2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
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Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Produced by Stanley Kubrick
Written by Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick
Arthur C. Clarke
Novelization: Arthur C. Clarke
Starring Keir Dullea
Gary Lockwood
William Sylvester
Daniel Richter
Leonard Rossiter
voice of Douglas Rain
Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth
Editing by Ray Lovejoy
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(Turner Entertainment)
Release date(s) April 6, 1968
Running time Premiere cut: 170 minutes
Theatrical cut: 141 minutes
Country United States
United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $10,500,000
Gross revenue $191,000,000
Followed by 2010

2001: A Space Odyssey (often referred to as simply 2001) is a 1968 epic science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous imagery that is open-ended to a point approaching surrealism, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.

The film has a memorable soundtrack—the result of the association that Kubrick made between the rotary motion of the satellites and the dancers of waltzes, which led him to use the The Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss II, and the famous symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, to portray the philosophical evolution of Man theorized in Nietzsche's homonymous work.

Despite initially receiving mixed reviews, 2001: A Space Odyssey is today recognized by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films ever made; the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of critics ranked it among the top ten films of all time. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and received one for visual effects. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.