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Stanley Kubrick: Space Odyssey
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Stanley Kubrick tried to stop Space: 1999 with a lawsuit in 1975 because he felt its title was too similar to his 2001: A Space Odyssey. "The deliberate choice of a date only two years away from 2001 is not accidental and harms us," he wrote in one of many frenzied telexes. (Somewhat optimistically, he ... predicted the show would be "important" and run for years.) Was he worried people might think the campy rubber-monsters show was a continuation of his ape/fetus acid-trip? Or did he just want a monopoly on titles with "space" and a near-future date? Crazy obsessions like the Space: 1999 lawsuit kept him from finishing several movie projects -- including one intriguing science fiction movie.
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Kubrick next hired science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke to develop a story about man's encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence. The result was the landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It netted Kubrick more Academy Award nominations for writing and directing and his only Academy Award for designing and directing the movie's complicated special effects. Critics generally panned 2001, but audiences loved it. Regarded as a technological triumph of filmmaking, it is ... noteworthy for the fact that it contains fewer words than any other commercial sound film of its length in history (about 40 minutes' worth over the course of nearly 3 hours). "The feel of the experience is the important thing, not the ability to verbalize it, " Kubrick once explained, as reported online at Criterion's The Films of Stanley Kubrick. "I tried to create a visual experience."
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After the critical success of these movies, Kubrick decided to take a trip back to his former home Mars, where he went with Arthur C. Clarke. While there, Clarke buried Kubrick in Martian sand and then hid in a pyramid. A photograph was taken of his buried face, and this resulted in the infamous space image of that face on Mars. He then went back to Earth and made some more films, but not before being abducted by aliens whom were angry at him for exposing them. He reasoned with them and provoked them into deep thought, and the resulting amnesia allowed Kubrick to tell them that they were chickens. These aliens then decided to lock themselves in a coop, which then was jettisoned into space by Kubrick and then became the planet (yes, it is a planet!) Pluto.
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Following the success of Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick hired noted science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke to develop an original scenario about man's encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence. 2001: A Space Odyssey is generally considered not only one of the greatest films ever made but a landmark in cinema history. Kubrick garnered more Oscar nominations for writing and directing, and his only Oscar win ever, for designing and directing the film's special effects.
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Kubrick kept the original negatives for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in his garage, and prior to his death, made his own final 70mm cut of the film, which was released on Warner Bros. DVD, after which he burned the negatives. (edit)
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This will never be a film for all tastes, but that doesn't negate the sheer beauty that Kubrick has put on celluloid. Yes, the film is difficult and quite challenging and no it doesn't answer very many questions (in fact it poses more than it answers) but it remains a popular and enduring work regardless. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film that speaks to its viewers. It is both beautiful and horrifying at the same time and if nothing else, it makes you think. The layers of symbolism and metaphor reward multiple viewings and the way in which the visuals and the score are mixed ensures that the film remains an emotionally stirring experience.
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Space Odyssey