Nate
I miss when movies felt like magic back when everything wasn’t green screen and fully rendered on a laptop. These behind-the-scenes photos from ’90s movies hit that sweet spot of nostalgia.
You’ve got the sick Triceratops from Jurassic Park, the alien puppet inside a human head from Men in Black, Will Smith on a bench surrounded by bounce boards, and that creepy chest mutant from Total Recall.
It’s wild to see how much was done with practical effects, miniatures, and straight-up ingenuity. If you remember ’90s movies like Titanic, GoldenEye, Eyes Wide Shut, or The Phantom Menace, this is the kind of stuff that’ll make you miss old-school movie magic.
1. Arnold and Verhoeven smiling (Total Recall, 1990) – Behind-the-scenes camaraderie.
2. Titanic deck scene (Titanic, 1997) – Rose and Jack’s moment vs. wide shot on set.
3. Ray Park (Darth Maul) rehearsing in desert (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Costume + combat prep.
4. Satellite fight greenscreen (GoldenEye, 1995) – James Bond stunt with final VFX composite.
5. Robert De Niro with Scorsese and team (Casino, 1995) – Suiting up for a Vegas mob scene.
6. Stanley Kubrick with Tom Cruise (Eyes Wide Shut, 1999) – Morgue scene being blocked.
7. Stan Winston’s crew with animatronic Triceratops (Jurassic Park, 1993) – Iconic dinosaur scene being prepped on location in Hawaii.
8. Tatooine miniature set (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – ILM model work for desert town scenes.
9. Duel of the Fates set (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul’s climactic fight.
10. Naboo model workshop (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Set builders crafting Theed architecture.
11. Mos Espa miniature (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Massive outdoor model of Anakin’s hometown.
12. Naboo starfighter on blue screen (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Full-scale ship on soundstage.
13. Jar Jar Binks maquette painting (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Early stages of the infamous Gungan.
14. Naboo city cliffs miniature (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Outdoor blue screen shoot.
15. Jar Jar practical costume on set (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Actor stand-in for animation reference.
16. Darth Maul makeup application (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Ray Park in the makeup chair.
17. Darth Maul 3-way lightsaber fight (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Blue screen filming.
18. Ray Park looking through camera (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 1999) – Still in full Darth Maul getup.
19. Will Smith on set with lighting crew (Men in Black, 1997) – Battery Park bench scene setup, showing full lighting rig vs. final cinematic frame.
20. Miniature car tunnel (Men in Black, 1997) – Setup for tunnel destruction scene.
21. Edgar the alien puppet (Men in Black, 1997) – Pilot inside robotic human head.
22. Venusville makeup (Total Recall, 1990) – Artist detailing mutant prosthetics.
23. Animatronic alien head interior (Men in Black, 1997) – Mechanism revealed mid-build.
24. Underground Mars set (Total Recall, 1990) – Extras and sets during filming.
25. Schwarzenegger meets his clone (Total Recall, 1990) – Iconic doppelgänger scene.
26. Kuato animatronic (Total Recall, 1990) – Mutant baby puppet mid-rig.
27. Venusville girl and FX artist (Total Recall, 1990) – Mutant child actress behind the scenes.
28. Schwarzenegger + Verhoeven (Total Recall, 1990) – Sharon Stone nearby, directing intense scene.
29. Paul Verhoeven with mutant girl (Total Recall, 1990) – Directing a heartfelt moment.
30. Ghost FX breakdown (The Frighteners, 1996) – Practical rig, CGI wireframe, and final VFX.
