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Friday, February 8, 2013

Moonwatcher mask and costume from 2001: A Space Odyssey on display...

There's nothing like a monkey suit to make you smile, especially when it's one from the Dawn of Man, like this one from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Original mask and man-ape costume from 
2001: A Space Odyssey on display
2001 A Space Odyssey Moonwatcher mask
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher apeman costume
It really was a treat to see this original 'Moonwatcher' mask and full body costume from the 1968 sci-fi classic on display at LACMA's Stanley Kubrick exhibit in L.A. on January 10, 2013.

2001: A Space Odyssey movie poster
2001 Space Odyssey movie poster
This costume and mask feature in The Dawn of Man section at the start of movie, which depicts scenes from early human evolution where Moonwatcher, the dominant male man-ape of the tribe, first encounters the mysterious black Monolith which encourages his use of bones as both tools and weapons.

Original Moonwatcher mask prop from 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001 A Space Odyssey Moonwatcher apeman mask
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher mask
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher mask
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher ape man mask
Makeup legend Stuart Freeborn, who recently passed away, was responsible for the creature effects makeup on this epic sci-fi movie. Apparently it took around two years to craft the masks with moving lips and tongues, along with realistic looking simian teeth and the apelike hominid body suits which were made from human, yak and horsehair.

Original Moonwatcher suit from 2001: A Space Odyssey
Moonwatcher costume 2001 A Space Odyssey
Moonwatcher mask 2001 Space Odyssey
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher ape man suit
Moonwatcher apeman costume 2001 Space Odyssey
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher apeman costume
2001 Space Odyssey Moonwatcher apeman costume
Seeing them up close, especially considering when they were made, it's easy to see why his work so impressed George Lucas that the director asked him to handle the makeup for Star Wars, where he created the likes of 'Yoda' and 'Chewbacca'.

If you're a fan of Stanley Kubrick's movie, be sure to check out these other cool costumes and props from 2001: A Space Odyssey on display.

2001: A Space Odyssey movie poster
2001 Space Odyssey movie poster

1 comment:

  1. Doesnt really look primitive like early man though, it looks like the dude has a cranial capacity of 5000 cubic cm lol

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