Book Vs Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Acclaimed Work by Arthur C. Clarke & Stanley Kubrick Examined (and Demystified?) by the Margos
The Margos attempt to decipher one of the most lauded (and examined) films of the 20th century–2001: A Space Odyssey that is the combined effort of two geniuses–Arthur C. Clarke and Stanely Kubrick. The film released in 1968 and the 1951 short story (titled The Sentinel) have been a subject of thousands of thesis papers and movie nerd YouTube tutorials, but what does it all mean?
Sentinel of Eternity (as it was first known) was written by Clarke in 1948 for a BBC competition–which he lost. It’s about the discovery of an artifact on the Earth’s moon left by aliens and transmitting signals into deep space. This “sentinel’ was a “warning beacon’ on the possibility of intelligent life outside our solar system.
In 1964, Stanely Kubrick contacted Clarke (a now revered science fiction writer) to ask him if he wanted to collaborate on a film screenplay. Kubrick started his career as a photographer and was now considered an edgy filmmaker with recent hits Lolita and Dr. Strangelove. Clarke later said he was intrigued by the “enfant terrible” and could not understand why he described him as a recluse. (By this point, Clarke was living full time in Sri Lanka where he would stay until his death on March 19, 2008.)
In simple terms, the film is about two mission pilots who are sent to Jupiter to retrieve a device with extravehicular activity (EVA). Their computer is the HAL 9000 and it has a mind of its own.
There is so much to discuss here mainly with the movie and not the short story as much. (Clarke would totally agree with that!)
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The life story of Arthur C. Clarke & Stanley Kubrick
- The special effects used in 2001
- The strange history of its initial run and long-lasting popularity
- The cast which includes: Keir Dullea (Dr. Dave Bowman), Gary Lockwood (Dr. Frank Poole,) William Sylvester (Dr. Heywood R. Floyd,) Daniel Richter (Moon-Watcher,) Leonard Rossiter (Dr. Andrei Smylov,) Margaret Tzack (Elena,) Robert Beatty (Dr. Ralph Halvorsen,) Sean Sullivan (Dr. Bill Michaels,) and Douglas Rain (Hal 9000 voice.)
Clips Featured:
- 2001 trailer
- Hal goes rogue
- Hal “dies”
- Outro music: “Blue Danube” by Johan Strauss (2001 Soundtrack)
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com [email protected]
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/
