1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Remember back in the intro when I said that this list was made up of films that are captivating and give me a sense of wonder? Well, 2001 gets the top spot because no other film in history has captivated me as much as Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece of science fiction. Kubrick was able to craft not only the greatest sci-fi movie ever made but also tell the most epic story ever put to film. 2001 is a film about everything, literally. The film's narrative encompasses everything that has ever happened to man and even more than that. Kubrick starts the film with a sequence titled "Dawn of Man", that shows man in primitive ape form, and then he ends the story with man having now evolved into our ultimate state by way of extra-terrestrial interference. What secures 2001 the #1 spot is the depiction of space, technology and the extra-terrestrial presence that is featured in the movie. The scenes of space are the most realistic ever crafted to this day, even though the movie came out before man had walked on the moon. The opening of the film, which shows the sun rising over Earth while the song "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" plays is the most awe inspiring opening to any film I have ever seen, and sets the precedent for the rest of 2001. HAL 9000 is also one of the greatest villains in cinema history, by not only being ruthless in his programming but also more human than the humans aboard the spaceship Discovery. Kubrick uses HAL to explore the theme of technology advancing past humanity to brilliant effect, while using the character of Dave as a way of showing that humanity can overcome technology. The most genius decision Kubrick made while making the film was to use the monolith as a surrogate for the alien presence of the film. The monolith accomplishes much more than actually showing an alien could have done, and gives the film some truly striking and symbolic imagery that has captivated audiences for decades. 2001 can be interpreted many different ways, and as long as film exists, people will be watching it and coming up with their own interpretations to Kubrick's masterpiece. Thanks so much for reading and I'd love to hear in the comments any movies you think should have made the list.