'A rare opportunity': Unrestored version of 2001: A Space Odyssey playing at IMAX

Regina film fans will soon have a chance to experience an all-time classic on a previously unavailable scale.

2001: A Space Odyssey, the mindbending 1968 science fiction film by Stanley Kubrick, is coming to the IMAX at the Saskatchewan Science Centre. The 70 mm film print being projected is one of only four like it in the world.

"It's really a rare opportunity, basically, to get to see the film the way it was intended to be seen originally, which is in a very immersive way," said Philippe Mather, a film professor and Kubrick specialist with Campion College at the University of Regina.

This version of 2001 — a film that has undergone several remasterings — is the result of a recent "unrestoration" by Christopher Nolan, the director of films such as Inception, The Dark Knight and Dunkirk. Nolan's used Kubrick's original negatives to create something as close to the original 1968 version as possible. 

The film was also originally meant to be shown in Cinerama, which featured a large, curved screen meant to immerse the audience, according to Mather. The massive IMAX screen — with images three times larger than a regular 70mm projection — should help duplicate that experience.

"IMAX is the closest thing we'll get to seeing it the way it was shown in 1968," Mather said.

"Kubrick was a master at framing and composition and all that, so he knew exactly what he was looking for in the wide screen to take full advantage of that. I think that will show."

Mather called 2001 "arguably the best science fiction film ever made" and said it "set the bar" for visual effects in the genre.

The film is about a mysterious monolith that connects humanity's past, present and future. It famously features HAL-9000, an early version of the AI-run-amok trope.

"It's a bit unusual because of its style, its language. There are three basic sections to the film, and the first and the last sections are basically silent films with music," Mather said.

"It's very spectacular. It's a very beautiful film, visually."

The film is scheduled to run at the IMAX from Nov. 30 to Jan. 4. Mather will give a talk on the film prior to the opening night screening.

He encouraged any film fan to take what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"This might be that last chance to see 2001, on film, projected the way it was intended to be," he said.