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Lot Essay
2013 marks the 45th anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Sight and Sound 2012 poll of over 800 critics named it the sixth greatest film ever made.
Unlike other major films of the period that had successful general releases in standard 35mm format after their special roadshow engagements, it became clear that fans wanted to see 2001 in its full technical glory. In 1970, M.G.M. agreed to re-launch the film in the original 70mm format with a new promotional campaign conceived by their marketing point man Mike Kaplan. He proposed the mysterious, embryonic Star Child for its human appeal. The image had not yet been published as Kubrick had placed an embargo on its use.
Thus, "The Ultimate Trip" Star Child campaign was born, which cemented 2001 as a cultural phenomenon. The singular 'Star Child' became the key image for the campaign, but a secondary design, now referred to as 'the eye poster,' which places the 'Star Child' within one of the special effect sequences in Jupiter Space, was created as a supplementary poster. This accompanied the large 'Star Child' poster at the Ziegfeld Theater re-launch in New York and was primarily used for wild-posting on building sites throughout the city. It was printed in a smaller quantity than the 'Star Child' poster, which was retained for subsequent releases for the next decade and is therefore the rarest of 2001 posters.
This copy is from the original print run and was among the very first posters to come off the press and be hand delivered to M.G.M.'s headquarters in New York.
Unlike other major films of the period that had successful general releases in standard 35mm format after their special roadshow engagements, it became clear that fans wanted to see 2001 in its full technical glory. In 1970, M.G.M. agreed to re-launch the film in the original 70mm format with a new promotional campaign conceived by their marketing point man Mike Kaplan. He proposed the mysterious, embryonic Star Child for its human appeal. The image had not yet been published as Kubrick had placed an embargo on its use.
Thus, "The Ultimate Trip" Star Child campaign was born, which cemented 2001 as a cultural phenomenon. The singular 'Star Child' became the key image for the campaign, but a secondary design, now referred to as 'the eye poster,' which places the 'Star Child' within one of the special effect sequences in Jupiter Space, was created as a supplementary poster. This accompanied the large 'Star Child' poster at the Ziegfeld Theater re-launch in New York and was primarily used for wild-posting on building sites throughout the city. It was printed in a smaller quantity than the 'Star Child' poster, which was retained for subsequent releases for the next decade and is therefore the rarest of 2001 posters.
This copy is from the original print run and was among the very first posters to come off the press and be hand delivered to M.G.M.'s headquarters in New York.