Stanley Kubrick's cinematic milestone was in every sense an experimental film, harnessing the widescreen, epic format for an intensely metaphysical, ultimately very personal use. Shot in Super Panavision 70 and presented in Cinerama, 2001 was conceived less as a science fiction narrative than as an experience in space and time. As a re-creation of the dimensions of outer space--taking us beyond deep focus into infinite focus--it has never been matched. Neither has the grace with which Kubrick's pristine visuals literally waltz through several millennia of evolution in a mere two-plus hours of film containing very little dialogue. In this sense, Quest for Fire, while in no way 2001's equal, might be considered a prequel. Kubrick has described 2001 as “nonverbal,” adding, “I tried to create a visual experience, one that bypasses verbal pigeonholing and directly penetrates the subconscious with an emotional and philosophical content.... I think that if 2001 succeeds at all, it is in reaching a wide spectrum of people who would not often give a thought to man's destiny, his role in the cosmos, and his relationship to higher forms of life.”