Rare behind the scenes shots of Empire, Raiders, E.T. and more

I’m not sure how decades later these kinds of photos keep getting dug up, but they are very cool to see. Vanity Fair is running a new piece that has some pretty neat behind the scenes looks at classic films like EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, ET, JURASSIC PARK and TERMINATOR 2.

A lot of it goes to show how special effects USED to work, with lots of modeling and camera trickery. Today we can’t even have these type of shots, as it’s just James Cameron and George Lucas standing in warehouses with everyone wearing black suits with glowing balls attached to them.

Check out the pics below, but click on them to head over Vanity Fair for explanations, bigger versions and more films.