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When visitors at the world premiere of 2001 - A Space Odyssey just over 50 years ago saw the film, very few of them were aware of what a masterpiece it was and even less of them knew that this film would shape the cinematic landscape of the coming decades as very few other films have.

Stanley Kubrick made the ultimate science fiction movie. It is going to be very hard for someone to come along and make a better movie, as far as I’m concerned.

This quote comes from none other than Star Wars creator George Lucas himself, who made it in 1977 before the release of his Star Wars Film, and I think this compliment is the biggest you can get as a director, because we all know what a big impact A Space Odyssey had on our pop culture. But if you look behind the facade, you notice that even Star Wars was extremely influenced by Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - A Space Odyssey.

Last year this marvelous cinematic strip celebrated its birthday and is proud to be half a century old. That's why I want to take a look at this work of art and find out why 2001 - A Space Odyssey is a timeless masterpiece and to what extent the influences can still be seen today.

It's hard to explain what this film is really about, because it's an extremely personal experience and also the end seems to mean something completely different with each viewing. Basically, the film deals with the evolution of humans from primitive monkeys who discover that simple bones can be used as tools to people who fly into space and have to assert themselves against artificial intelligence.

So far so simple, but it wouldn't be Stanley Kubrick if everything was as simple as it seems. So there are allusions to the evolution of the universe and of life besides the already mentioned evolution of man. Stanley Kubrick underlines the high degree of philosophy by saying in an interview that he doesn't want to give an official explanation about the film, but that every viewer should put together their own interpretation.

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Kubrick saw this as an indication that he had succeeded in addressing viewers on a highly philosophical level and the film gives you enough time to think. So there are many scenes that stand out because of their visual quality without pushing the plot forward. These are mostly used when a philosophical topic is dealt with. In addition there is a so-called intermittent in the middle of the film, which was more common at that time.

At the time of the release of the film visiting a cinema and watching a film were still big social events where you met in nice evening clothes, talked about life and then watched a film together. In the break of the intermittent you had time to follow human needs and speculate about the next half of the film.

Quentin Tarantino, the director of films like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill or Django Unchained, also published a so-called Roadshow version of his last film The Hateful Eight, which was then played by cinemas while at the same time also hosting an event just described.

2001 - A Space Odyssey is one of the best aged films of all time. So there are settings that can hardly be distinguished from today's movies. Kubrick did this by shooting on 70 mm film instead of the then usual 35 mm format. 70 mm film was mostly used at big events like Ben Hur or Lawrence of Arabia and made the film look crisp on the screen. If you convert the film into digital, you get a resolution of about 16k. Most televisions at home have a maximum resolution of 1 - 4k, just as a small comparison, so minimum 1920 x 1080 pixel or also called full hd. But not only the resolution provides a timeless work of art, also the camera and effect work look very good even today. Even the way Kubrick uses light can keep up with today's productions.

By the way, Stanley Kubrick received the only oscar in his career as a filmmaker for the visual effects of 2001 - A Space Odyssey. The realistic movement of the spaceships in space without the spectator hearing even the slightest noise has often been copied since the release of the film. And that brings us to the next segment, namely the influence.

But more about that tomorrow.

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_{Informations and Sources
2001 - A Space Odyssey at IMDb
The Cinema behind Star Wars: 2011 A Space Odyssey
The Hateful Eight - Alternate Versions}

Part 2