Watch 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Opening with Scrapped Original Score

It's hard to imagine what Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey would be like without the iconic score that was composed by Richard Strauss. But before he came on board to give the film its unforgettable sound, it was originally supposed to include a score by Alex North. North actually composed a full score for the film, which Kubrick ultimately scrapped. I've never heard this score until recently, and now you can see what the opening of the sci-fi classic would have been like with this original score in place. It definitely gives the film a very different feel. 

Kubrick had this to say about the original score during a past interview with Michael Ciment:

Although [North] and I went over the picture very carefully, and he listened to these temporary tracks and agreed that they worked fine and would serve as a guide to the musical objectives of each sequence he, nevertheless, wrote and recorded a score which could not have been more alien to the music we had listened to, and much more serious than that, a score which, in my opinion, was completely inadequate for the film.

You can listen to it below! I also included a video featuring the score that Kubrick ultimately used for the movie. 

a quick re-edit by myself to restore Alex North's original score to the titles. have also included a few minutes of the first scene "The Dawn of man" with the original audio although it has not be finished.

Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece. 2001 A Space Odyssey. I skipped the 'true' introduction, the monoloth [a black screen] with a chorus of women screaming at you. you're welcome. [Spoilers]: Its 2014 and we're still here.

Via: /Film