2001: A Space Odyssey (film) for its scientifically accurate depiction of spaceflight, pioneering special effects, and ambiguous imagery. Sound and dialogue are used sparingly and often in place of traditional cinematic and narrative techniques. The soundtrack incorporates a number of pieces of classical music, among them "Also sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss, "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II, and works by Aram Khachaturian and György Ligeti. "2001: A Space Odyssey" was financed and distributed by American studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but filmed and edited almost entirely in England, where Kubrick lived, using the facilities of MGM-British Studios and Shepperton Studios. Production was subcontracted to Kubrick's production
Technologies in 2001: A Space Odyssey in high-tech aircraft like the Boeing 777, but have also been employed in space shuttles, the first being "Atlantis" in 1985. Rudimentary voice-controlled computing began in the early 1980s with the SoftVoice Computer System and existed in more sophisticated form by the early 2000s, although not as sophisticated as depicted in the film. The first picture phone was demonstrated at the 1964 New York World's Fair; however, due to the bandwidth limitations of telephone lines, personal video communication did not succeed commercially and has only been practical over broadband internet connections. Personal (audio) wireless telephones were ubiquitous in 2001, and