"2001: A Space Odyssey" FAQ, resources
Chris Roth
FORWARDED FROM: /professional/law/first/tech(#407) From:croth(Chris Roth)
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MGM'S "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY":
A RESOURCE GUIDE
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This document was
last updated on 23 February 1997
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CONTENTS:
BOOKS
ARTICLES
12-INCH LASERDISCS
"2001" ON DVD?
PLASTIC MODELS
COMIC BOOKS
12-INCH VINYL LP
COMPACT DISCS
"2001" AND POPULAR CULTURE
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"2001: A Space Odyssey" was directed by Stanley Kubrick. This 1968 epic
is considered by many to be the greatest motion picture ever made.
Many lengthy sequences have no dialog. The film's
power is nonverbal. "2001: A Space Odyssey" was shot in 65mm. 70mm
prints were illuminated by many exhibitors. After an initial
limited showing, Kubrick cut 19 minutes. That "cut" version is what is now
considered to be the official version. It is the only version that
exists in the form of
VHS videocassettes, 12-inch laserdiscs, and theatrical prints (16mm,
35mm, 70mm).
In '68, puzzled moviegoers left 'plexes and mumbled:
"This wuzza important work-o'-art, but what'd it mean?"
Ironically, many of the answers were onscreen,
in the form of subtle visual messages. Those same answers
are also plainly revealed in Clarke's 1968 novel of the same name.
Here's a list of books and products that will increase your enjoyment
of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."
BOOKS
_The Making of Kubrick's 2001_ by Jerome Agel (paperback only)
_Stanley Kubrick Directs_ by Alexander Walker (expanded edition)
_2001: Filming the Future_ by Piers Bizony
This 1994 book includes a still of a set that never
made it into the final version of the film. It's
a lobby area positioned below the lunar surface,
complete with a fountain, swans, and schoolkids.
_Kubrick_ by Michel Ciment (1983)
_2001: A Space Odyssey_ by Arthur C. Clarke
One version of this 1968 novel include a set of B&W photos
from the motion picture.
This is the first of four books in the _2001_ series.
_2010: Odyssey Two_ by Arthur C. Clarke
Clarke's sequel includes a Chinese
expedition (to Jupiter space) subplot. Also, some
horrific behavior by the Vatican. In _2010: Odyssey Two_
the Catholic Church has covertly placed a nuclear bomb
in Earth orbit. The Vatican tries to use that weapon to
kill the Star Child. Both
events were eliminated from the film version of "2010: Odyssey Two."
Neither event affects the overall plot to a significant degree.
The movie version was titled: "2010: The Year We Make Contact."
During 1984, the Cold War between the USA and the USSR was
still underway.
_2061: Odyssey Three_ by Arthur C. Clarke
_3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
1997 hardcover from Del Rey
Unlike the first three books, this final volume doesn't begin slowly.
A few pages into _3001_, a
riveting ongoing situation involving Frank Poole develops. Poole is
the astronaut who was murdered by HAL, Discovery's computer.
_The Lost Worlds of 2001_ by Arthur C. Clarke
Sandwiched between this paperback novel's chapters are
commentaries by Clarke about the creative process and the making of
the novel and film. None of the fiction chapters presented in
_The Lost Worlds of 2001_
made it into Clarke's 1968 novel _2001:
A Space Odyssey_. Many chapters in _The Lost Worlds of 2001_ are
about events which would have taken place had
some crises turned out different.
For example, there's a compelling sequence in which an astronaut tries
to retrieve Discovery's main dish antenna after
it has broken off of the ship.
There are also some vivid and fascinating sequences near the end.
These sequences involve contact between a Discovery astronaut
and some extraterrestrials.
In some chapters
the Discovery's computer is named Athena, not HAL. _The Lost Worlds of 2001_
also provides intriguing sequences in which all of the astronauts
survive the journey out to Saturn and begin exploring one of
that gas giant's moons. One of the moons has a Star Gate (transdimensional
duct) on the surface.
Most of _The Lost Worlds of 2001_ is fiction.
_The Cinema of Stanley Kubrick_ by Norman Kagan
_Movie Magic_ by John Brosnan, 2nd edition
Brosnan's book
includes a detailed explanation of
the groundbreaking special effects in "2001."
_Movie Magic_ also includes information
about front projection, a breakthrough process.
_Our World in Space_ by Robert McCall
This is a large, heavy hardcover book--mostly art.
Page 96 is a cropped version of a McCall painting of
a circular moon base. Heywood Floyd is in the foreground,
standing on the lunar soil in a pressurized suit. Two
spherical moon shuttles are flying nearby.
Page 147 includes a second painting McCall created
for MGM. This little-seen painting shows an unhelmeted
astronaut in a spherical space pod with the giant Discovery spacecraft
and nearby Jupiter
in the background. Jovian moons are also visible,
as is the distant sun.
_Expanded Cinema_ by Gene Youngblood
Like Jerome Agel's book, _Expanded Cinema_ is essential
reading for "2001" enthusiasts.
_Science Fiction Films_ by Philip Strick
Strick's book is a large hardcover. The front of the dust jacket
sports a big color still from "2001": one of the orbiting
nuclear bombs with the sun rising over the Earth. Inside,
page 126 a full-page still of the dead Discovery astronaut
and a distant space pod. There are only a few paragraphs
of commentary about "2001" on pages 130 and 131. This
1976 book's third and final still is a small B&W establishing
shot of six moonwalkers, the lunar surface, some small
mountains in the background, the entire excavation area,
and the mysterious black artifact at the center of the frame.
_The Odyssey File_ by Arthur C. Clarke
This paperback was released in the 1985. It's
filled with one-to-one communications between Clarke
"2010" director Peter Hyams. _The Odyssey File_ includes
photos.
_Report on Planet Three_ by Arthur C. Clarke
This hardcover includes two essays by Dr. Clarke on the making of
the book and the film.
_Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography_ by Neil McAleer.
This 1992 hardcover was published by Contemporary Books of Chicago
IL. Chapters 17 and 18 are about the making of the book and film
versions of "2001: A Space Odyssey."
_Arthur C. Clarke: Writers of the 20th Century Series_
This 1977 hardcover was edited by Joseph D. Olander and
Martin Harry Greenberg. It includes essays by a number of
distinguished experts on fiction and storytelling. Highly
recommended. There's a lot of insightful material on
_2001: A Space Odyssey_, Clarke's 1968 novel.
_HAL's Legacy_, edited by David G. Stork. This
handsome, nonfiction hardcover begins with an introduction
by Arthur C. Clarke. It's about preexisting and future
computer technologies, and includes substantive
speculation about the biological intelligence and artificial
intelligence (AI). _HAL's Legacy_ was released during January of 1997
by MIT Press.
ARTICLES
"Stanley Kubrick's Disturbing Visions" by Richard Gehr
_Video_ December 1987 pp. 71-73, 126, 128
"Admiring the Unpredictable Mr. Kubrick" by David Rabe
_The New York Times_ 21 June 1987 page 34
(Rabe's article includes this quote from Stanley Kubrick:
"People who didn't have the responsibility of
having to explain it or formulate clear statements about it
two hours after they saw the film weren't troubled.")
In 1968, _LIFE_ magazine published a multi-page article
filled with large color stills. One image presented is the red-
tinted underground moon shuttle bay.
12-INCH LASERDISCS
More than one widescreen version of "2001: A Space Odyssey"
is available on 12-inch laserdisc (LD). Some versions include
supplemental content, such as a trailer, behind-the-scenes
stills, and a speech by Arthur C. Clarke originally shot
in 16mm.
A widescreen version of the sequel is also available on
12-inch laserdisc. "2010: The Year We Make Contact" was
directed by Peter Hyams. It was released in 1984.
Roy Scheider replaced William Sylvester as Heywood Floyd.
"2001" ON DVD?
Videophiles and "2001" fans alike
are uneasy about the possibility of "2001: A Space
Odyssey" surfacing on DVD, a not-yet-launched home video format.
Many video insiders fear that the new format will actually
embody a step backward in image resolution. The bandwidth
compression scheme planned for DVD may result in lower
definition during sequences in which there is a large
amount of both detail and motion across the entire screen area.
It is likely that visible artifacts will surface during
such sequences. Ironically, many TV columnists at daily newspapers
appear to be unaware of this little-discussed controversy.
(Media workers are routinely bombarded with glitzy printed
and electronic news releases from multinational corporations.)
Promoters of the DVD format hope that it fully replaces
the preexisting 12-inch LD format. Today's laserdiscs do not
have the controversial bandwidth compression attribute of DVD.
Instead, 12-inch LD's employ a "brute force" process in which--literally--
all of the onscreen pixels are stored on the LD in 1/30 of a
second units.
PLASTIC MODELS
Two Aurora models based on vehicles from Kubrick's film were
released: the Orion spaceplane and a moon bus.
The Orion shuttle sports a Pan Am logo.
Ironically, Pan Am folded between 1968 and 2001.
The spaceplane was reviewed in a Kalmbach (Waukesha WI)
magazine for modelbuilders during the 1990's.
COMIC BOOKS
During the 1970's, comic book artist Jack Kirby brought
"2001: A Space Odyssey" to his medium. A special giant-size
edition was released. Later, a conventional-size comic book series
was also launched by Kirby. However, it evaporated after a few issues.
12-INCH VINYL LP
"Music from the Motion Picture 2001: A Space Odyssey"
This stereo LP includes a foldout jacket with four sides.
On the front and back sides are two large Robert McCall
paintings. Inside, eight color photos from the movie.
This is the original MGM soundtrack album.
COMPACT DISCS
Music from "2001: A Space Odyssey" is available on two CD's.
One is a 1996 Rhino Records CD. The Rhino release has all of
the music from the original MGM soundtrack album and all music
from Kubrick's 1968 film. This CD is approximately 79 minutes long.
The other is titled
"Alex North's 2001--Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith" (label: Varese
Sarabande). This 1993 CD is a recording of the original score commissioned
by director Stanley Kubrick for his movie. That music was
rejected in favor of the music heard in the 1968 motion picture.
Performer; National Philharmonic Orchestra. Length: approximately
45 minutes. This CD has 12 tracks.
"2001" AND POPULAR CULTURE
"2001" images have intermittently appeared throughout popular
culture.
When the film was first released, _MAD_ magazine
published a parody of the movie in its usual panels-of-artwork-
with-typeset-word-balloons format. (Some of it appears in
Jerome Agel's paperback on the making of the film version. The
artwork was rendered by a top caricaturist.) "Sesame Street," a public TV
program, has repeatedly provided youngsters with a brief, animated
"2001" parody.
"Sleeper," "The Groove Tube" and "Airplane 2:
The Sequel," all included brief "2001" parodies.
Terry Gilliam animated a brief "2001" spoof for an
episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," a BBC comedy series.
An entire music video of a Thompson
Twins song has a shot-on-videotape "2001'-influenced visual motif. That
motif reproduces the eerie final bedroom sequence in Kubrick's
film, with new images and visual twists added. It's one long,
continuous shot, with no camera movement. The point-of-view is from someone
reclined on the bed, facing the black monolith.
___________________________________________________________________
(c)1996, 1997 by Chris Roth. All rights reserved.
PO Box 17121 Milwaukee WI 53217-0121. Please send
additions or corrections to: fi...@omnifest.uwm.edu
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Morgan Montague
Chris Roth wrote:
>
> FORWARDED FROM: /professional/law/first/tech(#407) From:croth(Chris Roth)
> :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> MGM'S "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY":
> A RESOURCE GUIDE
> :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> _______________________________
> This document was
> last updated on 23 February 1997
> _______________________________
> _________________________________________________________________________
>
SNIP************************************
> "2001" AND POPULAR CULTURE
>
> "2001" images have intermittently appeared throughout popular
> culture.
>
> When the film was first released, _MAD_ magazine
> published a parody of the movie in its usual panels-of-artwork-
> with-typeset-word-balloons format. (Some of it appears in
> Jerome Agel's paperback on the making of the film version. The
> artwork was rendered by a top caricaturist.) "Sesame Street," a public TV
> program, has repeatedly provided youngsters with a brief, animated
> "2001" parody.
>
> "Sleeper," "The Groove Tube" and "Airplane 2:
> The Sequel," all included brief "2001" parodies.
> Terry Gilliam animated a brief "2001" spoof for an
> episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," a BBC comedy series.
>
Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part I" does a parody of the
"Dawn of Man" sequence with evolving apes masturbating.