The glowing lights of a police spinner illuminate the cover of Cinefex issue #9. The still is from Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's seminal adaptation of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Two years into its life, the Cinefex cover design retains the classic simplicity established in issue #1, although the price has … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (9): Blade Runner

The cover of Cinefex issue #8 features a striking image of Bruce Boxleitner as Tron in the 1982 Disney movie of the same name. Inside the cover is a still from Douglas Trumbull's 1972 science fiction film Silent Running, featuring one of those funky robots (I could never tell them apart so you'll have to … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (8): Tron and Silent Running

In one of the most iconic dramatic encounters of the 20th century, the giant ape King Kong looms over the helpless Ann Darrow. This is the cover of Cinefex #7, an issue devoted entirely to Willis O'Brien, the man who brought Kong to life. Inside is a generous introduction from animator and film-maker Ray Harryhausen, … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (7): Willis O’Brien

One of the great movie dragons is Vermithrax Pejorative from Dragonslayer. And guess what? She's right there on the cover of Cinefex #6 in the form of ILM's go-motion puppet. Inside the cover is a still of actor Peter MacNicol astride the full-size dragon head built for the film's live-action shoot. This issue's 80 pages contain … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (6): Early CGI, Dragonslayer and Raiders

The hideous gorgon Medusa from Clash of the Titans stares out of the cover of Cinefex #5, begging the question: how many readers were turned to stone before they even got the damn magazine open? Inside is a still from an earlier Ray Harryhausen film: 20 Million Miles to Earth. If these two pictures don't … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (5): Ray Harryhausen, Titans, Roy Arbogast and Caveman

The cover of Cinefex #3 boasts a gorgeous still from The Empire Strikes Back showing Luke Skywalker astride his tauntaun. The moody lighting and artful composition - not to mention the rarity of this particular image - combine to make this my favourite of the early covers. The inside cover is a still from Apocalypse … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (3): Empire, Walter Murch and Phase IV

A trio of Imperial AT-AT walkers graces the front cover of Cinefex #2, in a now-familiar airbrushed publicity still from The Empire Strikes Back. The inside front cover shows the incredibly detailed Ocean Park fairground miniature built by Greg Jein for Steven Spielberg's 1941. The magazine's 72 pages feature three articles: Of Ice Planets, Bog … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (2): Empire, Greg Jein and Star Trek

The front cover of Cinefex #4 features a still from Outland: a long shot of the Con-Amalgamate mining complex on Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io. On the inside front cover there’s a full page ad: looks like Disney were hiring Special Effects Apparatus Designers for EPCOT and Disneyland. After that, we get two articles spanning the … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (4): Outland and Altered States

Cinefex, in case you didn’t know, is a quarterly magazine about visual effects – specifically, behind-the-scenes articles on major movies. I’ve got a big stack of them piled on the floor beside the upstairs bookcase. It’s not a complete collection – I’ve lapsed occasionally over the years – but there’s one hell of a lot … Continue reading Revisiting Cinefex (1): Star Trek and Alien