I'm not sure that anyone under the age of 45-50 can truly appreciate just how big of a deal Terminator 2 was and how big movie releases can be. Like, nothing in the MCU era or the Star Wars prequels and sequels comes remotely close. Yes, they gross a lot of money but in terms of cultural significance, I've seen nothing close.
At the time I lived in a city when the local movie theaters would typically run major releases on 1, maybe 2 screens. Session times were like 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm 6 days a week and I think 1 less on Sundays. This was before the age of smaller theaters in the large multiplexes so a big movie theater might only have 4-8 screens.
3 weeks after T2 was released, it was still showing on screens in my local movie theater for 12-15 sessions a day, even on Sunday, from 8am til midnight. I actually waited a couple of weeks for the hype to die down and went on an 8am Sunday session knowing basically nothing (because that's how things worked then) and the movie theater was still full.
The CGI was a big part of it. It has some fan service to it. My movie theater cheered when Arnie came out of the bar wearing the leathers and hopped on the bike. But it's not overboard. It's actually a really great story, which is kinda unusual for a sequel. Like, James Cameron really has to be commended for that.
But there was another aspect too and that was Linda Hamilton. This was one of the first mainstream big-budget movies that changed the way women were portrayed in film. Lots of people had posters of her wearing the sunglasses, carrying weapons, etc. It was actually a really big deal.
The 90s really was a golden era for movies. Like I used to go 1-2 times a week and just watch whatever was on, basically. I don't think I've been to a movie theater since Avengers End Game and even in the 2010s it was a 2-3 times a year thing max.
But it is amazing how much they did with CGI in the early 1990s for T2.
This was a fantastic read. I had no idea how much of Terminator 2 had to be invented from scratch. It's amazing to think that a lot of the tools and ideas that shaped modern VFX started with engineers just trying to solve one impossible problem after another.
Some films really do stand the test of time, I'm not really sure that contemporary CGI will really age as well.
> I'm not really sure that contemporary CGI will really age as well.
Because today the film is subordinate to the CGI. In the early days, as is apparent in this oral history, CGI usage was deliberate and each shot received unusual scrutiny, time, and senior talent. And the technology simply wasn't used when the illusion didn't work; the imagery really had to blend with the physical footage. Today, obviously, the same considerations don't apply.
Can anyone confirm that the helicopter flying over the underpass was actual flying and not VFX or a chopper on a trailer?
There are claims that the stunt pilot flew under (twice!), but it seems like no amount of skill could avoid weird uncontrollable effects from rotor wash.
Disappointed this only focuses on the contemporary technology used in making the (admittedly amazing) visual effects for the film, which has been addressed multiple times across various formats. When I first watched T2 as a kid the thing which grabbed me more was that gadget John Connor uses to hack the ATM and all the cool stuff in the Cyberdyne offices. It would be nice if someone wrote an article discussing that aspect of the film, for the record and posterity's sake.
If that's the same 4K remaster that was released on UHD Blu-Ray then I'd skip it - that one is de-noised to hell making it significantly worse looking than the previous 1080p master used for home media.
Recommend "Jurassic Punk" (2022) - the documentary about Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams who is featured in this interview. It covers T2 as well as Jurassic park and goes into the politics inside ILM,
Your recent submission got auto-killed, probably because you're a new user. I can't really answer your specific question, other than to suggest buying some low $ advertising, or modestly and transparently shill it by asking for people to try it i out in relevant social forums. IF that goes poorly, try anonymous forums like /biz/.
And speaking of technology, it would have been great to see the Phase Plasma Rifle at a 40 watt range make an appearance, if only by mention of name again.
My favorite movie of all time. It's incredible how much of the technology had to be invented just to make Terminator 2 possible.
More than 30 years later, the VFX still hold up-and with today's AI revolution, the film feels even more relevant than ever.
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[ 7.2 ms ] story [ 58.0 ms ] threadhttps://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/v6qjaj/bu...
At the time I lived in a city when the local movie theaters would typically run major releases on 1, maybe 2 screens. Session times were like 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm 6 days a week and I think 1 less on Sundays. This was before the age of smaller theaters in the large multiplexes so a big movie theater might only have 4-8 screens.
3 weeks after T2 was released, it was still showing on screens in my local movie theater for 12-15 sessions a day, even on Sunday, from 8am til midnight. I actually waited a couple of weeks for the hype to die down and went on an 8am Sunday session knowing basically nothing (because that's how things worked then) and the movie theater was still full.
The CGI was a big part of it. It has some fan service to it. My movie theater cheered when Arnie came out of the bar wearing the leathers and hopped on the bike. But it's not overboard. It's actually a really great story, which is kinda unusual for a sequel. Like, James Cameron really has to be commended for that.
But there was another aspect too and that was Linda Hamilton. This was one of the first mainstream big-budget movies that changed the way women were portrayed in film. Lots of people had posters of her wearing the sunglasses, carrying weapons, etc. It was actually a really big deal.
The 90s really was a golden era for movies. Like I used to go 1-2 times a week and just watch whatever was on, basically. I don't think I've been to a movie theater since Avengers End Game and even in the 2010s it was a 2-3 times a year thing max.
But it is amazing how much they did with CGI in the early 1990s for T2.
Some films really do stand the test of time, I'm not really sure that contemporary CGI will really age as well.
Because today the film is subordinate to the CGI. In the early days, as is apparent in this oral history, CGI usage was deliberate and each shot received unusual scrutiny, time, and senior talent. And the technology simply wasn't used when the illusion didn't work; the imagery really had to blend with the physical footage. Today, obviously, the same considerations don't apply.
There are claims that the stunt pilot flew under (twice!), but it seems like no amount of skill could avoid weird uncontrollable effects from rotor wash.
Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZgIESxakso
"The 4K and 3D presentation uses STUDIOCANAL’s acclaimed 2017 restoration and 3D conversion."
https://www.fathomentertainment.com/news/fathom-entertainmen...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softimage_(company)
https://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/remembering-softimage/