Comments on: Stanley Kubrick, Fan of Futura

By: Armando

Armando — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:41:52 +0000

I worked for some years at the art department of a home video distribution company and I know first hand how Futura crazy Kubrick was (or his office still is) for the video/DVD releases of his movies.

By: James Arboghast

James Arboghast — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:56:49 +0000

The main reason as I understand it why Kubrick is said to have chosen Futura (or a close Futura derivative) for 2001 has to do with NASA’s use of Futura as the official font of the Apollo moon landing program. To make the space hardware in his film realistic-looking Kubrick hired the science fiction writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle as consultants. He hired Niven and Pournelle because both men were working as consultants for NASA on the Apollo program. It was either thru them or by contact directly with Apollo program managers that Kubrick learned of NASA’s use of Futura as the official font for Apollo.

source—NASA.

By: James Arboghast

James Arboghast — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:45:19 +0000

The font used in the beginning is Gill

Look closely at the G in GARY LOCKWOOD. Rather different design to the G in Gill Sans. Now look at the R in GARY. Not Gill Sans R. The L, W and D don’t match Gill either. Compare S in ODYSSEY with the S in Gill Sans. No match.

The opening title METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER does appear to match Gill Sans however. The plot thickens. Looks like two different fonts were used for the opening titles.

Nobel blurb from Font Bureau: In 1929, three years after the Futura release, Sjoerd Henrik de Roos at Amsterdam explored alternative character sets to enliven basic Futura forms. The Nobel series was designed for Font Bureau by Tobias Frere-Jones, who fondly views Nobel as �Futura cooked in dirty pots & pans.� The Extra Lights were added by Cyrus Highsmith & Dyana Weissman; FB 1993�2003

How much of Tobias Frere-Jones and how much of Sjoerd Henrik de Roos went into Font Bureau’s Nobel I don’t presume to know, but the Sjoerd Henrik de Roos version might be the source of the non-standard Futura units like the S, C and D, and the Gill Sans style M in the opening titles.

By: nicetype

nicetype — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:04:55 +0000

Actually there was no Futura at all in 2001. I've read that Guardian article, and was very suprised when I got to watch 2001 for the first time, a few weeks ago. The font used in the beginning is Gill (clever: they used O's instead of zeros in "2001", Gill's zeros are condensed and they obviously wanted cirlces). The Dawn of Man is Albertus (which is a decent match to Gill). And the end titles are probably set in Nobel. I can't be sure though, I don't know if any foundry distributed Nobel at that time, and if there was a conversion from hot metal at all. It is closer to FB Nobel than to the DTL one. But it is definitely not Futura. I've compiled a few screenshots here:

By: George Newell

George Newell — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:14:41 +0000

That’s some impressive research, James. Rememeber that all the space oddysey poster use futura bold. The Lyndon typeface is very similar to souvenir – and it is fitting that a film made in the mid-seventies should used fonts inspired by the newly founded ITC. I wonder if the they actually made the font for Kubrick…? Any information on the this font would be appreciated. Remember the flourishes, which add to the period feeling. They are ultimately (like the film) inherently ’70s. Look at those large x-heights.

For other fonts, look at how kubrick used the lush Gill font, perpetua italics in the opening credits. It would almost certainly have been chosen by the studio, but is still appropriate to the film.

By: James Arboghast

James Arboghast — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:59:41 +0000

The posters and lobby cards for 2001 were most certainly Futura Extra bold. The titles and intertitles in the film itself were Futura regular-or-thereabouts.

By: James Arboghast

James Arboghast — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:46:14 +0000

In recent years numerous type fans and pop journalists have promulgated the idea that "Kubrik was a Futura man". I sort of want to believe it, but I can't. The evidence of his films shows a wider range of type styles. The titles of 2001: A Space Odyssey were Futura regular, not Futura Extra Bold as The Guardian story claims. Curiously 'The Dawn of Man' intertitle in that film was set with flare serif capitals—probably a studio goofball Kubrick wasn't able to correct. The titles of The Shining appear to be Helvetica or something close to Helvetica. Full Metal Jacket nope, sorry. The lettering style used on the posters for A Clockwork Orange isn't even in the field of the neighbouring ball park (nothing like Futura). Barry Lyndon looks very much like Souvenir. Original release posters for Dr. Strangelove show a condensed sans serif answering more to alternate gothic than Futura. Wikipedia claims the titles for Spartacus were designed by Saul Bass. I haven't seen that film, and really don't want to, but I'll wager two sheets of rubylith Saul Bass did his own thing. Kubrick's 1960's and early 70's films evidently were packaged by the studios that made and distributed them. The notion of him being a Futura man later in his career (or at least a guy with a woody for clean sans serif type) in later years when he exerted auter-like control over all aspects of his productions, seems more credible on examination of the evidence. I think Kubrick's three best films are A Clockwork Orange, Doctor Strangelove and The Shining. 2001 is fabulous but overrated.

By: geraint

geraint — Fri, 02 Apr 2004 15:11:35 +0000

sounds appropriate to me…

By: Bad Horsey

Bad Horsey — Fri, 02 Apr 2004 15:02:21 +0000

On that basis, Comic Sans should be used on every Hairbrush Divas / Power Of A Woman / The Only Ibiza Album You’ll Ever Need… Volume 2! type of album, being as it is The Font Of Secretaries.

By: geraint

geraint — Fri, 02 Apr 2004 14:56:23 +0000

veering off-topic, but i think futura was probably a considered choice for franz ferdinand, whose imagery incorporates a lot of german early modernism. eg.video for ‘take me out’, which features amonst other things dada typography and a fencing kandinsky. if i’m not mistaken.