# what are some pre-CGI movies with great special effects? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248 "2009-03-12T20:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/21 "2009-03-12T22:12:28Z")
The underwater scenes of the **Nautilus** from Disney’s **20,000 leagues Under the Sea.** ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/22 "2009-03-12T23:27:21Z")
The Frederick March \*\*[rul=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPLigfNQ9g8]Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/23 "2009-03-13T00:20:55Z")
“Ghostbusters” had extremely good effects, all of it stop motion and traditional animation. I also second “Aliens,” and its predecessor too. Just a terrific combination of monster-making, set and costume design, and clever use of old school camera and lighting work. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/24 "2009-03-13T00:44:02Z")
Any love for Jean Cocteau out there? [La Belle et la bête](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038348/) [Le Sang d’un poète](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021331/) The things he did with camera angles and reverse film were astonishing. Le Sang is pretty bizarre, sort of his answer to Dali and Bunuel’s ‘[Un Chien andalou](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020530/)’, but the effects are still remarkable. Come to that, the eye sequence in ‘Un Chien andalou’ is a great example of painstakingly edited special effects. Then there’s Hitchcock… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/25 "2009-03-13T00:57:11Z")
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Tron Aliens ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/26 "2009-03-13T01:07:10Z")
The dragon effects in _Dragonslayer_ are widely considered amazing for the time. Some of the other optical effects in the film aren’t so hot, but the dragon itself is brilliantly animated. The _Back To The Future_ trilogy is also very cleverly achieved, especially Part II. And _The Rocketeer_ has some great flying scenes, almost as good as _Iron Man_. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/27 "2009-03-13T01:20:28Z")
Murnau’s _Faust_ was excellent. ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/28 "2009-03-13T02:44:09Z")
What, no one’s mentioned _Blade Runner_ yet? It was made in 1982, yet it _still_ looks futuristic in 2009. That’s impressive! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/29 "2009-03-13T02:47:06Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > The Star Wars original trilogy, despite what Lucas would have us believe. That’s what I was going to say. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/30 "2009-03-13T14:21:14Z")
How about war movies, eg. the attack on Pearl Harbour in Tora! Tora! Tora! The films are a bit questionable but there are some great effects in horror movies such as Hellraiser, Hellbound, Phantasm2, etc. They have already been mentioned but The Thing and The Howling both shared the genius of Rob Bottin for special makeup effects. He also worked on the cantena sequence in Star Wars I believe. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/31 "2009-03-13T14:24:58Z")
I can’t believe no one (including me) has mentioned **King Kong** yet. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/32 "2009-03-13T15:12:52Z")
“[The Fabulous World of Jules Verne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabulous_World_of_Jules_Verne)”–a Czech film from 1958. It’s a live action film in black & white that looks like engraved illustrations come to life. It took a few years to be released in the USA; I saw it then & was blown away. Apparently the DVD release sucks but VHS tapes are available–for a price. It’s a masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/33 "2009-03-13T15:16:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Forbidden Planet** – there are a few klunky cartoony scenes, but things like the C57D in orbit over Altair IV, or the ship “making its own eclipse”, or the Krel Monster burning through the door, or the final explosion (viewed silently from 100 million miles away – that was cool. Much better than having it a debris-throwing noisy affair, like they’d do it today) are gorgeous. The guys who did the effects later went on to do the much stupider but still gorgeous **Kronos** , in which they prove that even a featureless box can look impressive as hell if you do it right. > > **The Day the Earth Stood Still** The original, of course. Gort’s laser-beam eye effect is STILL extremely classy, as is the seamless flying saucer. The low-key but high-quality approach to the effects really worked well. > > And, of course, the already-mentioned **2001** (for which effects were invented) and the films of Ray Harryhausen. I’d like to add the third George Pal film in there as well - **War of the Worlds** While the heat ray was a little lacking - the sight of the Martian War Machines was very impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/34 "2009-03-13T15:26:18Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > The Star Wars original trilogy, despite what Lucas would have us believe. Theres CGI in star wars. [http://www.atlantismantis.com/images/deathstar/eye.jpg](http://www.atlantismantis.com/images/deathstar/eye.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/35 "2009-03-13T15:45:41Z")
> [@cactus\_waltz](#): > > Hello all, > > It’s 2008… 😃 OK, this is really cheesy and only slightly before CGI… RoboCop ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/36 "2009-03-13T16:35:00Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I can’t believe no one (including me) has mentioned **King Kong** yet. As long as you mean the original one, and not one of the [pale imitations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_Lives). ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/37 "2009-03-13T16:49:13Z")
> [@Jelymag](#): > > 😃 > OK, this is really cheesy and only slightly before CGI… > > RoboCop Robocop had some great effects–but I always have a little laugh when the guy falls out of the building and waves his 5-foot long arms around. Seriously, his arms are almost as long as his whole body. You’d think they could’ve made that model a little better, given what they accomplished elsewhere–and it’s only, you know, the climax, but whatever 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/38 "2009-03-13T17:41:18Z")
Just the scenery in **The Dark Chrystal** already looks amazing with its walking bushes and waving plants. For those interested, see [the documentary](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79pKcLJfjqc) (which will utterly destroy some illusions, so beware!) ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/39 "2009-03-13T18:04:15Z")
I came in to mention \*\*\*Blade Runner \*\*\*and _ **Aliens** _, but I see I’ve been beaten to the punch already. 🙂 Another great movie effects-wise is The _ **Abyss** _, but since they used computers for some of the key scenes, it doesn’t really fit into the OP. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > **Independence Day** (even though the movie was mediocre, the effects were nice. You aren’t talking about \*\*\*Independence Day \*\*\*with Will Smith, are you? If so, I’m not sure how it could qualify as pre-CGI since most of the effects shots were at least partially computer-generated, even if they did also use other more traditional special effects like scale models and such. Agreed that the effects are quite impressive, but it’s still CGI. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248/40 "2009-03-13T18:36:51Z")
I caught a screening of [_San Francisco_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028216/trivia) on TCM and was astounded by the effects in the earthquake sequence. Just about as good as anything that could be made nowadays, and it was made in 1936! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-pre-cgi-movies-with-great-special-effects/489248.md?page=3)