Many films that followed since have had a lasting effect on the industry of filmmaking. King Kong was significant because it was one of the first films to feature a main
Many films that followed utilized these techniques but Kong made a lasting impression that defined the industry for decades.
In a similar vein, 2001: a space Odyssey was also a defining moment in the history of cinema and the visual effects industry in terms of it's aesthetic detail in how the effects and set designs were realized.
Star Wars (1977) ushered in a form of visual effects photography with the use of motion controlled cameras which were used for decades to shoot miniatures that needed multiple passes done with precision. This technique was the standard for decades until the advent of Computer generated Imagery (CGI)
Tron (1982) was a harbinger of the future as several of the major effects sequences were computer generated at a time when using computers as a filmmaking tool was expensive and untried. It paved new ground for the technology used in future films.
JURASSIC PARK and THE ABYSS took CGI to the next level, photo realism. The various effects scenes in these films represent some of the earliest breakthrough work in the field of integrated CGI thanks to the team of the computer engineers at ILM.
In terms of information for this medium, twitter has been a great resource for sharing ideas and concerns regarding the vfx and technology industries in this field. I have been using FACEBOOK quite a bit in my VFX archive because it's great to use as a historic repository for images.
