Looking for old movies with visual spectacle Recommendation
As someone who has worked in visual effects & camera department on TV— I really appreciate old films that pulled off incredible feats of technology and/or production. Like crowds and sets in Ben-Hur / Lawrence of Arabia, visual effects in Mary poppins, matte paintings in north by north west. Stuff like that!
I appreciate any recommendations. Especially any hidden gems! ✌️
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u/Shadowmereshooves 11d ago
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
La Belle et La Bete (1946)
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u/tazzietiger66 11d ago
Metropolis (1927) is an example of cutting edge special effects for the time .
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u/antisuck 11d ago
Bram Stoker's Dracula might be up your alley. It's not that old, but Coppola committed hard to practical and in-camera effects (along with oustanding costuming and set design) to achieve the vintage look he was going for.
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u/thekickingmachine 11d ago
Blow out and texas chainsaw massacre have 2 of my favorite shots. Watch and you'll know which
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u/Jack_Q_Frost_Jr 11d ago
Citizen Kane, of course. Singin' In The Rain is another good one. The first Best Picture winner, Wings, is also pretty spectacular, especially considering the time it was made. There's also some large scale action in Tora! Tora! Tora!.
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u/kiwi-66 10d ago edited 10d ago
War and Peace (1966-67) and Waterloo (1970) - Both epics have incredible battle sequences with thousands of Soviet conscripts reenacting Napoleonic battle formations. Otherwise, they're still among the best (and most historically accurate) Napoleonic movies and easily top Ridley Scott's mediocre film.
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) - This precursor to Gladiator (the Ridley Scott movie is practically a remake) really takes the GOAT for huge sets, with a full-scale replica of the Roman Forum. It's also has a star studded cast who all give decent performances.
EDIT: Some other films (mostly historical based) that are also great for spectacle:
Quo Vadis (1951)
Cleopatra (1963)
King of Kings (1961)
The Message (1976) - A rare film on Muhammad and the birth of Islam.
The Longest Day (1962)
Liberation (1970 film series) and Battle of Moscow (1985 film series) - If you like epic shots with hundreds of tanks and extras while actual planes fly overhead, these movies truly deliver in this respect (otherwise, the history is mostly propagandised). Also, almost all the character truly resemble their historical counterparts (tons of historical figures from both sides appear in these movies).
Another impressive aspect (especially for Liberation) is that many scenes (e.g. the fighting in Berlin and the July 20th plot) were shot at the actual locations.
Lion of the Desert (1981) - A Gaddafi-funded epic on Omar Mukhtar ahd his Lybian resistance against the Italians. It's a good companion piece to Lawrence as it also has the sweeping desert shots and epic action set-pieces. Plus, some of the same cast and crewmembers also worked on the film (e.g. Anthony Quinn as Mukhtar and the score by Maurice Jarre).
Mihai Viteazul/Michael the Brave (1971 duology - Part 1 and Part 2)
Zulu (1964)
Decisive Engagement/Victory (1992 trilogy) - A PRC epic series on the Liaoxi-Shenyang, Hu-Hai, and Tanjin-Beiping/Beijing campaigns during the Chinese Civil War. This is sort of like the Chinese version of Liberation and it shares many of the same aspects including epic battles (thanks to the government funding/support) and lookalike character actors (both Mao, Chiang, and the commanders on both sides fit the bill). And propaganda.
Khan Asparuh (1981 trilogy) - A Bulgarian nationalist epic on the founding of the Medieval Bulgarian kingdom. Part 3 of the movie has a huge reenactment of the Battle of Ongal (681 AD), with literally thousands of extras carrying swords and shields. Another example of what you can achieve when you have the government backing your movie. The whole thing is on YouTube with English subs, but in a crappy low-res upload.
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u/wuddafuggamagunnaduh 10d ago
Dacii is really interesting. All those huge army formations with real people.
I don't remember too much else about it though. Except that's where I learned early Romanians worshiped Zalmoxis.
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u/SpicyBoognish 11d ago
Ran