3. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (KUBRICK, 1968)

If ever proof were needed of Oscar idiocy: this most majestic, ambitious and awe-inspiring of big-screen experiences lost out to Oliver! No doubt the Academy were as perplexed as many moviegoers then and now as to its meanings. One couple who had travelled miles to see the film wrote to Kubrick demanding an explanation. Such questions miss the point. Thanks to a celebrated jump cut, the not altogether convincing device of mysterious black monoliths, exceptional set design and a quantum leap in special effects, 2001 tackles nothing less than human evolution from ape to astronaut to "starchild". Daring to conceive the inconceivable, it projects, through astounding, psychedelic visuals, the wondrous destiny- to infinity and beyond- that should await us. 