2001: A Space Odyssey
"Still the grandest of all science-fiction movies." -Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
2001: A Space Odyssey is a countdown to tomorrow, a road map to human destiny, a quest for the infinite. It is dazzling, Academy Award®-winning visual achievement, a compelling drama of man vs. machine, a stunning meld of music and motion. It may be the masterwork of director Stanley Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke)... and it will likely excite, inspire and enthrall for generations.
To begin his voyage into the future, Kubrick visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever conceived) into colonizes space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted realms of space, perhaps even into immortality. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." Let the awe and mystery of a journey unlike any other begin.
Member Reviews
My sentimental favourite film of all time - RobBC
Kubrick blurs the line between technology and theology in this greatest of all sci-fi epics covering a million years of evolution and culminating in man’s “ultimate trip”. The plot may be somewhat facile but the film’s true genius lies in its presentation. The use of light and colour is incredible as is the futuristic hardware. A bold visionary departure from a genre of film which at that time was all but monopolized by mutant insects and big-breasted moon maidens.Art really is subjective... - usernameya
There's no objective way to look at art. Or if there is, we don't possess the ability to do so yet. This films intent was to make the viewer think, come up with their own interpretations, in other words use their imaginations. When you have someone do that, they can create a great image/interpretation in their head which nothing can beat. That's what this film did for so many which is why it seems so great to them. It's one of those "Don't you get it?" type of things. Most movies are designed so that the viewer can for the most part, shut their brain off and have all the images, sounds, story etc pumped into them. So watching a film that doesn't do that is a new experience which may be annoying to some but adored by others. I don't think it's as great as I hear people make it out to be, but as I said, this film lets their imagination get to work so it's impossible to rate what their mind came up with during viewing. I highly recommend the film and see what your brain can come up with.Stanley Kubrick's magnum opus. - estefan
An absolute marvel of a motion picture, 2001: A Space Odyssey defines not only the science-fiction genre, but also cinema as a whole. Stanley Kubrick doesn't rush things and thus gives us a realistic view of space, free of speech and full of wonderment. His use of a classical score only adds even more to the calmness of these opening scenes in space. The film's imagery is absolutely enchanting to watch, with special effects that help the film rather than distract. While other filmmakers using this technique would have made the film slow and tedious during those scenes (I'm looking at you, Tarkovsky), Kubrick directs them perfecyly. Despite the film taking place eight years ago andthe fact that visual effects have completely evolved in the past forty years (most recently evident from James Cameron's Avatar), 2001 still holds up extremely well.
Yet, despite the film's optimism on space travel in the future, there is also a right amount of pessimism to make it work just right. Probably, the most interesting character in the whole film is the HAL 9000, the computer who suffers a mental breakdown on board. It shows an error that occurs when people try to give computers human feelings, as their control of everything leads them to harm rather than help their creators. Yet, even after his wrong-doings, HAL still displays his calm side. It is no surprise that each letter in HAL's name come right before the letters 'IBM.'
The whole idea of imagery is explored very well in the opening 'Dawn of Man' sequence when the apemen find the monolith. Soon afterwards, they develop a rather violent nature, Kubrick implying that violence is not something we know and do at birth but something we learn and are familiar with later on. Similar to HAL, who starts off just knowing a solitary sound and then more information is put in him and like the apes, he learns how to harm and kill.
2001 is a film that can be talked about many times over and it will be for years.
Member Reviews
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My sentimental favourite film of all time - RobBC
Kubrick blurs the line between technology and theology in this greatest of all sci-fi epics covering a million years of evolution and culminating in man’s “ultimate trip”. The plot may be somewhat facile but the film’s true genius lies in its presentation. ...Art really is subjective... - usernameya
There's no objective way to look at art. Or if there is, we don't possess the ability to do so yet. This films intent was to make the viewer think, come up with their own interpretations, in other words use their imaginations. When you have someone do that, ...Stanley Kubrick's magnum opus. - estefan
An absolute marvel of a motion picture, 2001: A Space Odyssey defines not only the science-fiction genre, but also cinema as a whole. Stanley Kubrick doesn't rush things and thus gives us a realistic view of space, free of speech and full of wonderment. His ...