Celebrating the 50th anniversary of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” this newly-released book by Michael Benson, “Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece,” is perhaps one of the most comprehensive and fascinating looks into this transformative milestone in motion pictures.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” this newly-released book by Michael Benson, “Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece,” is perhaps one of the most comprehensive and fascinating looks into this transformative milestone in motion pictures.
Stanley Kubrick’s films have been innovative, groundbreaking, undeniably memorable, and in turn have become part of cinematic and pop-culture history. “2001: A Space Odyssey,” however, is what brought Kubrick’s artistry as a filmmaker to the forefront.
Kubrick loved a challenge, pushing the edge of what was possible with cinema. Developed in collaboration with renowned science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (based loosely on his original short story “The Sentinel”), Kubrick wanted to create a science fiction film that would be based in real science, proving the genre could be taken seriously and be more than campy alien invasions or giant bug monsters.
“2001,” released in 1968, even before the moon landing the following year, stunned audiences and set the standard for quality science fiction (and filmmaking in general), even to this date. Some of the greatest film directors give credit to the immense impact the film made on them.
The book’s author Michael Benson (also an artist and filmmaker) works within the interests of both science and art.
In this 512-page hardcover with beautiful color and black and white photos throughout, we are brought inside the creation of “2001” through a narrative derived from his extensive researches in the archives of both Kubrick and Clarke, including interviewing scores of people who worked on the film.
Benson’s entertaining and insightful research provides us with a unique inside knowledge of how Kubrick and Clarke created this cinematic marvel that still to this day looks as good as (maybe better than) our current, multi-million-dollar-budget Hollywood blockbusters.
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Cynthia Lynn and Ed Justus are owners of The Bookstore in Hanapepe.
