Members of the Visual Effects Society (VES) and a distinguished panel of judges have determined the 50 Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time, and Star Wars tops the list, while the other two films of the original trilogy also made the top 50. Furthermore, the work of Industrial Light & Magic is well represented.

The VES 50 is the backdrop of the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects, which will take place the weekend of June 7-10 at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.

"We're thrilled to present VES 50. These films have had a significant, lasting impact on the practice and appreciation of visual effects as an integral, artistic element of cinematic expression and the storytelling process," said Eric Roth, Executive Director of the VES. "We are equally amped about the programs that follow this theme and the industry's living legends we have participating in them."

The panel discussing the VES 50 includes Academy Award-winners Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Doug Trumbull and John Dykstra (tent.), as well as moderator, Academy Award-winner John Knoll. The Festival kicks off with an Opening Night Party at 7:00 pm Thursday, 6/7/2007. From 8:00 am to 11:00 pm on Friday Saturday and Sunday, Visual FX pros and fans will have the opportunity to attend discussion panels with industry leaders and legends, screenings of past and present films and the presentation of the VES 50: The Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time.

The VES 50 (Asterisks denote a tie score; films which ILM worked on denoted parenthetically)

1. Star Wars (1977, ILM)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)*
3. The Matrix (1999)*
5. Jurassic Park (1993, ILM)
6. Tron (1982)
7. King Kong (1933)
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
9. Alien (1979)
10. The Abyss (1989, ILM)
11. The Empire Strikes Back (1980, ILM)
12. Metropolis (1927)
13. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
14. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, ILM)
15. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, ILM)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, ILM)
18. Titanic (1997, ILM)
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)*
20. E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982, ILM)*
22. Toy Story (1995)
23. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006, ILM)
24. The Ten Commandments (1956)
25. The War of the Worlds (1953)*
25. Forrest Gump (1994, ILM)*
25. Citizen Kane (1941)*
25 The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)*
25. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)*
30. The Terminator (1984)
31. Aliens (1986)
32. Mary Poppins (1964)
33. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
34. Forbidden Planet (1956)
35. Babe (1995)
36. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)*
36. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)*
38. King Kong (2005)
39. Planet of the Apes (1968)
40. Fantastic Voyage (1966)
41. Jaws (1975)*
41. Ghostbusters (1984)*
43. Sin City (2005)
44. Superman: The Movie (1978)
45. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
46. The Lost World (1925)*
46. Return of the Jedi (1983, ILM)*
48. What Dreams May Come (1998)
49. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
50. Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1958)*
50. The Fifth Element (1997)*

The full schedule and information on buying festival passes or tickets to individual events is available at the official website for the 2007 VES Festival of Visual Effects.