Pros name 50 most influential visual effects film
On Friday, the Visual Effects Society announced the results of a membership poll, naming the 50 most influential films of all time in terms of special effects. According to VES Executive Director Eric Roth, hese films have had a significant, lasting impact on the practice and appreciation of visual effects as an integral, artistic element of cinematic expression and the storytelling process."
Comics fans will be arguing about the placement of Sin City (43) and Superman (44). No other comic book-inspired films made the list.
The films will be the backdrop of the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects, which those of you in Los Angeles can enjoy at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills from June 7 through June 10. There, a panel that includes Douglas Trumbull, Richard Edlund, Dennis Murren and maybe John Dykstra (he’s tentative as we write this) will discuss the list.
After the jump, the whole list.
THE VES 50
1. Star Wars (1977)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (tie)
3. The Matrix (1999) (tie)
5. Jurassic Park (1993)
6. Tron (1982)
7. King Kong (1933)
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
9. Alien (1979)
10. The Abyss (1989)
11. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. Metropolis (1927)
13. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
14. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
15. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. Titanic (1997)
19. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (tie)
20. E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982) (tie)
22. Toy Story (1995)
23. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
24. The Ten Commandments (1956)
25. The War of the Worlds (1953) (tie)
25. Forrest Gump (1994) (tie)
25. Citizen Kane (1941) (tie)
25. The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958) (tie)
25. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) (tie)
30. The Terminator (1984)
31. Aliens (1986)
32. Mary Poppins (1964)
33. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
34. Forbidden Planet (1956)
35. Babe (1995)
36. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (tie)
36. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (tie)
38. King Kong (2005)
39. Planet of the Apes (1968)
40. Fantastic Voyage (1966)
41. Jaws (1975) (tie)
41. Ghostbusters (1984) (tie)
43. Sin City (2005)
44. Superman: The Movie (1978)
45. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
46. The Lost World (1925) (tie)
46. Return of the Jedi (1983) (tie)
48. What Dreams May Come (1998)
49. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
50. Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1958) (tie)
50. The Fifth Element (1997) (tie)
The full schedule and information on buying festival passes or tickets to individual events is available at the official website for the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects, or by contacting the VES office at 818-981-7861 or info@visualeffectssociety.com.
Children of Men (2006) should be on the list. Decades from now, filmmakers will still be ripping off the visual style of that film.