CGSociety and 3D World present a rundown of the Top 100 3D Movies as selected by the CG community
What marks out a truly great 3D movie? The knowledge that it pioneered techniques that became standards within the industry, as Flight of the Navigator did with reflection mapping?
Or that it raised the bar on the volume of effects work possible in a movie, as with Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace? Or simply that it told a memorable story? That was the question we posed in our recent poll to determine the most influential 3D movies of all time, organised in conjunction with 3D World magazine, the industry's leading community portal.
To qualify for inclusion on our shortlist, a movie needed to meet three criteria: to have a running time of 60 minutes or longer; to have received a full cinematic release;and to include a significant element of 3D animation or VFX work, as opposed to matte painting or compositing.
Films like Blade Runner - although undoubtedly influential - were excluded on the grounds that they featured only traditional effects.
Movies that received an Academy Award nomination were automatically included, as did those whose technology reels were screened in the Electronic Theater at SIGGRAPH.
The remainder were chosen from standard reference books such as Isaac Kerlow's The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects, and according to feedback from our own contacts in the industry. Visitors to CGSociety were then asked to pick the 10 films on the shortlist that they most admired technically; that had the greatest impact on their working lives; or that most made them want to work in 3D in the first place.
During the three weeks it remained online, 5,874 people filled out the poll, casting well over 50,000 individual votes. To the best of our knowledge, this makes it the largest survey of its type ever conducted - and the definitive guide to the films that shaped an industry.
TOP 100
100
Apollo 13
99
SUPERMAN RETURNS
98
MARS ATTACKS!
97
TOTAL RECALL
96
MONSTER HOUSE
95
TWISTER
94
SUNSHINE
93
FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR
92
THE LAWNMOWER MAN
91
Alien3
90
STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN
89
ANTZ
88
WALLACE AND GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
87
2010
86
X-MEN
85
PITCH BLACK
84
THE POLAR EXPRESS
83
BLADE
82
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
81
TOY STORY 2
80
BLACK HAWK DOWN
79
PEARL HARBOR
78
YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES
77
THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
76
THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN
75
X2: X-Men United
74
THE LAST STARFIGHTER
73
APPLESEED
72
CONTACT
71
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
70
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
69
GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE
68
ARMAGEDDON
67
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
66
MADAGASCAR
65
Labyrinth
64
HOLLOW MAN
63
THE MASK
62
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
61
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
60
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
59
SHREK 2
58
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: AI
57
THE CORPSE BRIDE
56
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
55
BATMAN BEGINS
54
WAR OF THE WORLDS
53
DRAGONHEART
52
SPIDER-MAN 2
51
HAPPY FEET
50
THE LION KING
49
MEN IN BLACK
48
SPIDER-MAN
47
CHILDREN OF MEN
46
STAR WARS: EPISODE 2 - ATTACK OF THE CLONES
45
PRINCESS MONONOKE
44
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW
43
A BUG'S LIFE
42
THE MATRIX RELOADED
41
TITANIC
40
FORREST GUMP
39
STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE
38
STARSHIP TROOPERS
37
THE IRON GIANT
36
SPIRITED AWAY
35
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS
34
GLADIATOR
33
SPIDER-MAN 3
32
INDEPENDENCE DAY
31
THE ABYSS
30
GHOST IN THE SHELL
29
CARS
28
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
27
AKIRA
26
PAN'S LABYRINTH
25
I, ROBOT
24
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
23
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
22
FIGHT CLUB
21
ICE AGE
20
STAR WARS: EPISODE 3 - REVENGE OF THE SITH
19
SHREK
18
TRON
17
MONSTERS, INC.
16
SIN CITY
15
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
14
FINDING NEMO
13
KING KONG
12
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
11
THE INCREDIBLES
10
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
9
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN
8
TRANSFORMERS
7
RATATOUILLE
6
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
5
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
4
TOY STORY
3
300
2
JURASSIC PARK
1
THE MATRIX
