Star Wars opening 'Best Special Effect'

[CBright7831 0]

Star Wars opening 'best special effect'

 

09/01/2005 - 10:42:41

 

The opening scene from Star Wars has been voted the best special effect in cinema history.

 

The first glimpse of the colossal Imperial Star Destroyer still has film fans awe-struck nearly 30 years after it was first seen.

 

The 1977 classic beat competition from state-of-the-art modern movies including The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Matrix.

 

In a galaxy far, far away, a rebel ship races into the distance pursued by blasts of gun fire.

 

Then its pursuer comes into view – a ship so vast that it took moviegoers’ breath away when the film first hit the big screen.

 

It topped a poll conducted by SFX magazine to find the greatest ever special effect.

 

“Star Wars winning the best special effects sequence ever shows just how significant the film is to movie fans,” said SFX editor Dave Golder.

 

“Even now, nothing beats the feeling you get when you see this huge flying spaceship coming across the screen – which is breathtakingly enormous.

 

“It was the Big Bang of modern special effects, redefining the way space ships should look on the big screen.”

 

Most of the special effects in the top 10 were from older films.

 

The climax of 1933 classic King Kong, in which the giant ape climbs the Empire State Building with Fay Wray, was second.

 

Third was the gruesome moment in The Thing (1982) in which a severed head sprouts spider’s legs.

 

The skeleton fight sequence from 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts - ground-breaking in its day – was fourth.

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s shift-shaping nemesis T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, played by Robert Patrick, came fifth, followed by the Krell machinery in 1956 hit Forbidden Planet.

 

Gollum from Lord of the Rings, the computer-generated character based on British actor Andy Serkis, was seventh.

 

The Matrix “bullet time” effect, in which time appears to slow, came eighth.

 

Ninth was the famous scene in which an Alien bursts out of John Hurt’s chest.

 

The most recent film to make the list was last year’s Spider-Man 2, in which Spidey fought evil Doc Ock aboard a speeding train.

 

The predominance of older films comes as no surprise to Golder.

 

“I’m not at all surprised that film fans are rejecting the modern reliance on CGI (computer-generated imagery) for special effects,” he said.

 

“Film fans aren’t against progress and there are many occasions in films like Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings where CGI really gives a new dimension you just couldn’t bring with traditional methods.

 

“On the other hand, there is nothing as satisfying in seeing a film with a massive special effects bill like the recent Van Helsing being thrashed by a 70-year-old stuffed gorilla.”

 

The February issue of SFX magazine is on sale from January 19.

 

Top 10 Special Effects:

 

1 Star Wars – opening shot (1977)

 

2 King Kong – climax (1933)

 

3 The Thing – spider head (1982)

 

4 Jason and the Argonauts – the skeletons (1963)

 

5 Terminator 2: Judgment Day – the T-1000 (1991)

 

6 Forbidden Planet – Krell machinery (1956)

 

7 The Lord of the Rings trilogy – Gollum (2001-2003)

 

8 The Matrix – bullet-time (1999)

 

9 Alien – chest burster (1979)

 

10 Spider-Man 2 – train fight (2004)

 

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/s...452&p=yz9793y58

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

Bullet time should be higher. Even in this CGI-filled age, it was revolutionary and changed the way special effects are viewed.

[BUTT 0]

But the Matrix didn't start bullet time. I actually saw it in a Coolio video two years before the movie came out.

[CBright7831 0]

And what Coolio video was this?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Jurassic Park should be on the list. It doesn't hold up that well today, but it was the first time CGI was ever used in a feature film to create realistic living creatures. It certainly deserves to be above Terminator.

[SuperJerk 0]

Jurrasic Park has held up very well, even 12 years later, the dinosaurs still look real to me.

 

 

The STAR WARS opening itself was a rip-off of the big reveal shot of the Discovery in "2001", except the Discovery was moving slower and wasn't shooting at a smaller ship.

[BUTT 0]

And what Coolio video was this?

"See You When You Get There"

[CBright7831 0]

Those were just the top 10 on the list. There's 40 more in the magazine.

 

Surely to God, Jurassic Park has to be on there.

[eiker_ir 0]

indeed, Jurassic Park still looks way better than most of the CGI in recent movies. When i got it on DVD a few months ago i was surprised at how well it still looked.

[Nighthawk 0]

What a bunch of bullshit. The best special effect was the dude getting hit by the truck in Bride of Chucky.

[Black Lushus 0]

shouldn't the Abyss be on there rather than T2? wasn't it the precursor to that effect?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

shouldn't the Abyss be on there rather than T2?  wasn't it the precursor to that effect?

Yes, and I believe to an extent Young Sherlock Holmes. But the real big breakthrough was Jurassic Park.

 

Jurrasic Park has held up very well, even 12 years later, the dinosaurs still look real to me.

 

Most of the time, yes. But the Gallimimus stampede looks really bad today, and it kind of sticks with me and the original Brachiosaur isn't as good as it used to be. The stuff at night and indoors looks great. But I thought overall the effects in the sequel were much better.

[NoCalMike 0]

I am excited that The Thing was so high on the list.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I'll take the old-school SFX over any of the new CGI stuff 7 days a week. Even the best of the new CGI effects look to fake to me. I'd rather have something that's less believable looking than something that tries to be more believable but fails in the process.

[Black Lushus 0]

Caveman=top notch FX!

[NoCalMike 0]

Is the transformation scene from "An American Werewolf in London" on the list?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

MACHA