2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is a groundbreaking Science Fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Starting at the dawn of time (where primitive animals find a gigantic monolith) to the space traveling future (where a team of scientists find the same monolith on the moon), the movie is one of Kubrick's most celebrated and puzzled-over films.

At the time of its release in 1968, some critics contended that it was a masterpiece, while others called it a mess. Today, it is recognized as one of the greatest films of all time. 2001 garnered an Academy Award for its groundbreaking visual effects.

In 1964, film director Stanley Kubrick approached the acclaimed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke with a proposal for a collaborative project tentatively titled "How the Solar System was Won", a reference to the classic western How the West Was Won. This was symbolic for Kubricks vision of the film, which was to be an epic film in space.

After years of back-and-forth discussion, Kubrick and Clarke settled on Clarke's short story The Sentinel as the source material. The Sentinel was the story of the discovery of a black, prismic figure found on the surface of the moon. This story was expanded upon to create the final story of 2001.

1. 2001 highlights the main ideas of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, including that of people being the fine line between ape and super-being.

2. 2001 is a modernization of Homer's Odyssey, as the title implies. HAL is the cyclops, who was killed by a spear to the eye, much as HAL was killed by the insertion of a key.

3. In direct relation to number one, 2001 is a demonstration of Arthur C. Clarke's theory of human evolution, that people will become one with machines.

• The Novel, which was written simultaneously with the film by Arthur C. Clark, the author of the short story that the film was based on, The Sentinel.

• IMDb: Fan Forum, Trivia, Mistakes & Quotes

• Flixster: Fan Club

• The 2001 Principle: Walkthrough of entire film

• FatomicCity:2001: A Modelling Forum

• The Kubrick Site: Walkthrough of 2001: A Space Odyssey Original Cinema Program

• Kottke.org: Why does HAL sing "Daisy, Daisy" in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

• Fan Site: George's 2001: A Space Odyssey Model Toy Moon Bus page

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