10 Pre-2000 Movies With Special Effects That Still Hold Up Today

6. Return Of The Jedi (1983)

We could have gone for the original Star Wars Trilogy in its entirety here, but feeling that would be a bit of a cheat we have gone with Return Of The Jedi for our Star Wars entry. If we were looking at movies based on their overall quality, it would be Empire Strikes Back sitting here; but seeing as we are focusing on special effects, it would be a travesty to overlook Jedi's achievements; and besides, it's about time Empire lost out to Jedi. Much has been said about Jedi and it's apparent failings when compared to A New Hope and Empire, but despite not reaching the heights of its prequels, Jedi still has many scenes which contribute to an immensely enjoyable science fiction adventure. The opening rescue, the speeder chase and the climactic space battle all look absolutely fantastic 31 years later and the Ewoks may annoy the hell out of you, but you can't fault their authenticity. It's ironic that, despite having access to vastly improved technology when approaching his prequels in 1999, Lucas was unable to craft a world as believable as the one he created in 1983. Most would agree that this was down to an over reliance on CGI showing, once again, that many directors are at their best when operating under a budget which fuels their creativity rather than indulge it. Unfortunately, with J.J Abrams onboard for the sequels, this attitude to special effects does not appear to be on the wane. Let's hope that Abrams remembers what made the originals so good and leaves the over the top CGI for The Clone Wars.