Stanley Kubrick's epic journey through space is widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, if not the best, However, it's hard to imagine it without the wealth of perfectly chosen classical music populating the narrative. Few soundtracks feel as epic or life-affirming.

Kubrick explains the reasoning behind his brilliant idea: "However good our best film composers may be, they are not a Beethoven, a Mozart or a Brahms. Why use music which is less good when there is such a multitude of great orchestral music available from the past and from our own time?

"When you are editing a film, it's very helpful to be able to try out different pieces of music to see how they work with the sceneÂ… Well, with a little more care and thought, these temporary tracks can become the final score."