10 Incredible Movie Scenes Filmed Without Special Effects

In modern cinema, cool 3D graphics and computer special effects will no longer surprise anyone. In the end, it’s in vain that so many designers have been graduating schools and courses lately. And the salaries of the creators of special effects, it must be admitted, are very attractive.

Therefore, more and more people are learning to produce high-quality and unique computer renders, which are often easier and more profitable than natural filming, and sometimes the only alternative for planned scenes.

Here are 10 incredible movie scenes that were filmed live without the use of special effects.

10 Birdman | 2014

The director and cameraman of this strange film were confused in earnest. First, an atypical filming style was used. Secondly, the number of cuts required for such films was minimal. This forced the actors to rehearse all the scenes for a long, tedious and painstaking time before filming.

The scenes filmed in the dressing room, where mirrors were installed, were difficult – the cameraman had to manage not to get into the frame.

Also curious is the scene where Keaton’s character walks around Times Square in shorts. A film crew for 4 people was prepared for her, and street drummers were hired to divert attention from the actor in shorts.

9. Mad Max: Fury Road | 2015

By the name of the film, we can conclude that the scenes here will be really crazy and crazy with a bunch of tricks and stunt work. But the most curious thing is the fact that they were mostly filmed without the use of computer processing.

The viewer watches “juicy” flames and smoke, incredible somersaults and tricks that are difficult to perform, which are real. If you have forgotten the main scenes from the film, then we recommend revisiting it with a new understanding that the actors gave 100%.

8. Furious 7 | 2015

Now this is a real “brain explosion”! The film about crazy, well, just unreal races contains scenes without computer processing. Did you know that out of 300 cars prepared for filming, only 30 remained intact?

Recall the episode where cars one after another take off from planes and calmly land on parachutes. The authors of the idea assure that they threw real cars with parachutes out of the plane.

It is not surprising that the powerful fleet of vehicles has become so worn out. And how much money was literally thrown into the wind!

7. 007: Skyfall coordinates | 2012

And in this case, the directors wanted to saturate the film with somersaults and tricks without artificial graphics.

For example, the fight on the top of the train was filmed live. The bridge on which the train moved was really located over the abyss at a height of three hundred meters. The train was moving at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, and the desperate Craig had to independently perform prepared tricks. The viewer can appreciate that he definitely succeeded.

6. The Dark Knight (hospital explosion scene) | 2008

In this popular film, several scenes were filmed at once without the use of special effects. Let’s start with the scene where the hospital explodes behind the main villain of the Joker.

The director of the film, Nolan, decided to abandon the computer rendering of the explosion, so for the sake of epic, the building was really destroyed.

Experts got acquainted with the design and decided where it would be best to plant explosives so that the building would collapse beautifully and on a large scale. Actor Ledger at that moment was in the thick of things – that is, in the immediate vicinity of the explosion. Dangerous and hot!

5. The Dark Knight (scene with the somersault of the Joker’s truck) | 2008

The second non-CGI scene in The Dark Knight film is the spectacular Joker roll while the truck is moving at full speed. For a cool shot, a special pneumatic piston was used, which effectively threw the truck so that it made a “somersault”.

It is noteworthy that the scene was a success from the first take. And they shot it on a blocked Chicago street, not in a set, which also pays tribute to the film crew.

4. Interstellar | 2014

And again we are talking about the film of Christopher Nolan. In Interstellar, he also wanted to minimize the computer rendering of the scenes.

So, for the filming of a huge cornfield, which was very easy to draw or put footage on, Nolan decided to really sow the plot of crops.

He consulted with colleague Zack Snyder and instructed to plant about 200 hectares of corn – all just to make the shot more organic and convincing.

3. The Matrix: Reloaded | 2003

This epic film is simply dotted with computer graphics, because without it it would be impossible to shoot iconic scenes of fights and movements.

Consider the fight and chase scene – it was one of the most time-consuming in terms of creating special effects, as well as expensive. It took about 3 months to create the scene, so as not to be unfounded!

It is noteworthy that the Wachowskis refused to draw the road in the frame. Especially for him, a three-lane highway was laid separately. Yes, and the General Motors concern allocated 300 cars from the fleet – all of them were damaged in one way or another during the epic filming.

2. Space Odyssey 2001 | 1968

Remember the cult film of 1968, when computer graphics and complex special effects were out of the question. Nevertheless, the masterpiece scenes still evoke nostalgia and delight in the moviegoer. Director Kubrick became a real innovator in the field of filming without special effects.

So, for the scene of the heroes moving upside down on the spaceship, a special rotating corridor was installed. Filming was done on a static camera: the actor stood still, simulating walking, and the room was spinning. Nolan, already known to us as a fan of “live” filming, borrowed the trick for his film “Inception”.

1. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol | 2011

Not everyone knows, but Tom Cruise often refused the services of stuntmen and independently performed complex stunts in films. We are also talking about a dangerous frame on top of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, where the actor did the trick himself.

Cruz was secured with several reliable safety cables, but this did not diminish the danger, because he had to play on camera at an altitude of 828 meters!

In some films, there are moments that look extravagant or dangerous for the participants. They could well have been replaced by computer graphics, but for certain reasons this was not done.