Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey [Paperback]

Dan Richter (Author), Arthur C. Clarke (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2002

Dan Richter was a struggling mime artist in 1966 when he received a call summoning him to discuss the incomplete opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, then being shot by Stanley Kubrick in London. Deeply impressed by the young mime, Kubrick promptly hired Richter to choreograph and star in “The Dawn of Man” sequence as Moonwatcher, the man-ape who opens the epic film about the origin and future of humankind. Moonwatcher’s Memoir is Richter’s day-by-day account of his year-long education in filmmaking under the command of one of cinema’s most innovative captains. Filled with illustrations and memorabilia from the making of 2001, this book will fascinate film aficionados, Kubrick devotees, and science fiction fans alike. Set three million years ago, “The Dawn of Man” tells the story of a tribe of our man-ape ancestors, who take the first step on the long road to modern humanity. Determined to make an anthropologically accurate film, Kubrick insisted on much more than the worn convention of men jumping around in “monkey suits.” Here are the stories behind 2001’s landmark achievements in make-up, costume, choreography, and cutting-edge cinematography that have made this film an enduring achievement. At once the story of Kubrick and his probing vision, the 2001 team and their interactions, and Dan Richter’s personal triumph under intense pressure, Moonwatcher’s Memoir is an inside look at eighteen unique minutes of film, climaxing in the longest flash forward in cinema’s history—three million years, from bone to space station, in a twenty-fourth of a second—as Moonwatcher hurls man’s first weapon into the sky and launches the episode into the stratosphere of film’s greatest moments. 24 pages of black-and-white photographs complete this rare behind-the-scenes narrative chronicling the filming of Stanley Kubrick's ultimate vision.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Richter was a poor, vagabond mime when Stanley Kubrick plucked him from obscurity to choreograph and star in the remarkable "Dawn of Man" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Determined not to rehash the hackneyed tradition of "men in monkey suits," Kubrick was seeking vivid characterizations by believable prehistoric man-apes whose discovery of weapons and violence presages the future of humanity in space. Since the sequence had no dialog, Kubrick felt that mimes could best express the man-apes' motivations and emotions, and Richter's brief audition quickly confirmed the notion. In this disarming and engrossing day-by-day chronicle of the blossoming of rudimentary ideas into a finished masterpiece, Richter effectively captures the novice's constant sense of awe regarding the complexity of filmmaking. In the process, he spends hours observing primates in zoos and struggles with heroin addiction. Currently a film industry executive, Richter is planning a similar memoir on his subsequent work with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Highly recommended for cinema and academic libraries. Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

It is . . . startling to learn of the effort that went into . . . the opening 18 minutes, where man-apes do battle. . . . -- Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2002

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (July 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671073X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710737
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,672,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moonwatcher talks!, September 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Paperback)

There have been several making-of-2001 books (Jerome Agel's "Making of 2001" in 1970; Piers Bizony's "2001: Filming the Future"; Arthur C. Clarke's "The Lost Worlds of 2001"; probably others). But the Dawn of Man prologue hasn't gotten a lot of coverage.

"Moonwatcher's Memoir" rectifies this oversight, and then some. Richter had a great, exhausting time during his year (!) working on apes with Kubrick, and tells all. In doing so, he throws new light on the movie's timeline; it started shooting in Dec. 65, yet the long-planned ape scenes weren't shot until very late in the game: fall of 67 (the movie came out in April 68). How Kubrick kept his poise during such a long project remains, as the film might say, "a total mystery."

To use book review jargon, this book is a must for all Kubrick completists. You know who you are.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing both for the main subject and background on the making of 2001., August 13, 2006

By 

Steven Lynn "Hermetic neo-Taoist" (South Pasadena, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Paperback)

Recommended reading for any 2001 fan, movie critic, and especially the members of the nominating committee and members who gave an Oscar to the makeup designer of Planet of the Apes (1967) (POA).

There is an apocryphal tale that the next year, after 2001 came out, that a member of The Acadamy nominating committee was asked "How could you give an award for the "ape" costumes in POA but pass over the hominids in 2001."

The telling answer was along the lines of "Those were actors in costumes? We thought they were real apes!" Even it the story isn't true, it's not totally unbelievable.

Some tidbits in the book detail the "ape" costumes, and the question of who to get to be in the costumes. Kubrick decidely did not want them to look like a human in a costume. They tried actors, but that didn't work out. Finally, they hit upon dancers, espescially skinney ones who would still look wild and hungry with a layer of costume over them.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001, a Space Odyssey, August 6, 2002

By 

Kelly Zuckerman (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Paperback)

I always wondered who was the man in the Monkey Suit and now I know. A fascinating easy to read memoir. An insiders view of the making of one of the most influential movies of all time. A must read for all 2001 fans.