I have seen Stanley Kubrick's movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, a handful of times and I think it is an incredible film as will as a cinematic achievement. I still like Clarke's novel version of the story even more. Clarke's genius was in telling stories involving complex science and history altering events and telling it in a way that was easily understood. If you have only seen the movie, the book is even better. At least I think so.