Hollywood SFX giant Stan Winston dies at 62

Within days of losing another Hollywood great – actress and dancer Cyd Charisse – I was saddened to read of the passing of Stan Winston, a true Hollywood legend that very few people would have recognised in the flesh. That’s because this genius worked behind-the-scenes as a special effects technician, bringing to life numerous creations and in the process helping create some of the very best films of all time. As a child of the ’80s, I grew up with this man’s work and believe he was second only to Ray Harryhausen as one of the great pioneers of our time.

A technician whose speciality lay in good old animatronics and makeup work – as opposed to the bland modern-day CGI stuff they come up with in Hollywood – some of Winston’s achievements include:

The Terminator (1984): A film I saw as a kid that gave me nightmares. Arnold Schwarzenegger was perfect as the robotic villain, and Winston’s effects – including a full-size stop-motion marauding robot at the film’s climax – are breathtaking. He followed this up with more amazing work in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).

Predator (1987) and its sequel: Another fantastic movie villain, this time the ultimate hunter-killer. More nightmarish scenes of this creature hunting human prey in the jungle and city.

Aliens (1986) : on a surprisingly low budget, Winston helped to create more rubber-suited bad guys that’ll give you sleepless nights. The shot of the aliens crawling through the roof space is one of my all-time favourite moments in film.

Jurassic Park (1993) : A film I saw in the cinema as a 12-year-old and the experience has always stayed with me. Who else but Winston could have brought all these terrifying, HUGE dinosaurs to the screen with such realism? Okay, so the film itself was bogged down with Spielberg’s sentimentality, but there’s no faulting the special effects in this one.

There are numerous other films, too many to note, and in not one of them has the special effects work let me down. Stan Winston was a perfectionist, always delivering the goods no matter the quality of the movie itself. From mice to monsters, this guy really could do no wrong, and his untimely passing at the age of 62, due to cancer, was unforeseen and tragic.

Rest in peace, Sam.