2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, who co-wrote the screenplay with the writer Arthur C. Clarke, drawing chiefly on Clarke's short stories The Sentinel and Encounter in the Dawn. Starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester and Douglas Rain, it follows a voyage by astronauts and the sentient computer HAL 9000 toward Jupiter to investigate an alien monolith, and is noted for its scientifically grounded depiction of spaceflight, pioneering special effects and sparing use of dialogue. It premiered in April 1968, was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Kubrick his only competitive Oscar for visual effects, and has since come to be regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made.