The 10 Most Groundbreaking Special Effects In Cinema

From the moment movies were invented, filmmakers have tried to wow audiences and shove them right through the big screen into unknown places.

The medium might be an art form capable of the most esoteric and confounding brain-tickling, but what always tends to put the most asses in seats is pure spectacle.

So, from the earliest days of folks making projects with movie cameras, special effects have fascinated filmmakers and filmgoers alike. 

10. Gravity (2013)

 It might seem a bit strange to include a movie that was only just released on this list, but once you see Gravity, you'll understand. What director Alfonso Cuaron managed to achieve with his breathlessly entertaining feature is the single most stunningly realistic depiction of space travel to ever play in a theater, and a film-going experience so immersive that it almost feels like a theme park ride.

For audiences too cynical for Avatar’s simplistic charms, this is the movie that will prove 3D and IMAX are more than just ticket-inflating buzzwords. In the hands of the right filmmaker, even roller-coaster special effects spectacle can be art. A film that needs to be seen to be believed and watched on the biggest possible screen to properly experienced. Some audience members will feel sick from the movie, but for once, that will qualify as a compliment for effective filmmaking and not the result of shaky cam gone wrong.

9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1998)

Combining 2D animation with live actors had been done decades before Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but no one ever did it as well or as seamlessly as Robert Zemeckis managed in this ludicrously entertaining feature. In a way, Zemeckis even invented modern effects filmmaking by shooting Bob Hoskins alone against a blue screen for his visit to Toon Town. At the time, it seemed like an experiment doomed to fail, but now it’s how most Hollywood effects flicks are made.

Regardless, the film still looks incredible and will remain unique forever for a number of reasons. Firstly, hand drawn animation is all but dead, so any combination of actors and cartoons will never be that pure again. And secondly, the film came along at a point when classic cartoons were so unpopular that Steven Spielberg was able to talk Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM into combining their classic cartoon characters into a single world. Good luck ever getting Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny on the screen together again.

8. A Trip To The Moon (1902)

Best known today as “the movie by that old guy from Scorsese’s Hugo,” A Trip to the Moon was beyond mind-boggling when it played for audiences at the start of the 20th century. At the time, viewers were still prone to ducking under their seats at the sight of a train on the big screen. But magician-turned-director Georges Melies saw more potential in early cinema than just filming everyday life. He turned the medium into one of illusion, and never more profoundly than in this early gem that fired a collection of goofy French stereotypes to the moon in a bullet. The effects were revolutionary, and still have the ability to cause wows thanks to Melies’ ingenious simplicity. If you only know the iconic image of the moon face with a bullet its eye, do yourself a favor and watch the entire clip above. At the risk of sounding silly, it’s absolutely magical.