2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) TV Guide Ad

It took nearly a decade for Stanley Kubrick's mind-blowing 2001: A Space Odyssey to air on U.S. network television, finally making its broadcast premiere on February 13th, 1977, on NBC's "Big Event." I remember it clearly, because I begged my folks to let me stay up and watch it (spaceships), but they only agreed to let me watch until my regular bedtime, as I had school the next day. On the east coast, it started at 8 PM, and my bedtime was nine (hey, I was only twelve!).

So... I only got to see the whole "dawn of man" sequence and maybe the PanAm shuttle docking with the space station before being hustled off to bed.

Now, at the tender age of twelve, I probably would have struggled mightily with the deliberate pace of the film and lack of action, but I was already a spaceship special effects junkie (thanks to Star Trek and Space: 1999), and was deeply disappointed that I didn't get to see more of the actual "space odyssey."

I didn't actually see the entire movie until I was at art school in '83 or '84, watching it in pan & scan on my tiny portable B&W television set. I didn't see it widescreen until it came out on DVD.

PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Door Posters

Among the plethora of promotional material created by 20th Century Fox for the original 1968 Planet Of The Apes were these two-color "door panel" posters for theaters, introducing various characters from the film. This kind of giant poster was fairly prevalent in the 60s (I've seen similar ones for the Bond films and other flicks), but became less common in the 70s as studios continued to cut costs on this kind of promotion. Enjoy.

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #50: PLANET OF THE APES

Who says apes and humans can't get along? Here are a couple of gorillas playing cards with their usual prey between takes on the set of 1968's seminal anthropoid epic, Planet Of The Apes.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Marvel Comics Cover Gallery

I don't know if anyone has ever satisfyingly explained why Marvel Comics chose to license Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction headtrip, 2001: A Space Odyssey, for an ongoing monthly comic book, nor why they waited eight years after the film's release to do so. It is also baffling why (except for the fact that they were contractually obligated to keep the artist busy with work) they chose the awesome Jack Kirby to write and illustrate it.

Kirby was an astounding artist and creative genius, but his explosive, dynamic art - and decidedly thunderous prose - were hardly sympatico with Kubrick's stark visual style and leisurely storytelling. Also, the film really didn't seem to lead naturally into any sort of traditional continuation, so the Marvel Comic had to blaze its own, bizarre path in building on the film's narrative.

In any case, after an oversized "Treasury Edition" adaptation of the film in 1976, the subsequent ongoing 2001 comic ran for ten issues, all produced by the legendary Kirby, who explored the movies themes and concepts in his own unique manner. The stories were wild, colorful and bugnuts crazy, but they did make one lasting contribution to the sprawling Marvel universe in the form of Kirby's robotic creation, Mister Machine/Machine Man, who was introduced and featured in the final issues of the book.

Here are Kirby's covers for the ten-issue run:

More German PLANET OF THE APES Novelizations

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes

A while back, I posted the covers of several German paperback editions of some of the Planet Of The Apes television show novelizations by George Alec Effinger. The artwork on those covers was pretty wild. Well, here are the same publishers' editions of the Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971) by acclaimed science fiction author Jerry Pournell, and Battle for The Planet Of The Apes (1973) by David Gerrold.

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes

As with those previously-showcased covers, these illustrations are delightfully lurid, and have a certain primitive charm. Interestingly, though the scenes depicted don't seem to be derived from those particular films/novels, at least this time the German artist(s) got the apes' outfits (mostly) right - unlike the weird, Civil War cavalry outfits the simians sported on the other set of covers!

PLANET OF THE APES Movie Poll!

It's Poll time again! For this one, we're dealing with the first great sci-fi film franchise of the Seventies: 20th Century Fox's time-twisting Planet Of The Apes cinematic saga. The question is a simple one: "Which Planet Of The Apes Film Is Your Favorite?"  Just for the hell of it - and for completion's sake - I included Tim Burton's 2001 remake and 2011's re-imagined prequel, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, even though, technically speaking, they fall outside the purview of this blog.

Personally, I'm expecting the 1968 original to win in a landslide... but I'm willing to be surprised. You'll find the Poll (as usual) over at the top of the right-hand sidebar, so vote now!

As always, feel free (hell, I encourage you) to discuss and elaborate on your choices in the comments!

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #40: PLANET OF THE APES

Actor Maurice Evans, made up for his role as Dr. Zaius, enjoys a cigarette between takes on location during the filming of Franklin Schaffner's Planet Of The Apes in 1967.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) International Posters

Today I present a selection of theatrical one-sheets for Stanley Kubrick's 1968 mindtrip, 2001: A Space Odyssey... the film (that, along with Planet Of The Apes) kicked off the Space: 1970 era of genre flicks. Most of these used Bob McCall's art in various configurations, but there are a few cool regional variations in here, too. Enjoy.

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #31: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

On the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey with director Stanley Kubrick. And to all the helpful folks who feel obligated to e-mail me, comment and tweet whenever I post something that didn't come out strictly in the calendar decade of the 1970s: yes, 2001 came out in 1968, but as I've stated numerous times, I consider the 70s era of sci-fi to basically begin in '68 (with 2001 and Planet Of The Apes) and end in '83 (with Return Of The Jedi). It's my blog. Deal with it.

Sorry... I'm grumpy tonight.

Coming Attractions: PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Theatrical Trailer

Charlton Heston himself invites you to take a trip to the Planet of The Apes in this trailer for the first film in the popular 20th Century Fox franchise - which, before Star Wars, was, by far, the biggest sci-fi phenomon of the Space: 1970 era. This film spawned four theatrical sequels (and a couple of remakes, decades later), two television series, countless games, toys, comic books and other merchandise.

This is where it all began...

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #17: PLANET OF THE APES

Screenwriter Rod Serling (best known as the creator of The Twilight Zone) on the set of the original Planet Of The Apes in 1967-8, where he appears to be discussing the finer points of Ape Law with Kim Hunter's Dr. Zira.

PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Theatrical Posters

"It's a madhouse!" As Planet Of The Apes co-writer Rod Serling might put it: submitted for your approval... a selection of colorful theatrical posters and one-sheets from around the world, all heralding 20th Century Fox's first simian sci-fi epic back in 1968. Enjoy!