It might be harder to make a list of movies that don’t use green screens. But here are several famous uses of green screens in movies that stand out.
Green screens are so prevalent in movies these days; it’s harder to find a film with no green screen in it. Even in movies about everyday life and people, you’ll find green screens here and there. They are sometimes used, funnily enough, to make things look a bit more real. However, some movies have gone above and beyond in their use of green screens, creating entire worlds that will never or can never exist. Here are several famous uses of green screens in movies that are truly spectacular.
The Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)
Many scenes in the Harry Potter movies were filmed in real locations around England, Scotland and Wales: the Scottish Highlands, Durham Cathedral, Leadenhall Market and other places. But some scenes required the cinematic magic of a green screen. The Village of Hogsmeade has no real-world counterpart, and Harry and his friends walked through fake snow. Even the surrounding countryside was all, yes, a green screen. Likewise, all Quidditch and broom-flying scenes only work with a green screen. Even boy wizards need a little help to fly.
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Tim Burton brought his Gothic fairytale images and designs to life with an update of the classic story by Lewis Carroll: starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as the titular heroine. Pretty much every scene in Alice in Wonderland features a green screen, and many of the famous actors who performed in the movie do it through computer-generated imagery (CGI). Nevertheless, it’s a sumptuous and exuberant production, reimagining the beloved characters and revisiting their famous haunts, from the Hatter’s tea party to the Red Queen’s court. Perhaps not one of the more famous uses of green screens in the movies, but one that used it to the fullest effect.
Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Revenge of the Sith is one of the Star Wars prequels, best remembered as the one where Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader and falls completely under the sway of the dark side of the force. Green screens, and initially a blue screen, have always played a part in the Star Wars movies; however, Revenge of the Sith was the first full-scale green screen production. Here’s a bit of trivia: since reflective surfaces mess with green screen effects, the droid C-3PO’s gold exterior ended up reflecting much of the green surrounding him. Postproduction artists spent hours correcting this by “repainting” his shiny metal plating.
Sin City (2005)
Originally published as a series of mostly black and white graphic novels, comic creator Frank Miller’s Sin City retains the chiaroscuro look of the original comics through green screen effects. This is another film where nothing is real (except for four real-world sets); they filmed the first scene between actors Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton before Miller agreed to the movie. The director, Robert Rodriguez, wanted to give the artist a preview of how the movie would look.