Special effects makeup has been an integral part of the movie imagination since the Silent Film Era. Filmmakers reaching back as far as Charlie Chaplin and George Melies have employed makeup and prosthetics to inhabit different characters more convincingly. As early as the 1920s, moviemakers were even making early attempts at creature effects, with early films like Nosferatu and The Phantom of the Opera terrifying audiences and laying a foundation for the next hundred years of scares.

Despite these early innovations, SFX makeup and prosthetics were often clunky and fake-looking until the early '80s. It was at this turning point that pioneers like Rick Baker and Stan Winston began to incorporate mechanical engineering and more realistic mold-making techniques to heighten the uncanny effects of films. In turn, Hollywood began to pay more respect to the designers and makeup artists making these enormous technical strides — including at the Oscars. The following are the 15 best and most influential SFX makeup jobs in movie history.

15 Beauty and the Beast (1946)

Beauty and the Beast remains one of the great classics of French cinema, thanks to the guidance of poet-turned-filmmaker Jean Cocteau, and the unforgettable mask created for the Beast (Jean Marais). For Marais' wolf-like mask, Cocteau scrapped an earlier idea of using a deer head, instead opting for a mask and makeup based on Marais' Alaskan Husky.

Where to Find Beauty and the Beast's SFX Influence

If you're wondering why the Beast's look from the 1946 film still seems so familiar today, look no further than its decades-worth of influence on other films, including An American Werewolf in London, Monster Squad, and Teen Wolf. Even more recent films like Wolfman and the Twilight franchise have employed a similar vibe for their wolf-like characters.

14 The Whale

The Whale has been the subject of both praise and contempt for the use of the 300-pound prosthetic suit used to transform star Brendan Fraser into Charlie, a morbidly obese professor living in hermetic isolation. Some have accused the film of fatphobia for director Darren Aronofsky's decision to use the suit rather than casting an actor that met the size of the fictional Charlie character — but when Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor for The Whale, it became hard to argue this as anything but an earnest attempt at portrayal.

Why The Whale's Prosthetic Suit Was So Impactful

The Whale also won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, thanks to the often-harsh realism of Fraser's prosthetic suit, which took four hours a day to fit onto the actor's body. Fraser consulted with the Obesity Action Coalition and worked with a dance instructor to heighten the realism of leading such a lifestyle, and was duly rewarded with an awards haul for the exhaustive undertaking of this role.

13 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring included makeup and prosthetics that were both subtle (the Hobbits and Elves) and severe (the Orcs and the Cave Troll). While forced-perspective sets and CGI did much of the heavy lifting, the SFX makeup jobs were still iconic — especially those of Gandalf and Gimli.

How the SFX Makeup in The Lord of the Rings Made the CGI Believable

Part of the magic trick of creating a cinematic Middle Earth for audiences came through the combination of CGI and prosthetic makeup. You could argue that the makeup in The Lord of the Rings has aged better than the CGI, as Gollum might not pass muster in today's computer-based film landscape, but the film's Oscar win for Best Makeup is still easily justifiable.

12 Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy is a bit forgotten in the pantheon of great SFX makeup films, but at the time of its release, the movie made a big impression — thanks in large part to the creatively cartoony prosthetics on mob characters like Big Boy (Al Pacino) and Flattop (William Forsythe). Rather than approach the comic book adaptation by modernizing these character's looks, Dick Tracy director and star Warren Beatty opted to stay true to the look of the detective comic series.

Despite a Poor Critical Response, Dick Tracy Won Oscar Glory

While Disney had hoped for a box-office return and critical response similar to Batman's from the previous year, Dick Tracy wasn't quite as impactful, perhaps because it lacked Burton's darkness. What was lasting about the film was the incredible makeup, which won John Castiglione Jr. and Doug Drexler the award for Best Make-Up Artist at the Oscars, along with the film's seven other Academy Award nominations. Dick Tracy's approach to SFX Makeup can be seen, today, in films like Sin City and Hellboy — which still employ prosthetics despite subsequent advances in CGI.

11 Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road reminded the world of director George Miller's visionary approach to makeup and costumes upon release in 2015, thanks in no small part to Miller's insistence on using old-school SFX makeup rather than a CGI-heavy approach.

Immortan Joe's Terrifying Appearance Heightened the Film's Stakes

Australian actor Hugh Keays-Byrne ran it back with Miller, after appearing in the original Mad Max as Toecutter. For Fury Road, Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, and Damian Martin secured the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling when they transformed Keays-Byrne into the terrifying warlord Immortan Joe. That included Joe's iconic gas mask, which gets ripped from his face to reveal the gore beneath during the film's biggest turning point.

10 The Fly

The Fly may be the grossest of David Cronenberg's many body-horror films, as the director revamped the original 1958 movie in his signature, disquieting fashion. The film's oft-repeated tagline, "Be afraid. Be very afraid," came to fruition when the audience caught a glimpse of Seth Brundle's gradual transformation into the disgusting, humanoid Brundle Fly.

The Fly Took SFX Makeup to Barf-O-Matic Levels

Between Brundle's corrosive vomit, a baboon that's turned inside-out in his teleportation machine, and a baby-maggot nightmare, The Fly shocked and terrified movie audiences in 1985. Still, the film's more subtle makeup touches may be more responsible for its Oscar win, as they helped star Jeff Goldblum induce nausea while still maintaining a necessary amount of acting humanity.

9 Mrs. Doubtfire

Mrs. Doubtfire certainly has developed some revisionist thoughts thanks to its out-of-date '90s gender dynamics, but still remains beloved thanks to Robin Williams' performance in one of the great films about marital divorce. Maybe his greatest ally in making the character so iconic was the uncannily realistic prosthetic makeup and suit that allowed Williams to transform into an elderly British nanny.

A Famous Hair and Makeup Team Helped Williams Endure Hours in the Chair

Despite an average of four hours per day in the makeup chair, the team of Greg Cannom, Ve Neill, and Yolanda Toussieng helped Robin Williams endure the grueling process. Neill may have been the most integral part of the process, after already winning awards for Beetlejuice and Batman Returns. During a behind-the-scenes look at the film, Neill works tirelessly to speed up the prosthetics application, affording Williams ample time on set to improvise Mrs. Doubtfire's most hilarious scenes.

8 The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

No SFX makeup job has been more integral to a movie plot than the original 1925 film version of The Phantom of the Opera. One of the crown jewels of the Silent Film Era, the film's lack of auditory dialogue made its visual impact all the more important. Enter Lon Chaney, an actor famed for illuminating horrific characters like the Phantom, Quasimodo, and Fagin from Oliver Twist.

Lon Chaney's Unique Upbringing and Makeup Skill Informed His Brilliance

Chaney was born the child of two deaf parents, which some have speculated contributed to his excellence as a silent film star. In addition, the vaudeville veteran developed his own SFX makeup looks, including doing his own makeup as the Phantom. For his efforts, he earned the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces."

7 An American Werewolf in London

The first-ever winner of the Oscar for Best Makeup, An American Werewolf in London became a horror hit in 1981 thanks in large part to the work of SFX makeup legend Rick Baker. Director John Landis hired Baker based on his work on The Exorcist and two Star Wars movies, and Baker's iconic werewolf transformation scene became the film's hallmark.

Rick Baker's Work on Werewolf Made Him the '80s Preeminent SFX Makeup Artist

After winning the first Oscar for Best Makeup, Rick Baker would go on to dominate makeup work in the '80s, working on many of the decade's biggest box office hits. His work with Landis may be his most remembered, given the massive influence of Werewolf, Coming to America, and Michael Jackson's unforgettable Thriller video.

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