Mike-M

Your Top 3 Special Effects Sequences/Movies with Special Effects?

What are you top 3 special effect sequences in a movie? They cannot be an all CGI movie like Final Fantasy. I know people will want to say Lord of the Rings or Hulk because they are fresh in your mind, but try to remember other great ones also.

For me, it's hard to only do three. These aren't my definitive, but these three rank in order for me and stick out in my mind.

1) Any shots of Dinosaurs, especially the T-Rex, in Jurassic Park

2) Terminator 2's T-1000

3) The shot when Tom Cruise gets blown off the helicopter onto the back of a moving train in Mission Impossible.

Yours?

Alex Spindler

Very hard...

The nightmarish interrogation scene from The Thing, because it so perfectly matched the mounting suspense with such a horrible scene that the panic of the actors was justified.

The intense crash sequence at the beginning of Pitch Black. Especially the tearing apart of the hull as Johns hangs on for dear life.

The first appearance of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Perfect blend of CGI and scale animatronics.

Ernest Rister

Gertie the Dinosaur swallows a Lake.

Sunlight destroys the Count in Nosferatu.

Transformation scene in Metropolis.

Phantom Revealed in Phantom of the Opera.

King Kong vs. T-Rex in King Kong.

Lon Chaney becomes The Wolf Man.

Audiences weep over the death of Snow White.

Tornado sequence in Wizard of Oz.

Rite of Spring sequence in Fantasia.

Peter Ellenshaw refines matte painting in Treasure Island.

Kirk Douglas vs. Giant Squid in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Martian Spacecraft Defeat the U.S. Army in War of the Worlds

The Red Sea Parts in The Ten Commandments.

Darby plays a Hunting Song for King Brian and the Leprechauns in Darby O'Gill and the Little People

Mary, Bert and the Children on the Rooftops of London in Mary Poppins.

[i]Pan-Am Rocket Docks with Orbiting Space Station in 2001

Reagan's room comes alive in The Exorcist.

Blockade Runner and Star Destroyer Zoom Overhead in Star Wars.

Christopher Reeve flies (even upside down) in Superman

Asteroid Chase in Empire Strikes Back.

An American Werewolf in London fights with The Howling for bragging rights.

Light-Cycle Race in Tron

Speeder Chase in Return of the Jedi

A Severed Human Head Sprouts Eyes and Eight Legs in The Thing

Peter MacNichol endures a Go-Motion Dragon's Fire in Dragonslayer.

E.T. heals Elliot, a Poltergeist destroys a house.

The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man Takes Manhattan in Ghostbusters.

A stained-glass window comes alive in Young Sherlock Holmes.

Morphing animal becomes an old woman in Willow.

Joel Silver yells "Cut! Cut! Cut!" in Roger Rabbit.

Water smiles in The Abyss.

Robert Patrick emerges from the flames in Terminator 2.

Impact Tremor of Brachiosaur Rattles Camera in Jurassic Park

Wildebeast Stampede in The Lion King.

A Feather Lands on Forrest Gump.

Woody and Buzz take to the sky in Toy Story.

Chris realizes his Heaven is Annie's Paintings in What Dreams May Come

Tarzan Grows Up/Fights the Leopard Sabor in Tarzan.

George Lucas pushes the boundries of the Digital Back Lot in The Phantom Menace.

Gandalf defies the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring

"Virtual Cinematography" Debuts with The Matrix Reloaded.

Scott_MacD

I shall assume that we aren't limited to digital visual effects.

Top 3 sequences?

1) Jurassic Park's T-Rex assault. Indeed, it was the first time I was completely convinced that I was seeing a living Tyrannosaurus Rex inches from my face. Blind terror!
2) King Kong on the Empire State Building.
3) The Ink and Paint club in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?".

Top 3 movies with extensive special effects?

1) The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King - I choose this, because I just *had* to surrender to it's awesome visual scope and my inability to disbelieve what I was seeing. An utterly magnificent blend of visual effects disciplines towards a singular vision.
2) 2001 - A Space Odyssey
3) Blade Runner

EDIT:

Oh, yes.. As mean as Godzilla and as cute as they come.

http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/

Jason_Els

2001: A Space Odyssey - The first modern vision of space and space travel. Anything not done in this style since then seems cheesy.

Jurassic Park - WOW! Dinosaurs come to life! Also signals the death of stop-motion.

George Melies - Not for any particular film but for how he pushed the limits of special effects, always trying to do the best and latest, always novel. I can't imagine how wonderful his films must have seemed to crowds at the turn of the 20th century.

For beauty is only a step removed from a burning terror we barely sustain, and we worship it for the graceful sublimity with which it disdains to consume us. - Rainer Maria Rilke

My DVD Collection

Edwin-S

In older live action movies

Jessica Rabbit singing "Why Don't You Do Right". A similar scene in THE MASK was just a pale imitation.

The entire opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey right up until Floyd touches the Monolith on the Moon.

Everything that comes after Floyd touching the Monolith on the moon.

The attack against the Walkers in "The Empire Strikes Back." Intentional or not, Jackson pays homage to that scene when the Riders of Rohan attack the Oliphants in "Return of The King."


In newer live action films

Numerous scenes in "The Return of The King."

The "bullet time" in "The Matrix."

The "human Claymore" sequence in "Swordfish." Also the Sikorsky Sky Crane scene in that movie.

In older animated films

The Monstro chase scene in "Pinnochio."

The Night on Bald Mountain sequence in "Fantasia."

The "April Showers" sequence in "Bambi."

In newer animated films

The Jesse's song sequence in "Toy Story II."

The flying sequence and crash in "The Iron Giant."

The dolly shot out the dentist's window, followed by the interior sequence inside the Whale from "Finding Nemo." "Of course, he wants us to go to the back. That's where eating takes place!.....Do I taste good Moby? (rubs tail on whale's tongue)....You tell him I don't want to be lunch!!"

In Japanese animated films.

The rocket lift off sequence in "Wings of Honneamise."

The destruction of a personnel carrier by an anti-tank missile in "The Wings of Honneamise."

A scene of a shot down fighter going vertically into a shack from "The Wings of Honneamise."

The destruction of the Ziggurat in "Metropolis."

Edit: Had to correct the song title

Ernest Rister

"An utterly magnificent blend of visual effects disciplines towards a singular vision."

The Lord of the Rings films are an awesome demonstration of the collaborative art of filmmaking -- all of these people serving the singular vision of *Tolkien* and doing their best to bring *Tolkien's* story to life.

Alex Spindler

Since we aren't constrained to just three, I'd add the following:

Skeleton attack in Jason and the Argonauts
Nightcrawler's showcasing storm of the White House in X2
Leeloo's gaze upon the vertical cities of tomorrow in The Fifth Element. Even Lucas couldn't top that shot.
The entire sequence from spin up of the Machine, "Okay to go", and the travel sequence of Contact. Absolutely breathtaking, especially with the sight that prompts Ellie to exclaim, "They should have sent a poet".

EricSchulz

Hey didn't anyone here see "Titanic"? The destruction of the ship STILL puts knots in my stomach for realism!

The first appearance of T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Still holds up, even with all the advances in technology.

The tornado in "Wizard of Oz", sorry "Twister" fans!