Stanley Kubricknotoriously found most of the inspiration for his legendary filmography in novels. What is perhaps most striking is that the filmmaker’s most visually striking and thematically expansive film,2001: A Space Odyssey, was adapted from a brief, eleven-page short story written byArthur C. Clarke. Kubrick went a long way to fill in the gaps with his adaptation. He collaborated closely with Clarke to fulfill their common vision, starkly contrasting the tumultuous working relationship between Kubrick andanother even more famous writer whose work he also adapted. As a result, the film follows the tone and themes of the short story much more closely than many of Kubrick’s other adaptions, and the novel similarly took much from the film and further expanded it to create three interpretations of the same story that nicely supplement each other for a more complete vision.
2001: A Space Odyssey
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
How Did Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s Collaboration Begin?
According to Arthur C. Clarke via Vulture, Stanley Kubrick reached out to him in 1964, telling him that he had wanted to create a “really good” science fiction movie, a feat which at the time was quite an endeavor. Nowadays, there is a seemingly endless glut of sci-fi flicks, each more derivative than the last, but in1964the idea of translating many of these ideas to the big screen seemed an impossible task. As Clarke described, there was a hunger for truly visionary films that somehow broke down boundaries of space and time and gave audiences something they could only up to that point see in their dreams and imaginations. With this deep hunger to push the medium forward, these two profoundly important dreamers set out to makethedefinitive science fiction film.
It’s important to keep in mind that in 1964 Kubrick wasn’t the household name that he is in 2023, or even a decade after2001: A Space Odysseywas revealed to the masses. In 1964, he had recently released his adaptation of the controversial novelLolita, a film which Clarke admired greatly and which further excited the author to work with the burgeoning filmmaker. Upon seeingDr. Strangelovefor the first time, Clarke stated that his excitement only grew, as he felt that perhaps Kubrick could make an honest-to-God great science fiction film.
In the same interview, Clarke details many of Kubrick’s well-documented idiosyncrasies and his seemingly insatiable thirst for knowledge. His love of technology and its constant evolution served as fertile ground for the two to envision their film. Clarke suggested that they use his short storyThe Sentinelas a jumping-off point. Kubrick was fascinated with all things futurism and space, and, of course, science fiction. The two men bonded over a shared love of the genre, but Kubrick was highly critical of the many contemporary sci-fi films that Clarke introduced him to and believed that they could achieve something much more grandiose and transcendent.
How Is ‘The Sentinel’ Different from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’?
The plot ofThe Sentinelis muchmore straightforward than that of2001: A Space Odyssey. As has been endlessly pointed out,2001: A Space Odysseytraverses many traditional aspects of narrative and in return seeks to communicate ideas purely with visuals. There is little explanation as to what is happening on screen so the viewer feels just as lost and in awe of the monolith as the astronauts in the film.
In stark contrast to the film, however,The Sentinelstill maintains an air of mystery but largely tries to explain the origin and function of the monolith. The themes of both the film and the short story revolve around humankind coming into contact with something completely incomprehensible and completely impenetrable, even to those brave and smart enough to reach it. Both2001: A Space OdysseyandThe Sentineltackle the edges of what is achievable by human innovation, and how truly insignificant our planet is on a cosmic scale. Both Clarke and Kubrick wanted to express the sheer bigness of this beautiful and terrifying universe we find ourselves in.
One interesting thing to note about the influence thatThe Sentinelhad on the final film is Clarke’s ultimate denial that2001is in fact a proper adaptation of his short story.Clarke maintained that to say that Kubrick’s film was based onThe Sentinelis deeply inaccurate, going so far as to say thatThe Sentinelhas “about as much relation to the movie as an acorn to the resultant full-grown oak”. Despite his comments, “The Sentinel” will always be the launchpad for the greatest science fiction film of all time, and for what was an extremely fruitful creative partnership.
How Did Stanely Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke Inspire Each Other?
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke remained good friends until Kubrick died in 1999, a friendship and collaboration that lasted over three decades. While they unfortunately never had the opportunity to bring any of their other ideas to life, the two seemed to have a stimulating relationship that was built on a shared love of technological innovation. Of Kubrick, Clarke stated that in Vulture that, “he would have made a good scientist; he insists on knowing how everything works and grasps new ideas, however complex, almost instantly.”
Making Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ Was a Real-Life Nightmare
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There has been more light shed on the fact that2001: A Space Odysseywas very much a collaborative process from the very beginning. A mutual friend introduced the two men, and Clarke was as much an author of the film as Kubrick. Kubrick did what a good director does: he communicated his ideas and delegated to those who knew best. In this instance, he was wise to open the filmmaking process up to Clarke, who was integral in developing not only the ideas of2001but its very essence. The power of2001: A Space Odysseyis very much a dialogue between two of the most forward-thinking individuals of the 20th century. They propelled each other in ways that are only possible with very select collaborations.
Without hyperbole, Kubrick and Clarke were to each other in the creation of a science fiction masterpiece whatMcCartneyandLennonwere to each other in reinventing pop music for the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. They helped to ensure that all preconceived notions of what makes a good science fiction film were completely upended to make way for a higher caliber of genre filmmaking. Kubrick and Clarke made sure to make it clear thatgenre filmsdon’t have to be synonymous with B-movies but can reach high art if desired.
2001: A Space Odysseyis available to stream on Max in the U.S.
