Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece

For me, there’s 2001 – and all other films. One of the rare instances that entertainment becomes art, 2001 tells its story visually; often opaquely. As a big fan of the film, it’s fair to say that I’ve digested many books and watched many documentaries its making – a subject almost as fascinating as the film itself. While it would be untrue to say that I’d think I knew all there was to know about it, I did think that few surprises were left to me. This book proved me wrong – by a mile it’s the most informative text I’ve read on the subject. Yes, it covers facts and production techniques with a detail I’d not previously come across. But more than that, and perhaps uniquely in this respect, it’s a human story. A story of flawed, driven, self-doubting geniuses, collaborating to produce one of the greatest films ever made. The book is even-handed, reverential when it’s deserved but never holding back on less comfortable facts or actions. It’s also an entertaining read, never dry even when explaining production techniques in depth – likely because it explains them not just from a technical perspective but also how physically, mentally and emotionally hard they were to achieve. At least one point in the book was (at least for me) surprisingly moving – as Kubrick begins to emotionally disintegrate when the film’s first critics initially demolish it. If you love this film, you’ll likely love this book.

I saw 2001 as a teenager in 1968, three times in one week. I've since seen it a total of 10 times in cinemas, not counting video versions. One of the landmark productions of the 20th century, which constantly rewards repeated viewing. This book affords a lot of detailed insight into how and why it ended up as it did, in large part because Kubrick's decision to leave things out, even when a lot of effort had been expended in scripting or filming them. There's some interesting background material on Arthur C. Clarke but mostly it's about Kubrick and his single-mimded focus on getting it right. There are also worthwhile sections on Douglas Trumbull (responsible for many of the jaw-dropping visual effects), and especially on Daniel Richter (who played Moonwatcher) and the lengths he and the makeup team had to go to to achieve credibility. Ironically, that year's Oscar for makeup went to Planet Of The Apes, allegedly because people thought the Dawn Of Man sequence used real apes! A treasure for fans of cinema.

Fans of this film will as I do will already own quite a few related books but do you need this one as well? Yes - you really do ! Benson uncovers loads of information regarding Clarke &Ku bricks early meetings production and release. Yes you have read some of it before but this goes deeper into the mystery also includes a nice color section with deleted footage shots.Amazing.

A comprehensive and well-written account of the making of 2001. Although Kubrick is generally presented in a positive light, the author does not shy away from noting the director's less attractive traits - notably his extraordinarily petty-minded and churlish attitude to his collaborators in the making of the film, in particular Douglas Trumbull, who was primarily responsible for the special effects which were so crucial to the success of the film. Benson describes how, after the film had been released, Kubrick went to extraordinary lengths to denigrate Trumbull's contribution to the film - an episode that speaks volumes about the character of the director.

An all up incredibly well researched and written book on one of the greatest - and most divisive - motion pictures of all time, with pretty much every page revealing an exhaustive amount of new information. I'd say it's the best account yet published on the long and complicated making of Stanley Kubrick's 2001. Absolutely essential reading for those interested parties.NZPete