On this day in movie history - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968):

2001: A Space Odyssey,

directed by Stanley Kubrick,

written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke,

based on the short story The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke,

was released in the United States on April 2, 1968.
Music by Aram Khachaturyan, György Ligeti, Johann Strauss and Richard Strauss.

Cast:
Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter, Leonard Rossiter, Margaret Tyzack, Robert Beatty, Sean Sullivan, Douglas Rain, Frank Miller, Edwina Carroll, Penny Brahms, Heather Downham, Alan Gifford, Ann Gillis, Chela Matthison, Vivian Kubrick, Kenneth Kendall.

Then and now:

Gary Lockwood (left) & Keir Dullea (right), who played astronauts Dr. Frank Poole & Dr. David Bowman, in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi classic: 2001: A Space Odyssey:

It can only be attributable to human error …

Sadly, to the date of this writing, author Arthur C. Clarke’s classic science fiction quartet is an Odyssey half-filmed: 2001: A Space Odyssey was directed in 1968, by Stanley Kubrick. 2010 in 1984, by Peter Hyams.

The epic evolved from Arthur C. Clarke’s short story, The Sentinel:

… to: 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, and 3001: The Final Odyssey:

I love the full picture artwork for 2010 and 2061, by Michael Whelan:

This is an alien contact story that goes for realism rather than spectacle … until the Star Gate sequence. Evolution is the main theme: of humans, from ape-men to space pioneers, along with technology and artificial intelligence. What set it apart and made it admirable, for me, was the concept of the enigmatic Monoliths and the unseen alien intelligence behind them, the use of classical music, slow and deliberate pacing, accurate representation of space travel, and minimalist dialogue.

There is also a good subject for discussion in the strand of the plot dealing with what happens when man puts too much reliance on artificial intelligence, and then faces disaster when conflicting orders cause the A.I. to malfunction, with tragic results; the reason made clear in the sequel: 2010. This is a technology turning on mankind theme that would later be explored in movies like Westworld, Demon Seed, The Terminator, I Robot, Tron … and many others.

A timeless classic and easily one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made.

Sun, Earth and Moon in perfect alignment:

Dawn of Man and the push towards evolution:

The bone-to-satellite jump-shot to the year 2001:

The space station:

Deflection:

Zero-gravity:

Heywood Floyd and the second monolith:

Discovery and the mission to Jupiter:

HAL 9000:

"I don’t think there is any question about it. It can only be attributable to human error. This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error."

In error of predicting the fault:

 

Suspicion, paranoia and murder:

Disconnection:

The journey through the Star Gate:

Frozen moments in time:

Neoclassic containment cell:

Age, death and rebirth:

Quite a journey!