Robert McCall (1919-2010)
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968, US Cinerama one sheet, style C
41³⁄₈ x 27 in. (105 x 68.5 cm.)
backed on linen

An original US one sheet film poster for the Cinerama release of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Widely regarded as the most influential science fiction film of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s transcendent 1968 sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey revolutionised the genre, presenting an astoundingly accurate depiction of space flight and projecting a mesmerising and awe-inspiring vision of the future with its pioneering special effects, eerie sentient technology and vast spacecraft revolving gracefully to sweeping strains of classical music. Addressing themes of human evolution, existentialism, artificial intelligence, technology and the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, the film’s central voyage to Jupiter is sandwiched between an ambiguous opening scene portraying the moment primordial apes discovered tools and a confounding climax sequence which sees astronaut David Bowman travel beyond the known universe through a psychedelic wormhole. Establishing the sci-fi blockbuster as a Hollywood staple, 2001 has been hailed as the 'grandfather' of such films, with notable filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas crediting its considerable influence.

After seeing artist Robert McCall’s illustrations for LIFE magazine’s series on the future of space travel and his work documenting the achievements of the NASA space program, Kubrick enlisted McCall during production of the film to help capture his vision of the future. McCall spent three months creating conceptual drawings and illustrations for 2001, some of which we now recognise from MGM’s marketing campaign. His atmospheric illustration of the rotating centrifuge aboard the Discovery One was used for the Style C US one sheet poster, which was printed with the Cinerama logo and distributed only to the limited number of US cinemas equipped to present the film in the Cinerama wide-screen format.