Editing Conquest of Space (section)

===Possible impact on Kubrick and ''2001: A Space Odyssey''===

Approximately ten years following the 1955 release of ''Conquest of Space'', the film director [[Stanley Kubrick]] began planning his next film project following his critical and popular hit ''[[Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]''. The follow-up would become 1968's ''2001: A Space Odyssey''. While Kubrick planned his space epic, he made a point of viewing virtually all science-fiction movies to understand what the genre had done before, and also to learn what tropes to avoid.<ref name="Kinnard, Roy pp. 48-53">Kinnard, Roy. “Conquest of Space: A New Look at an Old Classic” in '' [[Fantastic Films]] '' Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 48-53. 1979.</ref><ref>Roman, James. ''Bigger Than Blockbusters: Movies That Defined America''. Westport, Connecticut, London. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 153.   2009.</ref><ref>Miller, Thomas Kent. Mars in the Movies: A History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, pp. 53-70. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7864-9914-4.</ref>

Principally, Kubrick was on the lookout for particular and specific images and themes that referenced or reflected the infinity of space—its inherent magic and beauty—in other words, its ability to spark a sense of wonder. Of the myriad early science-fiction productions that Kubrick must have viewed, most were certainly earthbound [[B movies]] that shied away from the sorts of expensive special visual effects and matte paintings that would ordinarily inspire awe or wonder in casual audiences. Kubrick’s goal was to create a space tale that was thought-provoking and that included numerous images that were truly awesome (in the proper sense of the word); thus, it was his intention “to pull out all the stops”.<ref>Roman, James. ''Bigger Than Blockbusters: Movies That Defined America''. Westport, Connecticut, London. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 153. 2009.</ref>

According to genre film authority James Roman in his ''Bigger than Blockbusters: Movies that Defined America'':<ref>Roman, James. Bigger Than Blockbusters: Movies That Defined America. Westport, Connecticut, London. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 153. 2009.</ref>  “Articulating his vision about the infiniteness of space, Kubrick use[d] America’s Apollo space program as a means to embark from.  [The program’s] goal was to land humans on the Moon and return them safely to earth. . . .  [W]hile the American space program [clearly] influenced Kubrick's work, it did not provide him with the material he needed to visualize space travel and with the technology of the future. A 1955 film, George Pal’s ''Conquest of Space'' provided Kubrick with a sense of direction in his . . . pursuit of this imagery. [For example,] in Pal’s film there is [the center-piece] rotating wheel or earth station that Kubrick adapts to 2001, and he creates a poetic image of it floating and rotating in space . . . .” The goal of this exercise of viewing dozens of earlier science-fiction movies had little to do with plot elements; Kubrick simply ignored ''Conquest of Space'''s highly-criticized story line and character development and instead focused on the film's remarkable design. He sought high-quality, well-crafted images that would stimulate himself and his creative staff to reach higher to find the look and design of his own film.<ref>Clarke, Arthur C. ''The Lost Worlds of 2001''. New York. New American Library, Inc. pp. 100-106. 1972.</ref>

Furthermore, the genre film authority Roy Kinnard also suggests strongly in his 1979 '' [[Fantastic Films]] '' article, “Conquest of Space: A New Look at an Old Classic”, that the visually arousing design of Kubrick’s 2001 was influenced by ''Conquest of Space''. He says, “...the most interesting aspect of ''Conquest'' [is] its startling parallels with Stanley Kubrick’s epic 1968 production. It is a well-known fact that before he began work on ''2001'', Kubrick watched virtually every science fiction film ever made, and it is not unreasonable to assume that he not only saw ''Conquest'', but also found quite a bit of inspiration in it.” Then Kinnard points out a number of similarities between the two films (illustrated with photo stills from the movies)—some obvious and others not so obvious.  For example, the same space station wheel in both pictures noted by Roman (above) as well as a number of set pieces.<ref name="Kinnard, Roy pp. 48-53"/>

Regarding Kinnard’s expression “quite a bit of inspiration”, insofar as the film’s two-minute title sequence was designed by Paramount’s consummate special visual effects professionals to stimulate our senses, especially sight and hearing, by concentrating evocative imagery of space and nebulae within the titles so as to induce an impression of “the infiniteness of space,” it may be that that sequence in part satisfied and fulfilled Kubrick’s requirements.<ref>[[New York Times]] movie review, "Special Effects Show 'Conquest of Space'", May 28, 1955. "There is very little doubt about who should receive a generous amount of credit and praise for ''Conquest of Space'', yesterday's science-fiction entry at the Palace. They are the special effects artists, John P. Fulton, Irmin Roberts, Paul Lerpae, Ivyle Burks and Jan Domela. In telling the fanciful tale of man's first trip to Mars, they created top-flight effects such as "the wheel," a self-contained station orbiting about earth [and] rocket flights in space [a concentration of which enhance the film’s title sequence] . . . .   These facets of the [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] production—and fortunately they are many and frequent—are much to marvel at . . . ."</ref><ref name="Miller, Thomas Kent p. 66">Miller, Thomas Kent. Mars in the Movies: A History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, p. 66. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7864-9914-4.</ref> It may be that a description of the scene may help some people visualize its expansiveness and expressiveness. Many things happen at the same time during the titles,<ref name="Miller, Thomas Kent p. 66"/> which are cataloged here in footnote No.36.<ref>It is possible that the visual style and impact of the title sequence could impact some individuals from the first frame of film. Back in the mid-1950s, movie screens had curtains in front of them. When the lights went down and the movie started, the audience could see the Paramount mountain logo through the sheer curtains as they were being drawn. Then, with the first frame of the film there started a 2-minute sensory experience.

It may well be that primed or serious film viewers could watch this movie’s opening and experience the common, wonderful involuntary spine-tingling sensation (probably triggered by the release of endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin) that this viewer did.[Miller, Thomas Kent. Mars in the Movies: A History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, pp. 66. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7864-9914-4.]

While the Paramount logo appears for five seconds and while it is dissolving into the first frame of the picture, the martial score of Nathan Van Cleave begins with a crash of cymbals and a rising fanfare of expressive horns. The first frames of film show the spectacle of a blanket of stars and nebula not like any starscape I had seen before or since (no, not even Forbidden Planet, 2001, or Star Wars). Space has never been so black, nor the stars so scintillating. The scattered and crystalline disk of the Milky Way, glowing across the entire VistaVision-shaped screen, is a blend of purples and blues and blacks that stunned me, so I felt that I was looking into infinite space. Toward the top of the frame, small in the distance and drifting slowly in front of the stars, is the white circular von Braun-inspired space station that is at the heart of the story. It is at once spinning and orbiting the earth whose blue disk fills the bottom quarter of the screen. Also, in the distance but somewhat to the left and closer to the camera is a white spaceship with broad wings and globular fuel tanks. As these images appear, Van Cleave’s score becomes quiet and eerie with the music gently rising and falling in pitch and blending with a subtly ethereal chorus, all underscoring the impossibility of seeing these images. At the exact moment these frames begin, a man’s deeply sonorous voice narrates emphatically:

“This is a story of tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, when men have built a station in space, constructed in the form of a great wheel—

[Dissolve into a closer view of the station and ship in the same relative configuration.]

—and set a thousand miles out from the earth, fixed by gravity, and turning about the world every two hours, serving a double purpose: an observation post in the heavens, and a place where a spaceship can be assembled—

[Dissolve into a closeup of the space ship (stage left) with the space station turning in the distance (stage right).]

—and then launched to explore other planets, and the vast universe itself, in the last and greatest adventure of mankind—a plunge toward the—

[At this point the narrator abruptly stops speaking; the silence is almost tactile, and the picture quick- dissolves into a closeup of the rocket motors blasting, filling the screen with sparks and pushing the ship out of the screen to the left. Another quick-dissolve as the rocket soars across the middle of the screen away from the camera so that in an instant its size diminishes by half and then it disappears, dissolving into the stars just as the bright sparkling yellow and outlined film title “Conquest of Space” sails into view appearing as though from infinity and quickly filling the screen while the narrator breaks his seemingly long silence and speaks emphatically, all the while the score soaring majestically with lots of horns and percussion.]

—CONQUEST OF SPACE!”

[Now the opening credits roll superimposed over those amazing stars using the same yellow font as the title and the music quickly changes from quietly eerie to fully martial. The card “Directed by Byron Haskin” dissolves into another outstanding view of the ship and turning station hanging in space, and then we dissolve into the interior of the station.]

All this takes exactly two minutes and was only the beginning of this steadfastly visual motion picture.</ref><ref>Miller, Thomas Kent. Mars in the Movies: A History. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, pp. 66. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7864-9914-4.</ref>

Additionally, the frontispiece illustration to the introduction of Douglas Brodie’s 2015 ''Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents'' shows a photo still of an astronaut floating in space from ''Conquest'' juxtaposed with an equivalent image from ''2001'' and bears the caption: “The highest form of flattery: As in other genres, science fiction filmmakers often include homages to earlier works. An ultra-realistic image of likely future travel from George Pal’s ''Conquest of Space'' (1955) would be almost precisely referenced in Stanley Kubrick’s ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968).”<ref>Brodie, Douglas.  ''Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents''. Austin, University of Texas Press, p xii. 2015.</ref>