Product Description

Filled with material that came to light after the publication of the first edition in 1994, this updated edition includes interviews, new material from effects supervisor Doug Turnbull and additional illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #755485 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

tightly edited homage to 2001
i have been wary of some film books which say more about the authors than the film, but this is a stonkingly compact and intelligently discussion book of the film. Although the 'star wars' films has more complictated special effects and and the A.I technological basis of 2001 is largely flawed (see 'Hal's Legacy', by Stork), the film still commands interest as is extreme science fiction may never date as it trancends boundaries of conventional story telling. The most revealing sections of the book were on the latter portions, which discussed the rise and fall of NASA popularity and Post Modernism thinking in film making. Another illuminating section was on the common threads of Mr Kubrick, how he used a chess analogy with the consequences of actions, and his facination with technology and his empathy with Napoleon ( for his multi tasking command of forces, that is ). Some of the early photos look like the balance of colour needs adjusting but each of the later photos has something to add to this well thought out book.

The future is here
Much has been made about how Stanley Kubrick's vision of the future in the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" didn't come to pass. But this film highlights mankind's dependance on computers and seems to even foreshadow the Y2K problem with the breakdown of "Hal." Bizony covers every facit of the filmmaking process and even goes into why Kubrick's masterpiece still enjoys an enormous following 30 years after it was made. This is the hallmark film that put the "special" in special effects and gave depth to the shallow film genre of science fiction, which to this day still seems unable to rise above its Saturday afternoon matinee origins. Kubrick reached new heights with "2001" and no one has successfully been able to surmount the standard set by this unusual and wonderful film.

Lavishly illustrated "making of" book
Although Jerome Agel wrote a book called "The Making of Kubrick's 2001" back in 1970 [long out of print] that collection of essays can't hold a candle to this beautifully illustrated and informative work. Each aspect of the creation of this film is discussed with color frames from the film, and pictures of the sets and special effects set ups. The book also includes all of the famous MacCall advertising paintings, and several paintings of the spacecraft done specially for it. The book also contains interesting information on working with the obsessive Kubrick [who, of course, did not provide any personal input, although many others who were involved in the project did] and an analysis of how the real future turned out to be [dissapointingly] different than the Kubrick's still compelling vision.