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Time Out NY's Fifty 'Most Special Effects' of All-Time List of Movies

by Alex Billington
August 14, 2011
Source: Time Out NY

Now this is quite an intriguing list. Time Out NY recently published (via RopeofSilicon) what they dubbed the "50 most special effects of all time," which, I think, just means they've ranked the 50 movies that had the best special effects. Their only description is that it's a ranking of "the most awe-inducing moments of our dreams and nightmares." Okay, bring it on. These include all special effects, not just visual effects, so that means it has everything from King Kong to Them! to 2001: A Space Odyssey to Matrix and everything inbetween. As I said, it's quite a list, so check out the article. We've posted the full list below for discussion.

Here's the "50 most special effects of all time" as organized from top to bottom for discussion purposes. I suggest going through them on Time Out's site, as they have photos and info for each one. Here they are:

50. Them! (1954)
49. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
48. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
47. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
46. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)
45. Poltergeist (1982)
44. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
43. The Invisible Man (1933)
42. The Fly (1986)
41. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
40. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
39. The Birds (1963)
38. Planet of the Apes (1968)
37. Anchors Aweigh (1945)
36. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
35. Superman (1978)
34. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
33. Forrest Gump (1994)
32. The Exorcist (1973)
31. Tron (1982)
30. Bwana Devil (1952)
29. Avatar (2009)
28. The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
27. Vertigo (1982)
26. Babe (1995)
25. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
24. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
23. Jurassic Park (1993)
22. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
21. Dead Ringers (1988)
20. The Thing (1982)
19. The Ten Commandments (1956)
18. Scanners (1981)
17. Godzilla (1954)
16. Star Wars (1977)
15. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
14. The Muppet Movie (1979)
13. The Matrix (1999)
12. Forbidden Planet (1956)
11. Zelig (1983)
10. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
9. Metropolis (1927)
8. Blade Runner (1982)
7. The Abyss (1989)
6. Jaws (1975)
5. King Kong (1933)
4. Alien (1979)
3. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
1. A Trip to the Moon (1902)

This is a very comprehensive list. As Brad at RopeofSilicon points out, they have a film or two from pretty much every decade since film was around, obviously starting with the #1 pick, A Trip to the Moon (which you can watch on YouTube). I'm surprised to see Two Towers on there (but I get that was because it was the first introduction of Gollum) and also surprised to even see Saving Private Ryan at all, but again, that does make sense in terms of special effects. "It's worth noting that even in one of [Spielberg's] most realistic, historically rooted efforts, the effects were groundbreaking." There's a quick bit of commentary on each film if you run down the entire list over on Time Out NY, so go through that to see what they said for each one.

Are there any key movies or special effects missing? What do you think of this "all time" list?

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