List by Paul
Greatest Achievements in Visual Effects
Visual effects marvels. Quality and believability are key. Must be created via optical compositing or computer generated imagery (i.e. makeup and puppetry doesn't count). Suggestions welcome. Discussion/debate encouraged.
District 9
There's a case for Forbidden Planet here. Perhaps not believable today, but way back when the effects in that film were mind blowing. The film itself continues to be mind blowing today.
Thanks, I'll add it. I was hoping to get some good suggestions for older films.
Crew
I don't know if this would count — certainly in terms of believability — but when Final Fantasy was released it was quite an achievement for the time. From memory it was the first digitally animated feature-length film that aimed for some sort of realistic rendering of people. Looking at it now it seems more like a computer game, but at the time it was a milestone of sorts in terms of digital effects. Maybe not a candidate for the list, but quality aside (I'm sure people have opinions about that) it still struck me as an 'achievement' :)
Fantastic Voyage, Poltergeist, The Abyss, Backdraft, Total Recall, Hollow Man. Pretty much any James Cameron or Paul Verhoeven film, right? And don't forget Superman (1978). They made us believe a man could fly!
Excellent list! District 9 stands out for me because Neill Blomkamp was relatively unknown at that point and it didn't have near the budget of a lot of these films.
Jurassic Park is the most beautiful film of all time, what story goes, but also the visual effects. It still looks amazing. I have a small place in my heart, reserved for dinosaurs only.
TRON/ TRON Legacy ?
Thanks for the suggestions. I'd say Final Fantasy doesn't count because I'm focusing on live action, but that might be a good idea for another list!
Tron Legacy's animated Jeff Bridges underwhelmed me though the rest was great.
For older films, how about The Invisible Man?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdhXOM159gM&t=5m41s
Keep in mind...1933. Waaaaaaaaay before computer effects even existed.
What about Toy Story? It was a big thing when it came out being an all CGI movie. The first one like it. Fast forward 16 years and how many movies have been made that are all CGI?
Han, I'm focusing on live action films here. Toy Story would definitely be at the top of my all cgi list.
If we're making an argument for Forbidden Planet then theres certainly an argument for Jason & the Argonaunts.
Right you are! I wanted to give Ray Harryhausen props, but I wasn't sure which film best exemplifies his work.. added.