2. Apocalypse Now
It is virtually impossible to discuss Francis Ford Coppola's inscrutable war film without talking about the means through which it came to be. Coppola could easily have made a masterful film by shooting it in sound studios, but Coppola, ever the ambitious maniac, decided to fly everyone out to the Philippines and shoot it on location. The product was one of cinema's all-time most grueling shoots, resulting in lead Martin Sheen suffering a heart attack, Coppola threatening to commit suicide on numerous occasions, and the contentious nature of their location making things even more difficult. A prime example of people suffering for their art, the result was, of course, well worth the sacrifice, and what's key is how much of the film's iconic imagery derives from on-location eccentricities and random incidents which would never occur within the controlled confines of a sound stage. Simply, Coppola's decision to go out into the field was probably the best he ever made, and among the best any filmmaker has ever made.