be rose tinted glasses and all, but I really enjoyed it last time still, plus time travel is always awesome.
Metropolis (1927)
Tremors.
Great practical effects for the time the movie came out. Further, they were very clever about only showing you the worm a few times. Screamers style graboid rooster tails during chases was campy, but just the right kind of campy.
Do not talk to me about anything after tremors 3 because none of that shit is Canon imo. Honestly tremors 3 was the beginning of the end but ill still always love them assblasters
Jurassic Park comes to mind. The scene with the raptors in the kitchen uses a mix of puppets and CGI.
2001 looks awesome still, despite being a space film from the 60s
ladyhawke smartly did the zoom into the eye and have it morph and zoom out to the animal. Holds up much better than using the limited technology of the time.
I've never heard of anyone else who's seen Ladyhawke. Everyone I've shown it to hated it, but there's something I love about it. The sets, locations, costumes, dialogue, all great. The transformations they tried to do on-screen are my least favorite part, though.
Blasphemy! It is a great movie.
Love it! Broddrick is great in it, and his perspective helps keep the more legendary character and plot line believable. Looks gorgeous too (the film, not MattyB)
you have to look at other movies from the time like the howling 2 you will see how using what they did for transformation was genius.
Touch of Evil by Orson Welles, 1958.
The cinematography, and opening single-shot scene is a thing of legend.
--
Also, The Shinning, 1980.
The impossible geometry of the hotel, is used to create an unnerving effect for viewers.
Came here to mention this.
The way Lumet uses camera angles to create tension and reinforce the personalities of the characters, especially how he makes the room look smaller and more claustrophobic as time moves on, is simply masterful.
Not as old as some mentioned, but I love Gondry's use of practical effects in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Also want to drop in Fx: Murder by Illusion, just 'cause I loved the movie when I first saw it many decades ago...
FX…omg haven’t thought of that movie in forever. Gotta do a rewatch.
Bud Spencer & Terrence Hill movies
Young Frankenstein
The Thing. Also, I recently went back and rewatched some of my favorite old Jackie Chan movies from his early years and MAN are they still so much fun.
Jackie Chan is willing to be sawn in half rather than use CGI to appear to be sawn in half.
The Thing really messed me up as a kid! Oof!
The Thing. Effects hold up astonishingly well today.
The Thing (J Carpenter version) is the best SFX movie ever, imo, and holds up incredibly well. The original Dracula didn't need anything fancy. And for the best practical FX using camera angles and other filming tricks, any film by Buster Keaton is a masterpiece of cinema.
Technically the original ‘Dracula’ is Austrian/Hungarian film ‘Dracula's Death’, released in either 1921 or 1923. Considering that Dracula is either the most- or second-most-frequently adapted character ever, I wouldn't be surprised if more films were made between this one and the 1931 one.
Also, funny thing, a Spanish-language version of ‘Dracula’ was filmed simultaneously with the 1931 film, on the same sets. It's considered better made, because the crew had access to the dailies of the English version and could adjust the direction based on the flaws they noticed.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy show from the 80s holds up surprisingly well
For a moment I was like, "well yeah, most radio shows do pretty well without computer graphics" but then I remembered they made a TV miniseries.
You can find some old Buster Keaton interviews on YouTube where he talks about the craft. Pretty good stuff.
Terminator, despite being a classic and massively popular movie of the time, is pretty bad by modern SFX & VFX standards.
The Thing (Jonh Carpenter) for a movie of the same era holds up impressivley well.
The Terminator came out around when I was born and I finally got around to watching it tonight.
I have to give them props for trying with those full-body robot scenes but yeah, they're rough.
Off the top of my head:
Pan's Labyrinth (CGI augments excellent practical effects)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Cell (CGI augments excellent set and costume design).
The Abyss (1989)
Interstellar (had to check if this was CGI).
With research: Speed and The Edge of Tomorrow are fun. Also, I am annoyed at myself that I forgot Aronofsky's the Fountain — a beautiful, painful film.
Practical scenes with mentioning:
That one scene in Chinatown, "they lose their noses!"
That one scene in Boogie Nights, "I'm a big bright shining star."
That last arrow in Throne of Blood
The Abyss holds up fantastically for being from the 80's.
Airplane!
Paper Moon
Paper Moon is excellent. Anyone who's never seen it, should watch it. It's beautifully shot in black and white.
Its a Christmas tradition to rewatch paper moon at our house. That and Young Frankestein and Airplane!
Batman (1989) and Batman Returns
Gattaca
Going to add krull. This is another were less was more with special effects which makes it do much better than others of the time.
There are dozens of us that like Krull. DOZENS!
It's a fine film.
Would Aliens be acceptable here?.The practical effects were incredibly well done as were the matte paintings.
Lord of the Rings.
Cashback
Star Trek NGT era.
They did a lot practical, with prostetics and models and it's beautiful.
Yeah, the prosthetics have always been campy, but the miniature models are gorgeous even by today’s standards.
Citizen Kane
Kubriks 2001.
Tarsem Singh's The Fall which is practically a love letter to classic cinema practical special effects. It obviously includes a small amount of modern CGI effects, but he pushed really hard for most of the "special effects" to be of the traditional practical variety.
The story is a little cheesy, but the visuals are no less stunning than they were when it was released. If only it had been filmed in the era of 4K it would be even more stunning.
Evil Dead 2
Wizard of Oz sepia "filter" fits in here?
I'm also going to in honesty pick Brazil (1985). It still holds up really well.
almost anything animated holds up to. rock and rule is still entertaining as is heavy metal and the paint over animation lord of the rings (I am in no way comparing it to the awesome peter jackson version but just that animation holds up better than stadard special effects).
I watched The Thief of Bagdad (1940) recently, and was kinda shocked at how much I enjoyed it. There's a whole world of effects, such as using painted backdrops, that don't look "realistic" but actually do a lot more for creating fantastical vibe than even perfect modern cgi.
It also highlights the main problem with most "effects heavy" movies, in that they often focus on the effects instead of the story. And when that happens, it doesn't really matter how good they are, because fundamentally they're distracting from real core of the film. TToB has genies, monsters and flying robot horses, but they're all used judiciously and reinforce a sense of wonder, even when they look a little janky to modern eyes.
Compared this to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), which was celebrated at the time for it's Harryhausen stop motion effects. Sure, the effects are pretty cool, and at the time must have been very impressive, but it's too obvious that the audience is meant to be wowed by them. At one point two animated monster start fighting each other and I just didn't care. Aside from the novelty of the effect this scene wasn't building the vibes, they're weren't any significant stakes or character growth, it was just "look at what we can do!". Yawn.
Just compare Gladiator vs Gladiator 2 to see how awful CGI is today vs what could be achieved using it modestly before.
Are you including the movies that didn't need SFX? Like Arsenic and Old Lace?
Wasn't exactly my intention, but I am open to anything with a good story that doesn't have blaringly outdated effects.
If you haven't seen that movie you should 😉.
Barry Lyndon.
Kubrick managed to make every single frame look like a period painting, and used Zeiss 50mm f/0.7 lenses, originally built for NASA to photograph the dark side of the Moon, to film scenes by candlelight (granted, even with that lens he had to use lots of special candles with three wicks to get enough light; if I recall correctly some actors ended up with thermal burns from the radiated heat).
I thought you would suggest Big Trouble in Little China.
Leprechaun in the hood.
To kill a mockingbird.
What a strange question. "What older movies made a good use of side stepping special effects?" Do you mean any of the stories which do not need such effects in the first place?
Also, special effects "holding up today" is in no way necessary for a good picture... There are many great films with dated effects.
Another way to phrase it would be "which older films, if filmed today, would rely heavily on special effects that weren't around when they were made?"
Obvs something like 12 Angry Men wouldn't count since there's no need for those effects, practical or otherwise.
Thank you for clarifying. I misinterpreted the question, my apologies. Two movies that immediately come to mind:
Vampyr (1932) has a great double exposure sequence which no doubt would have been much easier to shoot with modern methods. Strongly recommended to fans of early horror movies. It features several shots that are both haunting and absolute classics.
Staying with the same director, Dreyer, The Passion of Joan of Arc would be another candidate. The camera angles in themselves are an effect and contribute to the oppressively disconcerting atmosphere. The way the set was designed with holes in the walls to allow for the camera to be placed in certain ways is genius. Modern methods would not have improved on this aspect of the film, but, on the other hand, nevermind CGI or effects, this movie features a bloodletting scene which could not happen today!
pre-cgi pretty much. pratical effects, animatronics> cgi. the shows that cgi usually better from the start is mostly scifi shows.
For fans of the Wiggles, their only movie, The Wiggles Movie (as it's known in Australia and Oceania), or Magical Adventure (This was the US and UK title for the movie). It had a budget of around $10-30 million AUD if I'm not mistaken. My producer, Neigsendoig, researched that for an iceberg explained video he was working on.
A24 film, but they hide those aspects.
Almost, if not everything, Stan Winston ever had a hand in making. Looking at the new Predator movie out just now, and its all CGI. But back in 87, Stan was creating something that looked so fucking real it was actually scary. Think back even further to 79, and what Carlo Rambaldi, among others, were doing with the "Alien". Carlo focused on the head of the creature, and fucking hell, it holds up like fucking gangbusters. Carlo would go on to help bring ET to life as well.
Having less to worth with, made for some VERY smart people to create timeless works of art. Not only using clay, rubber and glue, but light and shadow as well. CGI has made modern Hollywood lazy, IMO. When was the last time a monster actually lived up to the hype once you saw it? I remember back in 2001, watching Jeepers Creepers and thinking it was the best horror movie in years. Then I got to the mid point and they revealed the monster and it... dropped off a fucking cliff.
Thinking back to Alien, and Carlo engineered the Alien’s head with over 900 moving parts, using a system of cables and hinges to create the lifelike jaw and inner mouth movements. This level of engineering gave the creature a physical presence that actors could react to in real time, rather than a fucking tennis ball and some guy shouting "Now imagine its a big Alien. Its mean looking, its got teeth and eyes, and you're scared of it.".
Only thing I can really think of that matches this level of detail, was the rings trilogy. And you can see the difference when you watch the hobbit. It just doesnt hit as hard because its CGI. And no matter how good CGI is, you can always tell and pulls you out of it a little.
The ridiculous, videogamesque barrel ride pulled me out of the Hobbit completely. I just couldn't take the movies seriously after that.
Slightly related but I rewatched robots this past weekend and the animation held up quite nicely for being vintage now.