7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
A famous perfectionist, visionary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick obsessed over his films to an almost pathological degree. After he completed his darkly comic masterpiece Doctor Strangelove, Kubrick set his sights on creating a sci-fi film that would tackle grandiose themes about the evolutionary history of mankind and its place in the universe. Kubrick brought the full power of his astounding attention to detail to bear and produced a masterpiece with special effects so cutting edge they would earn him an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and influence generations of sci-fi films: 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick used front projection effects and slit can photography to bring his story to life but it was 2001 pioneering use of motion control photography that would revolutionize special effects-driven spectacles for decades to come. Prior to 1968, science fiction and fantasy films used models to depict spacecrafts but lacked a means to tightly control how the models interacted with the camera. Kubrick and his team developed large mechanical rigs that would allow for complex and repeatable camera movements when filming the spacecraft models. This allowed Kubrick to create the famous docking sequence between a rotating space station and space shuttle. Motion control photography brought a greater realism to cinematic spaceflight than previously thought possible. The stage was set for other filmmakers to build upon Kubrick's work and further expand the limits of what cinema could do.