The Making of Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' (Varia)

I received my copy of Piers Bizony’s “The Making of Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey’” earlier today, and frankly, I’m overwhelmed. This is a beautiful and evocative celebration of one of the seminal works of the twentieth century, and the most succinct evaluation I can give is that (happily) it is fully worthy of its subject. M/M (Paris) brilliantly presents material from a myriad original formats in a mosaic of easily accessible layouts. This isn’t a rote catalogue of static movie stills; the reader actively participates in exploring the material with pages unfolding as large as 18”x14” or more – sometimes one on each side. I was reminded of the impact the film had on me when I first saw it at the Seattle Cinerama, way back in 1968. This format allows material from a great variety of aspect ratios to be presented at maximum advantage. Mr. Bizony’s prose brings it all together in a wry narrative style that never feels like historical documentation; one of the best surprises for me was the vital and vibrant experience of the creative process at work. One feels as if you’re watching over the shoulders of giants as idea after idea is refined or rejected, and the eventual masterwork comes into being. As someone who has followed Kubrick’s work since that fateful day back in ’68, I’m a tough sell. Over the decades, I’ve tracked down every glimmer of info I could find, obsessively absorbing as much as I could about the genesis of “2001” in particular. I even flew to Frankfurt back in 2004 for the first public showing of material from Kubrick’s personal archives; I simply had to be there. So it was with genuine joy that I discovered that a great deal of this material – both the imagery, and Mr. Bizony’s narrative – was completely new to me. Trust me; this is no small accomplishment. My first scan of the book was cursory at best; it was a little like the frenzied tearing of ribbons and wrapping paper you might have experienced as a child on Christmas morning. I’m looking forward to my second, deeper pass. For those of you who think you’ve seen it all – again, trust me. You haven’t. This volume is a true banquet for Kubrick mavens, for cinephiles, for anyone who cherishes creativity and the arts. Mr. Bizony, his colleagues, and Taschen have delivered a masterwork of their own – and it’s a bargain. Treat yourself; it’s glorious.

I have read several books on the 2001 movie. This one is way more in depth, with photos, blue prints and drawings I had not seen in print before. The shape of the book is a bit odd, but otherwise a good read and coffee table addition.

I was skeptical about the strange dimensions of this book (it is twice as high as it is wide) but ordered it anyway because I am such a fan of the film. It is a great book in terms of content and images, lots of interesting information and many beautiful photos that I have never seen. But the proportions are very problematic- it is awkward to hold and read, and the skinny format necessitates having pictures run across the seam, which ruins the look of the photo. My guess is that the designer wanted to make it look like the black monolith, and was trying to do something different. Different is not always better, and in this case it was a very bad idea. I plan on keeping it for the reasons stated above, but I felt compelled to say something about it. If it had a more squarish format like 1 to 1 1/4, it would have been so much better. But the plethora of stunning photos and production sketches make it worth having despite the inane idea of making the proportions like the monolith. The book designer should have known better.

Possibly the greatest book about the greatest film in history. The book is a sumptuous coffee table 9 pound journey into Kubrick's classic with never before seen behind the scenes photos. The paper is of the highest quality and the colour is vibrant lifting right off the page. The size of the book is like as monolith and it works as something completely unique. The book is replete with photos to satiate any 2001 fan, but there are some wonderful surprises such as huge lift out pages detailing the superb art work, the characters, the crafts, and as such it is a visual feast. You can see Hal in close up, all the characters and actors are here, the scripts are detailed, the presence of the director is here, and there are some deleted sequences detailed in never before scene production art. The information provides enough detail to keep one reading for a long time. I learnt a heap of facts I had never read anywhere else, and it feels like you have been on the set after devouring this mammoth opus. Nothing else printed about the film before comes close to equalling this brilliant book. It is spell binding and I often return to it and it always fills me with delight. I love the film and I would not be without this book. It is one of the greatest books I own and I can not recommend this more highly. Buy it now!

First, I am one of the people fortunate enough to have seen the film during its initial release (although not in one of the “Road Shows”) and have been a constant fan, watching it almost annually ever since, and re-reading the novel at least six or seven times. I’ve also read many books and articles on 2001, so I’m well extremely familiar with the subject. I’m always game for anything new dealing with it, so I decided to buy this book, despite some of the negative reviews. While I’m still glad I bought it, I have to say I’m in total agreement with those who have expressed negative reviews regarding the physical format and quality of the book. While the ratio is meant to evoke the Monolith, it ruins the wonderful (many rare) photos inside. In a book that is about a movie whose chief impact is VISUAL, this is unforgivable. Yes, the price is low, at least when I bought it in late 2017, but I’d be willing to pay two to three times this amount for this book in a format that allows you to see the photos in their entirety. The information contained is wonderful, and is appropriate for casual and serious fans of the film and of Kubrick. There is plenty of material right from the “horses’ mouths” (both Kubrick and Clarke), although much less from Clarke, which I found a little disappointing. Plus tons of material from many others directly involved in creating the movie. Fans of film will also love this book for its trove of information on how movies are made and how creative minds work to present art and wonder to us, the viewers. So my bottom line is this: Yes, it’s worth buying, but be warned that the format will likely frustrate and/or disappoint you. My wish would be for this book to be re-printed in a regular coffee table format. If the publishers really want to use the cute Monolith in some way, then include a small “collectors item” of it in the package.

I cannot add to what prior reviewers have posted. This is an exceptional treasure for fans of 2001. Taschen produced a luxurious limited edition four-volume set which sold out, but they followed up that release with this one volume celebration of the movie. Someone on Ebay is asking $499 for THIS version, perhaps hoping people will be confused and believe they are ordering the numbered, limited edition signed by Christiane Kubrick. The real reason I'm writing this review now is that this book is still in print and retains for $70, though you can probably get very fine copies for $50. You don't need to pay the ridiculous prices some people are asking, because there is nothing "rare" about this book, and it is not out of print. Just sayin'.

As much as I looked forward to this book, I was disappointed. First, of the 562 pages the book has perhaps ten sections of 50 to 60 pages total of text. The author is looking back, from our current time; he adds very little new our knowledge. In fact, a great deal of the text is quotes and comments from magazines and books that go into the various subjects he touches on in much greater depth. In one section, for example, on reviews and reviewers, he reprints the entire New Yorker review. He continues with a Newsday interview of Kubrick by Joseph Gelmis. This is a good interview, by the way, and Kubrick describes in detail what he cut from the film after it’s initial screenings and why but it could be found in Gelmis’ book. With the exception of some interesting insights on location and special effects shooting I felt that I was getting nothing new. Also, I did not really care for the “chapters,” although short, of where we are today, regarding space, compared to 2001. And I didn’t need to see big pictures of today’s cell phones. There ae incredible, beautiful, never before seen wonderful pictures and illustrations, with often interesting notes that fill up the book. VERY SADLY they are almost all cut in half by enlarging them to take up two pages, separated by the books binding. Even the many foldouts have a crease going down otherwise great pictures. This is totally annoying and disappointing and distracting. I guess they wanted the book to look like the Monolith. Instead, it should have looked like a book and given us all these pictures with no “interruptions.” This may sound silly but they reproduce the instructions to the “no gravity” toilet. But you cannot read it because of the crease down the middle. (there is a joke in their somewhere, but I am not going for it.)

YES, the Rare and Wonderful Images and artworks in this large 2015 book are AMAZING....BUT the ABSOLUTELY STUPID vertical Book-Design (meant to CLEVERLY resemble the shape of the alien monolith in the film) TOTALLY RUINS the presentation of MOST of the photos and images !!!....And this validly negative review is from someone who has almost always written VERY POSITIVE reviews of other books, Blu-Rays and other items.... The thoughtlessness and carelessness of the publisher for this (M/M, Paris) have most probably since recd, read and heard MANY similar valid complaints by now (2019) for this astonding PUBLISHING BLUNDER (....just read the many similar valid COMPLAINTS of it by purchasers just on AMAZON and EBAY alone).... I even called the Los Angeles M/M office months ago and courteously discussed this, kindly asking them to please consider those complaints, and after M/M needs to RE-PRINT it in proper horizontal-format....and they KNEW that thousands of "2001-" fans had been waiting DECADES for a spectacular "coffee table" size /WIDE-format book....but the office lady was getting annoyed.... As with many others, i had been patiently waiting FIVE DECADES for this Book (on the MOVIE that is, even TODAY, universally acclaimed as the Greatest Science Fiction Film EVER made)....but when i discovered the INCREDIBLY NONSENSICAL and EXTREMELY USE-CLUMSY shape of the book....(and i cant recall ANY other publisher making THIS STUPID a Mistake for a LANDMARK Film).... But because i really wanted to see those MANY rare images and learn more of the historical information, AND the EXTREMELY reduced price, i hesitantly went ahead and purchased this Book. And altho i truly am grateful that it includes MANY wonderful (70mm-film images printed too small because of the DUMB book-shape) and fold-outs (only a partial relief), the large, deep center spine-gutter just SWALLOWS UP too many IMPORTANT images and artworks (even down the center of large FACE portraits !!!).... Even the fold-outs ALL have those PERMANENT top-to-bottom fold-creases....And, because all the 8-INCH wide pages are so NARROW, the spine-width is DOUBLED, so open pages CANNOT be laid flat to view images without distortion !....There is only ONE way to rectify this blunder- a PROMPT, full REPRINTING of this book in HORIZONTAL (wide-screen) format, as it SHOULD HAVE been printed originally ! April 2019

Magnifique objet de décoration ;) le format n'en fait pas un ouvrage agréable à la lecture mais le concept tient la route.

Poco hay que decir que no se haya dicho ya en las otras opiniones. El contenido me ha gustado, me parece espectacular sin género de dudas. Buenas fotos, buena calidad de impresión, y textos muy informativos. Sin embargo, coincido con los comentarios sobre la poca idoneidad del formato. La idea es original, imitar la relación base/altura del monolito, pero la estrechez del libro no me termina de convencer. Es cierto que en casi todos los libros de fotografías muchas imágenes se reparten entre ambas hojas, y que en este han hecho un esfuerzo importante en minimizarlo incorporando muchas páginas desplegables, pero me sigue pareciendo algo estrecho. Me parece mejor opción, por ejemplo, el formato elegido por la propia Taschen en el libro de Los Archivos de James Bond (otro libro magnífico, cuya edición "económica" acaba de salir a la venta esta semana), aunque en el que nos ocupa la "gracia" reside en imitar el famoso monolito. A pesar de ese inconveniente, que a mucha gente sin duda no le parecerá tal, el libro es fantástico y su compra imprescindible para todo amante no solo de la película, si no del buen cine en general.

Empezaré describiendo el producto: magnífico, gran tamaño, la calidad tanto de las imagenes como del empaque es impecable, es toda una bitácora de como fue la realización de esa gran película. En cuánto al envío me impresionó ya que me llegó en menos de una semana y eso que el producto fue importado y me avisaba qu llegaba en un tiempo aproximado de 3 semanas. El precio fue un plus: $750, es difícil de conseguirlo en alguna librería y si lo encuentras no creo que baje de el doble de su precio al que lo adquirí. Si eres fan de Kubrick, del cine o de el arte visual, definitivamente debes adquirirlo, ya que puede que el precio suba o que no lo encuentres después tan fácilmente. Suerte.

An outstanding book for any fan of the film with lots of background stories and photos from the sets. There are also concept drawings. The whole book is in the shape of a monolith with lots of fold out pages. While this gives the material a unique look and feel, in all practicality I find you must lay the book on table and work with it carefully in order to get through it.

Thank you Taschen Publishing! An amazing tome, I am thoroughly impressed, by this important book. The book is shaped as the black monolith, this constrains the outlay of photographs inside, with many disappearing into the 'gutter'. However, this is the most impressive book, a perfect corresponding volume to the film. There is so much information, set-photos, drawings, etc. Oh, yes, the price is so reasonable too!!