A History of Special Effects In 5 Minutes

Before Avatar blows our collective minds in December, it might be helpful to take a look back at how special effects on film have changed over the last century.

Of course, that would take hours and who has that kind of time? Luckily for those of us who have things to do, YouTube user "bengraphics" has compiled something of an abridged history of the medium in a single, 5-minute-long video.

I am deducting points from the clip for its bizarre omission of The Matrix, but otherwise it seems to hit all the crucial notes in the history of visual wizardry.