5) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (Dir. Stanley Kubrick)
Stanley Kubrick’s most famous movie doesn’t beat around the bush: its opening scene is one of the most ambitious beginnings of any film ever, taking its place at the “Dawn of Man” where the director starts out by exploring the origins of man and his tool. After this, Kubrick jumps several thousands of years into the future (in perhaps the best cut ever committed to celluloid) and will eventually use his movie to go even further than that – into the future.
There was no movie quite like 2001: A Space Odyssey before 1968 and there hasn’t been one since. For Kubrick, whose vision extended from the mere beginnings of life to the very edges of the universe, 2001 emerged a genuine marvel of the cinema, unbeaten in scope and execution, and a movie that still defies a label to this very day.
There are so many ideas packed in its 142 minute running time, but 2001’s major achievement is in its bold questioning of human nature itself: who are we and why are why? Kubrick reportedly involved himself in every single aspect of production, even selecting the fabric to be used on each of his character’s costumes.
The lengths that the director went to to achieve the film’s amazing visual effects have also become legendary, including the construction of a giant rotating “ferris wheel” to suggest space travel. It’s been said that the best films focus on even the tiniest details: 2001 is the ultimate testament to such a comment.