See It Big! Outer Space

Cinema is all about space and time. This is why movies about outer space—where time does not have the same meaning as it does here on Earth—make for particularly cinematic voyages. The development of special photographic effects have made depictions of our mysterious galaxy all the more vivid and authentic as the years have passed, but even the most rudimentary representations of outer space, which have existed since the form’s beginnings, have always inspired awe. No cinematic images of the mysteries of our solar system have ever been more mind-expanding than Stanley Kubrick’s groundbreaking 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, perhaps the most awesome film ever made—a scientifically accurate yet utterly abstract journey into the far reaches of human consciousness. Yet there have been countless other films about outer space that deserve to be seen—and to be seen big. On the occasion of the major new exhibition Envisioning 2001: Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey, this edition of the Museum’s signature screening series See It Big! features some of the century’s greatest depictions of outer space, from documentaries to sci-fi spectaculars to camp satires.

Organized by Curator of Film Eric Hynes and Assistant Curator of Film Edo Choi in collaboration with Reverse Shot editors Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert.