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Summary: A must for anyone who enjoys SF
Review: Get it on DVD as good as the first time
Rating:
Summary: 2001: a space odyssey
Review: Only the greatest film of all time! Encompassing some 4 million years in the storyline, this is a film that demands to be seen again and again. How many other films could get away with no dialogue for half an hour, or a soundtrack made up of both classical and avant guard music? With the most interesting character being either a homicidal computer or a featureless, black slab? The effects are brilliant, and a couple of scenes bring tears to the eyes because of the sheer brilliance of Kubrick's vision.My only faults with the DVD are that it would have been nice had it contained more extras, and that there were no easter eggs - both minor points.
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Summary: Absolutely Breathtaking, a MUST View.
Review: Movie? No. Film? No. Experience? Oh yeah. 2001: A Space Odyssey is absolutely amazing. The picture and sound on the DVD is awesome (you can find out a little more about my viewing theater in my about page) and worthy of the format. This is a movie that speaks for itself. The words are kept to a minimum but the imagery and soundtrack are perfect. I have a very small tolerance for older films that look primative and poorly acted, but 2001, as is true with all Kubrick pictures, is completely timeless. It is amazing when you think about the period in time during which this film was made (1968, the era of Kennedy, Woodstock and the Moon). The effects are still flawless today and easily surpass any modern cgi work in terms of actual realism. Nothing compares to the first time you see 2001, but it manages to reinvent itself each and every time you watch it. I first saw this picture when I was about 10 years old. My Mom and Dad took me to the University of Illinois to the computer open house where I first saw HAL 9000 and saw 2001: A Space Odyssey projected onto a classroom wall. The movie blew me away and started an intense facination with space and space travel. No movie I have ever seen has been more inspiring. Ok, sorry for rambling on about my experiences with the movie but simply talking about the movie would not due it justice. See it, if you don't like it, watch it again and again until you do!
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Summary: The best sci-fi movie ever made to date.
Review: For those who were fortunate to see this film when it was released in the Cinerama Theatres were in for a treat. Unfortunatly there are no more theatres like Cinerama to give you the impact that this film has.The DVD wide screen and 5.1 Sound is a pale second but still puts every sci-fi movie made about outer space and including all the "Star War" movies and none of them can messure up to the gradure of this great classic film.This is the all time sci-fi classic and is excellent in every aspect. They don't make them like this anymore.
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Summary: My favorite movie.
Review: I love this movie because it is so challenging, yet, serene and beautiful even after repeated viewing. The challenge ranges from simply overcoming the boredom of certain scenes to the profound philosophical and theological questions raised throughout. For example, one may think of the monolith as an alien intelligence or as the apple in the garden of Eden. Once touched it imparts self-awareness and intelligence. Moreover, it is the presence of the monolith which is crucial to the sense of time in the movie. The only significant moments in the history of human beings are encounters with the monolith. Most of the events between encounters with the monolith are not shown because they are only of trivial significance in the greater scheme of the the universe and of human progress. Then, of course, there is the man-made intelligence of HAL, the end product of technological advance, which originated with the use of an animal bone for a weapon. The finite and flawed man-made intelligence versus the infinitely influential alien/divine intelligence with perfect geometry seem to be in conflict. It is almost as if HAL reacts out of feelings of insecurity in the face of a more perfect being. Perhaps, HAL and the monolith are engaged in a duel for Dave's soul, a la Job. Perhaps, HAL falls from grace because he lacks a soul. Certainly, one can suggest the story is one of birth and rebirth, death and resurrection, or, maybe, evolution from human to the next species. I think Kubrick, always the strategist, made many scenes boring to express the vastness of space and the duration of time required for space travel. Yet he covers the breadth of human history with a single edit, flying bone to flying space craft. He really manages to make us humans feel very very small in a very very large and unknown universe. And he does this with very little dialogue and extremely detailed, beautiful photography. Our voice in space and history is also very small and insignificant by comparison with the monumental influence of the monolith during a mere two encounters with human beings. We don't know or even understand very much about the monolith, our universe, nor our own nature. Yet we pursue the mysterious monolith to the ends of our solar system, as though it calls to us from afar.
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Summary: Stunning, even 34 years later
Review: Being among the few who appreciate the incredible craft involved in Stanley Kubrick's movie making, I will forever be a fan, and I am still amazed by the high quality of this groundbreaking film. One needs to put it in proper context, and realize that this film was released a year before humanity landed on the moon, and almost ten years before Star Wars was a cultural phenomena.
One of the things that I really like about this movie is it's just about the best pieces of science fiction (with strong emphasis on science) I have ever seen. This has a lot to do with the strong story furnished courtesy of Arthu C. Clarke, who is in my opinion, probably the best sci-fi writer of all time. For instance, space-being a vacuum- does not allow sound. This is the only movie that I can think of that is bold enough to acknowledge this fact! The treatment of physics in this movie is one of its strengths, and what makes it such a fine sci-fi-fact film. For some, the lack of dialogue in this movie is a real turn off, and the ending (I'm not going to ruin it for those who want to see it) will leave some frustrated and/or confused. Reading the book sheds a lot of light on the meaning of the ending. Another big turn off for people is the length of the movie, and it is a rather long flick, especially when the finale seems pretty anti-climactic. This movie is probably best for sci-fi/Clarke/Kubrick fans, and those who are thinking of trying something new should honestly stay away. The long periods of silence, and the scenes coupled with the music of Strauss, will probably keep a lot of people snoozing. Needless to say this movie will not be appreciated by all, and that really is a shame. The DVD transfer is fantastic, and clean look and sound really adds life to this old film.
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Summary: Masterpiece movie, terrible DVD image!
Review: This review is just a warning about this DVD release: the image quality is terrible. Bad compression, awful color dithering (most noticed at the ending), and a lot of "hey, that part of the screen is not moving!"... I put the DVD and VHS side by side (both the letterbox edition), and the VHS has a much smoother and perfect image, without pixelation and color gradient problems found in the DVD. I can't believe they released this MASTERPIECE in such a terrible DVD. If you are an image quality freak, avoid this release. If you are not, a must buy.
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Summary: MASTERWORK BY TRUE VISIONARY
Review: This is still the greatest sci-fi movie ever made even after 34 years....it is a contender for the greatest movie of all time. In 1968, this film all but wiped the floor with its predecessors (mostly clunky 50's aliens v mankind movies)and set the standard for intelligent, thoughtful forward looking space mysteries. It is these ingredients of this cinematic watershed, which have confounded viewers ever since and its uniqueness has ensured that the makers of all subsequent "space fiction" movies can never attain the same perspective again. What is truly astonishing is that when this film was made, mankind hadn't even stepped on the moon. Watching the film today, it is hard to appreciate the incredible forsight of its makers. Few films since have managed to convey convincingly (with the possible exception of Apollo 13) the vast expanse of space and man's helplessness within it. Of course the film has a legendary philosophical undertone and touches on matters considered "pre-ordained" by the makers. It is this poetic beauty which transforms the film into something truly spectacular. The long silent passages in space accompanied only by the sound of breathing are moments of genious which have never been repeated since and without doubt won't be in today's rampant market for high-tech gadget ridden noisy fun-for-all dominated sci-fi genre. It is hard to imagine that there will ever be another film-maker like Kubrick who can work without the influence of major studios or production companies to push the boundaries of the medium as far as Kubrick did with this film. Some people have tried too hard to understand this film when the object was always to experience it....if only it was shown on a large screen more often...
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Summary: Mind Blowing!!!
Review: This is the original mind blowing movie. Usually movies that have a lot of special effects become dated after time but not in this case. Even though it had a lot of special effects, it is a remarkable story. Totally out there. Stanley Kubrick is the only director who can make you enjoy the book more after you have seen the movie. I have read most of the books that his movies were based on and as good as the books were, his movies were better. Read 2001 after you see the movie and then see the movie again. It will paint a vivid picture that will tie most of it together. You must do a lot of your own interpreting but that is what good art does. It inspires your own questions of the piece. This movie will definately do that.
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Summary: Well-deserved sci-fi classic
Review: 1968 was still a year before Man landed on the moon. That was also the year that an American residing in England who went by the name of Stanley Kubrick gave us this wonderful masterpiece of sci-fi: 2001: A Space Odyssey, when Man finally makes it to Jupiter. Sadly, in real life, in 2001, Man hadn't even made it back to the moon, just doing routine space shuttle launches orbiting the earth and coming back in a few days. But back in 1968, everyone had a much more optimistic view of space travel, and so Kubrick decided to do a movie on the subject, with the help of Arthur C. Clarke. While the plot seems thin at times, the best thing to do is enjoy it visually. This movie is a far cry from those silly sci-fi films made some ten years before with flying saucers dangling on strings. The visuals are so realistic than when I first saw 2001 in the mid 1980s, I swore the film was made in the 1980s. The special effects were a lot more real that any sci-fi TV series contemporary to 1968, like Star Trek or Lost in Space. And that's how this movie became a big influence to how sci-fi would be made. There's enough said of this film already, but the one thing I really enjoy is the wonderful psychedelic light show near the end. It doesn't seem to mean anything, just that it's a real trip to see indeed. Douglas Trumball provided the special effects to this film, he's the same guy who also did the effects for Silent Running and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I understand that 2001 might not be appreciated by everyone. It's not a blockbuster, high-paced Hollywood flick like Raiders of the Lost Ark or any of those other Indiana Jones flicks. It's not another one of those sci-fi flicks where they shoot aliens like it was a video game (Star Wars for example, or its TV counterpart, Battlestar Galactica). This, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind some nine years later, is a visual experience. 2001 does get lots of hype, and for a rare time, it really does live up to the hype. Rarely had I seen a movie so well made, or so much care put in to the visuals. So if you don't mind the slow pace, be sure to give this film a try.
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