March 19, 2008...12:48 pm
Arthur C. Clarke died
The man behind 2001: A Space Odyssey (OK, it was Kubrick behind the film - but Clarke co-wrote it with him) died. He was 90.
Clarke is known throughout the world as one of the greatest science fiction writers. He’s written more then 100 books on the subject. He’s even attributed with the creation of communication satellites, as he wrote about them in the early 40s, decades before they were even built!
2001: A Space Odyssey is in my top 5 favorite films of all time! I’ve tried to read the book, its a tough read, just as the film is a tough interpretation but Clarke’s imagination mixed with Kubrick’s incredible camera placement and execution created the GREATEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM EVER!
I know that’s a widely debated statement. Star Wars, Star Trek, The Day The Earth Stood Still would be in the ring, fighting over that claim, but what we, the audience, saw in 1968 with 2001 was sheer mind-blowing special effects, cinemetography and story-telling that has defined the genre we call science fiction, at least it did for me.
3 Comments
March 19, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Right you are. When I think of sci-fi (and I’ve made it clear that I am a huge fan of this genre) I do not think of Star Wars or Star Trek. I am much more inclined to think of 2001 as being the real thing. However with nothing being taken away from the late Mr. C, whose loss will be greatly felt, but the film resulting from Phillip K. Dick’s - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - “Blade Runner” - to my mind anyway is much closer to the true, “GREATEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM EVER!” We will have to agree to disagree on this one. On the other hand, my wife is on your side and considers my choice to be the lesser of the two films. Strange how both of you could be so wrong. . .
March 20, 2008 at 3:23 am
Is it a discipline or a freedom that allows a mind like that to create? To write over 100 books I am sure takes a discipline, but to imagine the dawn of man as the scene in 2001 depicts must step into the arena of free or freer thinking. The scene is that of an ape using a bone as a weapon against a rival. It showed the discover of the bone, the potential of it as a tool and its brutal application as a weapon. Had it been an early man with hair and skin showing it would not have had the impact of speaking to evolution as it did. Naked Apes and all that…
March 21, 2008 at 1:55 am
Maybe it was the way the two films were visualized by their directors that I view 2001 as more of a sci fi film and Blade Runner as a mix of sci fi and fantasy… sorry Jonathan, I side with the girls on this one…..great site, I’ll be dropping in on occasion, I’m sure.
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