Now in its third year of existence, Underman's "2001: A Space Odyssey - 30 Years On" Web site takes, as its starting point, an extended look at one of the most celebrated science- fiction films ever released, the 1968 masterpiece from Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke: "2001: A Space Odyssey".

Since its creation, "30 Years On" has, through constant expansion and improvement, built a solid reputation as probably the most comprehensive openly accessible repository of information that has ever been assembled about "2001: A Space Odyssey", richly illuminated with thoughts submitted by readers all over the world and Underman's own, always- revealing yet never too serious, commentary.

At the heart of the site is the recognition that Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke achieved their feat three decades ago in a different age to the one we now inhabit, yet at the end of the millennium the film is as stunning and as relevant as it ever was a third of a century ago. Since the days when hippies queued to experience their own journey to the stars, the movie has been analysed, discussed, written about, praised and ridiculed perhaps more than any other movie has ever been. And yet, for all the attention and commentary, the nature of 2001 means that it will never be possible to write the "definitive" work about it; reading about it often tells us more about the authors and their idiosyncrasies than about 2001 itself (anyone who has read Jerome Agel's 1970 book, "The Making of Kubrick's 2001", described in my Web page "2001 through Other Eyes", will have seen many such reviews).

Cue "30 Years On". These pages present, not only new commentary, but also an extensive range of "factual" information that will provide you with reference points for most of your questions about 2001, and leave you free - just as Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke did - to reach your own conclusions about "what it all means".

As a highly significant "bonus", this site is also the home for a rare tribute to "Russia's answer to 2001", "Solaris", and its director, Andrey Tarkovsky. This neglected and little- understood masterpiece, released in 1972 just four years after "2001: A Space Odyssey", was hailed as "the greatest science- fiction movie ever made", a claim which the intervening years, with their catalogue of so many here-we-go-again SF "blockbusters", have served only to reinforce.

If you get the impression that this Web site goes considerably beyond the scope of your average movie fan's home page, you are correct. Every word you will read, other than quotations and cited articles, has been written expressly for this site. There is no intentional repetition of anything else that has ever appeared about 2001. Readers of all ages and all levels of knowledge about 2001 are welcome, all the way up to Arthur C. Clarke himself, who was gracious enough to send a handwritten note to the suitably humbled site author, thirty years after he helped create the experience that led to the existence of these pages.

Thirty years ago, perhaps before you were even born, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke created one of cinema's greatest achievements. Underman was there when it all began, and seeks to give expression to why "2001: A Space Odyssey" had such a profound impact on a generation for whom Vietnam, manned moon landings and Woodstock were not pages from a history book, but formative parts of what was then, "now"; of what the future could be, as revealed in the images created by a man of vision; of a now- lost belief that optimism could be felt without awkwardness; and of the knowledge that true mystery lies beyond the reach of any script writer's imagination.

This site has been created for your enjoyment and enlightenment. Jerome Agel's "The Making of Kubrick's 2001", Piers Bizony's "2001: filming the future" and Underman's "30 Years On" between them provide some of the highest quality coverage ever given to a movie. "30 Years On" has the widest scope of all, and provides it free of charge.

At one time, this web site included a "What's New?" page as a guide to improvements for returning readers. Improvements, however, have been and remain a constant feature across all pages in the site. If it is some time since your last visit, it is almost certain that you will come across changes and additions in all sorts of places. So keep coming back, to check out whichever parts you are most interested in. May your visits (there will surely have to be more than one!) prove as worthwhile and informative as they have for so many others.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY - AN AFI TOP 100 MOVIE

THE UNDERVIEW

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"2001: A Space Odyssey - 30 Years On": the most comprehensive 2001 reference source ever created
"Movies the World Ignored": for when you grow tired of the Hollywood Hype
"Bootleg Dreams": recordings you are not supposed to know about

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