My Cart - Today’s modern blockbuster science fiction movies are often heavily reliant on CGI to create eye-popping special effects, but there are plenty of visually stunning sci-fi films that were made long before CGI technology became the mainstay of the film industry.
Here’s our own rundown on classic movies with outstanding visual effects that still look absolutely amazing today; especially when you’re watching a high definition blu-ray edition!
Blade Runner (1982)
This science fiction film noir, based on the novel ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’ by acclaimed sci-fi author Phillip K Dick, was lauded at the time of its release for its unique and highly impressive visuals, and it still looks incredible today.
Amazing and intricate set design coupled with clever lighting techniques from director Ridley Scott helped to create the an especially dark and moody atmosphere that suited the subject matter perfectly.
However, one scene that’s had a long lasting impact thanks to revolutionary visual techniques is the flight through the grim futuristic cityscape of 2019 Los Angeles. The giant advertising billboards shown gleaming above the streets of the city have become iconic, as nothing quite like this had ever been seen at the time.
Alien (1979)
Another film from Ridley Scott, this was a genre-defining and astoundingly tense sci-fi horror that used a multitude of visual effects that are impressive today and were mind-blowing at the time.
Intensely detailed miniatures of spacecraft were created specifically for the scenes showing the exterior of the doomed Nostromo, along with bizarre alien architecture inside the wrecked ship where John Hurt encounters the alien eggs.
Surreal artist H.R. Geiger was heavily involved in the film, and he was consulted for all alien aspects of the film, actually airbrushing many of the set pieces himself. Of course, the most famous visual element of the film is the gruesome antagonist, designed by Geiger it has now become a true film icon. Ridley Scott specifically outlined that the alien was not to look like ‘a guy in a suit’, and he certainly got his wish!
Akira (1988)
Akira is a Japanese animated film, that visually and thematically actually borrows quite heavily from Blade Runner (just goes to show how influential the film was!). Unlike many other animated films being made in Japan at the time, the unusually high budget was spent wisely on extremely detailed hand-drawn animation that cut no corners.
Whereas Japanese animation at the time was notorious for slashing costs by limiting animation, for example having stationary characters with only their mouths moving, Akira changed this. The result is incredibly detailed characters and backgrounds with a superb fluidity to their animation.
Akira looks absolutely incredibly, even in HD. It’s truly mind boggling to think of the work that went into animating a film of such epic length by hand, and to such a high standard too!
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