10 Recent Movie Shots You Didn't Know Were Accomplished With CGI

4. The Sistine Chapel Ceiling - The Two Popes

The Two Popes Sistine Chapel
Netflix

Netflix's The Two Popes may have received three Oscar nominations for its remarkable central performances and script, but on the basis of this jaw-dropping VFX breakdown, it probably should've been nominated for Best Visual Effects also.

Though few viewers would've expected the production to have been given permission to film inside the Sistine Chapel or the Vatican, the sheer extent to which the historical drama relied on green screen compositing is just insane - especially considering how fantastic it looks.

While director Fernando Meirelles has talked extensively about how they shot the Sistine Chapel scenes in a replica set, the VFX reel reveals that the ceiling portion of the mural was actually completed digitally, presumably for practical reasons.

Yet watching the final film, you'd never know it wasn't actually the gravity-defying, painstaking work of practical painters: there are no obvious seams whatsoever. Incredible.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.