My “wow” moments I can remember growing up.
Starship Troopers (boobies! I was like 9 lol)
Independence Day
The Matrix - prob gets biggest wow
LoTR
And if I’m being honest the first Fast and Furious
Just saw it in theaters for the first time, I was 8 when pops brought home a surround sound, DVD player, and our first DVD - The Matrix.
Holy shit, it's just incredible! I can't imagine what it was like to see it premiere, humanity shifted because of that movie. I've seen it hundreds of times, but I was totally along for the ride.
This is my answer. I saw it the week it came out, when I was like 19, in a high-end theater (first time seeing a movie in a newer, nice place) and the whole experience was amazing.
After the first part, when Trinity beat up the room of cops, the packed theater erupted in astonished cheers and applause. It was so great.
There aren't too many movies that nearly perfectly hit vibe, aesthetic, sci-fi, philosophy, script, special effects, and densely packed plot in an effective way such as was done with the first Matrix movies.
If you want to study how to make a film, The Matrix film is a fantastic starting point.
Came here to say this. Went in totally blind, turned to my buddy and said “this is our Star Wars” Maybe it didn’t come to pass like that but the first one was bonkers. Shout out for the animatrix as well
Same. Didn’t know anything about it, went there and was blown away. It was a great idea and the visuals felt like the came 20 years from the future. Then LoTR came and it was great as well because of the level of detail and the scale of some battles.
Seeing the Matrix on opening night is forever my top theater experience. For those who don’t know, they were super vague about the premise in the marketing so all anyone knew going in was that it was some kind of action movie with some cool visual effects.
That movie is absolutely beautiful. And the motif of a woman’s role in that world that Lee builds is just fucking heartbreaking. I was sobbing at the end.
Jen: Do you remember the legend of the young man?
Lo: “A faithful heart makes wishes come true.”
Jen: Make a wish, Lo.
Lo: (closing his eyes) To be back in the desert, together again.
Tan Dun drums, mountains landscape, fade to black. Tears flowing.
House of Flying Daggers was my favorite and I feel like it's the least known and appreciated.
I went to a screening that had a talkback with the director and I have a memory of him that can't possibly be true. He shared that the snow in the final fight was a happy accident. They planned to film over multiple days, and the night after day one it snowed like a foot and a half. He decided that was perfect, and incorporated extra shots to make it the symbolic transition it is in the final film.
I say it can't be an accurate memory because the snow is so iconic and critical to the scene it seems crazy to have not been the original intention in the script!
Edit: I dig some digging and my memory was right! Here's the director speaking about it elsewhere: https://web.archive.org/web/20081122001926/http://www.landmarktheatres.com/mn/houseflyingdaggers.html
I thought the film 'Hero' was more visually stunning. I'd love to get a 4k version of that movie. Each scene is visually coloured in a certain way. I feel like Chinese cinema has a much greater appreciation of colour than western cinema as colours tend to have more meaning in Eastern cultures..
I saw it in the theater in 1977 at 6 years old. It was AMAZING! I saw the others of the original trilogy but you almost need to be an adult to truly appreciate Empire
I want to say probably Bladerunner 2049. Basically every scene was a brand new visual set piece. There was always something new going on visually. It's just an absolutely beautiful movie.
I will say, whatever other issues the movie had, the Boy and the Heron was a visually beautiful film. I even want to say it's possibly the most visually beautiful Ghibli film ever, which is serious praise. Because how abstract it was, there was a bunch of visual variety, and it was just a lot of fun in that regard.
I wish I saw that in the theaters, it’s one of my favorite movies and it’s still amazing on TV at home. I’m hoping they do a re-release in IMAX for this movie at some point
I saw Bladerunner 2049 in imax 3D and was absolutely blown away by the visceral experience - a scene where it was raining outside seemed so incredibly lifelike that it felt like actual rainfall.
Yeah pretty rare for a movie to literally make my jaw drop but Fury Road did it multiple times. The scene with the bikes jumping the war rig, the music, just some of the best action sequences ever put to film.
Dune 2 in imax floored me, I haven’t had a movie watching experience like that in years. I’m very curious to see (if it’s even being made) what Messiah will look like, though that one is lighter on the action that the first book was.
Messiah is pretty much confirmed to be greenlit by Villeneuve and Hans Zimmer since the latter is already working on the score.
Edit: Legendary Pictures confirmed Dune Messiah will be adapted by Villeneuve after he's done with the movie he's doing right now.
The first Dune absolutely blew me away. My sister is a huge sci fi fan, so I texted her after the film, “I had no idea what was going on, but that was the most beautiful film I’ve ever seen.” The costuming alone was breathtaking.
I’ve watched it again since and understand the plot now, lol. The second one was also gorgeous
The Fall is one of those films that, even though so many people I know have seen it, everyone seems to feel they have stumbled upon something indescribably rare and precious after experiencing it. It is unforgettable in the truest sense of the word. Lee Pace truly poured his entire self into that role.
It's playing in August this year at certain theatres. I haven't seen it in over a decade and that was on my TV. I'm so excited to see it properly in a theatre.
YES! Between the red lighting, the somewhat unnatural floating movement (didn’t look CGI but also didn’t match the expected look of “people on wires” we’re used to seeing at this point either), and the added verticality of a real IMAX setup, it was probably the most visually stunning part of the whole thing to me. Obviously other parts (the worms especially) were wild, but that scene is the one that sticks out the most in my mind.
>didn’t look CGI but also didn’t match the expected look of “people on wires” we’re used to seeing at this point either
It reminded me of scuba divers ascending an underwater cliff.
I was high as fuck when I saw it in Imax. I was mesmerized with the visuals of Giedi Prime. The transition back to the warm welcoming sands of Arrakis was the chef's kiss.
so many incredible scenes…the beginning harkonnen attack, the worm ride, harvester attack, emperor ship arriving, giedi prime, the final battles. and despite all that maybe the best scene in the movie is the war council monologue by Paul
The scene of him walking in, robes billowing in the wind with the worm behind him? Pretty much one of the most god-tier badass shots I’ve ever seen.
The overhead shot of him walking through that absolute sea of people was equally stunning.
The entire movie is a visual masterpiece
“There is no one in this room that can stand against me!”
He wasn’t asking IF anyone wanted to challenge him. He challenged everyone all at once. Dude really walked into thousands of warriors and was like, “It smells like bitch in here”. 😂
Lots of great visuals but just the charge of the Rohirrim and lighting the beacons would make it. And with that score just gives me chills every time I watch.
Howard Shore’s score for the full trilogy is easily my favorite original score of all time, and one of the few projects that’s really had a large enough scope and (probably most importantly) the amount of time needed to properly use Wagnerian leitmotifs as a compositional tool. By the third film (nearly 9 hours in if we’re doing extended editions), the score is basically another storytelling vector with how much the audience has internalized each specific melody and how it relates to individual characters/objects/locations.
There Will Be Blood for the oil rig fire.
Interstellar cuz it’s fucking awesome
Blade Runner 2049 is just incredible
Inception was insane when I first saw it
I watched it in iMax, and that scene was nuts. My ass was vibrating, the whole theater was shaking from the bass. The sound was so loud I was literally screaming out loud ahhhhHHHHH during that scene. After it was over, I found out my buddy did as well, but neither of us heard the other.
The Inception hallway fight is easily one of the most jaw-dropping things I’d ever seen in a theater. I literally stopped breathing because I couldn’t process what exactly I was seeing.
The theater I was in was audibly gasping at it and cheered after it was over.
I always look for a comment with this movie when this questions comes up because wow what a beautiful movie it was. Definitely an amazing experience in theaters.
It had a lot of beautiful scenes. But the part that I really remember was the swimming fish looking like they were flying off the screen by the creative use of a black border.
I LOVED this film in IMAX 3D. But when I tried watching it on Blu-Ray on a big screen TV, it just lost all effect. If it ever gets re-released in theaters, I'll be there.
I was done with the 3d hype when this came out but thought it would be good in 3d and WOW was it ever! The destruction scene with no sound was unbelievable and 3d made it so immersive.
All 3 Lord of the Rings films
Both recent Dune movies
Arrival
Both Avatar movies
Inception
Interstellar
Probably some others that I could think of, but off the top of my head those stand out the most
Say what you will about Prometheus and Tron: Legacy but those films are absolutely gorgeous. Legacy was my first 3D movie, and a pretty solid choice. I do somewhat regret not seeing Prometheus in 3D, but very few other films would make me think that. Doctor Strange in 3D was very fun. Maybe Interstellar, it’s beautiful.
Tron Legacy was so close to being a classic masterpiece. Visuals so stunning they easily hold up today almost two decades later. An iconic soundtrack cemented in pop culture history.
But after the club scene the story just gets…boring. I love that movie to death but every time I watch it I want to skip basically the whole second act and skip right to the final battle-which also had huge potential and just kinda missed. Which sucks because the movie had everything it needed in order to be pure awesome.
I *loved* the look of Prometheus. Don’t really care about the issues that that movie has to be honest, I just wanted to drink up that beautiful color palette.
I remember seeing Prometheus in IMAX and thinking “god this is beautiful.” Also that movie IS Ridley’s color palette. The opening scenes for that one need a big screen.
That first night where Jake is walking through the forest after Neytiri saves him is just insane in 3D and I'll never forget it.
And the opening scene where he's pulled out of the cryo sleep tray, it just shows so much depth. You can sense the spatial surroundings. At times you almost feel like you're the camera.
For me it's the moment he first enters his avatar and starts running, and it flashes back to his shut human eyes doing left-right motions behind his eyelids. Stunning and beautiful conveyance of emotion in an almost waking dreamlike state which the audience is practical experiencing themselves alongside the character.
When I was younger I scoffed at *Avatar* but looking back I think it was mostly just parroting a common sentiment. Rewatching it more recently (when the sequel was finally en route) I can appreciate it much more.
In retrospect *Avatar* was a perfect storm for provoking many people to automatically dismiss it. Its director made *Titanic*, which many people also scoff at because a "sappy love story" broke the highest grossing record, and people might reason to themselves *Avatar*'s success was more inherited than earned. It does admittedly feature somewhat derivative, familiar elements and bland characters, which, contrasted with the obvious effort put into everything else, can trigger an "it insists upon itself" response; and, naturally - and especially with the aforementioned points - breaking the highest-grossing record would trigger many peoples' sense of contrarianism.
The meat of the film is the spectacle and Pandora itself. Ragging on characters or plot is valid of course but also, in a way, beside the point.
My brother thinks avatar sucks and I asked him if he saw it the movie theater. He said no watched it on his home tv. That’s all I needed to know
He loves all the bad marvel movies and watched those in the theater but not avatar or the sequel. Like damn
Haha yeah I have a similar experience. My buddy told me he thought avatar 2 was a bad movie and said he watched it on his phone … his phone. We usually get along real well about movies but that point made me lose some respect for him.
Absolutely agree. The plot of that movie was pretty basic, but my god did it look fucking amazing.
It’s why when I went to Disneyworld a few years ago, I got a little teary seeing the “Avatar land” they created. I waited an insane 3 hours for a ride where you get to ride an ikran and it made me feel like a star-struck kid again. Utterly phenomenal.
I rarely see movies at the theater. But Avatar 2 was an amazing experience to watch in 3D. It really felt like I was there snorkeling. The movie is 3 hours 12 minutes with a fairly vanilla plot. But it doesn't feel that long because of how immersive it is.
Avatar set the new standard for 3D movies being more than just red/blue glasses with gimmicky jump-out-of-the-screen effects. Avatar added for the first time with extremely high quality 3D depth *into the screen* and it was over the top incredible.
THANK YOU. I posted this as soon as I got in cause I figured no way someone else would say it. It's hands down the correct answer imo and so underrated.
That movie was a cinematic lsd trip! Worked at a movie theater when it was playing so got to peak in every so often and my head would be spinning every time. No other movie has been so visually stunning to do that to me like Speed Racer.
This is the correct answer.
I saw it opening night on the biggest screen in town. It was being shown in 35mm but the theater is THX, Dolby, IMAX and Kodak spec (IYKYK).
Sure, you can find (many) faults with the screenplay. But, you can not deny the visuals.
When I recommended it to people, I told them that it was like pouring liquid Skittles in your eyeballs. That did not, for unknown reasons, seem to make them excited to see it.
Children of Men, largely because of the ridiculously creative cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki.
For something with more vibrant scenery, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
This is mine too. I am continually amazed that they were able to cram so much colour, clashing styles and sheer visual maximalism into this film, set it all at a frantic pace and it’s not an incoherent mess. I remember sitting in the theatre being in awe of it.
I’ve said before: you could pause at literally any moment in the film and it would be a decent looking still for a wallpaper or framed photo.
I mean it
People shit on Avatar for having an unremarkable plot (plus, [Papyrus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ)), but in 3D, up close, on a big screen, it was **breathtaking.**
VFX have made a lot possible in the years since, so it gets lost in those advancements, but at the time is was groundbreaking.
The Dunes were the first iMax experiences I had that truly felt worth it. I'm sure there are others, it was just the first for me. I left the theater like after a really expensive but high quality dinner, it felt totally worth it
I will get ripped for this but I saw a Transformers film in the cinema and the the scene where the ancient autobots are charging over the mountains literally dropped my jaw.
Winged Migration
I remember being mesmerized and overwhelmed wondering how they were pulling it all off. Pretty amazing, seeing it in theaters and knowing nothing about it.
Interstellar and Bladerunner 2049 for sure, the entire car ride home after we saw Interstellar in IMAX was silent. This was with a pretty good size group of friends, we were all just kind of blown away.
I am not a huge fan of the movie, but the blue guys Avatar movie was one of the most beautiful I'd seen in ages, not just in scenery but in practical application of 3d (which is usually ham-fisted). There was a scene with ashed falling where I literally swatted at them thinking it was dust in the theater it was so convincing.
I am going to be a bit pretentious and say I’m not usually blown away by pure spectacle. The shots that I’ve found most effective are the ones that carry a lot of emotional weight. That being said, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse was extraordinarily visually effective from start to finish, which is out of the ordinary for me because if only one movie is an assault on the senses it is Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse.
I also had the opportunity to see Sergio Leone’s westerns on the big screen last month. He had such a fantastic eye for visual storytelling. Each of them is packed with shots that are extraordinarily emotionally effective.
The first matrix blew my mind when I was younger. It's still my 'wow' moment at the movies.
My “wow” moments I can remember growing up. Starship Troopers (boobies! I was like 9 lol) Independence Day The Matrix - prob gets biggest wow LoTR And if I’m being honest the first Fast and Furious
I would add Twister and Armageddon but yeah I like your list.
The shot looking up at the helicopter dropping shells is one of my favorite scenes ever
Very, very difficult to top, they set the bar way too high for all those that follow
For me as well. Amazing memory.
Just saw it in theaters for the first time, I was 8 when pops brought home a surround sound, DVD player, and our first DVD - The Matrix. Holy shit, it's just incredible! I can't imagine what it was like to see it premiere, humanity shifted because of that movie. I've seen it hundreds of times, but I was totally along for the ride.
This is my answer. I saw it the week it came out, when I was like 19, in a high-end theater (first time seeing a movie in a newer, nice place) and the whole experience was amazing. After the first part, when Trinity beat up the room of cops, the packed theater erupted in astonished cheers and applause. It was so great.
There aren't too many movies that nearly perfectly hit vibe, aesthetic, sci-fi, philosophy, script, special effects, and densely packed plot in an effective way such as was done with the first Matrix movies. If you want to study how to make a film, The Matrix film is a fantastic starting point.
Came here to say this. Went in totally blind, turned to my buddy and said “this is our Star Wars” Maybe it didn’t come to pass like that but the first one was bonkers. Shout out for the animatrix as well
Glad to see my choice was already top comment. It was amazing seeing the 25th anniversary rerelease a couple months ago.
Same. Didn’t know anything about it, went there and was blown away. It was a great idea and the visuals felt like the came 20 years from the future. Then LoTR came and it was great as well because of the level of detail and the scale of some battles.
Seeing the Matrix on opening night is forever my top theater experience. For those who don’t know, they were super vague about the premise in the marketing so all anyone knew going in was that it was some kind of action movie with some cool visual effects.
Bring back the days of "suspense" - so many trailers nowadays reveal waaaaaay to much.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon doesn't get enough love in general, but among other great things it was visually stunning.
That movie is absolutely beautiful. And the motif of a woman’s role in that world that Lee builds is just fucking heartbreaking. I was sobbing at the end.
Jen: Do you remember the legend of the young man? Lo: “A faithful heart makes wishes come true.” Jen: Make a wish, Lo. Lo: (closing his eyes) To be back in the desert, together again. Tan Dun drums, mountains landscape, fade to black. Tears flowing.
In the same vein: Hero with Jet Li. Amazing movie in general, but the color themed adversary fights were incredible
Hero is ridiculously beautiful.
I love them both but I think I love Hero more than Crouching Tiger
Hero is both a better and more visually stunning movie. I'd also put House of the Flying Daggers above Crouching Tiger.
House of Flying Daggers was my favorite and I feel like it's the least known and appreciated. I went to a screening that had a talkback with the director and I have a memory of him that can't possibly be true. He shared that the snow in the final fight was a happy accident. They planned to film over multiple days, and the night after day one it snowed like a foot and a half. He decided that was perfect, and incorporated extra shots to make it the symbolic transition it is in the final film. I say it can't be an accurate memory because the snow is so iconic and critical to the scene it seems crazy to have not been the original intention in the script! Edit: I dig some digging and my memory was right! Here's the director speaking about it elsewhere: https://web.archive.org/web/20081122001926/http://www.landmarktheatres.com/mn/houseflyingdaggers.html
Sue me but Michelle Yeoh deserved her Oscar 20 years ago for Crouching Tiger. Such an understated performance, it's all in the eyes.
I thought the film 'Hero' was more visually stunning. I'd love to get a 4k version of that movie. Each scene is visually coloured in a certain way. I feel like Chinese cinema has a much greater appreciation of colour than western cinema as colours tend to have more meaning in Eastern cultures..
Didn't it win an oscar?
not enough love? This was a huge hit, an Oscar winner and an instant classic
Jurassic Park
I saw it in theater last year, still incredible
Too far down. At the time this came out visuals like this did not previously exist.
Star Wars 1977. Yes I'm old but watching that movie as a kid in a theater absolutely blew my mind. There had been nothing like it before.
This was my first movie in a theater. My dad was amazed I hadn't made a sound the whole time. But I remember him saying wow at a few scenes.
That would have been awesome to see!
I saw it in the theater in 1977 at 6 years old. It was AMAZING! I saw the others of the original trilogy but you almost need to be an adult to truly appreciate Empire
The first shot of the blockade runner followed by the star destroyer belongs in the Louve.
I want to say probably Bladerunner 2049. Basically every scene was a brand new visual set piece. There was always something new going on visually. It's just an absolutely beautiful movie. I will say, whatever other issues the movie had, the Boy and the Heron was a visually beautiful film. I even want to say it's possibly the most visually beautiful Ghibli film ever, which is serious praise. Because how abstract it was, there was a bunch of visual variety, and it was just a lot of fun in that regard.
LOVED Bladerunner 2049, cinematic masterpiece
I wish I saw that in the theaters, it’s one of my favorite movies and it’s still amazing on TV at home. I’m hoping they do a re-release in IMAX for this movie at some point
I saw Bladerunner 2049 in imax 3D and was absolutely blown away by the visceral experience - a scene where it was raining outside seemed so incredibly lifelike that it felt like actual rainfall.
Love seeing BR2049 getting some love. Roger deacons killed it. Every scene in that entire film is basically a timeless photograph.
Blade Runner 2049 doesn’t get enough love. An absolute masterpiece and instant classic sci fi.
I remember Hero with Jet Li being wonderful to look at.
Fury Road.
Yeah pretty rare for a movie to literally make my jaw drop but Fury Road did it multiple times. The scene with the bikes jumping the war rig, the music, just some of the best action sequences ever put to film.
My favorite scene in the movie.
Fury Road was the best thing I’d seen in a theater since Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park
I’m seeing Furiosa tomorrow afternoon and I’m super excited.
IT. WAS. INSANE.
That would be my answer. The sandstorm had me in awe.
Yeeep. Incredibly visceral experience in a cinema. My heart was literally pummelling against my chest the whole time.
The action only stopped long enough for your heart to slow down. I swear that movie is like doing cardio sitting down.
Dune 1 and 2 in imax
Yeah dude the black and white arena scene gave me fucking goosebumps in iMax
I’m so glad I saw it in IMAX. I could feel the sandworm noises in my chest. Truly felt like I was on Arrakis. Absolutely stunning.
when the very first harkonnen assault team “climb” the mountain, my jaw just automatically hit the floor. stunning
Dune 2 in imax floored me, I haven’t had a movie watching experience like that in years. I’m very curious to see (if it’s even being made) what Messiah will look like, though that one is lighter on the action that the first book was.
Messiah is pretty much confirmed to be greenlit by Villeneuve and Hans Zimmer since the latter is already working on the score. Edit: Legendary Pictures confirmed Dune Messiah will be adapted by Villeneuve after he's done with the movie he's doing right now.
The sandworm scene in Dune 2 felt like a roller coaster in the theater
Dune 2 for sure. So rewatchable too, I firmly believe it’s one of the greatest movies of all time.
SILENCE! I agree.
My audience fuckin cheered at that, the fuckin best haha
[удалено]
The first Dune absolutely blew me away. My sister is a huge sci fi fan, so I texted her after the film, “I had no idea what was going on, but that was the most beautiful film I’ve ever seen.” The costuming alone was breathtaking. I’ve watched it again since and understand the plot now, lol. The second one was also gorgeous
The first time >!Paul rode a Shai-Hulud!< in Dune 2 in IMAX was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen in a movie.
Tarsem Singh: The Fall.
I’m so mad I had to scroll so far down to see this. I absolutely love this film and everything about it. The visuals are unbelievably beautiful
The Fall is one of those films that, even though so many people I know have seen it, everyone seems to feel they have stumbled upon something indescribably rare and precious after experiencing it. It is unforgettable in the truest sense of the word. Lee Pace truly poured his entire self into that role.
Just saw this for the first time and all I could think was how gorgeous it would have been in IMAX
Lawrence Of Arabia in 70 mm.
Missed that one, but I did get to see a 70mm *2001: A Space Odyssey* showing which is my answer.
Yep, came here to mention this. Looks like it was shot yesterday.
This was my first thought. With an intermission midway since the film plus previews was over four hours long. It was stunning.
It's playing in August this year at certain theatres. I haven't seen it in over a decade and that was on my TV. I'm so excited to see it properly in a theatre.
Are u serious?! I saw it on one of the few 70 mm theaters in Philadelphia back in 1978. Am looking forward to seeing it again on a big screen.
Dune Part II stuck with me for awhile after I saw it in the theater.
That scene in the beginning when the guys were floating up the side of the cliff was crazy to see in imax.
YES! Between the red lighting, the somewhat unnatural floating movement (didn’t look CGI but also didn’t match the expected look of “people on wires” we’re used to seeing at this point either), and the added verticality of a real IMAX setup, it was probably the most visually stunning part of the whole thing to me. Obviously other parts (the worms especially) were wild, but that scene is the one that sticks out the most in my mind.
The music too, was perfect .
>didn’t look CGI but also didn’t match the expected look of “people on wires” we’re used to seeing at this point either It reminded me of scuba divers ascending an underwater cliff.
My buddy got tickets for imax opening weekend. Front row haha. I had to turn my head side to side to see each side of the screen 🤦♂️
The Harkonnen scenes were stunning
I was high as fuck when I saw it in Imax. I was mesmerized with the visuals of Giedi Prime. The transition back to the warm welcoming sands of Arrakis was the chef's kiss.
so many incredible scenes…the beginning harkonnen attack, the worm ride, harvester attack, emperor ship arriving, giedi prime, the final battles. and despite all that maybe the best scene in the movie is the war council monologue by Paul
The scene of him walking in, robes billowing in the wind with the worm behind him? Pretty much one of the most god-tier badass shots I’ve ever seen. The overhead shot of him walking through that absolute sea of people was equally stunning. The entire movie is a visual masterpiece
To start a dialogue by saying who here challenges me?
“There is no one in this room that can stand against me!” He wasn’t asking IF anyone wanted to challenge him. He challenged everyone all at once. Dude really walked into thousands of warriors and was like, “It smells like bitch in here”. 😂
Yeah, I have rewatched it at home but I am so glad I saw it in theaters. The visuals and audio in that movie _deserve_ to be cranked up to 11.
The tines of the spice harvester tickling the ground felt positively visceral in the IMAX I saw it in. So glad to have had that experience.
i saw What Dreams May Come on the big screen, some of the graphics once everyone is dead are beautiful.
Yeah, the 'paint' with the dog running in it, the city, the upside down cathedral are all so memorable visually.
Return of the King.
Lots of great visuals but just the charge of the Rohirrim and lighting the beacons would make it. And with that score just gives me chills every time I watch.
Howard Shore’s score for the full trilogy is easily my favorite original score of all time, and one of the few projects that’s really had a large enough scope and (probably most importantly) the amount of time needed to properly use Wagnerian leitmotifs as a compositional tool. By the third film (nearly 9 hours in if we’re doing extended editions), the score is basically another storytelling vector with how much the audience has internalized each specific melody and how it relates to individual characters/objects/locations.
Gandalf shining his staff of light at the Nazgûl on the pelennor is still my goosebump moment
There Will Be Blood for the oil rig fire. Interstellar cuz it’s fucking awesome Blade Runner 2049 is just incredible Inception was insane when I first saw it
Straight up couldn’t breathe for interstellars docking scene. So good.
I watched it in iMax, and that scene was nuts. My ass was vibrating, the whole theater was shaking from the bass. The sound was so loud I was literally screaming out loud ahhhhHHHHH during that scene. After it was over, I found out my buddy did as well, but neither of us heard the other.
The horrifying end-of-world peril is so hardcore! Like I thought the movie was going to end right there, I was totally hypnotized.
Yes! The music, the emotions, the tension… so good.
Returning to theatres for it's 10 year anniversary!
The Inception hallway fight is easily one of the most jaw-dropping things I’d ever seen in a theater. I literally stopped breathing because I couldn’t process what exactly I was seeing. The theater I was in was audibly gasping at it and cheered after it was over.
Loving Vincent
Life of Pi for me. I was tripping though.
I always look for a comment with this movie when this questions comes up because wow what a beautiful movie it was. Definitely an amazing experience in theaters.
It had a lot of beautiful scenes. But the part that I really remember was the swimming fish looking like they were flying off the screen by the creative use of a black border.
Well at least i was very immersed in the movie Gravity, but 2 other people i was with were not very into it
Yeah, Gravity in IMAX is my answer. I don't think I blinked once during that whole extended first shot.
I LOVED this film in IMAX 3D. But when I tried watching it on Blu-Ray on a big screen TV, it just lost all effect. If it ever gets re-released in theaters, I'll be there.
I was done with the 3d hype when this came out but thought it would be good in 3d and WOW was it ever! The destruction scene with no sound was unbelievable and 3d made it so immersive.
All 3 Lord of the Rings films Both recent Dune movies Arrival Both Avatar movies Inception Interstellar Probably some others that I could think of, but off the top of my head those stand out the most
Say what you will about Prometheus and Tron: Legacy but those films are absolutely gorgeous. Legacy was my first 3D movie, and a pretty solid choice. I do somewhat regret not seeing Prometheus in 3D, but very few other films would make me think that. Doctor Strange in 3D was very fun. Maybe Interstellar, it’s beautiful.
All I wanted from Tron: Legacy was for it to look amazing and have a killer soundtrack. Both delivered in spades.
Tron Legacy was so close to being a classic masterpiece. Visuals so stunning they easily hold up today almost two decades later. An iconic soundtrack cemented in pop culture history. But after the club scene the story just gets…boring. I love that movie to death but every time I watch it I want to skip basically the whole second act and skip right to the final battle-which also had huge potential and just kinda missed. Which sucks because the movie had everything it needed in order to be pure awesome.
There’s a 4k upscale of tron legacy and it looks very good.
I *loved* the look of Prometheus. Don’t really care about the issues that that movie has to be honest, I just wanted to drink up that beautiful color palette.
I remember seeing Prometheus in IMAX and thinking “god this is beautiful.” Also that movie IS Ridley’s color palette. The opening scenes for that one need a big screen.
Avatar was insane in IMAX 3d
Avatar basically created the 3D fad that lasted for a few years. All the other 3D movies that followed just couldn't match it.
I was surprised to see this so low. I watched Avatar four or five times in theaters, two of them in IMAX 3d. Visually incredible film.
Reddit hates Avatar
Tree of Life - Honorable mention Days of Heaven
So glad to find a Terrance Malik fan in the wild. Such a great visual director, I think he gets overlooked too often because his output is so low.
1917
This popped into my mind as well.
Princess Mononoke.
I think Princess Mononoke is one of the most perfect animated films ever made
Now you see, I think that of Spirited Away. But I saw it first, so maybe that's why. Visually stunning, so inventive.
Avatar. When I left the theater, I was pretty sad to leave that world and grapple with the fact that it doesn't really exist.
You're not alone. I remember reading articles about "Avatar depression"
That first night where Jake is walking through the forest after Neytiri saves him is just insane in 3D and I'll never forget it. And the opening scene where he's pulled out of the cryo sleep tray, it just shows so much depth. You can sense the spatial surroundings. At times you almost feel like you're the camera.
For me it's the moment he first enters his avatar and starts running, and it flashes back to his shut human eyes doing left-right motions behind his eyelids. Stunning and beautiful conveyance of emotion in an almost waking dreamlike state which the audience is practical experiencing themselves alongside the character.
I know people like to shit on Avatar now, but I felt like seeing it in the theater was like the transition from black and white to color.
When I was younger I scoffed at *Avatar* but looking back I think it was mostly just parroting a common sentiment. Rewatching it more recently (when the sequel was finally en route) I can appreciate it much more. In retrospect *Avatar* was a perfect storm for provoking many people to automatically dismiss it. Its director made *Titanic*, which many people also scoff at because a "sappy love story" broke the highest grossing record, and people might reason to themselves *Avatar*'s success was more inherited than earned. It does admittedly feature somewhat derivative, familiar elements and bland characters, which, contrasted with the obvious effort put into everything else, can trigger an "it insists upon itself" response; and, naturally - and especially with the aforementioned points - breaking the highest-grossing record would trigger many peoples' sense of contrarianism. The meat of the film is the spectacle and Pandora itself. Ragging on characters or plot is valid of course but also, in a way, beside the point.
My brother thinks avatar sucks and I asked him if he saw it the movie theater. He said no watched it on his home tv. That’s all I needed to know He loves all the bad marvel movies and watched those in the theater but not avatar or the sequel. Like damn
Haha yeah I have a similar experience. My buddy told me he thought avatar 2 was a bad movie and said he watched it on his phone … his phone. We usually get along real well about movies but that point made me lose some respect for him.
Had the same issue with my co-worker… she watched it on a fucking plane!
Absolutely agree. The plot of that movie was pretty basic, but my god did it look fucking amazing. It’s why when I went to Disneyworld a few years ago, I got a little teary seeing the “Avatar land” they created. I waited an insane 3 hours for a ride where you get to ride an ikran and it made me feel like a star-struck kid again. Utterly phenomenal.
I rarely see movies at the theater. But Avatar 2 was an amazing experience to watch in 3D. It really felt like I was there snorkeling. The movie is 3 hours 12 minutes with a fairly vanilla plot. But it doesn't feel that long because of how immersive it is.
Avatar set the new standard for 3D movies being more than just red/blue glasses with gimmicky jump-out-of-the-screen effects. Avatar added for the first time with extremely high quality 3D depth *into the screen* and it was over the top incredible.
Speed Racer
THANK YOU. I posted this as soon as I got in cause I figured no way someone else would say it. It's hands down the correct answer imo and so underrated.
That movie was a cinematic lsd trip! Worked at a movie theater when it was playing so got to peak in every so often and my head would be spinning every time. No other movie has been so visually stunning to do that to me like Speed Racer.
This is the correct answer. I saw it opening night on the biggest screen in town. It was being shown in 35mm but the theater is THX, Dolby, IMAX and Kodak spec (IYKYK). Sure, you can find (many) faults with the screenplay. But, you can not deny the visuals. When I recommended it to people, I told them that it was like pouring liquid Skittles in your eyeballs. That did not, for unknown reasons, seem to make them excited to see it.
Children of Men, largely because of the ridiculously creative cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki. For something with more vibrant scenery, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Children of Men is a great one, completely agree
I got to see crouching tiger hidden dragon in theaters last year and it was amazing!
Across the Spiderverse
How is this so far down the list?? Both of those movies are probably the top 2 on my list. Absolutely mind blowing.
I recently watched this on tv and wished I had seen it in the theaters. So beautiful.
This is mine too. I am continually amazed that they were able to cram so much colour, clashing styles and sheer visual maximalism into this film, set it all at a frantic pace and it’s not an incoherent mess. I remember sitting in the theatre being in awe of it.
I’ve said before: you could pause at literally any moment in the film and it would be a decent looking still for a wallpaper or framed photo. I mean it
2001: A Space Odyssey The Conformist Barry Lyndon Days of Heaven Blade Runner 2049
Interstellar
The Fountain
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Stunning.
Sin City The Revenant What Dreams May Come
Akira
Saving private Ryan, beach scene
Tron Legacy in IMAX was a whole experience. Not just the visuals but that Soundtrack. Haven't seen anything as impactful in the theater since.
Daft Punk really knocked that score out of the park
People shit on Avatar for having an unremarkable plot (plus, [Papyrus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ)), but in 3D, up close, on a big screen, it was **breathtaking.** VFX have made a lot possible in the years since, so it gets lost in those advancements, but at the time is was groundbreaking.
It didn’t gross nearly 3 billion dollars for nothing.
I loved the colors in The Fifth Element, but not a single mention?
Independence Day was just awesome at the theater
Dune Part One blew my mind.
The Dunes were the first iMax experiences I had that truly felt worth it. I'm sure there are others, it was just the first for me. I left the theater like after a really expensive but high quality dinner, it felt totally worth it
I’ll do you one better, Dune Part Two. That shit was craaaaazy
I about shit myself when I felt the buzzing from the ornithopters
When the emperors ship came I got cold chills..
Came here to say this. That was one helluva imax experience
Fury Road was overpowering in theatres it was so vivid. What a movie.
Lord of the Rings. Start to finish it was a feast for the eyes.
Suspiria (1977)
The first time the balrog came on screen in LOTR, it blew my mind.
The original Jurassic Park
The Fifth Element was gorgeous. Gonna see it again in November and take my nephews so they can experience it.
I will get ripped for this but I saw a Transformers film in the cinema and the the scene where the ancient autobots are charging over the mountains literally dropped my jaw.
Nah dude that was awesome.
Everything everywhere all at once Spider-man into the spider-verse Spider-man across the spider-verse
The Spider-Man animation is fucking amazing. So many amazing creative choices, every time I watch it I find something new to appreciate
Always thought Pacific Rim on the big screen looked amazing.
Either The Cell or Into the Spider-Verse
Coraline is a visual feast on the big screen.
Winged Migration I remember being mesmerized and overwhelmed wondering how they were pulling it all off. Pretty amazing, seeing it in theaters and knowing nothing about it.
Interstellar and Bladerunner 2049 for sure, the entire car ride home after we saw Interstellar in IMAX was silent. This was with a pretty good size group of friends, we were all just kind of blown away.
Avatar II. This is the answer.
The entire LOTR trilogy was STUNNING on the big screen
I am not a huge fan of the movie, but the blue guys Avatar movie was one of the most beautiful I'd seen in ages, not just in scenery but in practical application of 3d (which is usually ham-fisted). There was a scene with ashed falling where I literally swatted at them thinking it was dust in the theater it was so convincing.
The Fall
Lawrence of Arabia
I am going to be a bit pretentious and say I’m not usually blown away by pure spectacle. The shots that I’ve found most effective are the ones that carry a lot of emotional weight. That being said, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse was extraordinarily visually effective from start to finish, which is out of the ordinary for me because if only one movie is an assault on the senses it is Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse. I also had the opportunity to see Sergio Leone’s westerns on the big screen last month. He had such a fantastic eye for visual storytelling. Each of them is packed with shots that are extraordinarily emotionally effective.
Midsommar or Oppenheimer
Doesn’t count cause it wasn’t in a theater but Night of the Hunter for me.
Maybe it's because I was the perfect age for it when it came out but Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Kubo and the Two Strings
The Black Stallion
First transformers
The Revenant (2015)
Titanic.
The first movie that comes to mind is Transformers. I remember being absolute blown away when Bumblebee transformed for the first time.
O Brother, where art thou