On June 27, DGA members and guests gathered in the Guild’s Los Angeles Theater for a screening of Director Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 DGA Award-nominated feature, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Presented by the DGA Special Projects Committee, the evening was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of this bona fide masterpiece of cinema, with a screening of a new "unrestored" 70mm print of the film, with an introduction about its making by four-time DGA Award nominee, Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk, The Dark Knight), who worked to bring the film back to the screen in its original format.
Based on Arthur C. Clarke’s classic sci-fi novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey begins in the dawn of the human species when a mysterious monolith appears on earth and inspires an ape-like predecessor to make use of the first tool. Eons later, a similar monolith is discovered on the lunar surface, launching a voyage to Jupiter to discover just who or what placed it there. But during the journey, complications arise when the ship’s sentient computer system, HAL 9000, begins to display increasingly strange behavior, leading to a tense showdown between man and machine over the mission parameters before the ultimate resolution that may be the next step in human evolution.
In Kubrick’s capable hands, 2001: A Space Odyssey became a classic that is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Welcoming the audience, DGA President Thomas Schlamme said, “I’m someone who remembers the original release and the enormous impact it had on that kid. This 70-millimeter print was a labor of love for Christopher Nolan. He worked closely with Warner Brothers to preserve this iconic masterpiece that has inspired generations of filmmakers. The DGA shares in that same enduring passion for film preservation—protecting the history of cinema and preserving our rich cultural heritage. Chris, as a longtime torchbearer for this vital cause, was appointed in 2015 to represent our Guild on the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board.”
Following Schlamme’s welcome, Nolan, who also serves as a member of the DGA National Board, spoke about his incredible journey shepherding this classic to a new generation. Recalling his first encounter with the film as a child, Nolan said, “That experience has never left me and I’ve carried it as a sense of the possibility of what film can do.”
After briefly discussing the process of bringing the film back to the vibrancy of half a century ago and why he calls this version “unrestored” as the term “restoration” has become synonymous with digitization and this method was totally photo-chemical, Nolan expounded on their goals in taking this approach.
“What we’re showing here is as close as we can get to when this film was released in 1968, trying to give audiences the experience of what film can do. We’re choosing to honor Kubrick by trying to get as many people as possible to see this film in the way he originally intended. It’s been a thrilling experience to have been a part of. The greatness of this film — and maybe it’s the sign of any true masterpiece — is that it doesn’t just speak to the past of cinema, but to the future and the infinite possibilities of what can be done with this extraordinary medium.”
Stanley Kubrick is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential directors in cinematic history. In addition to 2001: A Space Odyssey, he was also nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Barry Lyndon (1975), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) and Lolita (1962). Other notable features include Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). A DGA member since 1955, in 1997 Kubrick was presented with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award. He passed away in 1999.