A space odyssey premiered in theaters nationwide 50 years ago today, and upon that april 3, 1968, bow, it was greeted by both effusive praise. Webafter a string of costly musicals such as “star!”, “hello dolly” and “doctor doolitle”, all of which flopped horrendously at the box office, one thing became clear. Webalso known as the american new wave, the movement was a delayed reaction to the “horrible decade” for the film industry that was the 1950s and everything it represented:. Webafter her murder by the manson family, they became the ultimate cautionary tale. More than fifty years later, their friends recall hearing the news that changed. Webit was a crystallized moment when auteurist autonomy—good, bad, and ugly—bumped up against increasingly anodyne, corporatized studio ownership.