Review of 2001-A SPACE ODYSSEY

2001 - A SPACE ODYSSEY- 1968

Act one. A dark screen and ominous music. We see a beautiful savannah with our human ancestors living their pitiful lives. Then more advanced ancestors. The theme from R. Strauss's THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA announces the MONOLITH, a featureless gray oblong. Excited hominids gather about it and soon afterwards discover how to use a bone as a weapon. They exult.

Act two. A match cut switches from the bone to a space shuttle serenely approaching an artificial satellite.  J. Strauss's BLUE DANUBE waltz plays in the background. HEYWOOD R. FLOYD is going to the quarantined TYCHO base on the moon. The rumor is that a dangerous infection made the quarantine necessary, but the real reason is another monolith, this one uncovered after being buried in lunar soil for three million years. The government wants this find kept secret lest it cause panic. Floyd goes to inspect the monolith just as the lunar dawn is breaking, and the artifact, seeing the sun for the first time since it was buried, sends a powerful radio signal direct to Jupiter.

Act three. Spaceship DISCOVERY, with FRANK POOLE, DAVID BOWMAN, and HAL, a 9000 computer, (plus some hibernating scientists) are on their way to Jupiter. All seems well, but then HAL asks Frank questions about unprecedented secrecy surrounding their mission, and immediately afterwards announces an impending failure in a communications unit. The astronauts retrieve the unit, but examination shows no problem. Could HAL have made a mistake? The 9000 computers have an absolutely error free records. Frank and David lock themselves into an EVA pod and discuss whether HAL's intellectual function should be shut down. However, the pod has a window, HAL has vision sensors all over, and he can read lips...

At this point, the theater version breaks for a long intermission. Some televised versions skip the intermission, which is a shame.

H+1 is I. A+1 is B. L=1 is M.  IBM. Deny it though they may, I think it's intentional.

This movie is a masterpiece, more, I think, because of Stanly Kubrick's directing than to Arthur C. Clark's writing. Though Kubrick and Clark collaborated on the screenplay, the original book is standard science fiction, while the movie is a mystical experience. The book explains the monolith's actions, Hal's breakdown, the ornate room at the end of the film and more. The movie only hints at these and leaves you wondering. HAL in the movie is much more ominous than in the book, and the uneasiness of the two men when talking to HAL is palpable.

If you've never seen this film, you're missing something. Even if you saw it decades ago, it's worth renting.

The action is unhurried. For example, while the Millennium Falcon enters the Death Star in a few seconds, it takes a few minutes for the Floyd's shuttle to enter the station. But the movie doesn't drag. That scene is a dance in space and it maintains your interest. As a workout movie, the final scenes are a bit monotonous, but the rest of the movie will easily get your pulse up to a run. Overall, I give it ++++.

There's a sequel, 2010, which is good, but not at the same level as the original.