Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey has been hailed as a groundbreaking masterpiece since its release over fifty years ago. An early marketing campaign referred to it as “the ultimate trip,” capturing its daring and innovative artistic and narrative choices. A new video essay from Just One More Thing even goes as far as to describe 2001 as “the hardest film Kubrick ever made,” highlighting the director’s uncompromising vision.
Steven Spielberg recalls his conversations with Kubrick in the film’s production, where Kubrick expressed his desire to change the form of cinema. This ambition is evident in 2001, a film that continues to mesmerize first-time viewers with its unique experience. Spielberg himself was profoundly affected by the film, describing it as a transformative experience that didn’t require drugs – “that film was the drug.”
Despite its abstract elements, 2001 also offers a meticulously crafted vision of the future, crafted in collaboration with Arthur C. Clarke. Kubrick and Clarke imagined a world with advanced space stations, artificial intelligence, video calls, and tablet-like devices. Their speculative work was so realistic that astronauts compared their experiences to the film, showcasing the film’s influence on real-world space exploration.
While some of 2001‘s futuristic predictions have yet to materialize, the film’s impact on our collective imagination is undeniable. HAL, the film’s iconic AI character, continues to resonate in discussions about artificial intelligence. The contrast between the film’s vision of space travel and the current reality of astronauts stranded on the International Space Station adds a layer of complexity that would have intrigued Kubrick.
Related content:
1966 Film Explores the Making of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (and Our High-Tech Future)
How Stanley Kubrick Made 2001: A Space Odyssey: A Seven-Part Video Essay
Discover the Life & Work of Stanley Kubrick in a Sweeping Three-Hour Video Essay
“Kubrick/Tarkovsky”: A Video Essay Explores the Visual Similarities Between the Two “Cinematic Giants”
How Stanley Kubrick Became Stanley Kubrick: A Short Documentary Narrated by the Filmmaker
Did Stanley Kubrick Invent the iPad in 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. His projects include the Substack newsletter Books on Cities and the book The Stateless City: a Walk through 21st-Century Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.
