Oh, and Blade Runner is not here because, although I have seen it, I saw it in less than optimal conditions and saw an inferior version of the film. I'm only counting movies I have actually seen and feel comfortable speaking about.
3. Ghost in the Shell
I've written about Ghost in the Shell before, so I'll keep this one brief. In the future a government controlled anti-terrorist group called Section 9 patrols the internet, but not in a "the NSA is watching everything I do" way. When almost everyone on the planet has cybernetic implants of some kind hackers can become terrorists, and it's up to Section 9 to track down these hackers and stop them. The leader of this unit is Major Motoko Kusanagi (my favorite female protagonist in an animated movie) and she is tasked with tracking down a hacker known as the Puppet Master. He has only been encountered online, so she attempts to trace him back to his physical body. Things get hairy from there and the film turns into a meditation on humanity, individuality, and the separation of man and machine. Ghost in the Shell is absolutely superb and probably my favorite animated movie of all time.
2. The Matrix
This is the one everybody knew would be on this list, not just because I've written two (part three coming soon) articles about it but because I talk about it a lot. The thing is I can't really explain in words what The Matrix means to me or how important it is to me personally. Not only is it an incredibly important film that came out at exactly the right time for the world, it came out at the right time for my life. Living in a digital world has become the norm: everybody has a cell phone, everybody has internet access of some form or another, and everyone has computer access. The internet is undoubtedly one of the most world changing inventions mankind has ever seen. Suddenly, problem solving is no longer a matter of figuring something out based on retained information, but a matter of how quickly the information can be obtained. An argument over something can be solved now, not by providing evidence, but by looking up the answer online. Wikipedia is probably the most accurate encyclopedia we have ever had, it's updated constantly, and it's completely free to use (if you have internet access). The world has changed, and we have to adapt.
The Matrix showed us the drawbacks of this. Information overload is everywhere, and a lot of it is false: not only do we have to be able to find the information we need, we have to make sure that the information we find is correct. This has always been an issue, but it is especially important in the new digital age because anyone can post online. An even more important issue, however, is that the internet provided unparalleled communication. Now, all of the lies of the government and corporations come crumbling down, people can no longer hide anymore. Every scandal of every CEO is now on the internet, every time someone steals money from large groups of people, every time injustices are committed by people in power, the internet tells us about it. Think about the most recent NSA privacy issues and how, both through and with the internet we have revealed one of the most important injustices ever committed against the American people by the American government.
Distrust is everywhere and the world that we see, the world we have been told about from television, big corporations, and the government is all a lie, just like the Matrix. The world we thought we knew doesn't exist, and the truth is ugly. The Matrix predicted the future in a much more subtle way than one might initially think from watching it, but it has stood the test of time and is an absolute triumph of modern film making.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Quite possibly the most beautiful film I have ever seen, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is an absolute masterpiece. Visually, it is perfect. Made in 1968, if someone had showed this movie to me and told me that it was put together from footage of an actual space mission I would have believed them. this movie is so dark and empty, yet so mesmerizing and real. It's boring as hell, but that's the point, real space travel is boring. Everything happens in slow motion because you have to be so careful in space, there are so many variables, and zero gravity causes tons of issues. Watching this movie today, I am at a loss as to how they could make this work in 1968. And, the ballet music background for the slow connections of the ships in space, synchronizing their movement so that they can properly dock is a slow and arduous process, but it is also a dance.
2001: A Space Odyssey is also a terrifying movie and it is significantly scarier than Kubrick's other, often cited masterpiece, The Shining. Our first shot of the monolith, at the dawn of man, is incredibly striking. All we see are organic and natural shapes, monkeys, tapirs, rocks, bones, etc... Then the monolith appears, perfectly straight, solid black, and standing upright. It towers over the creatures nearby. The contrast between what we've been shown and what we're being shown is beyond unnerving. To me, this opening scene is downright terrifying. You watch, as the monkey-men tentatively reach toward the monolith, and the buildup is excruciating because you know something bad will happen when they touch it. But, they get closer and closer to the strange black object and you find yourself gripping your seat, until finally they touch it, and pull away instantly, then touch it again. Nothing happens. The monolith sits there and does nothing; the monkey-men touch it, decide it's of no concern, and leave. Then everything starts to change.
The sound in the movie is of particular note. Kubrick loves using orchestral pieces in his movies, but 2001 has the most fitting soundtrack I know of. Brilliant scores of jubilation and triumph accompany some of the most iconic footage ever put to screen, and even more important than the sound is the silence. So much of this movie is pure silence or near silence with only the most minimal sound, such as a man breathing in his spacesuit while the void of space fills the nothingness around him. This movie is truly awe inspiring, and I believe that is part of the point: to appreciate the universe for the wonder and mystery that it is. Man is insignificant, but the universe is beyond massive. We watch in wonder as man goes from his humble beginnings to finally reaching the stars, and yet there is more to discover in this movie.
2001: A Space Odyssey presents us with so many questions, it challenges us to answer those questions and yet, it does nothing to aid us. I have read so many film analyses of 2001 and I think every one is right. This movie means something to different to each of us, just as the meaning of life is different to each of us. Some see it as self fulfilling prophecy, only working because it makes itself work, others see it as a look at the function of film in society, some think of it as a comparison between man and machine, and yet others see it as the ascension of man to the heavens. This movie asks us to stand in awe, to marvel at the magnificence of the universe. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a complete mystery and that's what makes it so damn beautiful.
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