Arthur C Clarke in Memorium: Video on 2001 A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke died yesterday at his Sri Lankan home, aged 90. Don't miss this spellbinding video interview with director James Cameron (Alien/Titanic), the philosopher Camille Paglia, and Sir Arthur C. Clarke on the making and importance of Stanely Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey. Cameron rightly describes 2001 as the most important science-fiction film ever made.
Clarke was the last surviving member of the "Big Three" of science fiction: Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.
In 1948, he wrote "The Sentinel" for a BBC competition. Though the story was rejected, it changed the course of Clarke's career. The basis for Stanely Kubrick's film, The Sentinel introduced a mystical and cosmic element to Clarke's work. Many of Clarke's later works feature a technologically advanced but prejudiced mankind being confronted by a superior alien intelligence. In The City and the Stars, Childhood's End, and the 2001 series, this encounter produces a conceptual breakthrough that accelerates humanity into the next stage of its evolution.
All of us on The Daily Galaxy editoral staff have read 2001 (The Sentinel) at one time or another and consider it superior to Kubrick's film. Although the film has magnificent special effects, there is too much silent time that impedes the plot. In the book, the silent time is taken up by Clarke's explanations of the science behind the novel, his attempts at characterization (the most fully realized character in the book is HAL) and his successful attempts to describe the solar system, the asteroid belt, Jupiter and Saturn.
Posted by Casey Kazan.
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An innovative man who will surely be missed. Hopefully, he's among the stars he loved so much.
Posted by: knoxvilledaniel | March 20, 2008 at 09:06 PM
Once more the three are together again....somewhere out there, amongst the stars.
Posted by: Turtle | March 21, 2008 at 12:41 PM
My world was torn asunder when I heard. I will be even more devastated if MGM decides NOT to finish the ODYSSEY series: #3 and #4 MUST BE MADE. George Lucas is disappointed that the younger generation doesn't view STAR WARS: EP'S 1, 2 AND 3 the way we baby boomers enjoyed EP's 4, 5 and 6. SO WHAT? People do have all six of his movies and I'm sure there would be a cult following for SPACE ODYSSEY. There IS a credible and ongoing plot.
"MGM, make the last two movies and let the audience decide. Do it for Arthur. Don't let his legacy die!"
KNOXVILLEDANIEL, THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE!! GOD BLESS YOU, MAN!!
Posted by: Marty Ferguson | March 29, 2008 at 12:25 AM
My Bad!!
Sorry, Turtle!! The tribute came from you. I read the wrong 'posted by...'
That should be posted on the front of every newspaper. GOD BLESS YOU! It is a beautiful and moving tribute!!
Posted by: Marty Ferguson | March 29, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Clarke's book was good SF, but it's simply inaccurate to say that it surpasses Kubrick's film. 2001: ASO was a work of genius; I strongly doubt that Clarke's short story would still be in print today were it not for Kubrick's film.
"Silent time that impedes the plot"? You must think they really fixed that with the awful sequel.
Posted by: Darren | December 10, 2008 at 06:41 AM