Worst Special Effects in Movies

[p.falk]

What are some of the doozies for you?

Some historically goofy ones over the years:

Escape from LA (1996) - the surfing scene with Kurt Russell and Peter Fonda. It will get waved off saying "well, CGI in 1996.... what can you expect". Independence Day came out the same year and it looks much more believable than those two guys riding a wave of milk.


Sound of Thunder (2005) - Ran out of money during filming, allowing for some of the funniest looking dinosaurs and obvious greenscreen shots with actors walking on treadmills.


Here's the surfing scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDohpjD1jvA

[anawim]

Since SE are always improving, how far back are we talking? You want lousy SE, try Flash Gordon or Outer Limits (TV) and Forbidden Planet (Movie).

[p.falk]

I was thinking about that.

Like, by today's standards someone might chuckle at the special effects in the 1981 Clash of Titans... but for the time.

Maybe SE starting from the mid 90s to current.

[Riverboat]

Nothing beats the wobbly flying saucers in Plan 9 from Outer Space.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

IIRC, Star Trek: The Motion[less] Picture had some pretty cringeworthy special effects. That was 1979, but that's Star Wars era, so decent SFX were available. They didn't hire ILM, FWIW.

[Doom]

IIRC, Star Trek: The Motion[less] Picture had some pretty cringeworthy special effects. That was 1979, but that's Star Wars era, so decent SFX were available. They didn't hire ILM, FWIW.

ILM was not available for hire. It was inhibited by a shortened schedule, which required a release before it was done. But in 2001, for the DVD release, director Robert Wise was allowed to finish the effects, which got even better for the 4K release when it was completely remastered.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

It will never cease to amaze me that the same person directed both STMP and the Sound of Music.

[Doom]

It will never cease to amaze me that the same person directed both STMP and The Sound of Music.

And The Day The Earth Stood Still

I would say a bad screenplay was the biggest problem; even though it wasn't finished, it had no ending, so they had to come up with one on the fly. But I would say the biggest problem is trying to imitate the slow pace of 2001. I still think there is a decent movie there if they edited out about 30 minutes and increased the pacing. Definitely, preview screenings would have helped, but there was no time; the movie wasn't even screened for critics; it was being edited up to the last minute before release. If Paramount hadn't insisted on getting it into theaters in time for Christmas 1979, and allowed a release in spring 1980, it would have been a much better movie. But they were worried about competiting with The Empire Strikes Back

[Highlander]

Anything that Ray Harryhausen did. I know that is heresy. At the time I was astounded. Now I'm astounded that I was astounded.

[Doom]

Now that answer is just downright blasphemous, we'd barely have any special effects at all if not for his pioneering work in stop motion, it is what made everything else possible

[peregrinator]

Anything that Ray Harryhausen did. I know that is heresy. At the time I was astounded. Now I'm astounded that I was astounded.

Nah Jason and the Argonauts still looks amazing.

[Highlander]

I maintain my position. Harryhausen had the best special effects for the time. They were amazing for a 10 year old. However, given the criterion of the "Worst Special Effects in Moves" they were really bad.

[Doom]

No, even 60 years later, this still looks pretty decent. I've heard complaints that the skeletons are too slow, but how fast do you expect a skeleton to move?

https://youtu.be/H-pw7Nw6y4I?si=LQe9ZAZAmpERszgv

[Highlander]

This time, I don't agree with Doom.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I maintain my position. Harryhausen had the best special effects for the time. They were amazing for a 10 year old. However, given the criterion of the "Worst Special Effects in Moves" they were really bad.

I'm not sure judging them against current CGI is a fair standard. Please note that I am not agreeing with Doom.

[Doom]

The benefit of stop-motion compared to CGI is that it is possible to make a movie affordably. The original Star Wars trilogy cost less than $100 million to make, all three movies, using stop-motion. The Phantom Menace alone cost more than that to make; the difference was not due to inflation; CGI is extremely expensive. A big action movie today costs $200-$300 million, according to rumor; Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame cost nearly $1 billion. Ray Harryhausen could have made both of them for under $100 million.

When movies cost $300 million, Hollywood doesn't take chances; when they cost $10 million, because they use stop motion, those same producers feel comfortable doing something really crazy and unexpected, confident that even in the worst-case scenario, they won't bankrupt the entire studio, putting 10,000 people out of work and tank the stock price.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

The original Star Wars did use models extensively. I wasn't aware it used stop-motion. Teh interwebz tell me that the chess scene was stop motion. Was anything else?

[Highlander]

The original question addressed "Worst Special Effects in Movies" It didn't call for the worst special effects in movies mitigated by a great number of factors coupled with various financial and technological influences.

I have stated my opinion, chosen the hill to die on, made my stand, planted my flag, and drawn a line. I disagree with everyone.

A strangely comfortable place to be.

[Doom]

The original Star Wars did use models extensively. I wasn't aware it used stop-motion. Teh interwebz tell me that the chess scene was stop motion. Was anything else?

The Rancor, the tauntans, lots of little elements. The first movie did go way over budget, but that was largely due to things outside the control of anyone, including a severely damaging sandstorm in Tunisia standing in for Tatooine; it was a nightmarish shoot, which is why Lucas didn't direct another movie until The Phantom Menace. The other two movies actually came in a little under budget.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I missed where you said it was all three movies. My bad.