Since the Academy Award category for Visual Effects was first established in the 1960s, the winners have been highly anticipated as they represent the most exciting and groundbreaking technologies in filmmaking of the time. Indeed, looking at a list of past winners, it is jawdropping to see the leaps and bounds visual effects have made over the decades.
While the task of narrowing down the top 10 of all the past winners is near impossible, this list attempts to give an overview of the achievements in the field, highlight some of the effects that lay the groundwork for technologies we use now, and celebrate the films that were ahead of their time and continue wow filmmakers and audiences to this day. Check out these 10 movies that won an Oscar for Visual Effects and find out where you can stream them below!
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Few films have impacted the future of cinema as much as Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 1968 sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. With astonishing visual sequences like the opening ‘Dawn of Man’ and the ‘Star Gate’ sequence, Kubrick and his special effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull developed innovative techniques to achieve visuals that are still considered impressive to this day. In a time before CGI, Kubrick and Trumbull showed how far you can go with practical effects when you have incredible artistic skill, genius, craftsmanship, and a large budget at your disposal.
Alien (1979)
While some might argue that Aliens, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece, had even better effects and also won the Academy Award, the first Alien did the hard work of establishing the aesthetic from the start. From the design of the Nostromo ship by lead designer HR Giger, to the incredible costumes and puppets created by Carlo Rambaldi — alongside work by effects advisors Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Denys Ayling — Alien brought the genre of sci-fi to a whole new level both thematically and visually.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
From miniature models to puppet Tauntauns and holograms, The Empire Strikes Back is a masterclass in practical effects techniques. The sheer extent of the work involved in bringing George Lucas’s Star Wars universe to life in the original films — from concept to execution — is truly breathtaking. The Death Star, AT-ATs, TIE-fighters, and the Millennium Falcon were all painstakingly designed by hand — not to mention the costumes for characters like Jabba the Hutt, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Yoda. The first Star Wars also won the Oscar, as did Return of the Jedi, but The Empire Strikes Back truly has it all — except, sadly, the Ewoks. Hats are eternally off to the special effects team, including Joe Johnston (visual effects art director for miniature and optical effects), Richard Edlund (special visual effects co-supervisor), and Dennis Muren (director of photography for miniature and optical effects) for their creativity, craftsmanship, and dedication.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Dennis Muren, who was also on the special effects team for The Empire Strikes Back, lent his talents as visual effects supervisor to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. From the high-speed chases through Hong Kong to the human sacrifice scene in the temple itself, the scope alone of the visual effects for the film is an incredible achievement.
Jurassic Park (1993)
When you picture a dinosaur in your head, chances are that you’re envisioning one of the creatures from Jurassic Park. From the design of the park itself to the models for the dinosaurs, everything had to be conceptualised for the first time for Jurassic Park. The textures of the dinosaurs’ hides, their height, and their speed all had to be conjured up using paleontological information from the time and more than a healthy dose of fantasy for some extra entertainment flare. While we may now know that many of these creatures were actually covered in feathers, there’s no doubt that the scaly visuals from Jurassic Park remain firmly embedded in our imaginations.
Independence Day (1996)
Who doesn’t have the image of the White House being blown to bits by an alien ship engrained somewhere in their minds? The iconic visuals from Independence Day were designed by Volker Engel and his team, who used a combination of miniature models and CG to create anything from the dogfights to the Mother Ship explosion.
Titanic (1997)
Mark Lasoff, the visual effect supervisor for Titanic, created a series of illusions that made the sinking of that fated ship into a realistic and devastating drama. Using a combination of miniatures, digital images, motion capture, and practical effects the visual effects team were able to realistically portray the ship’s collision with the iceberg and its descent into freezing waters. While the sinking alone was impressive, the set design, costumes, and dedication to accurately depicting the time makes the film a wonder to watch — even by today’s standards.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lord of the Rings films were a huge feat in visual effects innovations, and by the time the Return of the King was released they had been even more refined. The Lord of the Rings’ visual effects studio, Weta Digital, popularised the use of some groundbreaking technologies, including the use of motion-capture using a live actor. Most famously, Andy Serkis’ portrayal of Gollum resulted in many behind-the-scenes images of him in a skin-tight lycra suit, covered in little dots, and was subject to much deliberation about if his performance could be nominated for an Oscar when he did not technically appear on screen.
Avatar (2009)
Weta — the company in charge of the visual effects in Avatar — built off of their innovations in making the Lord of the Rings films to take the art of real-life motion capture and CGI to a whole new level that had never been seen before. The level of detail, not to mention the scale of the production, made Avatar an impressive achievement for the time. While the technologies used in Avatar are now somewhat outdated, they have only been improved, and continue to be improved in the recent and future Avatar sequels like The Way of Water.
Dune (2021)
Director Denis Villeneuve worked alongside VFX supervisor Paul Lambert, and DNEG VFX supervisors Tristan Myles and Brian Connor to create the hyper-realistic, larger than life world of Dune. Bringing Frank Herbert’s novels to life meant introducing wide expanses of desert landscape populated by giant worms — not to mention the location designs and the creation of the Ornithopters (the dragonfly-like aircraft) — all of which came together to create a flawless, highly immersive world.
Honourable Mentions
With the Visual Effects category first debuting at the 36th Academy Awards in 1964, the list of films that have won the prize is extensive and impressive. Some of those films deserving a further shoutout include Cleopatra, Mary Poppins, King Kong, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Forrest Gump, Babe, Gladiator, Inception, Interstellar, and Blade Runner 2049, amongst others.
Where to watch the best movies to win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects movies streaming online
Find out how (and where) to stream the best movies to win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects online by scrolling down to the list below. The films are all available to stream online across a variety of platforms in the United Kingdom, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ITVX and more!
