2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)

Director Stanley Kubrick changed the look of science fiction films and helped Hollywood discover a new audience with this eye-popping epic. To make Arthur C. Clarke’s tale of a space monolith triggering human evolution seem as realistic as possible, the director pioneered the use of front projection to help actors blend seamlessly into fantastic landscapes. He enlisted companies like Whirlpool and RCA to create futuristic versions of their products (including the defunct Pan Am and Howard Johnson’s in a future they never reached). Douglas Trumbull’s special effects team created some of the screen’s most detailed space vehicles, gluing plexiglass tubing, metal foil, and bits from model kits to the various ships. The results won the Oscar for Best Special Effects but also mystified critics. Younger audiences, however, were enthralled, making the film the year’s second highest grosser and alerting Hollywood to the existence of the youth audience. 

d. Stanley Kubrick, 146m, 70mm

Print courtesy of Warner Brothers Classics and Park Circus.

Conversation with Keir Dullea will be post-screening.