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'Terminator 2' crew members reveal how they created masterful special effects before CGI took over

'Terminator 2' crew members reveal how they created masterful special effects before CGI took over

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Terminator 2 effects
Terminator 2 effects

Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a film universally applauded for its special effects. But the 1991 blockbuster came at a time predating the powerful hardware filmmakers today rely on to bring realism to computer graphics like those in Avatar or The Avengers. Instead, the most memorable action sequences in T2 were the result of painstaking manual effects work. The largest challenges came when dealing with the film's villain: the T-1000.

A script calling for the robot to be composed of liquid metal meant the Stan Winston School would have to find creative ways to shape what we'd eventually see on the big screen, and the crew behind that effort is now sharing how they accomplished it. Hours of sculpting and building intricate molds went into the battle scenes between the T-1000 and the T-800 portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The team had to build dozens of T-1000 models as production moved along — one with his head split open, and another with nearly his entire body blown apart for the film's climax. A great behind-the-scenes video awaits you at the source below (embedding is sadly disabled) along with several photos showcasing just some of the monumental work that went into Terminator 2.