Watch: 21-Minute Documentary Short 'Standing On The Shoulders Of Kubrick: The Legacy Of 2001'

Documentarian and cinema historian Gary Leva interviewed an impressive roster of Hollywood’s most acclaimed filmmakers and experts in his short, “Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001.” Released as a feature on the 2007, two-disc, special DVD/Blu-Ray edition of Kubrick’s masterful “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the documentary highlights how that one film redefined cinema for generations of filmmakers to follow. Leva recently uploaded the short to Vimeo, so even those of us without the special release can now view it.

Early on in the video, Sydney Pollack (who later starred in "Eyes Wide Shut") states that Kubrick “was always on the cutting edge, technically,” of which '2001' is perfect proof. It was a technological and aesthetic accomplishment unlike anything that had come before it. Attesting to this, George Lucas cites the movie as “hugely inspirational” to him; the visual nature of '2001' lit a fire under the “Star Wars” creator, serving as motivation...