Friday, we're talking about the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's such a weird and mysterious film, and it's considered Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece. When it was released 50 years ago it drove the critics crazy, but audiences loved it.
Fifty years ago, Stanley Kubrick released his magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey. A monumental undertaking for the cast and crew, it was slammed by critics as incomprehensible and self-indulgent. And yet, audiences—some in altered states of mind—lined up to see it. How it got made and the intentions behind it are the subject of a new book by artist and filmmaker Michael Benson. Benson joins us to talk about Kubrick’s ‘proverbial “really good” science fiction movie’ and its lasting legacy.
Michael Benson's writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and Rolling Stone. His new book is called Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece [Indie bookstores|Amazon|Audible].
