2001: A Space Odyssey

On the data. One film that refuses to explain itself and one sequel that does nothing but. The 1968 film was not an immediate success. Reports from the New York premiere describe a substantial walkout, and the first reviews were largely hostile. It found its audience over the following months, significantly among young viewers, and its reputation has only risen since. Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick developed the story and the novel together, in parallel, which is unusual: the book is not the source and the film is not the adaptation. They were written alongside each other and they differ, with the novel being considerably more explicit about what is happening. The effects were done entirely in-camera and by hand, with no computers, and much of it has never been bettered for plausibility. 2010: The Year We Make Contact came sixteen years later, directed by Peter Hyams with Kubrick's blessing but no involvement. It is a decent film and it is the opposite of the first one in temperament: it explains the monolith, explains HAL, and ties the ending off. Clarke wrote 2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey afterwards. Neither has been filmed.

On your progress. Checkmarks are saved on this device and are tied to permanent title IDs, not to list positions, so new episodes, titles, and whole franchises can be added later without disturbing anything you've already marked. Use Sync & backup to move progress to another device.