2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Apes learn to use the first weapons.

*Part of Prana Film's Great Movies*

A space adventure. A "trip" of a lifetime. An amazement to behold. One of the most awe-inspiring experiences as a film viewer. 2001 is all of these. 2001 is without a doubt Stanley Kubrick's magnum opus, a pinnacle in his amazing career. The movie's storyline seems to float in space as the characters do, set along to some of the greatest pieces in classical music, particular the famous Blue Danube.


But what is 2001 about? The great thing about the film is that it leaves everything up to the audience. Many of Stanley Kubrick's films have the viewer think about what is happening on screen, what is actually happening or take into question the morals of the characters (best example of this would be A Clockwork Orange). In doing this, the film has interconnectedness with the audience, who we can assume are free-thinking individuals who can evaluate a film's meaning.

The movie has a basic plot. At the dawn of the 21st century, man has found a large monolith on the moon, this leads to a space expedition to Jupiter. The mission is led by two astronauts (Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood) and other members who are in a frozen state of cryogenic hibernation. Manning the crew is the HAL-9000, a technologically advanced computer who is "incapable of error". The majority of the movie shows HAL trying to save the mission by, let's say "deleting", those who he believes are capable of error.

Keir Dullea in his space suit.

The movie makes you think, as I said, about human and computer capability. Are humans more reliable than computers? Are computers never capable of error? Is HAL more human that the actual humans?

The movie also gives theories on evolution. How did we start evolving? What influenced us? Is there life out their beyond our understanding?

What is also outstanding about this film is how somewhat correct it is in its vision of the future. By the 20th century, we have gotten to the moon. We have computers that speak and respond to you. We have video communication. We have stations in space. It just amazing how correct-ish this movie was, as if it predicted most of these things. Sure, we don't have a base on the moon nor did we travel to Jupiter, but we have the technical achievements that the movie featured.

The ending of the movie is probably the most surreal; we follow one of the astronauts "Beyond the Infinite", where everything that is happening can be left up to interpretation. The visual effects are absolutely amazing, a style that influence many sci-fi films ever since. As I believe that film is a form of art, I use this movie as an example, for it is a work of art. A dark canvas Kubrick had meticulously painted into what has been called "one of the greatest movies of all time". You must see to experience.

«««« out of ««««