2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

I'm going to watch this shortly.

The title says 2001, but it was made in 1968, thats crazy...

gdennis59 wrote:

The title says 2001, but it was made in 1968, thats crazy...

It's looking into the future probably. I'm 13 minutes in (and on pause) and so far WTF? It's just a bunch of monkeys sitting around. This is supposedly a great film so onward we go...

Wow, I would stop it by then.

AWESOME flick. Remember the time it was created while watching.

Kubrick is a God amongst filmmakers.

"Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over" --- HAL talking about the Tigers haha

Okay, this has sat with me long enough to write a review.

As usual, I won't bother with much in the way of plot summary as that's a rather superfluous detail in this style of review.

The first thing worth noting about this film is that the first 4 minutes are just a black screen with some orchestra music in the background. This seemed like an odd way to start a film, but this film was rather odd throughout. The film then continues with about 20 minutes of dialogue-less scenes with some primates wandering around. This was quite a strange way to set a science fiction movie dealing with space.

The film continues with some more space-related information that only has minor relevance to the plot. About an hour into the movie the film's main plot begins and this is actually quite good. A key theme in this section of the film is artificial intelligence. The computer, HAL, is almost human-like.

With about 30 minutes to go in the film the main plot ends and it's basically silent the rest of the way with some more background music. The scenes at the end of the film lead quite a bit open to interpretation.

For a 40 year old futuristic movie I must say this has stood the test of time rather well. Soylent Green is the only other movie I've reviewed set in the future but it looks horribly dated. While there are a few outdated elements in this particular film, without closer inspection this feels like it could have been made recently.

While the movie's main plot was very good and the strange opening and closing sequences are quite thought-provoking, this film felt a little long. While there are redeeming qualities to these parts of the film, a casual viewer is likely to get very bored during these parts in the film.

In addition to a review of the film itself, I'm going to add a new feature to my reviews from here on out. It's generally agreed that the MPAA Rating system is terrible at best so henceforth I will rate films how I feel they should be rated. Unlike the MPAA I will not be afraid to use all the ratings, from G to NC-17. This particular film doesn't contain much in the way of material unsuitable for children. It may have sworn once or twice. It does depict, although without any graphic images, death of humans. This film has been rated G by the MPAA but I feel that due to the aforementioned content, a PG rating is more appropriate.

82/100
B-

UP NEXT: So many films to choose from I have no clue! If I watch any more tonight it'll be Rebecca. If not it'll be something else but what exactly depends on a lot of things.

ScubatheHooD wrote:

Kubrick is a God amongst filmmakers.

I've now seen two of his films, this one and A Clockwork Orange. His films are very unique, I'll give him that. Still, I wouldn't put him ahead of Alfred Hitchcock.

My mom saw this when it came out and thought it was awful... and then one of her genius relatives said that "You have to be high to understand it."

No thank you...

LOL. The critics say it's an all-time great!

The international movie database (IMDb.com) says it's the 76th greatest movie ever and the American Film Institute says it's the 15th greatest American film of all-time.

Just sayin...

catbox_9 wrote:

LOL. The critics say it's an all-time great!

The international movie database (IMDb.com) says it's the 76th greatest movie ever and the American Film Institute says it's the 15th greatest American film of all-time.

Just sayin...

That's a lot of people on weed

I liked it and was drug-free

catbox_9 wrote:

I liked it and was drug-free

Hmm... then you are pretty strange, cat.

I'm sorry, I'm just kidding (and being a bit of a brat). I commend you on making it through the movie... I couldn't get passed the four minutes of blackness set to an orchestra.

TigerLily wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

I liked it and was drug-free

I couldn't get passed the four minutes of blackness set to an orchestra.

That pissed me off. I was this close to fastforwarding that part and instead watching the 15 minutes of monkeys. When you put the whole movie in perspective the monkeys make sense but the first time through they're annoying as

I have seen this movie at least twice. I am a scifi fan, so I would give it an 85/100

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

I have seen this movie at least twice. I am a scifi fan, so I would give it an 85/100

Hooray! A score to add to the database!

catbox_9 wrote:

I've now seen two of his films, this one and A Clockwork Orange. His films are very unique, I'll give him that. Still, I wouldn't put him ahead of Alfred Hitchcock.

A Clockwork Orange is probably my favorite Kubrick movie... But supposedly it was Kubrick's least favorite out of the ones he made - He died when his last movie Eyes Wide Shut was released, so I'm not sure if he managed to have any concrete interviews post release of the movie. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (comedy) is quite amazing. Of course, I'm a gigantic Peter Sellers fan so that may have swayed my opinion. Spartacus (epic), Barry Lyndon (war/drama), The Shining (horror), Full Metal Jacket (vietnam) - the guy's done it all; and by all I mean pretty much every genre you could imagine; and each with great success.

For those interested, here's more info on the film (I think it goes without saying, but all of these reviews and analyses contain tons of spoilers):

Video Review/analysis Part One:



Video Review/analysis Part Two:



If you prefer, there is a ton of text-based review/analysis by the same guy. Just follow these links:
1. CULTURAL / HISTORICAL EFFECTS
2. THE MEANING OF THE MONOLITH
3. THE KUBRCIK CODE
4. ENLIGHTENMENT AND REBIRTH
5. JUPITER AND BEYOND THE CINEMA FRAME
6. KUBRICK AS GOD / MAN AS HIS OWN GOD
7. THE MONOLITH AS A DOORWAY
8. THE TECHNOLOGY TRAP
9. KUBRICK’S COVER STORIES
10. HAL AS A HUMAN
11. KUBRICK’S WAR CRY
12. 2001: A FAKE ODYSSEY?
13. WHAT PLANET WAS KUBRICK ON?
14. EXTRA MATERIAL, UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA & A HAPPY ENDING