Curated playlist

American epic films

Star WarsWithin three weeks of Star Wars opening, Fox's stock price doubled to a record high. Fox had expected limited success.
Wicked: For GoodNine million colorful tulips were planted on location to surround the Munchkinland set of Wicked: For Good. This 2025 American musical fantasy film, directed by Jon M. Chu, picks up the story of Elphaba and Glinda where its predecessor…
Star Wars (film)George Lucas forgot Star Wars was opening the day it came out. That night, he saw crowds lined up outside a theater.
2001: A Space OdysseyAt the New York premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey, 250 people walked out. The poster later said "the ultimate trip."
The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersGollum was first planned as a voice only, played by Andy Serkis. Actors did better with him on set.
Avatar (franchise)The Avatar franchise, created by James Cameron, announced its sequels before the first film had even reached a cinema. On the 11th of December 2009, 20th Century Fox revealed plans for a sequel series. The original film opened one week…
Avatar: Fire and AshAvatar: Fire and Ash is the third film in James Cameron's Avatar series. In December 2022, word spread that its first cut ran nine hours. Cameron later clarified the figure. The nine hours covered three films of about three hours each:…
Return of the JediReturn of the Jedi was briefly renamed Revenge of the Jedi. Lucas reverted it after posters were printed.
Gone with the Wind (film)Hattie McDaniel was barred from the premiere of Gone with the Wind by Jim Crow laws, then won an Oscar.
Dune (2021 film)Dune, the 2021 film directed by Denis Villeneuve, began with a filmmaker who doubted he would ever get to make it. In September 2016 the Canadian director said, "a longstanding dream of mine is to adapt Dune, but it's a long process to get…
Avatar (2009 film)Avatar, the 2009 science fiction film from director James Cameron, began with a dream he had when he was 19 years old. In the dream, he saw a bioluminescent forest. Its trees were made of fiber-optic strands, fan lizards moved through the…
Interstellar (film)Interstellar, the 2014 science fiction epic directed by Christopher Nolan, was filmed under a decoy name: Flora's Letter. Flora is one of Nolan's four children with producer Emma Thomas. Nolan is famous for guarding his productions, and…
Avatar: The Way of WaterAvatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron's 2022 science fiction sequel, contains an underwater scene for which Kate Winslet held her breath for more than seven minutes. That broke the record for a breath hold during a filmed scene, which…
Titanic (1997 film)Rather than cut Titanic, James Cameron gave up his $8 million director's salary.
The GodfatherMarlon Brando stuffed cotton balls in his cheeks to audition for The Godfather. Paramount resisted casting him.
One Battle After AnotherOne Battle After Another, written, directed and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson, sent about 1.5 million feet of film through its cameras. Those were VistaVision cameras, and cinematographer Michael Bauman said the system had not seen that…
Wicked (2024 film)Wicked, the 2024 musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, drew some unwelcome aerial visitors early in production. Paparazzi flew over the Munchkinland set in Ivinghoe, England, by hang glider, with GoPro cameras strapped to their…
The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation was screened at the White House in 1915. The next night, the Supreme Court cheered it too.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)George Lucas liked early footage of a Clone Wars TV series so much that he made it a movie.
Sinners (2025 film)Sinners is a 2025 horror film from the writer, director and producer Ryan Coogler. It opens with someone describing a kind of music 'so pure it can pierce the veil between life and death, past and future.' The film then spends the rest of…
Conan the Barbarian (1982 film)Arnold Schwarzenegger trained for 18 months before filming Conan the Barbarian. He dropped from 240 to 210 pounds.
Marty SupremeMarty Supreme is a 2025 American sports comedy-drama directed by Josh Safdie, and its title is a brand name that exists only inside its own story. In 1952, a young New York table tennis player named Marty Mauser pitches bright orange…