Check it Out: A Space Odyssey

This article was originally published with the Hays Free Press.

Check it Out 

By Jane Ray 

As science fiction fans are being thrilled by exciting new movie trailers for "The Martian" based on the book by Andy Weir, it's a good time to catch up on some other science fiction films with origins in literature. One of the most renowned of these is "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick.  

Kubrick, considered one of film's greatest and most influential directors, helmed movies such as "The Shining," "A Clockwork Orange," "Dr. Strangelove," and "Spartacus." For "2001: A Space Odyssey" he paired his immense talent with incredible source material, as the movie is based on a short story by renowned science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke.  With such a duo working in tandem, it's no surprise the movie was such an innovative success. 

Considered the most influential book-based film of any genre, the story revolves around a mysterious and imposing black monolith that arrives on the earth and helps spur evolution during the dawn of man. When another monolith is found on the moon in the 20th century, astronauts are sent on a mysterious mission to Jupiter. While traveling through space their computer system, HAL, starts to exhibit increasingly disturbing behavior, leading to an intense confrontation between man and machine that results in a stunning and surreal trek through space and time. 

While the film is unique and mind-bending, the story of the book is also an interesting one. Usually films are based on completed work. Yet while Kubrick based his film on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel," Clarke worked with Kubrick on the film's screenplay and developed the full-length book "2001: A Space Odyssey" at the same time Kubrick was making his film.  Kubrick worked with Clarke on the book while he was directing the movie, but eventually only Clarke was considered the official author. In an unusual turn of events, the book was published after the film was released.  

Both the film and the novel are considered classics. The film is visually stunning and enigmatic, and considered perhaps the greatest science fiction movie ever made. Upon its release "The New York Times" called it "unforgettable" while "the Guardian" said it was "not to be missed." Meanwhile the book was called "brain-boggling" by "Life," "Time" referred to it as "dazzling...wrenching...a mind bender," and the "New Yorker" claims that "by standing the universe on its head, he (Clarke) makes us see the ordinary universe in a different light." 
 
So take a step into the unknown and take a risk on a mind-bending story that will cause you to think about artificial intelligence and human existence in a whole new light. Check out the movie and the book that changed the way we looked at the stars...and ourselves.